Vibe coding rescue: we fix your AI-built app, then keep it running
A vibe coding rescue takes an app built with Lovable or another AI tool and makes it safe for real users. At Plutonapps, engineers start with an architecture review of what exists, then fix what is risky, such as access rules, secrets and payments. Every change is regression-tested, code-reviewed and security-checked before it reaches production. You own the code and data, and we keep the app running on a monthly plan.
- First step
- An architecture review of what exists
- On every change
- Regression and visual tests, code review, security checks
- Time to action
- Up to two business days on Starter
- Starter plan
- $2,999/mo billed yearly
What breaks in an AI-built app when real users arrive?
An app built by prompting is tested by one person, with test data, along the path they meant to build. Real users take every other path. The failures that follow are rarely one bad line. They are decisions nobody made: who may read which row, what happens if a payment succeeds and the browser closes, and who finds out when something stops working. Our guide to vibe coding security risks covers the security side in more depth.
| Area | How it shows up | What the fix involves |
|---|---|---|
| Sign-in and roles | A user reaches a screen or action meant for an admin, or a team member sees another team's data | Permissions checked on the server and in the database, not only hidden in the interface |
| Row-level security | Anyone holding the public key can read or change a table through the API | Row-level security on every exposed table, with policies that match your business rules, tested as two different users |
| Secrets | A secret or service role key shipped in the browser bundle or committed to the repository | Keys moved to the server and rotated; the bundle and Git history searched |
| Payments | A customer is upgraded without paying, or charged without being upgraded | Payment confirmed on the server; webhooks verified and handled once |
| Unhappy paths | Double-clicks create duplicates, expired sessions lose work, failed emails vanish silently | Retries made safe (idempotency), errors shown to the user and logged for the team |
| Changes | Each new prompt quietly breaks something that worked last week | Regression tests on the journeys that cost you customers, run on every change |
None of this means the tool was wrong to use. A prototype's job is to prove the idea, and Lovable is very good at that. Lovable's own documentation says its security scan cannot guarantee complete security and does not replace a thorough security review. A rescue is that review, followed by the fixes.
How does a vibe coding rescue work?
- 01
Review what exists
We start with an architecture review of your app as it is, and build around it rather than starting again. On our plans, an architecture review is a structured look at how your product is put together, and where it should go next.
- 02
Fix what is risky
Our engineers build around what works and fix what cannot be trusted: access rules, secrets, payments and the paths nobody tested. That is the difference between vibe code cleanup and a rewrite. We work through your queue at the capacity your plan reserves, prioritising with you rather than counting requests, and there is no per-change fee.
- 03
Put a safety net under every change
Every change goes through regression testing, visual regression testing, code review and security checks before it reaches production. On Starter we deploy to production twice a week; on Growth, continuously.
- 04
Run it, or hand it back
Most apps keep changing, so on our plans we keep running yours: releases, monitoring and emergency production support. If you stop, we hand over the repositories, the infrastructure and the documentation, and support the handover.
Should you refactor or rebuild an AI-built app?
Usually refactor: keep the app and fix it in place, one area at a time. A rewrite throws away what users already understand, and every rule the prototype enforces that nobody wrote down; patching only the visible bugs leaves the structural faults in place. A rebuild is right when the data model is wrong at its core, when nobody can safely change the code, or when the product has changed so much that little of the old app will survive. Our guide to whether you should refactor or rebuild an AI-built app gives a scorecard to decide.
How long does it take to fix an AI-built app?
It depends on the app. On the Starter plan an engineer starts on a change within up to two business days of it being submitted; on Growth, time to action is instant. That is when work starts, not a promise of when everything is finished.
For scale, three of our case studies state a build time: Bell took 27 working days, Looph 28 and Ekko 36. Those were full production builds, not small fixes. Looph is live in production; Bell and Ekko are pre-launch. A small internal tool can need far less; an app with payments, teams and sensitive data needs more.
What do you get from a rescue?
- An architecture review of what exists, to start; the Starter plan includes one a month.
- Fixes as changes to your product: no per-change fee and no ticket quota, prioritised with you.
