Free checklist
Developer gone? The 72-hour emergency checklist.
The first three days decide whether you keep control of your system. These twelve steps secure everything before accounts lapse, keys leak, or a well-meaning helper deletes the wrong thing. The first four are below — the full PDF is free.
The 12-step emergency checklist
Steps 1–4 are shown in full because they are the most urgent. Enter your email to receive the complete checklist as a free PDF.
- 1
Secure your domain name
Log into the registrar account today. Renew the domain for the longest period available, enable auto-renew and account lock, and change the contact email to one you control. Losing the domain means losing everything built on it.
- 2
Take over hosting and servers
Gain admin access to the hosting provider, or at minimum put your own payment method on the account so nothing is deleted for non-payment. Do not change any settings yet — just secure access.
- 3
Get a copy of the source code
Ask the developer to transfer the repository to an account you own. If there is no reply, download the latest code from the repo host or pull what is deployed on the server. Any copy is better than none.
- 4
Secure payment gateways
Take control of payment providers (Stripe, PayPal, app stores, subscription billing). Rotate passwords and API credentials so funds and customer data flow only to accounts you control.
- 5
Email and transactional mail accounts
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- 6
Third-party API keys and secrets
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- 7
Backups and database exports
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- 8
DNS and CDN settings
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- 9
Analytics and monitoring accounts
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- 10
App store and marketplace listings
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- 11
Contracts, invoices and payment records
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- 12
Document everything for the next developer
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Get the full checklist as a free PDF
Enter your work email and we will send the complete 12-step checklist, including the recovery email templates to send your developer.
Which situation are you in?
My freelancer disappeared
Stop chasing replies. Recover your accounts in 72 hours, then get a written takeover assessment.
Read the guideMy app was vibe-coded
Built fast with AI tools and now nobody can change it safely. We stabilize AI-generated systems.
Read the guideThere's no documentation
No handover, no notes, no developer. We reverse-engineer the system and write the Handover Pack.
Read the guideCommon questions
What should I do in the very first hour?
Steps one and two: secure the domain and the hosting account. Everything else can be recovered later, but an expired domain or a deleted server may be unrecoverable.
Is the checklist really free?
Yes. Enter your email and we send the PDF — no payment, no obligation. We publish it because most abandoned projects are recoverable if the first 72 hours go right.
What happens after the 72 hours?
Once access is secured, the next question is who maintains the system. That is what our takeover assessment answers: a vetted expert reads the system and gives you a written verdict and a fixed quote.
Checklist done? Get the system assessed
Once your accounts are safe, post a takeover assessment — a fixed-price written verdict within 3–5 business days.