Bolt.new & Lovable.dev - runtimerevolution/labs GitHub Wiki

Bolt and Lovable are two examples of AI platforms that allow us to quickly create frontend applications with polished UIs in various technologies (ex: React, Next.js, Node.js, etc.) through natural language prompting. Both platforms provide a browser-based IDE where users can send prompts, view and modify the generated code, and review the application.

Prompting

Both Bolt and Lovable function similarly to interactive systems where users can input prompts, including both text and file attachments. The tools then respond with their reasoning and the applied changes. While neither tool was able to fully replicate the design in the attached files, they successfully imported some layout ideas and implemented them.

In Lovable, the system would sometimes warn us about potential refactors needed in the code and ask for permission to implement them, generating a prompt if allowed. Additionally, when testing the application in the preview window, if an error occurred, Lovable enabled us to quickly create a prompt with the error. Due to limited testing with Bolt, we cannot confirm whether these functionalities are available in it.

Both tools also allow users to set up a system prompt. Bolt allows system prompts to be set at both the global and project levels, while Lovable only allows them at the project level.

None of the tools support real-time collaboration, meaning only one person can interact with a project at a time. However, projects can be made public and shared, which includes both the code, prompts, and responses.

Integrations

GitHub

Bolt does not have direct GitHub integration, although it allows users to open the generated code in StackBlitz, which does support GitHub. In StackBlitz, we can create a new GitHub repository and export the generated code, but further changes cannot be pushed.

A third-party Google Chrome extension provides GitHub integration, enabling users to create repositories, push the generated code, push changes with custom Git messages, manage branches, and even import existing GitHub projects. This allows iteration on an already existing project.

Lovable has built-in GitHub integration, allowing users to create a new repository, export the generated code, push changes, and manage branches. If the code in the repository changes, Lovable detects these changes in real-time. However, it does not support importing an existing project into Lovable.

Supabase

Both Bolt and Lovable support Supabase, allowing us to quickly set up a database and authentication for our application.

However, when configuring the Supabase client, both tools appear to expose the Supabase key, which is considered a security risk.

Figma

Bolt does not offer any integration with Figma.

Lovable, in partnership with Builder.io, provides a plugin that allows us to import a design from Figma when starting a new project. However, it currently does not support importing designs into an existing project or detecting design changes.

When importing a Figma design, Lovable translates it into a static website using the selected technology, which can then be further iterated upon.

Database

In both tools, when a prompt requires changes to the database, the SQL script containing those changes is provided.

Bolt writes the SQL script into a migration file, while Lovable provides the SQL script directly as an answer and waits for the user to apply it manually before proceeding with the changes.

Deployment

Bolt integrates with Netlify to deploy applications.

Lovable has built-in deployment capabilities, allowing users to deploy applications directly from the platform.