Why your AI-built app keeps breaking, and how to steady it

If every change you ask Lovable, Replit, Bolt or another AI tool for breaks something else, your app has outgrown the way it’s being built. The AI is changing code it can’t fully see, and nothing checks the result before you do. I steady apps like this: find what works, put automatic checks around the main features, and fix what’s broken.

The problem

• You fix one screen, and another one breaks.
• A bug you fixed last week is back.
• You spend more time checking the app than building it.
• You’re afraid to change anything before a demo or a launch.

Why it happens

As an app grows, the AI tool works on one part at a time, and can’t see what else depends on it. Nothing checks the whole app after each change, so you’re the only test, and you can’t check everything every time.

What I do

• Take stock. I go through the app and list what works, what’s half-built and what’s broken.
• Put checks around the main features. Logging in, saving, paying, whatever matters most in your app. They run after every change, so a change that breaks something is caught straight away, not by a customer.
• Fix what’s broken, starting with what matters most to you.

Then one of two things, depending on where the app is:

• Still a prototype: you keep building with the AI tool, with the checks in place.
• Real users about to rely on it: I rebuild it properly, with your prototype as the specification. See how much it costs to turn a vibe-coded prototype into a real app.

How we start

1. You send a link to the app, the code if you have it, and what keeps breaking.
2. I go through it and send you a written list of what I found and what I’d do.
3. We agree whether to steady it or rebuild it, and I start.

FAQ

Should I stop using AI coding tools? No. With checks in place, they’re a fast way to keep building. Ask for one small change at a time.

Can you fix it without starting over? Often, while it’s still a prototype. Once real people’s data is going in, a rebuild is usually the safer path.

When is it time to bring in a developer? See when to hire a developer for your Lovable, Replit or Bolt app.