I’m currently building a voice-activated shopping reminder app called Grabbit, and I’m running into several deployment and reliability issues on Vercel that are making it difficult to move forward.
I need help understanding and resolving the following:
Technical Issues
- Deployment Conflicts & Overwrites
- When attempting to test minor changes (e.g. adjusting geofencing alerts), the Vercel deployment sometimes overwrites or resets significant parts of my app.
- A recent incident caused me to lose nearly two weeks of code because the bot/AI assistant tried to “fix” a bug and redesigned the app instead.
- App Behavior Not Matching Deployed Site
- The version that’s currently deployed and working does not match the versions I see during preview or edit mode.
- I have trouble accessing the exact code running in production through the Vercel dashboard.
- Alert System Not Triggering on Device
- While debug tools confirm that location and store detection work correctly, alerts (buzz/sound notifications) don’t actually trigger on my phone.
- Adding buzz or sound effects to fix this broke functionality completely at one point.
- Confusing File Structure in Vercel
- Inside the
/app
folder are several subfolders. When I open them in Vercel, the code does not update visually, making it hard to back up or understand what’s deployed. - I’m not confident I know how to safely copy/export the entire current state.
What I’ve Tried
- I’ve asked the bot to “restore” the working version, but each time it seems to result in a different version being deployed or rebuilt.
- I exported the live Vercel site’s HTML to try and rebuild manually—but the behavior doesn’t match even with the same files.
What I Need Help With
- How to safely back up the currently deployed version of the PWA (all folders/files).
- Best practice for editing/test deploying without overwriting the working version.
- How to fix geofence-triggered alerts so that they consistently buzz/sound on mobile.
- Clarification on file structure in Vercel – which folder is actually live and how to read/update it confidently.
Final Notes
I’m relatively new to Vercel and PWA deployment. I’m working really hard on this app and just need some guidance to regain control over my project. Any support—step-by-step, tutorials, advice, or mentorship—would mean a lot. I do not code and completely Illiiterate in that regard. (maybe an issue, not going to lie)
I just want to get back to here and fix the alert bug in my v0. https://v0-new-project-u21l1u1b27g.vercel.app/
Thanks in advance for your time and help.
—Rob
Creator of Grabbit