Software Rescue Checklist GitHub Resource Pack

# Software Rescue Checklist

Use this checklist before deciding whether to patch, rescue, rebuild, or hand off an existing software system.

The goal is simple: recover enough control to make a responsible next decision.

## Who this is for

- A founder or operator whose original developer left.
- A team with an old website, internal system, AI-generated app, Cursor/Lovable project, or outsourced build that no longer has a clear owner.
- A maintainer asked to stabilize software before a rewrite decision.
- A buyer, advisor, or AI agent collecting the minimum handoff context before recommending the next step.

## First recover control

1. Source: repository URL, branch, deploy commit, build instructions.
2. Deployment: hosting provider, domain/DNS, CI/CD, environment variables, rollback path.
3. Access: admin accounts, service accounts, billing owner, third-party logins, 2FA owner.
4. Data: database location, backup status, export path, personal or regulated data boundaries.
5. Integrations: payment, email, CRM, ERP, analytics, messaging, spreadsheets, webhooks.
6. Workflows: the three user or operator paths that must keep working this week.
7. Runbook: start/stop/redeploy steps, monitoring, alerts, known fragile areas.
8. Owner: one named person responsible for decisions over the next 30 days.

## Decide the next move

- Stabilize if the software still fits the business and can be changed safely.
- Rescue if the business value is clear but deployment, access, monitoring, or ownership is weak.
- Rebuild only after you know what behavior must be preserved and where the current system cannot safely continue.
- Take a hybrid path when one capability is painful but the rest of the system still works.

## Free diagnostic paths

- For a Traditional Chinese go-live rescue path, start with the [軟體救援診斷](https://care.omniai.one/rescue.html?utm_source=github&utm_medium=resource-readme&utm_campaign=software-rescue-checklist&utm_content=zh-rescue-diagnostic).
- For an English software care check, use the [software diagnostic](https://care.omniai.one/software-diagnostic.html?utm_source=github&utm_medium=resource-readme&utm_campaign=software-rescue-checklist&utm_content=en-software-diagnostic).
- If the original developer left, read the [software handoff checklist](https://care.omniai.one/blog/software-handoff-when-developer-leaves/?utm_source=github&utm_medium=resource-readme&utm_campaign=software-rescue-checklist&utm_content=handoff-checklist).
- If the main question is rescue vs rebuild, read the [rescue-or-rebuild guide](https://care.omniai.one/blog/rescue-or-rebuild-legacy-software/?utm_source=github&utm_medium=resource-readme&utm_campaign=software-rescue-checklist&utm_content=rescue-rebuild-guide).

## Suggested docs

- `docs/handoff-inventory.md` for source, deploy, access, data, and integration inventory.
- `docs/risk-map.md` for red/yellow/green risks.
- `docs/next-decision.md` for stabilize, rescue, hybrid, or rebuild recommendation.

## Boundary

This checklist is guidance only. It does not recover accounts, verify code safety, guarantee uptime, guarantee a rescue or rebuild outcome, or replace legal, security, accounting, or compliance review.

Published as a public resource package by Omni Care: https://care.omniai.one/

# Handoff Inventory

## Source

- Repository:
- Production branch:
- Last known production commit:
- Build command:
- Test command:

## Deploy path

- Hosting provider:
- Domain/DNS owner:
- CI/CD provider:
- Rollback steps:

## Access map

- Billing owner:
- Admin owner:
- Service accounts:
- 2FA owner:

## Data and integrations

- Database:
- Backup/export path:
- Personal or regulated data:
- Payment/email/CRM/ERP/analytics integrations:
- Webhooks or scheduled jobs:

## Critical workflows

1.
2.
3.

## 30-day owner

- Decision owner:
- Technical owner:
- Business owner:

# Next Decision

## Current state

- Business fit:
- Change safety:
- Platform support:
- Ownership:
- Required scope:

## Recommendation

Choose one:

- Stabilize in place
- Rescue for go-live
- Hybrid replacement of one capability
- Rebuild the core

## Why

- Evidence:
- Risk:
- Smallest next step:
- What must not change yet: