How does a rescue start?

With a fixed-price assessment: I review the code and tell you what you've got, what's broken, what it'll take to fix, and roughly what it'll cost. No commitment to the full job.

Services / Project rescue & recovery

Project rescue & recovery

Rescue for broken, stalled and abandoned software projects.

Q: Can you take over a project another developer started?

Yes. Taking over part-finished or abandoned work is a large part of what I do. I assess what exists, tell you honestly what's salvageable, and pick up from there.

Q: What if the code was generated by AI and is a mess?

Common and fixable. AI-generated builds often demo well but break under real use. I stabilise the data and core flows first, then keep what works and rebuild only the parts that can't be trusted.

Q: Will I have to start again from scratch?

Usually not. Most projects have salvageable parts. I only recommend rebuilding what genuinely can't be saved, and I'll tell you straight if starting over is actually the cheaper option.

A half-finished build, a developer who went quiet, or an AI-generated codebase that fell over the moment real users touched it. I assess what you've actually got, stabilise it, and get it to something dependable — honestly, and without the blame.

Get a fixed-price assessment →How rescue works

Where this goesBroken→Stabilised→Shipped & running

Sound familiar?

The usual reasons people get in touch.

If one or two of these ring true, this is exactly the kind of work I take on.

Your developer went quiet, raised their price, or disappeared mid-project.

An AI-generated or no-code build looked great in the demo, then broke under real users.

The project is over budget, behind schedule, and you've lost confidence it'll ever land.

Nobody dares touch the code because every change breaks something else.

You've got a pile of code and no idea what's actually finished or working.

It "works on my machine" but falls apart the moment it hits real data.

What I do

Assess, stabilise, recover — in that order.

No drama, no rewriting everything for the sake of it. I keep what works and fix what doesn't.

→An honest assessmentWhat you actually have, what's broken, what's salvageable, and what it'll realistically take. In plain English, not a 40-page report.
→Stabilisation firstStop the bleeding — the data, logins and core flows that have to work before anything else does.
→Completion or targeted rebuildFinish it properly, or rebuild only the parts that genuinely can't be trusted. Never a rebuild for its own sake.
→A clean handoverDocumented, stable and maintainable — so it doesn't end up back in this state in six months.

Start with a fixed-price assessment.

Before you commit to anything, I'll review what you've got and give you a straight answer: what's wrong, what it'll take to fix, and roughly what it'll cost. Low risk, no obligation to go further.

Book an assessment →

How rescue works

Four steps from "it's a mess" to "it's running".

Assess

A fixed-price audit of the code, data and what's actually finished.

Stabilise

Fix the critical, business-stopping problems first so it's safe to use.

Recover

Complete the unfinished work, or rebuild the parts that can't be saved.

Hand over

Documented, stable, and supported — with the option to keep me on.

Rescue in practice

Questions

Common questions about rescue work.

Can you take over a project another developer started?

Yes — it's a large part of what I do. I assess what exists, tell you honestly what's salvageable, and pick up from there. You don't need the original developer's cooperation, though anything they can hand over helps.

What if the code was generated by AI and is a mess?

Common, and fixable. AI-generated builds often look complete but have inconsistent data handling, fragile auth, and logic that falls apart under real use. I stabilise the foundations first, keep what's sound, and rebuild only what can't be trusted.

Will I have to start again from scratch?

Usually not. Most projects have plenty worth keeping. I only recommend rebuilding what genuinely can't be saved — and if starting over really is the cheaper, safer route, I'll tell you that plainly rather than bill you for propping up something doomed.

How quickly can you get it stable?

It depends on the state of things, but stabilisation — making it safe to use — usually comes well before full completion. The assessment gives you a realistic timeline before you commit to anything.

What does a rescue cost?

It starts with a fixed-price assessment so there are no surprises. After that, you get a clear scope and price for the actual work. You'll always know the cost before it's incurred.

Send me what you've got. I'll tell you straight.

No judgement about how it got this way — just an honest read on whether it can be saved and what it'll take.

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