Bolt.new GitHub Sync, Code Export and bolt.diy Explained

Yes, you can take your code out of Bolt.new (Bolt), and on every plan, Free included. The main route is GitHub two-way sync: Bolt commits each change that leaves the project working and checks the repository every 30 seconds for edits made elsewhere. The second route is a zip download on desktop that runs locally with Node.js. The older one-click export to the StackBlitz editor no longer covers new projects. Under the StackBlitz Terms you keep the rights in what the AI writes, with conditions worth reading. And bolt.diy, where many searchers land, is a separate community fork you run with your own model keys: no Bolt Cloud, no Bolt tokens, no new features planned.

Wiring a project to GitHub

Only the project owner connects GitHub, and the connection needs an individual GitHub account ^[1]. From the GitHub icon you either create a new repository, which starts private on a main branch, or import one you already have. Importing has two conditions: you need push permissions, and the repository must have a default branch, so an empty repo is refused. Public repositories are quicker still. Put bolt.new in front of any public GitHub URL and Bolt opens it as a project. Two-way sync went live for every user in May 2025.

Then the sync runs itself. Bolt pushes a commit whenever a change, whether from the agent or from your own edits, passes its checks and leaves the project working, and it polls GitHub every 30 seconds to pull in commits made outside. When both sides changed, Bolt fetches the newer GitHub version and asks whether to resend your last message on top of it or drop it. That gives you a second history next to Bolt's built-in version list. Version history does not capture direct code edits, so a synced GitHub repository is the easiest way to keep a history of hand-written changes.

The same repository route is how projects arrive from other builders. A Lovable project comes in through GitHub: sync it to a repository from the Lovable side, then import that repository into Bolt. Bolt warns that the Lovable steps involve a third-party app and may go out of date, and its comparison page adds that platform-specific configuration must be recreated. Bolt's Replit comparison page describes the same path and says hosting, secrets and deploy configuration have to be rebuilt. Treat both as Bolt's claims. If you are still choosing between builders rather than moving code, our Lovable review covers that side.

Branches, teammates and the disconnect trap

Branches are created and switched inside Bolt, and the agent sees only the messages of the branch you have selected, so one experiment does not bleed into another. Merging is another matter. Bolt cannot merge in the app; pull requests and merges happen on GitHub, and Bolt picks up the result on its next check. Collaborators also work differently from the owner. They do not see the GitHub icon, and their edits reach the repository only when the owner next opens the project. On a shared project, that lag matters before anyone reviews a pull request.

Companies that keep code in a GitHub organization got a cleaner path in April 2026. An org admin installs the Bolt.new GitHub app once and picks all or selected repositories; members then use the approved repositories without connecting personal GitHub accounts. The admin can suspend the app, which blocks repository access while keeping settings, or uninstall it. On Teams, admins can also switch the GitHub integration off for the whole workspace, and a team can be created from an existing GitHub organization. One login quirk applies everywhere: signing in with GitHub reuses that connection, so one GitHub account cannot serve two Bolt accounts.

Disconnecting is permanent. Since April 2026 you can cut a single project from its repository without removing the integration, but you cannot reconnect that project yourself; support has to do it. Two account moves also break the link. Transferring a project to another user removes the GitHub integration, and a duplicated project starts with GitHub unconnected. Plan a fresh connection after either one, and check the repository settings before a client handoff.

The zip download and running the app yourself

The second exit is a zip of the project, available on desktop only, not from a phone ^[2]. Unpack it, run npm install and npm run dev with Node.js, and the app starts on your machine. What you get is a standard JavaScript web project. Bolt builds only JavaScript-based apps, and its developer page names React or Next.js with Tailwind and Prisma. A downloaded copy doubles as a backup: upload the files through a StackBlitz account, choose Open in bolt.new, and it returns as a new Bolt project. The old export to the StackBlitz editor, by contrast, has been unavailable since May 2026 for new projects and for projects moved to the new code storage format.

