From Bolt.new to Claude Code: Shipping Features While Learning Git

You've been crushing it in Bolt.new. That feeling of typing "add a dark mode toggle" and watching it appear in seconds? Pure magic. But now your side project is getting real traction. A friend wants to collaborate. You need to deploy to a custom domain. Someone reported a bug from three days ago, and you can't remember what you changed. It's time to level up—but you don't want to lose that instant-feedback momentum that made vibe coding so addictive.

Good news: Claude Code gives you the same conversational development experience you loved in Bolt.new, but with the professional capabilities you're missing. You keep the AI pair programmer magic and add version control, proper deployments, and the ability to work like a team (even if that team is just you and Future You).

Before You Start: The Honest Assessment

Not every project needs to migrate. Here's when to stay in Bolt.new versus when Claude Code makes sense:

The Vibe to Pro Concept Map

Everything you loved about Bolt.new has an equivalent in Claude Code. Here's how the concepts translate:

Prerequisites Checklist

Before you start the migration, have these ready (15 minutes of setup):

• Node.js installed - Download from nodejs.org (use LTS version)
• Git installed - Run git --version to check, or download from git-scm.com
• Claude Code installed - Get it from claude.ai/code
• GitHub account - Free tier is perfect (github.com)
• Code editor - VS Code recommended (code.visualstudio.com)
• Vercel account (optional for deployment) - Free tier at vercel.com

Don't worry about learning git deeply right now—Claude Code will handle most of the commands for you. You just need it installed.

Step-by-Step Migration Guide

Step 1: Export Your Bolt.new Project (5 minutes)

In Bolt.new, click the "Download Project" button (usually in top-right menu). You'll get a ZIP file with all your code.

# Unzip the downloaded file
unzip bolt-project.zip -d my-awesome-app
cd my-awesome-app

# Check what you got
ls -la
# You should see: package.json, src/, public/, etc.

Step 2: Initialize Git (3 minutes)

This creates your first "save point" for the entire project. Think of it like Bolt.new's auto-save, but you control when it happens.

# Initialize git repository
git init

# Create a .gitignore file (tells git to ignore dependencies)
echo "node_modules/
.env.local
.next/
dist/" > .gitignore

# Stage all your files
git add .

# Create your first commit (a named save point)
git commit -m "Initial commit: Migrated from Bolt.new"

# Verify it worked
git log --oneline
# You should see your commit!

Step 3: Test Locally (10 minutes)

Install dependencies and run the dev server. This replaces Bolt.new's instant preview window.

# Install dependencies (one-time setup)
npm install

# Start development server
npm run dev

# Open browser to http://localhost:3000
# Your app should look exactly like it did in Bolt.new!

# macOS/Linux
lsof -ti:3000 | xargs kill -9

# Windows
netstat -ano | findstr :3000
taskkill /PID <PID_NUMBER> /F

Step 4: Push to GitHub (5 minutes)

This backs up your code and enables collaboration. Think of GitHub as cloud storage for code with time-travel powers.

# Create new repository on GitHub (via website)
# 1. Go to github.com and click "New repository"
# 2. Name it "my-awesome-app"
# 3. Keep it private if you want
# 4. DON'T initialize with README (you already have code)

# Link your local project to GitHub
git remote add origin https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/my-awesome-app.git

# Push your code
git branch -M main
git push -u origin main

# Refresh GitHub page - your code is now backed up!

Step 5: Set Up Claude Code (10 minutes)

Now the fun part—getting that conversational AI development experience back.

# Open your project in VS Code
code .

# Start Claude Code in your project directory
claude-code

# Claude will analyze your codebase (takes ~30 seconds)
# Then you can chat just like in Bolt.new!

You: "Add a loading spinner to the submit button"

Claude: [Analyzes your code structure]
"I'll update your Button component to show a spinner 
during submission. Here's what I'll change..."

[Claude modifies the file]
[Hot reload updates your browser automatically]

You: "Perfect! Now make it bounce for fun"

Claude: [Updates the CSS animation]

You: "Save this version"

Claude: [Creates git commit with descriptive message]

Step 6: Deploy to Production (15 minutes)

Replace Bolt.new's share link with a real production deployment. We'll use Vercel (same company behind Next.js).

