Common Issues data

I Lost All My App's Data

Your worst nightmare just happened — all the data in your app is gone. User accounts, orders, content, everything. The app might still load, but it's like starting from scratch. All the data your business depends on has vanished.

Data loss can happen in several ways: the database was accidentally deleted, a bad code update wiped tables clean, your free tier expired and the provider deleted your data, or someone with access (malicious or accidental) ran a delete command.

The first thing to know is: don't panic, and don't make changes to anything yet. In many cases, data can be partially or fully recovered — but only if you act quickly and don't overwrite the remnants.

Error Messages You Might See

Table does not exist Relation 'users' does not exist 404 - Resource not found No data to display Database connection refused Project has been paused
Table does not existRelation 'users' does not exist404 - Resource not foundNo data to displayDatabase connection refusedProject has been paused

Common Causes

  • Free tier database expired — Services like Supabase, Firebase, or Heroku delete databases after a period of inactivity on free plans
  • Accidental deletion — Someone ran a delete or drop command without a WHERE clause, wiping entire tables instead of specific rows
  • Bad migration — A database schema change (migration) went wrong and dropped tables or columns with data
  • No backups configured — There were never any automatic backups set up, so there's nothing to restore from
  • Hosting provider data loss — Rare, but hosting providers can have their own failures that affect your data

How to Fix It

  1. Don't make any changes yet — Stop all deployments and code changes. You don't want to overwrite any recoverable data
  2. Check if backups exist — Look in your database provider's dashboard for automatic backups, point-in-time recovery, or snapshots
  3. Check if the data is really gone — Sometimes the app loses connection to the database but the data is still there. Verify by logging into your database directly
  4. Contact your database provider — Providers like Supabase, Firebase, and AWS sometimes have recovery options. Reach out to their support immediately
  5. Set up backups going forward — Once you've dealt with the immediate crisis, configure automatic daily backups so this can never happen again
  6. Check if data exists in other places — Email receipts, CSV exports, logs, or cached API responses might have copies of your data

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can deleted data be recovered?

It depends. If your database provider has automatic backups (many paid plans do), you can restore from a recent backup. If you're on a free plan with no backups, recovery is very difficult or impossible. Contact your provider's support team immediately — the sooner the better.

How do I prevent this from happening again?

Set up automatic daily backups through your database provider, use a paid plan that includes backup features, and restrict who has permission to delete data. Also consider keeping regular CSV exports of your most important data as an extra safety net.

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