Bolt vs JetBrains AI / JunieUpdated 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

FeatureBoltJetBrains AI / Junie
Config formattextmarkdown
Hierarchy support
Global config
Project config
Subdirectory scoping
File inclusion / imports
Ignore file.aiignore
IDE integrationPlatform
Schema / structureFree-form (Markdown)Free-form (Markdown)
Git committed
EncodingUTF-8UTF-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

1. Config format

Bolt: text. JetBrains AI / Junie: markdown.

2. Ignore file

Bolt: Not supported. JetBrains AI / Junie: .aiignore.

3. IDE integration

Bolt: Platform. JetBrains AI / Junie: Supported.

WHICH SHOULD I USE?

Recommendation

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

agentconfig.ing2026-03-16COMPARE(1)