Keeping It Alive

Keeping It Alive

The Post-Launch Guide for Vibe Coders Who Shipped
by Thomas DeGan

You shipped.

That moment of relief, pride, and adrenaline is real. You did what most people never do. You finished and launched a real product. But once the launch tweets fade and the dashboard lights up, a harder question appears.

Now what?

Keeping It Alive is about the part of software development no one celebrates and few books explain. What it takes to keep a real product alive after launch.

This is not a book about frameworks, syntax, or shipping faster. It is about operating software in the real world. When users arrive, incidents happen, data grows, costs creep up, and your own energy becomes a limiting factor.

Written for solo developers, indie founders, and AI-assisted vibe coders, this book bridges the gap between "it works" and "it keeps working."

Inside, you will learn how to:

• Survive the chaotic first 90 days after launch without burning out
• See what is actually happening in production and where you are blind
• Handle your first real incident calmly without making things worse
• Turn noisy user feedback into signal instead of stress
• Make deployments boring, recoverable, and safe
• Treat security as an ongoing posture, not a checkbox
• Manage technical debt before it quietly owns you
• Scale only when it matters and avoid premature complexity
• Build sustainable habits as a solo operator or small team
• Use AI as a force multiplier without outsourcing judgment

This book is grounded in decades of real production experience. It focuses on mindset, decision-making, and practical frameworks. These are the things you only learn by staying with a system long enough to feel the consequences of your choices.

If From Vibe Coding to Production helped you ship, Keeping It Alive helps you stay.

Because shipping was not the finish line.
It was the beginning.