Bolt vs Claude CodeUpdated 2026-03-16

SUMMARY

Bolt (Platform) uses text configuration while Claude Code (CLI) uses markdown. They differ on 7 of 11 compared features. Both tools provide AI-assisted development but take different approaches to project configuration.

FEATURE COMPARISON

FeatureBoltClaude Code
Config formattextmarkdown
Hierarchy support
Global config
Project config
Subdirectory scoping
File inclusion / imports
Ignore file.claudeignore
IDE integrationPlatformCLI
Schema / structureFree-form (Markdown)Free-form (Markdown)
Git committed
EncodingUTF-8UTF-8

FILE MAPPING

PurposeBoltClaude Code
Project instructions.bolt/promptCLAUDE.md

SIDE-BY-SIDE CODE SAMPLES

Bolt
.bolt/prompt
text
You are building a SaaS dashboard application.

Stack: Remix with TypeScript, Prisma ORM, PostgreSQL, TailwindCSS.

Key rules:
- Use server loaders for data fetching, not client-side fetch
- All forms use Remix Form with progressive enhancement
- Use Prisma for all database operations
- Style with TailwindCSS utility classes, no custom CSS
- Components go in app/components/, routes in app/routes/
- Use zod for form validation on both client and server

Claude Code
CLAUDE.md
markdown
# Project Name

> TypeScript + React monorepo. Deployed on Vercel.

## Code Style

- TypeScript strict mode — no `any`, no `ts-ignore`
- Named exports only (no default exports)
- Prefer functional patterns: map/filter/reduce over for-loops
- Error handling: use Result<T, E> from `src/lib/result.ts`

## Architecture

- `src/routes/`   — Route handlers (thin layer, delegates to services)
- `src/services/`  — Business logic, one file per domain entity
- `src/db/`        — Drizzle ORM schema and query helpers
- `src/lib/`       — Shared utilities (logger, result type, validation)

## Commands

```bash
pnpm install          # Install dependencies
pnpm dev              # Start dev server (port 3000)
pnpm test             # Run Vitest suite
pnpm test:e2e         # Run Playwright tests
pnpm lint             # ESLint + Prettier check
pnpm db:migrate       # Run pending Drizzle migrations
```

## Git Conventions

- Conventional Commits: `feat:`, `fix:`, `chore:`, `docs:`
- Branch naming: `feat/short-description`, `fix/issue-number`
- Squash merge to main; delete branches after merge

## Notes

- The `src/legacy/` directory is being migrated. Do not add new code there.
- All dates are stored as UTC. Never use local time.

@docs/api-patterns.md
@docs/database-conventions.md

KEY DIFFERENCES

1. Config format

Bolt: text. Claude Code: markdown.

2. Hierarchy support

Bolt: Not supported. Claude Code: Supported.

3. Global config

Bolt: Not supported. Claude Code: Supported.

4. Subdirectory scoping

Bolt: Not supported. Claude Code: Supported.

5. File inclusion / imports

Bolt: Not supported. Claude Code: Supported.

6. Ignore file

Bolt: Not supported. Claude Code: .claudeignore.

7. IDE integration

Bolt: Platform. Claude Code: CLI.

WHICH SHOULD I USE?

Recommendation

Choose based on your IDE/CLI preference. If you use Bolt, configure .bolt/prompt. If you use Claude Code, configure CLAUDE.md. Many projects include config files for multiple tools so each team member can use their preferred editor.

PORTABILITY TIP

sync-instructions.sh
bash
# Maintain a single source of truth:
cp AI-INSTRUCTIONS.md CLAUDE.md
cp AI-INSTRUCTIONS.md .cursorrules
cp AI-INSTRUCTIONS.md AGENTS.md

SEE ALSO

agentconfig.ing2026-03-16COMPARE(1)