The pre-launch security checklist for AI-built SaaS apps
Before you launch a SaaS or vibe-coded app, work through this security checklist: enable row-level security on every table, get every secret out of the client, enforce authorization on private routes, add security headers, lock down CORS, add rate limiting, and verify it all on the live deployment. These are the issues that sink AI-built launches — and most are quick to fix once you know to look.
- Who it's for
- Founders launching a SaaS or AI-built app
- Covers
- Database, secrets, auth, headers, CORS, rate limits
- Time to complete
- An afternoon for most MVPs
- Verify with
- Free RLS, secrets, headers and CORS scanners
1. Lock down your database
Enable row-level security on every Supabase table (or proper Firebase/Appwrite rules) so the public anon key can't read or write private data. 'RLS enabled' is not enough — confirm policies are scoped to the owning user and there are no 'allow all' rules. Verify with the free RLS checker.
2. Get every secret out of the client
Service-role keys, Stripe secret keys, and API tokens must live in server-side environment variables only. Anything behind a public prefix (NEXT_PUBLIC_, VITE_) ships to the browser. Scan your live bundle for exposed secrets and rotate anything that leaked.
3. Enforce authentication and authorization
Every private route, API endpoint and admin panel must check that the requester is logged in and allowed to access that specific data. Don't rely on hiding UI elements — the underlying data must be protected server-side.
4. Add security headers and lock down CORS
Set Content-Security-Policy, Strict-Transport-Security, X-Content-Type-Options and X-Frame-Options. Restrict Access-Control-Allow-Origin to trusted origins — never reflect arbitrary origins with credentials. Verify with the free headers and CORS checkers.
5. Add rate limiting and verify on production
Rate-limit auth and expensive endpoints to prevent abuse and scraping. Then re-run every check against the live deployment — staging config often differs from production. When all of it passes, you're cleared to ship.
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Questions
- What's the most important pre-launch security check?
- For AI-built apps, it's database access control — missing or permissive row-level security is the single most common cause of vibe-coded breaches. Start there, then secrets, then authorization.
- Can I do this myself?
- Yes — most items are quick once you know to look, and our free scanners verify each one. For a signed, insured sign-off that the fixes actually hold, a ClearedToShip review adds the human attestation.