Amp vs BoltUpdated 2026-03-16

SUMMARY

Amp (CLI) uses markdown configuration while Bolt (Platform) uses text. They differ on 5 of 11 compared features. Both tools provide AI-assisted development but take different approaches to project configuration.

FEATURE COMPARISON

FeatureAmpBolt
Config formatmarkdowntext
Hierarchy support
Global config
Project config
Subdirectory scoping
File inclusion / imports
Ignore file
IDE integrationCLIPlatform
Schema / structureFree-form (Markdown)Free-form (Markdown)
Git committed
EncodingUTF-8UTF-8

FILE MAPPING

PurposeAmpBolt
Project instructionsAGENTS.md.bolt/prompt

SIDE-BY-SIDE CODE SAMPLES

Amp
AGENTS.md
markdown
# Agent Instructions

## Project Context
Go microservices monorepo using Bazel for builds.

## Build & Test
- Build all: bazel build //...
- Test all: bazel test //...
- Integration tests: docker compose up -d && bazel test //integration/...
- Lint: golangci-lint run ./...

## Code Conventions
- All services follow standard layout in /cmd and /internal
- Use structured logging with slog
- Error wrapping with fmt.Errorf("op: %w", err)
- See @docs/api-style-guide.md for API conventions

## Cross-Repo References
- Shared proto definitions in sourcegraph/proto
- Common Go libraries in sourcegraph/lib

## Security
- Never log sensitive data (tokens, passwords, PII)
- All external inputs must be validated
- Use parameterized queries for database access

Bolt
.bolt/prompt
text
You are building a SaaS dashboard application.

Stack: Remix with TypeScript, Prisma ORM, PostgreSQL, TailwindCSS.

Key rules:
- Use server loaders for data fetching, not client-side fetch
- All forms use Remix Form with progressive enhancement
- Use Prisma for all database operations
- Style with TailwindCSS utility classes, no custom CSS
- Components go in app/components/, routes in app/routes/
- Use zod for form validation on both client and server

KEY DIFFERENCES

1. Config format

Amp: markdown. Bolt: text.

2. Hierarchy support

Amp: Supported. Bolt: Not supported.

3. Global config

Amp: Supported. Bolt: Not supported.

4. Subdirectory scoping

Amp: Supported. Bolt: Not supported.

5. IDE integration

Amp: CLI. Bolt: Platform.

WHICH SHOULD I USE?

Recommendation

Choose based on your IDE/CLI preference. If you use Amp, configure AGENTS.md. If you use Bolt, configure .bolt/prompt. Many projects include config files for multiple tools so each team member can use their preferred editor.

PORTABILITY TIP

sync-instructions.sh
bash
# Maintain a single source of truth:
cp AI-INSTRUCTIONS.md CLAUDE.md
cp AI-INSTRUCTIONS.md .cursorrules
cp AI-INSTRUCTIONS.md AGENTS.md

SEE ALSO

Tool pages:
File references:
agentconfig.ing2026-03-16COMPARE(1)