fix guide
How to hire someone to fix a Lovable, Bolt or v0 app
Harjot ·
Your app was built with Lovable, Bolt, v0 or a similar tool. Something important is broken, the builder can't fix it, and you have decided to pay someone. This page is the checklist for doing that well: what to write before you contact anyone, which kind of help to buy, where to find it, what to ask, how to give access without passwords, and how to know you got what you paid for.
I run FixedLaunch, which sells a fixed-price diagnosis and fix for these apps, so I am one of the options. Step 8 says where I fit and where I don't. The rest applies to anyone you hire.
If you are still deciding between a developer and a diagnosis, /guides/hire-a-lovable-developer covers that choice. This page starts after it.
1. Write the problem down before you contact anyone
Ten minutes of writing saves hours of paid time. Every helper starts by asking the same questions, and an hourly helper bills for them.
Write one line for what is broken, in plain words: "New users can't sign up" beats "auth is broken".
Write the steps that make it happen, from opening the live site to the moment it fails. Then write what you expected and what happened instead.
Copy the exact error. Open the live site in a private window, press F12, reload, and copy the first red line in the Console tab. If the deploy fails, copy the first error from the build log.
Add the live URL, the builder you used, the host (Vercel, Netlify, the builder's own hosting) and the database (usually Supabase or Firebase).
List what works. Helpers need to know what they must not break.
signs You can send the whole problem in one message, and a stranger could reproduce it from that message alone.
2. Decide what you are buying
Most help falls into four shapes, and mixing them up is how budgets run away.
A diagnosis: someone looks, finds what is broken and writes a plan. You pay a fixed price and get a written answer. Nothing in your app changes.
A fixed-scope fix: one named flow, a fixed price, and a test you agree before work starts. The job ends when the test passes.
Hourly work: you pay for time. This suits ongoing changes and new features. For a single bug it has no natural end, so ask for a cap.
A rebuild: someone rewrites the app, often off the builder. It costs the most and only makes sense when the app has to grow far past what it is.
If you can name the broken flow, start with a fixed-scope fix. If you can't, start with a diagnosis. Published prices for each shape, with sources, are on the cost page at /fix.
3. Where to look
Builder partner programs. Lovable runs one, described at lovable.dev/partners, with Experts and Solution Partners listed in its Partner Directory. Lovable says partners are independent and it isn't responsible for their services, so vet them like anyone else. For Bolt, v0 and others, ask the builder's support whether a program exists.
Freelancers. Marketplaces and builder community forums have people who fix these apps. Look for someone who has fixed a live app on your builder and your host, and ask to see it.
Rescue agencies and fixed-price services. Several firms now specialize in broken AI-built apps, from small task marketplaces to agencies that quote a few thousand for a rescue. Compare them on scope and test, not only price.
Someone you know who codes. Fine for a small problem, as long as you still write the scope and give access by invite.
Each route has its own page in Vibe coding cleanup: four ways to get a broken app fixed.
4. Questions to ask before you pay
Send your written problem from step 1, then ask:
Can you say back to me, in plain words, what you think is wrong and what you would check first? A good helper can, even before access. Someone who can't explain it to you now won't explain the fix later.
What exactly do I get at the end? A fixed flow, a written plan, a list of changes, a short video? Get it in writing.
How will we both know it is fixed? Agree on a test anyone can run, such as "a new user signs up from a private window, confirms by email and lands on the dashboard".
What access do you need, and can I give it by invite? See step 6.
What happens if you can't fix it? Is any money returned, and when?
How do you avoid breaking what works? Ask if they work on a branch or a copy, and whether they test the flows from your "what works" list.
5. Red flags
They ask for your passwords. You never need to share a password to give someone access to GitHub, Supabase, Vercel or Netlify.
They want to rebuild before they have looked. A rebuild may be right, but nobody can know that before reading the code.
They promise a guaranteed fix before seeing the app. Nobody can promise that honestly. A clear refund rule is worth more.
Hourly billing with no cap and no written scope for a single bug.
They can't explain the problem without jargon after they have looked.
