Devin vs Lovable | agentconfig.ing

Devin vs LovableComparisonUpdated 2026-03-16

SUMMARY

Devin (Agent) uses markdown configuration while Lovable (Platform) 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	Devin	Lovable	Notes
Config format	markdown	markdown
Hierarchy support	✓	✗	Whether config files can be placed at multiple directory levels
Global config	✗	✗	User-wide configuration outside any project
Project config	✓	✓
Subdirectory scoping	✓	✗	Config files in subdirectories that apply only to that subtree
File inclusion / imports	✗	✗	Ability to include or reference other files from config
Ignore file	✗	✗
IDE integration	Agent	Platform
Schema / structure	Free-form (Markdown)	Free-form (Markdown)	Whether config uses structured schema or free-form content
Git committed	✓	✓	Whether primary config files are intended to be version-controlled
Encoding	UTF-8	UTF-8

FILE MAPPING

Purpose	Devin	Lovable
Project instructions	AGENTS.md	AGENTS.md

SIDE-BY-SIDE CODE SAMPLES

Devin

AGENTS.md

markdown

# Agent Instructions

## Setup
- Python 3.12 with uv package manager
- PostgreSQL 16 and Redis 7
- Run: uv sync && uv run alembic upgrade head

## Commands
- Dev server: uv run uvicorn app.main:app --reload
- Tests: uv run pytest -x --tb=short
- Lint: uv run ruff check . && uv run mypy .
- Format: uv run ruff format .

## Code Style
- FastAPI with async endpoints
- Pydantic v2 for all schemas
- SQLAlchemy 2.0 async sessions
- Repository pattern for data access

## PR Guidelines
- Keep PRs focused on a single issue
- Add tests for new functionality
- Run the full test suite before submitting

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

1. Hierarchy support

Devin: Supported. Lovable: Not supported.

2. Subdirectory scoping

Devin: Supported. Lovable: Not supported.

3. IDE integration

Devin: Agent. Lovable: Platform.

WHICH SHOULD I USE?

Recommendation

Choose based on your IDE/CLI preference. If you use Devin, configure AGENTS.md. 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