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+---
+
+# restart the server before demo
+
+## what happened
+
+was tweaking out and then realized i didn't restart the server. the demo was running stale code with old bugs.
+
+## why it's a gotcha
+
+you've been coding for 20 hours straight. you made fixes. you forgot to restart. now the demo shows the old broken version and you're standing there confused about why your fix isn't working.
+
+## the fix
+
+add "restart all services" to a pre-demo checklist. do it 5 minutes before you present, not 30 seconds before. give yourself time to catch anything that doesn't come back up cleanly.
+
+## see also
+
+- [[test-demo-before-presenting]] — the full pre-demo verification flow
+- [[practice-presentation-once]] — another thing to do before going on stage
+- [[it-works-on-my-machine]] — stale environments cause the same confusion
+- [[perfectionism-over-hackathon-fit]] — don't tweak right up to the deadline
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