whatisgithub

What is bolt.new?

stackblitz/bolt.new — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-06-24

16,370TypeScriptAudience · vibe coderComplexity · 4/5Setup · moderate

In one sentence

Open-source code behind Bolt.new: an AI agent that builds, runs, and deploys full web apps from a chat prompt, all inside the browser via WebContainers.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((bolt.new))
    Inputs
      Plain English prompt
      Anthropic API key
    Outputs
      Generated codebase
      Running dev server
      Public deploy URL
    Use Cases
      Prototype an app from a prompt
      Build a custom AI dev agent
      Self-host an in-browser IDE
      Demo full-stack ideas
    Tech Stack
      TypeScript
      WebContainers
      Remix
      Anthropic API
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Code map

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filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Fork the repo to build your own AI-powered in-browser dev environment

USE CASE 2

Prototype a web app from a plain-English prompt and see it run live

USE CASE 3

Study how an AI agent can drive a full filesystem, terminal, and server

What is it built with?

TypeScriptWebContainersRemixAnthropic API

How does it compare?

stackblitz/bolt.newflatpickr/flatpickrsignalapp/signal-desktop
Stars16,37016,45816,281
LanguageTypeScriptTypeScriptTypeScript
Setup difficultymoderateeasyhard
Complexity4/52/54/5
Audiencevibe coderdeveloperdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Requires an Anthropic API key and a WebContainers-compatible environment to run locally.

Open-source starting point for building your own AI coding agent, check the LICENSE file in the repo for specific terms.

So what is it?

Bolt.new is an AI-powered web development tool that lets you describe a web application in plain English and have it built, run, and deployed, all inside your browser, with no software to install on your computer. You describe what you want (the "prompt"), and the AI generates the code, installs the necessary packages, starts a server, and lets you see and interact with the running app immediately. What sets Bolt.new apart from other AI coding assistants is that it gives the AI full control over the entire development environment, not just the ability to suggest code. This includes the file system, the package manager (the tool that installs software libraries), the server, the terminal, and the browser console. As a result, the AI can install dependencies, run the backend (server-side code), interact with external services, and even deploy a finished app to a public URL, all from within a single chat interface. It is built on StackBlitz's WebContainers technology, which runs a real development environment directly in the browser using a special sandboxed runtime. The codebase is TypeScript and uses the Anthropic AI API. It is aimed at developers, PMs, and designers who want to go from idea to working, deployed application quickly. A free tier is available, with paid plans for more usage. If you want to build your own AI-powered development agent, the underlying open-source code is available in this repository as a starting point.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Walk me through self-hosting bolt.new locally with my own Anthropic API key
Prompt 2
Swap the Anthropic provider in bolt.new for a different LLM API and explain the changes
Prompt 3
Add a new system prompt to bolt.new that makes the agent prefer Svelte over React
Prompt 4
Build a fork of bolt.new that deploys to my own Cloudflare Pages account instead

Frequently asked questions

What is bolt.new?

Open-source code behind Bolt.new: an AI agent that builds, runs, and deploys full web apps from a chat prompt, all inside the browser via WebContainers.

What language is bolt.new written in?

Mainly TypeScript. The stack also includes TypeScript, WebContainers, Remix.

What license does bolt.new use?

Open-source starting point for building your own AI coding agent, check the LICENSE file in the repo for specific terms.

How hard is bolt.new to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is bolt.new for?

Mainly vibe coder.

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