Bolt.new
new is a browser-based AI app builder from StackBlitz that generates, runs, and edits full-stack web applications entirely in the browser using WebContainers technology. new scaffolds the project, installs dependencies, and provides a live…
Definition
Bolt.new is a browser-based AI app builder from StackBlitz that generates, runs, and edits full-stack web applications entirely in the browser using WebContainers technology. Users describe an app in natural language and Bolt.new scaffolds the project, installs dependencies, and provides a live preview without any local setup.
Overview
Bolt.new combines an LLM-driven code generation agent with StackBlitz's WebContainers — a technology that runs a Node.js environment directly inside the browser via WebAssembly. This means Bolt.new can install npm packages, run a dev server, and execute a full application entirely client-side, with no cloud VM or backend container needed for the sandboxed preview. The typical workflow starts with a natural-language prompt describing an app (e.g. 'build a Kanban board with drag-and-drop and local storage persistence'). Bolt.new then generates a project structure, writes the code, installs dependencies in-browser, and shows a live, interactive preview within seconds. Users can continue iterating conversationally, and Bolt.new applies incremental edits to the generated codebase. Because everything runs in-browser, projects can be forked, shared via link, and exported to GitHub or downloaded as a zip. This makes Bolt.new popular for rapid prototyping, hackathons, and non-developers wanting to build functional web apps without installing a toolchain locally. Bolt.new sits in the broader 'AI app builder' category alongside tools like v0 and Lovable, distinguished mainly by its in-browser execution model (versus generating code that must be run elsewhere) and its close integration with the StackBlitz ecosystem for deployment and collaboration.
Key Features
- Full-stack app generation from natural-language prompts
- In-browser Node.js runtime via WebContainers (no local install needed)
- Live, interactive preview of the generated app in real time
- Conversational iteration to refine and extend generated code
- One-click deploy and GitHub export/import
- Supports popular frameworks like React, Vue, and Astro
- Shareable project links for collaboration or demos
Use Cases
Alternatives
History
Bolt.new is an in-browser AI application builder from StackBlitz that generates, runs, and deploys full-stack web apps from natural-language prompts, entirely inside a browser tab. It launched on October 4, 2024, combining frontier large language models — initially Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Sonnet — with StackBlitz's WebContainers technology, which runs Node.js and a dev server directly in the browser. Bolt.new marked a major pivot for StackBlitz and grew extremely quickly after launch, becoming one of the most visible "prompt-to-app" products of the generative-AI wave. Its open-source core is available on GitHub, and it emphasizes editing and previewing the running application live as the AI builds it.
Sources
- Bolt.new on GitHub — stackblitz/bolt.new · as of 2026-07-17
- Bolt.new — official website · as of 2026-07-17