How to Integrate Bolt.new with Git / GitHub

Bolt.new's GitHub integration uses OAuth to connect your GitHub account. You authorize Bolt once, and it can create repositories and push code on your behalf from that point on. The connection is managed at the account level, so you only need to do this once regardless of how many Bolt projects you create. To connect: open your Bolt project, look for the Git icon in the left sidebar (it resembles a branching diagram), or access it through the Settings panel. Click 'Connect GitHub' — this redirects you to GitHub's OAuth authorization page. Review the permissions Bolt requests (typically: read your email address, create and manage repositories), then click 'Authorize bolt-new.' GitHub redirects you back to Bolt with the connection established. If you are part of a GitHub organization, you may need to grant Bolt access to that organization separately. On the OAuth authorization page, look for your organization names listed under 'Organization access' and click 'Grant' next to any organizations whose repositories you want to push Bolt projects to. Organization owners may need to approve the OAuth application first if organization OAuth policies are strict. Once connected, the Git panel in Bolt will show your GitHub username and offer repository management options.

With GitHub connected, you can push your Bolt project to a repository. Bolt gives you the choice to create a new repository or push to an existing one. For new repositories, you choose the name, visibility (public or private), and optionally a description. Bolt creates the repository in your GitHub account and pushes the entire project in a single initial commit. Click 'Push to GitHub' in the Git panel, select 'Create new repository,' enter a repository name (GitHub requires lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens — no spaces), choose public or private, and click 'Create and push.' Bolt packages all your project files into a Git commit with a default message like 'Initial commit from Bolt.new' and pushes to the main branch. The push typically completes in 10-30 seconds depending on project size. For pushing to an existing repository, select 'Push to existing repository' and choose from the list of repos in your connected GitHub account. This is useful if you started the project outside Bolt and want to push Bolt-generated changes back. Important: Bolt always pushes to the default branch (usually main or master). If you want to push to a feature branch, you will need to do that after downloading the project and using git commands locally, or through GitHub's web interface. Each subsequent push from Bolt creates a new commit on the same branch. The commit message is auto-generated by Bolt and may reference what changed, though the messages tend to be generic. For more descriptive commit history, download the project and use standard git commands from a terminal.

One of the most important concepts for Bolt.new users coming from traditional Git workflows is the distinction between Bolt's internal Version History and Git commit history. These are two separate systems that serve different purposes and operate independently. Bolt's Version History is automatically recorded for every change the AI assistant makes. Every prompt that generates or modifies code creates a version entry in Bolt's internal history. You can access this through the 'History' icon in the Bolt toolbar — it shows a timeline of AI-generated states. Clicking any entry restores the project to that exact state. This is Bolt's undo/redo system, and it is completely independent of Git. Version History versions are stored on Bolt's servers, not in any Git repository. Git history, in contrast, only records when you explicitly push to GitHub. If you make 50 AI-assisted changes using Bolt's Version History between two GitHub pushes, Git will record this as a single commit — or at most a few commits if you pushed manually between sessions. The Git history reflects deliberate checkpoints, not every individual AI generation. The practical implication: use Bolt's Version History for quick rollbacks during a development session ('undo the last three changes'), and use Git pushes as meaningful checkpoints ('the authentication feature is complete'). If you need Git-level granularity for every change, you would need to download the project and use git commands locally to commit each change individually. Most Bolt users find the two-system approach works well: Version History for fine-grained development control, GitHub for collaboration and deployment.

Once your project is on GitHub, you can establish a hybrid team collaboration workflow. This is particularly valuable when your team includes both non-technical members who build features in Bolt and developers who prefer traditional coding environments for complex work. The workflow runs as follows. In Bolt: build features with AI assistance, test in the preview, then push to GitHub when a feature is complete. For teammates using VS Code, Cursor, or other IDEs: clone the repository using `git clone https://github.com/yourname/your-project.git`, install dependencies with `npm install`, make changes using their preferred tools, commit and push to GitHub. Back in Bolt: use the 'Pull from GitHub' option in the Git panel to sync the latest changes before the next AI session. A few important considerations for this workflow. First, communication is critical — if both Bolt and an external developer are modifying the same files simultaneously, the next push from Bolt will create a merge conflict that must be resolved outside Bolt (Bolt does not have a merge conflict UI). Second, Bolt pushes to the main branch by default; if your team uses a branch-based Git workflow (feature branches, pull requests), the external developers create feature branches and merge to main, while Bolt always works on main. Third, `.boltignore` — similar to `.gitignore` — can exclude generated or large files from the AI's context, reducing token usage; this file should be committed to Git so all collaborators benefit. For the pull step in Bolt: the Git panel shows an option to sync or pull when the remote repository has newer commits than Bolt's local state. Click 'Pull' to update Bolt's file system with the teammate's changes. After pulling, Bolt's AI assistant is aware of the updated codebase for subsequent prompts.

1# Team member setup (outside Bolt, in terminal):
2git clone https://github.com/yourname/your-bolt-project.git
3cd your-bolt-project
4npm install
5
6# Make changes, then commit and push:
7git add .
8git commit -m "Fix authentication token refresh logic"
9git push origin main

Bolt.new's native Git integration is exclusively for GitHub. If your team uses GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps, or any other Git hosting platform, you need to use the manual export workflow instead. This is slightly more manual but still straightforward. The manual workflow uses Bolt's project download feature. Click the download icon in Bolt's toolbar to export the entire project as a ZIP file. Extract the ZIP on your local machine — it contains a complete, standard JavaScript/TypeScript project with all configuration files. Then push to your Git host using standard terminal commands. For GitLab specifically: create a new empty repository in GitLab (no README, no .gitignore — you will push those from the downloaded project). Then in your terminal, navigate to the extracted project folder and run the sequence of commands below. After the initial push, subsequent updates from Bolt follow the same cycle: download ZIP from Bolt, extract, copy changed files into your local Git repo, commit, and push to GitLab. An alternative for teams who want tighter integration: connect Bolt to GitHub even if GitLab is your primary host, use GitHub as an intermediary, and set up GitLab's 'Mirror a repository' feature to pull from GitHub automatically. This way you push from Bolt to GitHub, and GitLab mirrors the changes. This approach adds a repository but removes the manual download step.

1# Initial GitLab push after downloading Bolt project:
2cd your-extracted-bolt-project
3git init
4git add .
5git commit -m "Initial commit from Bolt.new"
6git remote add origin https://gitlab.com/yourname/your-project.git
7git push -u origin main
8
9# Subsequent update pushes:
10# 1. Download new ZIP from Bolt
11# 2. Extract and copy changed files to your local repo
12git add .
13git commit -m "Add new feature from Bolt.new"
14git push origin main