Rescue · Takeover
App rescue for the codebase nobody wants to open.
The previous team is gone, the build is broken and the last release was a year ago. That is a normal starting point, not a disqualifier.
Stack
01Method
How a takeover starts.
An honest assessment first. Rewriting is sometimes right, but it is almost never the first answer.
- Codebase assessment
- We read the code, get it building, and write down what is salvageable, what is load-bearing and what is quietly broken.
- A shipping release, early
- The first goal is a build that signs, passes review and reaches users. Confidence comes from a release, not a report.
- Then the backlog
- Crashes, OS compatibility, dependency debt and performance, in the order that changes user-visible behaviour fastest.
02Common cases
What we usually find.
The pattern repeats across inherited projects.
- Expired everything
- Certificates, provisioning profiles, store access and API keys held by someone who left. This is the first day's work.
- Unbuildable toolchain
- A project pinned to an Xcode or Gradle version that no longer runs, with dependencies that no longer resolve.
- Target-SDK deadlines
- Apps at risk of being delisted because they missed a Play target-SDK requirement or an App Store compliance deadline.
03FAQ
App rescue: common questions.
Should we rewrite or rescue?
Rescue first in most cases. A rewrite discards working business logic and every edge case the old team learned the hard way, and it usually takes longer than the estimate. We recommend a rewrite only when the assessment shows the architecture blocks the roadmap.
We've lost access to our App Store or Play account. Can you help?
Yes — account recovery, transfer and re-signing are a standard part of a takeover. Bring whatever documentation you have and we will work the process with you.
How do you price a rescue?
The assessment is scoped and priced on its own, because nobody can quote a fix before reading the code. The work that follows is priced afterwards, as a project or a retainer.
04Related
Related capabilities.
Most engagements touch more than one of these.
App maintenance
Continuous delivery on an app that already exists: features, OS migrations, crash triage and the performance work nobody schedules.
iOS app development
Swift and SwiftUI, current-generation Apple frameworks, and a release you own end to end. No wrappers, no WebView shortcuts.
App Store submission
Signing, metadata, privacy disclosures, review correspondence and rejections. The unglamorous week that decides whether anything launches.
Tell us what you're building.
Send the rough version. A senior engineer reads every brief and replies within one business day.