How we run it
Someone else
started it.
A developer went quiet. An agency delivered something that almost works. A contractor left and nobody can deploy. We pick these up regularly, and the first thing we do is tell you the truth about what you have.
This is a normal way for us to start an engagement, not an awkward one. You are not the first person to call about a repository nobody can build.
What we do first
A fixed-price audit, typically $2,000 to $5,000 depending on size, delivered in one to two weeks. You get a written assessment you own, whether or not you continue with us.
- Can it be built and deployed from a clean machine? Surprisingly often, no.
- What is the actual state of it — percentage complete against what you were told.
- Security and data handling: what is exposed, what is logged, what is stored in plain text.
- What it would cost to finish versus what it would cost to restart.
- Whether you own it: licences, repository access, domains, DNS, the cloud account.
We will tell you to start over when that is the answer
Sometimes the right advice is that the existing code is not worth the cost of understanding it. We say so, with the reasoning, even though a rebuild is the smaller and less profitable engagement of the two.
More often the honest answer is in between: the data model is sound and the interface is not, or the app is fine and the infrastructure underneath it is the problem. That is a much better place to start than either extreme.
Get your accounts back first
Before anything technical: make sure the domain, the DNS, the cloud account, the app store listings and the repository are in your name. This is the part that becomes genuinely difficult once a relationship has ended badly, and it is worth doing today even if you never call us.
Questions people actually ask
We have lost contact with our developer. What can we do?
Secure the accounts you can still reach — domain registrar, DNS, cloud hosting, app store, source control — and change the credentials. Then get whatever code you have access to audited. Most of the recoverable damage in this situation is administrative rather than technical, and it gets worse with time.
Will you take over a project you did not build?
Yes, regularly. We audit it first at a fixed price so that both of us are deciding with real information. We do not take over a codebase sight unseen, because that is how you end up quoting for a project that turns out to be a rewrite.
How much does the audit cost?
Typically $2,000 to $5,000 depending on the size of the system, delivered in one to two weeks. The written assessment is yours regardless of what you do next, including taking it to another firm.
Can you work with the original developer?
If they are still available and willing, a handover conversation saves everyone weeks and we will happily set one up. If they are not, we work from the code — which is the situation most of the time.
What if the code turns out to be unusable?
We tell you, in writing, with the reasoning. Then we quote the rebuild honestly, and we point out anything worth salvaging — the data model, the design work, the integrations. It is rare that nothing survives.
Tell us what you are trying to ship.
A real technical opinion back within two business days — not a sales call.