Recover source code after losing your local repository

Take a breath. If your app is still live on Vercel, your source may be recoverable. Do not make the situation worse by pushing empty deployments on top of good ones.

Step 1: Stop overwriting deployments

Do not run vercel --prod from an empty or broken local folder. Each new production deploy can become the “latest” backup target. Pause CI/CD if it auto-deploys from a corrupted repo.

Step 2: Find your last good deployment

In the Vercel dashboard, open your project → Deployments. Identify the last Ready production deployment from before the data loss. Note the deployment ID if you need a specific preview — or use the latest production deployment.

Step 3: Create a scoped API token

Go to vercel.com/account/tokens and create a token limited to the team that owns the project. Read our token security guide for scope details.

Step 4: Run Vercel Recovery

• Sign in (required) — new accounts get 20 free tokens
• Open the Recovery Console and paste your Vercel token
• Enter team slug and project name (from your Vercel URL)
• Run a free scan to see file count and preview paths
• Start recover if you have enough tokens — or buy a pack first, then Start recover
• Re-init git locally after download

Step 5: Revoke the token

Delete the API token in Vercel settings immediately after a successful download. Reconnect GitHub (or another remote) before your next deploy so this never happens again.