Common Issues
deployment
Environment Variables Not Working in Production
Your app works perfectly on your local machine or in the AI tool's preview, but in production it fails. The cause is almost always missing or misconfigured environment variables — API keys, database URLs, and secrets that the app needs to function.
Common Causes
- Environment variables not set in the hosting platform (Vercel, Netlify, Railway, Render)
- Variable names are different between .env file and hosting platform
- The .env file was committed to git with wrong values for production
- Environment variables not available at build time (some frameworks require this)
- The app reads from process.env but the hosting platform uses a different mechanism
How to Fix It
- List all variables in your .env file and verify each one is set in your hosting platform
- Check that variable names match exactly (they're case-sensitive)
- Some frameworks require env vars prefixed with NEXT_PUBLIC_ or VITE_ to be available in the browser
- After adding env vars, redeploy — most platforms require a redeploy for changes to take effect
- Check deployment logs for messages about missing configuration
Real developers can help you.
Dor Yaloz
SW engineer with 6+ years of experience,
I worked with React/Node/Python
did projects with React+Capacitor.js for ios
Supabase expert
Jacek Rozanski
Senior PHP/Symfony developer and DevOps engineer with 20+ years of professional experience, running opcode.pl (web development agency, est. 2004).
Day job: I'm the sole backend developer at merketing company where I own and maintain 11 PHP/Symfony microservices on AWS (ECS Fargate, RDS, S3, CloudFront), handle the full CI/CD pipeline (Bitbucket Pipelines, Docker), and manage monitoring with Sentry and CloudWatch. These services handle high request volumes in production every month.
What I bring to AI-built apps:
- I audit and fix security issues (OWASP methodology), performance bottlenecks, and architectural problems in codebases generated by Cursor, Claude Code, Lovable, Bolt, and v0
- I refactor AI-generated prototypes into production-grade applications with proper error handling, testing, and clean architecture (SOLID, DDD, hexagonal architecture)
- I set up the infrastructure AI tools don't touch: AWS hosting, CI/CD pipelines, automated deployments, database optimization, monitoring, and alerting
- I integrate external services: payment providers, email systems, partner APIs, SSO/auth
Tech stack: PHP 8.x, Symfony, React, Next.js, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Docker, AWS (ECS, RDS, S3, SQS/SNS, CloudFront), Terraform, Supabase. I also use AI tools daily (Claude Code, Cursor) in my own workflow, so I understand both the strengths and the gaps in AI-generated code.
Based in Poland (CET timezone). Available for async work and calls during EU/US business hours.
hanson1014
Full-stack developer experienced in fixing and deploying AI-generated apps from Lovable, Bolt.new, Cursor, and Replit. I specialize in debugging Supabase integration issues (auth flows, RLS policies, database connections), fixing broken deployments, resolving routing/blank screen problems, and cleaning up messy React/Vite codebases. I also build production apps with the Claude API and have shipped a Mac desktop dev tool (Nexterm from scratch. Based in Hong Kong, fast turnaround.
ISHANTDEEP SINGH
Senior Software Engineer with 7+ years of experience in React, JavaScript, TypeScript, Next.js, and Node.js. I’ve also worked as a tech lead for startups, owning end-to-end technical execution including architecture, development, scaling, and delivery. I bring a strong mix of hands-on coding, product thinking, and technical leadership, and I’m comfortable building products from scratch as well as improving and scaling existing systems.
Yovel Cohen
I got a lot of experience in building Long-horizon AI Agents in production, Backend apps that scale to millions of users and frontend knowledge as well.
BurnHavoc
Been around fixing other peoples code for 20 years.
Franck Plazanet
I am a Strategic Engineering Leader with over 8 years of experience building high-availability enterprise systems and scaling high-performing technical teams. My focus is on bridging the gap between complex technology and business growth.
Core Expertise:
🚀 Leadership: Managing and coaching teams of 15+ engineers, fostering a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
🏗️ Architecture: Enterprise Core Systems, Multi-system Integration (ERP/API/ETL), and Core Database Structure.
☁️ Cloud & Scale: AWS Expert; architected systems handling 10B+ monthly requests and managing 100k+ SKUs.
📈 Business Impact: Aligning tech strategy with P&L goals to drive $70k+ in monthly recurring revenue.
I thrive on "out-of-the-box" thinking to solve complex technical bottlenecks and am always looking for ways to use automation to improve business productivity.
Anthony Akpan
Developer with 8 years of experience building softwares fro startups
Jared Hasson
Full time lead founding dev at a cyber security saas startup, with 10 yoe and a bachelor's in CS. Building & debugging software products is what I've spent my time on for forever
Jaime Orts-Caroff
I'm a Senior Android developer, open to work in various fields
Describe what's wrong in plain English. No technical knowledge needed.
Get HelpFrequently Asked Questions
The app works on my computer but not after deploy. Is it env vars?
Very likely. This is the #1 cause of 'works locally, breaks in production'. Check that all environment variables from your .env file are set in your hosting platform.
I set the env vars but it still doesn't work. What else could it be?
Make sure you redeployed after adding them. Also check that the variable names match exactly (case-sensitive) and that any framework-required prefixes are included.