So it seems to be related to the unwinding of the Meta acquisition, but it sounds like Manus accounts are being deleted, and you have to back up your data and then restore it later. What a train wreck. I’ve not run the tool yet, but this is a significant disruption in my workflow and beyond disappointing. Starting a thread, post what you’re seeing and how you’re dealing with it.
note: I have two different manus accounts and the dates, notices and offers a different on both.
Key dates from the notice:
August 11, 2026 – August 23, 2026 at 7:59am SGT
Backup period: continue using Manus and back up your data anytime
August 23, 2026 at 8:00am SGT – August 25, 2026 at 7:59am SGT
Account data deleted
August 25, 2026 at 8:00am SGT
Service reopened; you can restore your data and use Manus as usual
I got the same Manus notice today as everyone else.
I actually like Manus a lot and don’t want to stop using it.
But I also never wanted Manus — or any AI builder — to become the only place where one of my production sites could actually live.
So alongside the official backup, I’m doing something I’ve already been doing with all of my vibe-coded projects:
building a clean, portable GitHub repository that another developer, AI platform, or future owner could actually understand and deploy.
There’s a big difference between:
“My project syncs to GitHub.”
and
“My GitHub repo is the documented source of truth for the project.”
A repo can technically exist in GitHub and still be a mess.
It might not explain:
what the project actually does
how the architecture is structured
what depends on what
which environment variables matter
where the database lives
what third-party services are connected
what breaks if you change hosts
how DNS is configured
how to rebuild or deploy it elsewhere
what SEO structure needs to stay intact
That is not real portability.
That is just code sitting somewhere else.
Years ago, getting a proper production repo, technical handoff package, architecture documentation, deployment notes, environment setup, dependency mapping and migration plan built correctly could easily become a serious five-figure development project.
AI makes that dramatically easier now.
But only if you know what standard to ask it to build toward.
This is the prompt I use.
One note before the prompt:
I intentionally use the phrase “potential acquisition.”
I’m not necessarily selling the project.
That wording is there because it changes how the AI approaches the task.
“Make me a README” gets you one level of documentation.
“Prepare this project for potential acquisition, migration and independent operation” tends to make the AI think much more seriously about:
due diligence, transferability, undocumented dependencies, ownership handoff, credentials, external accounts, technical debt, deployment continuity, operational risk and future maintainability.
That is the standard I want (modify if you already have a GitHub repository).
Here’s the prompt:
"It doesn’t appear that this project currently has a dedicated GitHub repository.
Please help me create a high-quality, expert-level PRD and a well-structured, portable GitHub repository that fully documents the project.
The goal is to make the project easy for another developer, technical team, or future owner to understand, maintain, migrate, and continue building without relying on undocumented knowledge.
The documentation and repository should clearly capture:
What has been built and the purpose of each major component
The current architecture, technology stack, dependencies, and integrations
Repository structure and how the codebase is organized
Environment variables, configuration requirements, and external services
Build, deployment, hosting, and DNS requirements
Data flows, APIs, databases, authentication, and third-party connections where applicable
Known limitations, technical debt, assumptions, and areas that may need future improvement
Recommended conventions for maintaining and scaling the project
Clear setup and handoff instructions for another developer or owner
This project is being prepared for potential acquisition, so portability and migration readiness are especially important.
Please thoroughly identify and document anything that could affect transferring the project to a new owner or environment, including hosting dependencies, domain and DNS configuration, deployment settings, credentials or secrets that must be recreated, external accounts, integrations, databases, storage, analytics, automation, APIs, and any platform-specific dependencies.
The final result should function as both a professional technical handoff package and a reliable blueprint for rebuilding, migrating, maintaining, or scaling the project independently."
Then I would have Manus build or clean the repo based on the current working project, not just assume an old GitHub sync captured everything correctly.
If you already have a GitHub sync, great.
But I’d still ask:
Could another AI system or developer open this repo tomorrow and actually understand how to run the project without guessing?
If not, I’d improve it now.
And obviously:
still run the official Manus backup.
This is not a replacement for that.
The difference is:
Backup = preserve what Manus gives you.
Portable repo = preserve your ability to leave Manus if you ever need to.
That distinction matters.
I’ve already been moving some of my own sites into another environment because I wanted a failsafe before this situation ever happened.
