Beginner

Bolt.new Features

Bolt.new is built on a unique technical foundation - StackBlitz WebContainers - that gives it capabilities no other AI builder can match. At the same time, some features common in other builders are missing. This page maps the full feature set.

WebContainers Environment

The foundation of everything Bolt.new does. Key capabilities:

What runs in the browser

• Full Node.js runtime (WebAssembly-based)
• npm package installation from registry
• Unix-compatible shell (bash subset)
• File system with persistent storage
• Dev server (Vite, Next.js, etc.) with HMR

What does NOT work

• npm packages requiring native binaries
• Docker or containerised workloads
• Background processes that persist after tab close
• Network-bound server operations requiring real IPs

AI Code Generation & Editing

Claude (Anthropic) powers Bolt's AI. Key AI features:

File-targeted edits: AI modifies specific files, not the whole project
Multi-file changes: One prompt can update multiple related files consistently
Error detection: Bolt reads the terminal output and offers to fix build errors automatically
Code explanation: Ask "Explain what this file does" for any selected file
Revert: Roll back any AI change to the previous state

Built-In File Editor

Unlike Lovable, all code is visible and directly editable. The editor supports:

Syntax highlighting for TypeScript, JSX, CSS, JSON, Markdown
Basic autocomplete
File creation, deletion, and renaming from the file tree
Search across files (Ctrl+Shift+F)

It is not a full IDE - no advanced refactoring, no Language Server Protocol extensions - but sufficient for reviewing and making targeted changes.

In-Browser Terminal

A real terminal pane with npm, npx, and basic shell commands. Useful for:

# Add a package manually
npm install @tanstack/react-table

# Type check without building
npx tsc --noEmit

# Run database migration scripts
node scripts/migrate.js

GitHub Integration

Connect GitHub to push and pull project files:

Push project to a new or existing GitHub repository
Pull changes from GitHub back into the Bolt editor
Use the GitHub repo as the deployment source for Vercel or Netlify CI/CD

Deployment Options

Netlify (one-click)

Connect Netlify account; deploy directly from Bolt UI in one click. Auto-deploys on future pushes.

Download as ZIP

Download the full project and deploy to any host - Vercel, Railway, Render, AWS Amplify.

StackBlitz Projects URL

Share a live preview URL; anyone with the link can view the running app (or fork and edit their own copy).

Framework Support

Bolt.new works with any Node.js framework. Starter templates available for: React (Vite), Next.js, Vue, Svelte, Remix, Astro, SvelteKit, Nuxt, and vanilla HTML/CSS/JS. The AI knows how to set up routing, state management, and tooling for each framework.

Limitations

No integrated database - you must connect Supabase, Firebase, or an external API manually
No built-in user authentication - same as above, use Supabase Auth, Clerk, or Auth.js
WebContainers has memory limits - very large dependency trees can cause OOM errors
Custom domains require paid plan (same as Lovable)
AI context window limits mean very large projects may get inconsistent AI edits

Core Features