Bolt vs LovableComparisonUpdated 2026-03-16
SUMMARY
Bolt (Platform) uses text configuration while Lovable (Platform) uses markdown. They differ on 1 of 11 compared features. Both tools provide AI-assisted development but take different approaches to project configuration.
FEATURE COMPARISON
| Feature | Bolt | Lovable |
|---|---|---|
| Config format | text | markdown |
| Hierarchy support | ✗ | ✗ |
| Global config | ✗ | ✗ |
| Project config | ✓ | ✓ |
| Subdirectory scoping | ✗ | ✗ |
| File inclusion / imports | ✗ | ✗ |
| Ignore file | ✗ | ✗ |
| IDE integration | Platform | Platform |
| Schema / structure | Free-form (Markdown) | Free-form (Markdown) |
| Git committed | ✓ | ✓ |
| Encoding | UTF-8 | UTF-8 |
FILE MAPPING
| Purpose | Bolt | Lovable |
|---|---|---|
| Project instructions | .bolt/prompt | AGENTS.md |
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
Lovable
AGENTS.md
markdown
# Project Instructions
## Stack
- React 19 with TypeScript
- Supabase for backend (auth, database, storage)
- TailwindCSS v4 + shadcn/ui components
- Vite for building
## Architecture
- Feature-based folder structure
- Each feature owns its components, hooks, and types
- Shared components in src/components/ui/
- All API calls go through src/lib/supabase.ts
## Conventions
- Use shadcn/ui components before creating custom ones
- Mobile-first responsive design
- Use Supabase RLS policies for authorization
- Prefer server-side filtering over client-side
## Brand
- Primary color: #6366F1 (indigo)
- Font: Inter for body, Cal Sans for headings
- Rounded corners (radius-lg) on all cards
KEY DIFFERENCES
Bolt: text. Lovable: markdown.
WHICH SHOULD I USE?
Choose based on your IDE/CLI preference. If you use Bolt, configure .bolt/prompt. If you use Lovable, configure AGENTS.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)