Goose vs Lovable | agentconfig.ing

Goose vs LovableComparisonUpdated 2026-03-16

SUMMARY

Goose (CLI) uses text configuration while Lovable (Platform) uses markdown. They differ on 4 of 11 compared features. Both tools provide AI-assisted development but take different approaches to project configuration.

FEATURE COMPARISON

Feature	Goose	Lovable	Notes
Config format	text	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	CLI	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	Goose	Lovable
Project instructions	.goosehints	AGENTS.md

SIDE-BY-SIDE CODE SAMPLES

Goose

.goosehints

text

This is a Ruby on Rails 7.2 application with Hotwire/Turbo.

Database: PostgreSQL 16
Ruby version: 3.3.x
Node: 22.x (for asset pipeline)

Key commands:
- bin/rails server — start dev server
- bin/rails test — run test suite
- bin/rails db:migrate — run migrations

Conventions:
- Use ViewComponents for reusable UI
- Stimulus controllers for JS behavior
- System tests with Capybara + Playwright
- RuboCop for linting (run: bundle exec rubocop)

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. Config format

Goose: text. Lovable: markdown.

2. Hierarchy support

Goose: Supported. Lovable: Not supported.

3. Global config

Goose: Supported. Lovable: Not supported.

4. IDE integration

Goose: CLI. Lovable: Platform.

WHICH SHOULD I USE?

Recommendation

Choose based on your IDE/CLI preference. If you use Goose, configure config.yaml. 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