AI-Codebase Rescue

Your team shipped fast with AI. Now it's unmaintainable. We untangle AI-generated and legacy codebases — often to a clean deployment in about a week. Senior architect rescue, not a rewrite.

What You Get

  • Untangle AI-generated code that no one on the team fully understands anymore
  • Kill duplicated logic and the copy-paste sprawl that breaks on every change
  • Add the architecture that was never there — clear boundaries, real separation of concerns
  • Get tests around the parts that matter so changes stop being terrifying
  • Unify mixed stacks (Python + Node, three frameworks, two state libraries) into one coherent system
  • Often to a working, deployable build in about a week — not a six-month rewrite
  • Your team keeps shipping while we work — we refactor incrementally, in production
  • Works with your stack (TypeScript, Node, Next.js, Python, F#, Rust)
  • You keep the codebase, with patterns your team can actually follow

Duration

Flexible (often ~1 week to first clean deploy; project-based or retainer)

Price

Custom (contact for a scoped quote)

The mess we fix

You shipped fast with AI. It worked. Then it stopped working — and now nobody’s sure why.

This is the most common engagement we take, and the symptoms are always the same:

  • No architecture. Everything talks to everything. There are no boundaries, so every change ripples somewhere unexpected.
  • Duplicated logic. The same rule is implemented in five places, slightly differently. Fix one, miss four.
  • No tests. Or tests that test nothing. Every deploy is a held breath.
  • Sprawl. Single files thousands of lines long. Functions that do nine things. You can’t find anything.
  • Mixed-stack chaos. Python here, Node there, two frameworks, three state libraries — none of it chosen on purpose.

None of this is a moral failure. It’s what “vibe coding” produces: AI-generated-by-feel code that works until it doesn’t. The fix isn’t less AI. It’s the same AI, with architecture that survives.

How the rescue works

We start by reading the code, not by pitching a rewrite. Rewrites throw away every hard-won fix buried in what you have. We don’t do that.

We map where it actually breaks, then untangle incrementally — in production, while your team keeps shipping. We fix the things slowing you down right now first, then put real structure underneath: clear boundaries, deduplicated logic, tests around what matters.

Because we know exactly where AI-generated code tends to break, we move fast. The first clean, deployable build is usually days, not months.

This isn’t our first tangle

The tangles used to be human-made. We rescued and scaled a complex F# finance-modeling platform for Phosphor in the UK, and migrated a sprawling React codebase into a clean monorepo for ICFM in Switzerland. Same instinct, same scars — now applied to AI-made messes, faster.

If you want to see what good looks like when it’s built right from the start, look at the products we build and run.

Ready to untangle it?

We start with a real look at your codebase and a realistic plan forward — what breaks, what to fix first, and how fast we can get you to a clean deploy.

Book an architecture call and let’s talk.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does an AI-codebase rescue actually involve?

We read your real code, map where it breaks (duplicated logic, missing boundaries, no tests, sprawling files, mixed stacks), and untangle it incrementally — in production. We fix what's slowing you down first, then put real architecture underneath. You often have a clean, deployable build in about a week.

How can you get to deployment in a week? That sounds too fast.

Because we've done this for years and we know exactly where AI-generated code breaks — the same failure modes show up again and again. We're not rewriting from scratch; we're surgically untangling what's there. The first clean deploy is usually days, not months. Larger systems take longer, but you see progress fast.

Will you rewrite everything from scratch?

No. Rewrites are how projects die. We refactor incrementally on the existing codebase so production stays stable and your team keeps shipping. A rewrite throws away every hard-won fix buried in the current code — we keep those and remove the chaos around them.

Our code was mostly AI-generated and nobody fully understands it. Can you still help?

That's the typical case. AI-generated code that 'works' but no one can explain is exactly what we untangle. We reverse-engineer the intent, name the failure modes, and rebuild the structure so it's legible again — for humans and for the AI tools you'll keep using on it.

Do you only work with specific tech stacks?

We work with TypeScript, Node, Next.js, Python, F#, Rust, and more. Mixed stacks are common in vibe-coded projects, and unifying them is often part of the rescue. Architecture principles — boundaries, dependency direction, testability — transcend the language.

What happens after the rescue?

You get a codebase your team can maintain, plus the patterns to keep it that way. Many clients continue on a retainer (see Fractional AI Architect) for ongoing reviews as they scale, but there's no lock-in — the whole point is that you can carry it yourself.

Book an architecture call →