What Is Bolt.new, and How Does It Work?

Bolt.new is an AI-powered builder that turns a written prompt into a working website, web app, or mobile app, entirely inside your browser. Bolt's own documentation describes it as "an AI-powered builder for websites, web apps, and mobile apps," with the core workflow stated directly: "Type your idea into the chat, click Build now, and Bolt transforms your idea into a working product" (Bolt, "Introduction to Bolt", checked September 2026). It hosts what you build by default, offers a real database without separate setup, and prices usage in tokens rather than a flat per-seat fee. Here's how each of those pieces actually works.

What does Bolt actually build?

Bolt's own documentation lists three categories: websites such as landing pages and e-commerce shops, web apps such as project management tools, CRMs, and SaaS platforms, and mobile apps including games and productivity tools (same source). Unlike a tool that only generates a frontend, Bolt's documentation states it "builds full-stack web applications using a wide range of JavaScript-based web frameworks" (same source) — meaning a Bolt project can include a working backend, not just a UI shell you'd need to wire up separately elsewhere.

How do I prompt and edit a Bolt project?

The starting point is always the chat: describe what you want, and Bolt generates the project. From there, Bolt's documentation is explicit that you aren't locked into prompting alone — you can "edit your code directly in code view" and switch back to natural language whenever you want, summarized in its own phrase: "code when you want, prompt when you want" (same source). That flexibility matters if you already know a specific line needs to change — a direct code edit is often faster and more precise than describing the change in a new prompt.

Ownership is stated plainly too: "The code you create is yours to use for any legal purpose" (same source). And the whole thing runs without any local setup — Bolt's documentation states "Bolt runs in your browser," with no separate installation step before you can start building.

Where does Bolt host a project, and what does a custom domain require?

Publishing inside Bolt doesn't require a separate hosting decision. When you publish a project, it "automatically goes live on a free bolt.host domain" — Bolt's own current hosting, built into the product rather than a third-party service (Bolt, checked September 2026). A custom domain is a paid-plan feature, managed from Project settings: you can "purchase one through Bolt or connect a domain you already own," but it needs a paid plan: Bolt states directly that "Custom domains are only available on paid plans, so you'll need to upgrade from Free to any paid tier to use one" (same source). One real consequence to plan around: if you later downgrade to Free, "you'll no longer be able to publish to your custom domain" (same source) — the domain connection itself depends on staying on a paid tier, not a one-time setup fee.

What database does a Bolt project use?

By default, Bolt provisions its own database automatically — support documentation describes Bolt Database as offering "Unlimited databases," "No manual setup," and "Built-in authentication management," adding that "Bolt creates a database automatically if your project needs one" (Bolt, checked September 2026). If you'd rather use Supabase instead, that's a documented option at project creation: "If you prefer to use Supabase when creating a new project, you can select it during setup" (same source). If Bolt sets up the Supabase project on your behalf, check who actually owns it: Bolt's Supabase integration documentation notes you can "select an existing Supabase project or create a new one," and separately states "to claim your database in Supabase, you must be a Supabase org owner" (Bolt, checked September 2026) — worth doing before you rely on that database outside of Bolt.

What do tokens actually measure, and how does pricing work?

Bolt prices by token consumption rather than a flat fee per feature. Its documentation states plainly that "AI tokens are a complex topic related to all AI apps, not just Bolt," and that "most token usage is related to syncing your project's file system to the AI: the larger the project, the more tokens used per message" (Bolt, pricing page, checked September 2026) — meaning a small landing page and a sprawling multi-file app cost very differently per prompt, independent of how simple the request itself sounds.

The plans, per Bolt's own pricing page: Free at "$0," with "300K tokens daily limit" and "1M tokens per month"; Pro at "$25 per month billed monthly," which gives you "Start at 10M tokens per month" with "No daily token limit"; Teams at "$30 per month and member billed monthly," where each member gets a monthly token allotment; and a custom Enterprise tier (same source). Unused tokens aren't necessarily lost at the end of the month — Bolt's pricing page states that, beginning July 1, 2025, "tokens from a paid subscription will roll over for one additional month, making them valid for up to two months in total," provided the subscription stays active (same source). Check Bolt's pricing page directly before committing, since token allowances and prices are the kind of detail that changes.

Can I get my code out of Bolt?

Yes — Bolt documents an Export > Download option from the project menu that bundles your project as a zip file you can run outside Bolt entirely. The full walkthrough, including what to check before you switch off Bolt's hosting for good — environment variables, database ownership, auth callback URLs, and a domain cutover — is covered in our guide to moving a Bolt or v0 project into your own codebase; this post won't repeat those steps.

What if I hit a token limit or something breaks?

A stalled build mid-prompt is most often a token limit, not a bug — check your remaining monthly and (on Free) daily allowance before assuming the project itself failed. If you're relying on a custom domain, remember that downgrading off a paid plan disconnects it, per Bolt's own documentation cited above — so don't downgrade until you've either exported the project or you're comfortable losing that domain connection temporarily. Because your work stays inside the Bolt project regardless of hosting status, nothing you've built is lost by a lapsed subscription; only the live custom-domain publishing stops.

Example (hypothetical): A founder prompts Bolt to build a waitlist landing page with a signup form, lets it provision Bolt Database automatically, and publishes to the free bolt.host address to share with early testers. Once ready to launch for real, she upgrades to Pro, connects her own domain from Project settings, and switches the database to Supabase during a rebuild step so she can manage it directly outside Bolt. This is illustrative only, not a test we ran.

Is Figment a fit for a Bolt-style project?

No. Figment publishes a website from a Figma design through its Figma plugin; it doesn't generate an application from a prompt, doesn't provision a database, and its AI editor is a preview with an access-request form, not a live building tool. Building a database-backed app from a written description is Bolt's job, not Figment's — if what you actually need is a marketing site in front of a Bolt-built app, can AI edit my website covers what any AI tool can and can't change on a live site generally.

A quick checklist before you build

• Decide whether you need Bolt's automatic database or want to select Supabase at project creation, since switching later means a rebuild step rather than a setting change.
• Check your plan's token allowance against your project's size before a big prompt — larger projects consume more tokens per message just from file-syncing.
• If you'll need a custom domain, budget for staying on a paid plan continuously, not just for the first setup.
• If you plan to leave Bolt's hosting eventually, use Export > Download early and confirm the zip runs locally, rather than waiting until you need to migrate under pressure.

Bottom line: Bolt.new is a browser-based, full-stack AI builder — prompt or edit code directly, publish to a free bolt.host domain by default, and add a custom domain only on a paid plan that has to stay active. Its database is automatic unless you choose Supabase up front, and its pricing runs on token consumption tied to project size, not a flat feature-gated tier. Check the current numbers on Bolt's own pricing page before committing, since token allowances change.