What to Do If Your Developer Disappears
A survival guide for founders ghosted mid-build.
Your app was almost done. Then the developer stopped responding. No handoff. No documentation. Just silence.
You’re not alone—and you're not stuck. This guide shows you how to get control, preserve your progress, and reboot your project with minimal loss.
🚨 First, a Cautionary Tale
A founder hired a developer overseas to build a social app. Payments were made, screenshots looked promising, and they were told “it’s launching next week.”
Then the emails stopped. No GitHub access. No credentials. No way to run the code. The app was gone—and they had nothing to show for six months of work.
They came to me to rebuild it from scratch. That should never have happened.
✅ Step 1: Secure the Source Code — Today
Do this even if the dev is still active. Don’t wait.
- Ask for GitHub (or GitLab/Bitbucket) access now
- Clone the repo or download a ZIP copy
- Push it to your own GitHub org or backup folder
📌 If you don’t have the source code, you don’t own your app. Period.
🔑 Step 2: Take Control of Your Credentials
Make sure you own the keys to the kingdom:
- App Store / Google Play developer accounts
- Firebase, AWS, Vercel, or hosting platforms
- Stripe, Twilio, SendGrid, etc.
- DNS/domain registration
- Any CI/CD or deployment pipeline
🛑 Warning: If the developer owns your Firebase or Stripe account, they can shut you down or walk away with your users’ data.
🧾 Step 3: Download Everything
Before they disappear:
- Figma files, PDFs, Loom walkthroughs
- Contracts or invoices
- Screenshots, mocks, or diagrams
- Video screen recordings of walkthroughs
Even if you don’t know how to use it, save it. A future developer can.
🔐 Step 4: Change the Passwords If Needed
- Revoke GitHub permissions
- Change Firebase, hosting, and domain passwords
- Disable access tokens or SSH keys
🛠 Step 5: Get a Developer to Audit the Codebase
If you have a code folder but don’t know what’s in it:
- Ask a trusted dev (like me) to assess what’s usable
- Determine whether it's salvageable or needs a full rewrite
- Don’t assume a build folder or testflight binary = source code
🧭 Step 6: Reboot With a Transparent Dev
Here’s how I protect my clients:
- You get access to GitHub from day 1
- You get weekly updates and a live staging link
- All accounts are created under your name
- You own everything—forever
💡 Bonus: Red Flags Your Dev Might Ghost You
- They avoid giving GitHub access
- They only send builds, not source code
- They don’t document anything
- They keep pushing deadlines without showing commits
- They won’t sign a contract or NDA
📥 Want a Recovery Checklist PDF?
Need to forward this to a cofounder or investor?
👉 Download the Developer Disaster Recovery Checklist
🔚 Final Word
If your dev ghosts you without handing over the code, you’re starting from zero.
Don’t wait for that moment. Lock down your assets today—even if everything seems fine.
👉 Talk to me about recovering or taking over your app project