Some things never travel with the code. Exports carry code, not secrets, so API keys kept in Secrets must be set up again wherever the app lands. Data is the bigger tie. An app on Bolt Database keeps calling it after export unless you claim that database into your own Supabase account, which needs Pro or Teams plus owner rights in the Supabase organization. There is no route back from Supabase to a Bolt database, and a Bolt account links to only one Supabase organization. Table rows can still be exported as CSV or JSON, and since restoring a version rolls back code but never the database, export them before a risky change. Our Bolt Cloud guide walks through claiming step by step.

What the StackBlitz Terms say you own

Ownership rests on the StackBlitz Terms of Service, last updated September 2026, not on blog copy. You keep all rights in your content, which the Terms define to include both your prompts and the AI's output ^[3]. StackBlitz also assigns you whatever rights it holds in AI output, to the extent the law permits and subject to the rights of third-party model providers. Two warnings come attached: the same output may be generated for other users, and AI-written code may not be copyrightable. The help center's line that your code can serve any legal purpose, commercial work included, sits inside those conditions.

Duties come with the rights. The Terms make you responsible for reviewing, testing and validating output before you deploy it, including security flaws and license compliance. The Acceptable Use Policy adds two limits: you may not use Bolt or its output to build a competing product or train a competing model, and you may not resell access except as the Terms allow. Account endings matter too. If StackBlitz closes an account for reasons other than cause, you get 30 days to export; after a Terms or policy violation it may delete everything at once, and the Terms tell you to keep your own backups.

A synced repository is the simplest backup you have. One adjacent point concerns training, not ownership: unless you opt out, content created from October 2026 on an individual Free or Pro account outside the EEA, UK and Switzerland may be used for AI training and licensed as de-identified datasets, while Teams and Enterprise workspaces are excluded. The opt-out is free on any plan, and our Bolt.new review covers the rest.

bolt.diy is a different tool

Searches for bolt diy usually come from builders who want Bolt without the token meter. Here is what exists. StackBlitz's original bolt.new repository on GitHub is MIT licensed, and its README still calls Bolt.new a beta, older wording that no longer matches the product. bolt.diy is the largest community fork of that code. Cole Medin started it, it grew into a community project, and it moved to the stackblitz-labs GitHub organization in 2025 ^[4]. You run it yourself: locally with Node.js 22.12.0 or newer and pnpm 9.15.9 or newer, or through Docker and Electron desktop builds for Windows, macOS and Linux.

The trade is plain. bolt.diy runs on API keys you supply, with OpenRouter, Anthropic, OpenAI and Google enabled by default and local models through Ollama or LM Studio. It can clone and push to GitHub, export a zip and deploy to Netlify, Vercel or GitHub Pages. None of Bolt Cloud comes with it, and it uses no Bolt tokens. Its maintainers say ongoing work is bug fixes and dependency updates, with no new features planned. The fork is MIT licensed, yet it runs on the WebContainers API, which has separate commercial licensing terms for enterprise deployment.

Choose by what you need behind the editor. bolt.diy suits a self-run playground for someone happy to maintain it. Bolt.new suits builders who want hosting, a managed database and email support on paid plans. Neither choice touches code you have already exported. For scripted control, note that Bolt.new has no public API or SDK; the Bolt CLI, which pushes a local folder into Bolt and pulls projects back, is an invite-only beta, free while in beta.

The bottom line

Bolt.new keeps your code portable on every plan: two-way GitHub sync with automatic commits, a desktop zip that runs with npm, and Terms that hand you the rights in AI output as far as the law allows. The weak points sit around the code rather than in it. Merges happen on GitHub, a disconnect needs support to undo, secrets never export, and an app on Bolt Database stays tied to Bolt until you claim the data into Supabase on Pro or Teams. Connect GitHub on day one. Treat bolt.diy as a separate, maintenance-only tool for people who bring their own model keys.