Bolt vs JetBrains AI / JunieComparisonUpdated 2026-03-16
SUMMARY
Bolt (Platform) uses text configuration while JetBrains AI / Junie (IDE) uses markdown. They differ on 3 of 11 compared features. Both tools provide AI-assisted development but take different approaches to project configuration.
FEATURE COMPARISON
| Feature | Bolt | JetBrains AI / Junie |
|---|---|---|
| Config format | text | markdown |
| Hierarchy support | ✗ | ✗ |
| Global config | ✗ | ✗ |
| Project config | ✓ | ✓ |
| Subdirectory scoping | ✗ | ✗ |
| File inclusion / imports | ✗ | ✗ |
| Ignore file | ✗ | .aiignore |
| 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
JetBrains AI / Junie
.aiassistant/rules/*.md
markdown
# Kotlin Conventions
## Language Features
- Use Kotlin 2.x with coroutines for async work
- Prefer data classes for DTOs and value objects
- Use sealed classes/interfaces for domain errors
- Extension functions over utility classes
## Spring Boot
- Constructor injection (no field injection)
- Use @ConfigurationProperties over @Value
- Prefer WebFlux for reactive endpoints
- Use Spring Security with method-level security
## Testing
- JUnit 5 with Kotest assertions
- MockK for mocking (not Mockito)
- Testcontainers for integration tests
- Use @Nested for test organization
KEY DIFFERENCES
Bolt: text. JetBrains AI / Junie: markdown.
Bolt: Not supported. JetBrains AI / Junie: .aiignore.
Bolt: Platform. JetBrains AI / Junie: Supported.
WHICH SHOULD I USE?
Choose based on your IDE/CLI preference. If you use Bolt, configure .bolt/prompt. If you use JetBrains AI / Junie, configure .aiassistant/rules/*.md. 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)