They ask you to turn off Row Level Security or paste a secret key into the frontend to "make it work". Both open your data to anyone. Is my vibe-coded app secure? Seven checks before launch explains why.
6. Give access without sharing passwords
Invite the helper as a member on each tool they need, with their own account. You can remove them when the job ends, and every change has their name on it.
Code: add them as a collaborator on the GitHub repository. If your builder syncs your code to GitHub, that is usually the cleanest way in.
Database: invite them to your Supabase organization or project from its team settings, or to your Firebase project from its users and permissions page.
Host: invite them to the Vercel or Netlify team that owns the project. If your plan has no room for another member, ask the helper what they need to see and share it from the dashboard yourself.
Builder: only if they need it. Many fixes happen in the repo and the database without touching the builder.
Share environment variable names, never values, in chat or email. If a key has to move, the helper reads it inside the tool they were invited to.
When the job is done, remove each invite. If any key was ever pasted into a chat, replace it.
signs Every tool shows the helper as a named member, and nobody has your login.
7. Put the scope and the test in writing
A short message is enough. It should name the flow, the test, the price, what happens if the test can't be met, and the delivery time. For example:
"Fix sign-up on the live site. Test: a new user signs up from a private window, gets the confirmation email, clicks it and lands on /dashboard signed in. Price: fixed. If the test can't be met, the deposit comes back. Delivery: within 5 business days of access."
Anything outside that flow is a new quote. That protects both of you. It stops the job from growing, and it stops a helper from changing things you didn't ask for.
Pay in two parts if you can: some to start, the rest when the test passes.
8. Where FixedLaunch fits
I'm Harjot. I run FixedLaunch alone and do the work myself.
The diagnosis is $149, paid upfront. You get a video of the bug on your live site, what is broken in plain English, and a fix plan you or any developer can follow, with steps to reproduce it, within 48h of access. If I can't reproduce the problem and can't give you a clear next step, you get the full $149 back.
The fix sprint is $750 total with the $149 counted: $301 to start and $300 when the agreed test passes. The deposit comes back if the test can't be met within scope. One sprint covers one flow.
Access is by invite only. No passwords, and during the diagnosis I only look. Builders supported include Lovable, Bolt, v0, Replit, Cursor and Base44.
I don't take iOS or Android apps, medical apps, apps that move or hold money, payment bugs, active hacks or new features. For those, use the questions in step 4 with someone else. The difference between a diagnosis and a fix is in Bug diagnosis vs full fix for an AI-built app.
9. When the work comes back
Run the agreed test yourself, on the live site, in a private window. Not in the builder's preview.
Then run the flows from your "what works" list, to check nothing else broke.
Ask for a short list of what changed and why. If you go back to prompting the builder later, paste that list into the chat so it doesn't undo the fix.
Run the test again the next day. Some fixes only hold until a cache clears or a token expires.
Remove the helper's access, as in step 6.
signs The agreed test passes on the live site twice, a day apart, and the helper's invites are gone.
Test it like a new user
- Your problem fits in one message a stranger could reproduce from.
- You know which of the four kinds of help you are buying.
- The scope, the test, the price and the refund rule are in writing.
- Every helper has their own invite and nobody has your passwords.
- You ran the agreed test yourself on the live site before the final payment.
Common questions
How do I hire someone to fix my Lovable app?
Write the problem down first: what breaks, the steps, the exact error and the live URL. Decide if you need a diagnosis, a fixed-scope fix or hourly work. Then agree a written scope and a test, and give access by invite instead of sharing passwords.
Do I need to share my passwords with someone fixing my app?
No. Invite them as a member on GitHub, Supabase and your host, each with their own account. You can remove them when the job ends. Share the names of environment variables, never their values, and replace any key that was pasted into a chat.
What should a fix agreement for an AI-built app include?
It should name one flow, a test that proves the fix, and the price. Add the delivery time and what happens if the test can't be met. Anything outside that flow is a new quote, which stops the job from growing.
Still stuck?
Not sure this is the cause? Paste your app's link into the free scan. It lists what a visitor's browser can see, like leaked keys and exposed files, worst first. The score is free; every fix as a prompt for your builder is $9, one-time.
Want a person to look inside? See the diagnosis