Bolt · bolt.host, Netlify, or a download
Bolt can publish your project to Bolt Cloud hosting at a free bolt.host address. You can instead publish to Netlify, connect GitHub for a copy of the files, or download a zip. This page is about picking one of those exits so the Bolt browser preview is not the only place the app can live.
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In plain words
Leaving the Bolt browser preview means the files start on a host you chose. Bolt Cloud publishing gives a free bolt.host address and can keep a backend. Netlify can host a site that runs in the browser, but it cannot host a database. GitHub keeps the files. A download is a zip. Done means the site opens on bolt.host, Netlify, or a host you started from GitHub or the zip — without opening Bolt.new.
What each Bolt exit skips
Download and GitHub copy the files. They do not copy a Bolt Cloud database or a name you already pointed at bolt.host.
Bolt hosting is the default. If you already published to Bolt Cloud, you can switch later. Unpublish first, and disconnect any custom domain, then pick Netlify under Domains & Hosting.
Netlify hosts pages that run in the browser. It cannot host a database or a traditional backend. If the app saves accounts or orders, stay on Bolt Cloud or move that store yourself.
Download gives you the project files. Rows that already live on Bolt Cloud stay there until you copy them on purpose.
A custom domain is the name you bought. Bolt and Netlify do not pass that name between them. Add it again on the host you pick.
The Bolt order
Choose bolt.host, Netlify, or a host you run from GitHub or a zip. Then make sure a second copy of the files lives outside the editor.
01
New projects default to Bolt hosting. If you want Netlify, connect that account and pick it under Domains & Hosting.
02
The GitHub link backs up the project and lets you work outside Bolt. You can still publish with Bolt hosting or Netlify after the files live on GitHub.
03
Use Download in the project. Unzip it. The start command is usually install, then build. That zip is not the Bolt Cloud database.
04
If you stayed on Bolt Cloud, the backend can still be there. If you went to Netlify or a zip host, prove the store you use now is one that host can reach.
How to
Pick bolt.host, Netlify, GitHub, or a zip. Success is a URL that opens without the Bolt editor.
Step 01
Bolt Cloud gives bolt.host and can keep a backend. Netlify is for sites that run in the browser.
Step 02
Authorize the GitHub app from the project. This copies files and history. It does not copy Bolt Cloud rows.
Step 03
Save the zip, unzip it, and run the build on your machine. Drag the built folder to a host only if the site has no database.
Step 04
A custom domain is the name you bought. Set it on Bolt Cloud or in the Netlify dashboard. It does not move by itself.
Step 05
Use the bolt.host, Netlify, or other URL. Sign in. If that only works inside Bolt.new, the move is not done.
Bolt pass or fail
Each line is something you can open. Pass means it works on bolt.host, Netlify, or a host you started from GitHub or a zip.
Pass: the site opens on bolt.host, Netlify, or a host you started from GitHub or a zip.
Fail: it only runs in the Bolt browser preview.
Pass: GitHub or a downloaded zip has the current files.
Fail: the only copy is inside Bolt.new.
Pass: if you switched hosts, you unpublished first, then picked Netlify under Domains & Hosting.
Fail: you tried to switch while the site was still published.
Pass: if the app saves data, the store is one the chosen host can reach.
Fail: you put a database app on Netlify and expected Bolt Cloud rows to appear.
Pass: a bought name is set on the host you picked.
Fail: you assumed the name jumped from Bolt Cloud to Netlify.
Pass: a person can open the live URL and sign in without Bolt.new.
Fail: start still means opening the editor.
Technical review: , CodeCross engineering
Read next
These pages are already on the site. Use them to pressure-test the bet before a call.
Get off Bolt
Stop using the editor as the only place the app runs, after bolt.host or Netlify is live.
Bolt to production
Stay on Bolt Cloud if you only need a real start path, not a host change.
Production-ready checklist
Release checks after a URL opens without Bolt.new.
Book a discovery call
Bring the Bolt project and whether it already publishes to bolt.host.
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Read on ClutchWork with our team
Stay with the vibe-coding guides, or open booking and the Austin pages.
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Map of Bolt intents.
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Keep the editor for spikes while one piece moves to GitHub or Netlify.
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Wrap the preview when leaving Cloud is the wrong job.
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Show us the bolt.host or Netlify URL. We name what the zip missed.
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If you want help choosing bolt.host or Netlify.
Before you book
Prefer writing? Send project details and we reply within one business day.
Publishing puts the project on the internet. Bolt Cloud includes a free bolt.host address. No extra account is required. Free and Pro can both publish to bolt.host. A bought name on that host is a Pro feature.
Use Netlify if you want that host’s history and logs, or your team already publishes there. Netlify cannot host a database. If the app saves accounts or orders, Bolt’s own help says stay with Bolt hosting.
No. GitHub and the download copy project files. A Bolt Cloud database stays on Bolt until you copy it yourself. Plan that store as a separate job.
The zip has the files, not the Bolt editor helpers. If the app needed Bolt Cloud for a backend, a static host will not grow one. Fix the store and the start command first. Green inside Bolt.new is not the same as portable.
Bring the Bolt project, whether you already published, and whether the app saves data. We will name the host that matches that app.
Prefer writing? Send project details on the contact page.