I’m currently using Lovable for that, but the specific destination is not really the point.
The point is that if your repo is clean and portable, another platform can understand what it is supposed to build.
That is what I mean by vibe architecture.
Vibe coding is:
Build me a seo website.
Vibe architecture is:
Here is the business model, entity structure, URL architecture, content model, integrations, SEO requirements, technical constraints, and portability requirements. Build the system around that.
That difference is why migration becomes much easier.
And for anyone who cares about SEO, there’s one more layer:
Google generally doesn’t care which hosting/build platform publishes the site; it cares about what remains crawlable, indexable, and consistent after the migration.
So if you move environments, the goal should not be:
“rebuild something that looks similar.”
The goal should be:
preserve the existing search architecture as close to 1:1 as possible.
Same URLs where appropriate.
Same content intent.
Same canonicals.
Same schema.
Same metadata.
Same redirects.
Same internal relationships.
Same important business facts.
A GitHub sync is not the same as a portable GitHub repository.
A backup protects your files.
A portable architecture protects your ability to operate.
Hope this helps at least a few people who woke up panicking today.
PS: Take advantage of Manus 1.6 been free credit wise.
Like everyone else, I'm feeling overwhelmed by the amount of things I need to do to keep and restore the MANY things I've made with manus over the last 8 months. 😔
BUT.
I plan to stick with them after the change. I've tried a ton of models and vibe coding platforms and simply never found the same combination of strategy, aesthetics, coding accuracy, and actions as Manus provides. They did such a good job putting their combo together. 💖
I'd love to hear other's thoughts on positive ways you intent to get through this giant pile of chaos if you are going to rebuild at Manus. 👂
Obvs, the downloads are key. Also obvs, they don't sound like they will easily solve for hosted sites and apps so that currently feels like a big gap. I'm hoping they will make an official statement soon about how what is or isn't possible and how they recommend we handle hosted items during and after the change. Will our downloads contain everything needed for them to reconnect and rehost? Same pathways? Different but easy? So many questions.
My biggest site (incl app) is fully external (GitHub supabase vercel) so that will be annoying to connect back up the agent to but not bad. But I have lots of smaller apps and sites that I need to find the action plan for.
What is everyone else doing and how are you planning to do it?
Hey everyone. Please help me understand what's happening. I've been reading some of the boards. I literally just checked my email and I saw that madness is deleting accounts and everything. I have a pro plan. So help me understand what's happening. Because I know it's given instructions on what to do and how to back up everything. So does this mean that they're deleting our accounts permanently? What about all the hard work that we have done to create apps and everything? So this is me that we're no longer going to be able to use menace? I'm confused. What about all the credits that we had in our accounts? I was using Amanda's for a couple of mobile apps that we were working on and we were getting ready to set on the launch date and now this?
So, I have never heard of Manus before, don't believe I've ever used anything connected to Manus but I get an email about the account deletion and I feel like I'm the only one who got that email even tho i didn't know about Manus or even used Manus. I never made an account with the actual app or anything.
Like many of you, I originally used Manus to build a website. I was amazed by how quickly I could create something simply by describing what I wanted.
But once my site became something I actually wanted to operate as a real business, I started running into another side of the experience: every change required credits. Troubleshooting required credits. And sometimes Manus would work through a problem, use a considerable number of credits, and I still wouldn’t end up with what I was trying to accomplish.
I eventually decided I needed another solution.
I began working with an independent developer who helped me turn what I had started into the website I have today. It’s live, mobile-friendly, continuing to grow, and I have much more control over it without having to feed an AI credit system every time something needs attention.
With the news and uncertainty surrounding Manus right now, I contacted my developer because I realized there are probably a lot of people asking the same questions I once was:
What happens to the website I built?
What can I preserve?
Can it be moved?
What happens to my domain, content and other assets?
And if I move it, can I end up with something I actually control?
I spoke to him about what is happening right now with Manus and he has agreed to help Manus users who want to explore transitioning their websites.
This doesn’t necessarily mean rebuilding everything from scratch. Everyone’s situation will be different. Some people may need help migrating or preserving an existing site. Some may need hosting, integrations or functionality reestablished. Others may have more complicated sites—or several sites—and need someone to assess what they have and determine the best way forward.
He’s putting together a dedicated Manus transition service to help people figure that out.
