Bolt vs ContinueComparisonUpdated 2026-03-16
SUMMARY
Bolt (Platform) uses text configuration while Continue (IDE) uses markdown. They differ on 5 of 11 compared features. Both tools provide AI-assisted development but take different approaches to project configuration.
FEATURE COMPARISON
| Feature | Bolt | Continue |
|---|---|---|
| Config format | text | markdown |
| Hierarchy support | ✗ | ✓ |
| Global config | ✗ | ✓ |
| Project config | ✓ | ✓ |
| Subdirectory scoping | ✗ | ✓ |
| File inclusion / imports | ✗ | ✗ |
| Ignore file | ✗ | ✗ |
| IDE integration | Platform | ✓ |
| Schema / structure | Free-form (Markdown) | Free-form (Markdown) |
| Git committed | ✓ | ✓ |
| Encoding | UTF-8 | UTF-8 |
SIDE-BY-SIDE CODE SAMPLES
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
Continue
.continue/rules/*.md
markdown
# Code Style Rules
- Use TypeScript strict mode for all files
- Prefer named exports over default exports
- Use async/await over .then() chains
- Keep functions under 30 lines
- Use descriptive variable names (no single letters except loop counters)
KEY DIFFERENCES
Bolt: text. Continue: markdown.
Bolt: Not supported. Continue: Supported.
Bolt: Not supported. Continue: Supported.
Bolt: Not supported. Continue: Supported.
Bolt: Platform. Continue: Supported.
WHICH SHOULD I USE?
Choose based on your IDE/CLI preference. If you use Bolt, configure .bolt/prompt. If you use Continue, configure .continue/config.yaml. 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
agentconfig.ing2026-03-16COMPARE(1)