How to Use Bolt.new

Bolt.new by StackBlitz is an in-browser, full-stack AI builder. You type what you want, and a WebContainer boots a real Node runtime right inside your tab — no server round-trips for the shell, no local install, no Docker. The result is a shocking time-to-running-app for prototypes and marketing demos.

What Bolt.new actually is

Bolt.new is StackBlitz’s AI product, built on the same WebContainer technology that powers their IDE. The agent edits files, runs npm install, launches dev servers, and lets you deploy to Netlify in one click — all client-side. You’re not SSH-ing to a VM like Replit; the Node process is literally running in your browser tab via WebAssembly.

Setting it up

Go to bolt.new and sign in with GitHub or Google. The free tier gives you a daily token allowance; Pro plans start around $20/mo with more tokens and private projects. No CLI needed.

# Optional: open any public GitHub repo in Bolt by prepending the domain.
https://bolt.new/github.com/<owner>/<repo>

# Or start from a prompt on the home page.

Your first session

A good first prompt is concrete and bounded: “A Vite + React todo app with drag-and-drop reordering, localStorage persistence, and a dark-mode toggle.” Bolt lays out the plan, creates files, runs the dev server, and shows the preview in the right pane. Iterate by chat (“add a filter for completed items”) or edit code directly. When you’re happy, click Deploy.

A realistic workflow

Bolt is strongest as a prototype factory. Keep prompts incremental, commit to GitHub frequently (Bolt has a connector), and pull the repo locally once the app outgrows browser-only convenience. For UI-heavy generation, pair it with v0 for component-level work and paste into Bolt for wiring. The feedback loop — type, see, adjust — is what makes it special; lean into that instead of writing one giant spec.

Gotchas and limits

Tokens are the budget. An aggressive “rewrite the app” prompt can burn thousands at once — scope your asks. WebContainer is incredible but it’s not a full Linux; native binaries, Puppeteer, Docker, Rust toolchains — none of it works. Stick to Node, pure-JS packages, and static frontends. Mobile browsers struggle with longer sessions; use a laptop. Generated code tends to be a bit sprawling — plan a refactor pass before you treat it as production.

When NOT to use it

Don’t use Bolt for Python, Go, Rust, or anything that needs a real OS — the WebContainer can’t run them. Don’t use it for large existing codebases — import works but the agent’s context is shallower than what you’d get in Cursor or Claude Code. And skip it if offline work matters; the whole thing is a live browser session. For a hosted experience with a full VM, see Replit Agent.