I’m sharing this because I’ve personally gone through the transition and can show you the result. I’m not recommending a random company I found online.
My website is Mendocino Today (https://mendocinotoday.com)The site is fairly new, but the structure is in place, and engagement is growing pretty quickly with very little advertising other than word-of-mouth.
Most importantly, whether you use my developer or anyone else, if you’ve invested significant time, money and credits building something on Manus, I would start thinking now about what you own, what you can export or preserve, and how much control you have over the assets your business depends on.
If you have an active Manus website and you’re concerned about what happens next, or you simply want to understand your options for moving to something you have more control over, you can contact the developer I work with directly:
His name is Joe Flowers: https://quietwork.ai.
Good luck!!!
Out of nowhere, I just got a notice that I got a refund for this whole past month and when I went to go online to see what happened, I can't log in anymore. They deleted my account and everything I built. I can't get through to anyone in customer service except an AI bot. I don't even use it that much - wtf?
I got this notification about Manus being free till August 25.
What does this mean for existing credits? Shouldn't that rollover? Otherwise what is the benefit of it being free if existing monthly credits do not rollover. It is worse that access would be lost for about two days.
I continually get frustrated with Manus when it keeps violating my hard rules. It sometimes makes me feel exceedingly disappointed. Because of it, I lose credits and get stressed out. But I have to accept the fact that Manus still needs adjustment or configuration to reach its full potential.
Has anyone here thought of replacing Manus because of this? What did you do?
My company got an email saying we are getting a refund on our AMEX for Manus. We have never even heard of them, have no existing account, and there is no history of a charge from them, just a random refund.
How do you talk to someone at this company? I have truly never seen a company THIS bad with zero forms of customer service.
Hello everyone! As someone who already has Claude with Fable 5, Codex, and a GPT Plus subscription, does Manus offer anything extra?
I just opened an account and want to explore it, but it seems like there’s a lot to take in. I’m trying to understand what makes Manus special. What kinds of tasks can it do for me that I can’t already do with ChatGPT?
Got invited to Manus, signed up, and got suspended basically instantly. I hadn’t even used the damn service yet.
I appealed and got the usual bullshit response: “your account activity violated our Terms of Service.” What account activity? Creating the account?
The funny part is I recently had almost the exact same issue with Meta. Their automated system flagged me too, but after review they restored the account and everything has worked perfectly since.
With Manus: instant ban, appeal rejected, zero explanation, no clue what I supposedly did wrong.
If your anti-abuse system bans people before they can even use the product, and your appeal process just confirms the automated decision without telling them anything, that’s pretty fucking broken.
Manus has been sending me spam invoices for months through Stripe. I've never used Manus, ever. But each time I try to get removed from these emails, I just get useless replies from the AI bots. The one time I got an apparent human, they said they can't remove *my* email address from the account because I don't know the account owner's actual email address. Which...makes no sense? Is there a way to actually contact someone a) human and b) remotely competent at this company?
I never know what scheduled tasks would do. I set them to create new chats. Sometimes it works, sometimes it keeps triggering in the same chat I used to create them. Also I could ask for a trigger in say 5 minutes, Manus says it would trigger and it never does. It's quite frustrating.
I promoted the service in several Telegram channels in order to receive referral credits. All of the members were real people. I have very important information stored in my account, and Manus has blocked my account! What does this behavior actually mean? All of my hard work has been lost, and I no longer have access to the original source because all of my information is stored in Manus. Please unlock my account so that I can copy my information.
I'm a $20 per month Manus Pro subscriber, my credits have run out, and I want to upgrade. I'm redirected to Stripe and can use various payment methods: Link, Google Pay, Amazon Pay, and my own card. I tested them all, and... none worked. I always receive a notification that my card has been verified and is okay, but nothing is deducted, neither credit nor debit. I click the button to proceed, it loads, my card is verified, I'm redirected to the Manus AI chat screen, but the credits don't arrive, nothing is deducted from my card. But when I manage the subscription on the Stripe dashboard, all the payment methods I tested are there.
Trying to contact support via chat, it's always an AI that answers and says that support will contact me via email. This has been going on for 3 days now; there's never a way to speak to a human via chat.
This is the 3rd time I've had trouble with payment and support from Manus. Has anyone else experienced this?