- Checks on every change: regression testing, visual regression testing, code review and security checks before it reaches production. Our guide on how to test an AI-built app explains what tests like these cover.
- Releases: on Starter, two production deployments a week; on Growth, continuous deployment.
- Someone watching it: monitoring of uptime, errors and performance around the clock. On Starter, up to five emergency production events a month with business-hours support; on Growth, unlimited events and 24/7 support.
- Ownership: the code, the data and the infrastructure belong to you. If you stop, we hand over the repositories, infrastructure and documentation.
And if you built it in Lovable, you keep working the way you do now. Your team keeps prompting and redesigning in Lovable; when a version is ready, our engineers build it into the real product, test it, release it and sync the live result back to Lovable.
How much does a vibe coding rescue cost?
You do not buy developer hours from us, and there is no per-change fee. There is no separate audit or one-off rescue: the architecture review and the fixes are part of the subscription, and the review starts as soon as the subscription starts. The Starter plan is $2,999 a month billed yearly, or $3,999 month to month, and Growth is priced per product. Full details are on our pricing page.
A freelancer or a fixed-price rescue sprint suits a known, bounded problem, such as a single broken integration, when nobody needs to run the app afterwards. They are often the cheaper choice for that. Our guide to hiring a Lovable developer compares those options.
Frequently asked questions
What is vibe coding rescue?
Vibe coding rescue is engineering work that makes an app built with AI tools such as Lovable safe for real users. It reviews what exists, then closes the gaps a prototype leaves, such as missing access rules, exposed secrets and unconfirmed payments, and adds tests so the fixes hold.
Can you fix a Lovable app that is already live?
Yes. We start with an architecture review of what exists, build around it, and connect your team's Lovable workspace so you keep prompting there while our engineers make each version real in production.
Do you only fix Lovable apps?
We specialise in taking apps built in Lovable to production and running them, and our plans are built around your team prompting in Lovable. The risks on this page are not unique to Lovable: the same checks apply to any app with a database, sign-in and payments. If yours was built another way, say so when you get in touch.
Will you rewrite my app from scratch?
Not by default. We start with an architecture review of what exists and build around it, keeping what works, such as the screens and flows your users already know. On Zulu the client's prototype screens were kept and the system underneath was rebuilt.
Who owns the code after a rescue?
You do. The real product, its code, its data and its infrastructure belong to you. If you stop the subscription, we hand over the repositories, infrastructure and documentation and support the transition.
Do you sell a one-off audit or rescue sprint?
No. There is no separate audit or one-off rescue: the architecture review and the fixes are part of the subscription. The architecture review starts as soon as the subscription starts.
How quickly do your engineers start on a fix?
On the Starter plan, an engineer starts on a submitted change within up to two business days; on Growth, time to action is instant. That is when work starts, not a promise of when the whole change is finished.
From our work
Zulu
The client's prototype screens kept and the system underneath rebuilt; 792 automated test cases. Pre-launch.
Looph
Row-level security on all 172 tables; 10,387 automated tests passing in CI, up from 1,152 at handover. Live in production.
Ekko
Designed in Lovable, on the Plutonapps Starter plan; queue stress-tested with 25,000 synthetic entries and no reward sent twice.
Terms on this page
Related comparisons and guides
- Lovable app not working in production? How to make it production-ready — Why apps that work in preview break with real users, the checks that make one production-ready, and who keeps it running.
- Lovable app security checklist: is your app secure? — A checklist for RLS, keys, payments and monitoring, with a way to verify each item, and what CVE-2025-48757 means for you.
- How to hire a Lovable developer (and what it costs) — Freelancers, Lovable partner agencies and engineering subscriptions compared on cost, scope and who runs the app afterwards.
- Agency vs freelancer vs in-house developer vs subscription — Four ways to get a product engineered, compared on cost, speed, risk and who runs it after launch, including when each is the better fit.
- Plans and pricing
Sources
Every outside fact on this page was checked against the linked source on 30 September 2026. Prices and plans change; follow the links for the current figures.