From Lovable prototype to production: a 12-point launch checklist
Built your app with Lovable, Bolt or v0? Twelve checks to run before real users arrive, covering security, payments, errors, speed, backups and deployments.
By Code Rivals · 12 November 2026 · 5 min read
Key takeaways
- Move the code to your own GitHub repository and hosting.
- Check security and payments before features.
- Add error tracking so you hear about problems before users complain.
- Set up backups and a staging environment before launch day.
Prototype and production are different jobs
Tools like Lovable, Bolt and v0 are excellent for proving an idea. Production is different: real payments, real personal data, and users who click things in an order nobody tested. This checklist covers what we check first when founders bring us an AI-built app before launch.
The 12-point checklist
Tick every one of these before you invite paying users:
- Code is in your own GitHub repository, not only inside the AI tool
- Database row level security is on and tested with two user accounts
- No secret keys are visible in the browser or in the repository
- Sign up, login, password reset and email verification all work end to end
- Payments are confirmed by webhooks on the server, not only by the browser
- Error tracking (for example Sentry) is installed and sends alerts
- Forms validate input on the server, not just in the browser
- Pages load quickly on a mid-range phone over 4G
- Database backups are enabled and you have tried restoring one
- There is a staging environment for testing changes before they go live
- Privacy policy and terms match what the app actually does with data
- Someone other than the AI has read the most important code paths
What usually goes wrong
In our reviews, the most common problems are open database tables, payments marked as complete before the money arrives, and errors that are silently swallowed. All three are fixable in days, not months, once you know where to look.
Launching soon? Get a pre-launch review.
Fix my vibe-coded app