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
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
- Don't make any changes yet — Stop all deployments and code changes. You don't want to overwrite any recoverable data
- Check if backups exist — Look in your database provider's dashboard for automatic backups, point-in-time recovery, or snapshots
- 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
- Contact your database provider — Providers like Supabase, Firebase, and AWS sometimes have recovery options. Reach out to their support immediately
- Set up backups going forward — Once you've dealt with the immediate crisis, configure automatic daily backups so this can never happen again
- Check if data exists in other places — Email receipts, CSV exports, logs, or cached API responses might have copies of your data
Real developers can help you.
Sage Fulcher
Hey I'm Sage! Im a Boston area software engineer who grew up in South Florida. Ive worked at a ton of cool places like a telehealth kidney care startup that took part in a billion dollar merger (Cricket health/Interwell health), a boutique design agency where I got to work on a ton of exciting startups including a photography education app, a collegiate Esports league and more (Philosophie), a data analytics as a service startup in Cambridge (MA) as well as at Phillips and MIT Lincoln Lab where I designed and developed novel network security visualizations and analytics. I've been writing code and furiously devoted to using computers to make people’s lives easier for about 17 years. My degree is in making computers make pretty lights and sounds. Outside of work I love hip hop, the Celtics, professional wrestling, magic the gathering, photography, drumming, and guitars (both making and playing them)
Caio Rodrigues
I'm a full-stack developer focused on building practical and scalable web applications. My main experience is with **React, TypeScript, and modern frontend architectures**, where I prioritize clean code, component reusability, and maintainable project structures.
I have strong experience working with **dynamic forms, state management (Redux / React Hook Form), and complex data-driven interfaces**. I enjoy solving real-world problems by turning ideas into reliable software that companies can actually use in their daily operations.
Beyond coding, I care about **software quality and architecture**, following best practices for componentization, code organization, and performance optimization.
I'm also comfortable working across the stack when needed, integrating APIs, handling business logic, and helping transform prototypes into production-ready systems.
My goal is always to deliver solutions that are **simple, efficient, and genuinely useful for the people using them.**
Richard McSorley
Full-Stack Software Engineer with 8+ years building high-performance applications for enterprise clients. Shipped production systems at Walmart (4,000+ stores), Cigna (20M+ users), and Arkansas Blue Cross. 5 patents in retail/supply chain tech. Currently focused on AI integrations, automation tools, and TypeScript-first architectures.
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.
Tejas Chokhawala
Full-stack engineer with 5 years experience building production web apps using React, Next.js and TypeScript.
Focused on performance, clean architecture and shipping fast.
Experienced with Supabase/Postgres backends, Stripe billing, and building AI-assisted developer tools.
Prakash Prajapati
I’m a Senior Python Developer specializing in building secure, scalable, and highly available systems. I work primarily with Python, Django, FastAPI, Docker, PostgreSQL, and modern AI tooling such as PydanticAI, focusing on clean architecture, strong design principles, and reliable DevOps practices. I enjoy solving complex engineering problems and designing systems that are maintainable, resilient, and built to scale.
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
Jaime Orts-Caroff
I'm a Senior Android developer, open to work in various fields
Anthony Akpan
Developer with 8 years of experience building softwares fro startups
Stanislav Prigodich
15+ years building iOS and web apps at startups and enterprise companies. I want to use that experience to help builders ship real products - when something breaks, I'm here to fix it.
Describe what's wrong in plain English. No technical knowledge needed.
Get HelpFrequently 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.