Taking over a half-built app.

A developer stops replying. A freelancer takes a full-time job. An agency relationship goes sour. You're left with something half-finished and no clear idea of what it's worth.

Before you hire anyone to continue, find out what you actually have.

• The source code. Ask for the repository (GitHub, GitLab or similar) to be transferred to you, or at least a full copy.
• Every account: domain, hosting, database, app store, payment gateway, email and SMS services.
• Passwords and keys for anything the app connects to.
• Any designs, documents or notes about how it was built.

Do this before anything else, while people are still reachable.

Ask a developer you trust (not one who's hoping to rebuild everything) to look at:

• Does it run? Can they set it up and start it on their machine?
• Which parts actually work, and which are only screens with nothing behind them?
• Is the code readable, or will every change be a fight?
• Are there obvious security problems, like passwords stored in plain text?
• Are the tools and libraries current, or badly out of date?

Rebuilding feels clean, but it throws away work you paid for. Continuing feels cheaper, but bad foundations make every later feature slower.

A rough rule: if the core flow works and the code is understandable, finish it. If it doesn't run, or the reviewer can't follow it, a rebuild of the core is often faster. Reusing designs, content and whatever logic is sound saves a lot either way.

Whoever takes over, keep the code and accounts in your name, ask for working demos regularly, and make sure more than one person understands how the product works. That's what protects you next time.