# Install Vercel CLI
npm install -g vercel

# Deploy your app
vercel

# Follow the prompts:
# - Link to existing project? No (first time)
# - Project name? (accept default)
# - Which directory? ./ (accept default)
# - Want to override settings? No

# Vercel will:
# 1. Build your app
# 2. Deploy to production
# 3. Give you a URL like: my-awesome-app.vercel.app

# Future deploys are automatic:
git add .
git commit -m "Added new feature"
git push
# Vercel auto-deploys every push to main!

Workflow Comparison: Before and After

Notice the workflow is nearly identical—you just gain deployment control and version history without losing the conversational flow.

Preserving the Instant Feedback Loop

The secret to maintaining vibe coding speed in Claude Code is keeping your dev server running:

# Terminal 1: Keep dev server running
npm run dev

# Terminal 2: Chat with Claude
claude-code

# Now when Claude modifies files:
# 1. Changes save automatically
# 2. Dev server hot-reloads
# 3. Browser updates in ~500ms
# (Almost as fast as Bolt.new!)

Git for Vibe Coders: The Minimum You Need

You don't need to master git to be productive. Here are the five commands that cover 90% of scenarios:

git status

git add .
git commit -m "Added dark mode toggle"

git push

git log --oneline

git log --oneline  # find commit hash
git reset --hard abc123  # rewind to that commit

Pro tip: Claude Code can run these commands for you. Just ask "save this version" or "push to GitHub" in chat.

Common Migration Issues and Fixes

# .env.local
NEXT_PUBLIC_API_KEY=your_key_here
DATABASE_URL=postgres://...

# Add to .gitignore so secrets aren't committed
echo ".env.local" >> .gitignore

# See error like: Cannot find module 'framer-motion'
npm install framer-motion

# Or let Claude do it - just ask:
"Install framer-motion package"

# What changed in the last 3 commits?
git log -3 --oneline

# See exact changes to a file
git diff HEAD~3 src/components/Button.tsx

# Or ask Claude:
"What changed in Button.tsx in the last 3 commits?"

Advanced: Branching for Experiments

Remember Bolt.new's "fork project" feature? Git branches are the same concept but more powerful:

# Create experimental branch
git checkout -b experiment-new-design

# Make changes, test, iterate with Claude
# If you like it:
git checkout main
git merge experiment-new-design
git push

# If you hate it:
git checkout main
git branch -D experiment-new-design  # Delete branch
# Your main code is untouched!

This lets you try radical redesigns without fear. It's like Bolt.new's preview sandbox, but persistent and shareable.

Realistic Time Estimate

Here's what the full migration typically takes:

• Prerequisites setup: 15 minutes (one-time)
• Export and initialize: 8 minutes
• Test locally: 10 minutes (including troubleshooting)
• Push to GitHub: 5 minutes
• Claude Code setup: 10 minutes
• Deploy to Vercel: 15 minutes (including DNS if custom domain)
• Learn the workflow: 1-2 days of real usage

Total active time: ~1 hour. Full comfort level: 1 week of daily use.

What You Gain vs What You Give Up

The tradeoff: You invest 1 hour and learn 5 git commands to unlock unlimited customization and professional workflows. For most growing projects, that's a no-brainer.

Key Takeaways

• The vibe stays alive - Claude Code gives you the same conversational development experience with localhost replacing Bolt.new's preview window
• Git is just named save points - Five commands cover 90% of use cases, and Claude can run them for you
• Deploy once, then auto-pilot - After initial Vercel setup, every git push auto-deploys (as instant as Bolt.new)
• Migration is a 1-hour investment - Export, initialize, push, deploy. Then you have professional-grade infrastructure forever
• Only migrate when it makes sense - If you're still pivoting daily or building throwaway demos, Bolt.new is perfect. Move to Claude Code when you need collaboration, custom deployment, or version control
• You keep the magic, gain superpowers - Same AI pair programming + version history + custom domains + team collaboration

The best part? You can always go back to Bolt.new for quick experiments. Use the right tool for each project stage. Now go ship that feature you've been thinking about—whether in Bolt.new or Claude Code, the only wrong choice is not shipping at all.