Lovable (formerly GPT Engineer) is an AI-powered full-stack app builder. You describe the app you want in plain English — Lovable generates a React + TypeScript + Tailwind frontend, wires up Supabase for database and authentication, and deploys it automatically. No manual coding required. It's designed for non-developers who want to launch real web apps.

Lovable's free plan gives 5 credits per day (1 credit = 1 AI generation). Each generation creates or modifies part of your app. For serious projects, Starter ($25/mo, 100 credits) or Pro ($100/mo, 400 credits) is needed. Credits don't roll over between months.

What is the credits model in Lovable?

Each Lovable 'generation' uses 1 credit — that's any time you send a prompt and Lovable modifies your app. Simple changes (update text, change a color) use 1 credit. Complex changes (add a new feature, wire up authentication) also use 1 credit. Free: 5 credits/day. Starter ($25/mo): 100 credits. Pro ($100/mo): 400 credits. Credits reset monthly and don't roll over.

Lovable No-Code 8 min read

Lovable Guide 2025: Build Full-Stack Apps with AI

Q: Can Lovable connect to a real database?

Yes. Lovable has native Supabase integration. Click 'Connect Supabase' in the Lovable editor, authenticate with your Supabase project, and Lovable can create tables, set up RLS policies, add authentication, and generate API calls — all from your natural language descriptions. This makes Lovable genuinely full-stack, not just a frontend generator.

Lovable (formerly GPT Engineer) builds real full-stack apps from plain English — React + TypeScript frontend, Supabase database + auth, auto-deploy. Free 5 credits/day, Starter $25/mo (100 credits), Pro $100/mo (400 credits).

1. What is Lovable?

Lovable is an AI app builder that generates full-stack web applications from natural language. You describe what you want, Lovable writes the React + TypeScript + Tailwind code, connects it to Supabase for database and auth, and deploys it — all in one tool.

Unlike Bolt.new (which generates code for you to take elsewhere), Lovable is a complete hosted platform: code lives in Lovable (synced to GitHub), deployment is automatic, and the Supabase connection is managed for you.

Lovable was rebranded from GPT Engineer in 2024. Same founding team (Anton Osika), same codebase direction — the rebrand focused the product on non-developers launching production apps rather than developers generating code snippets.

What Lovable builds

SaaS dashboards with user auth
Internal tools (admin panels, CRMs)
Landing pages with lead capture
Marketplaces and directories
Project management apps

Tech stack generated

React + TypeScript + Vite
Tailwind CSS + shadcn/ui components
Supabase (PostgreSQL + Auth + Storage)
React Router for navigation
Deployed to lovable.app (Cloudflare)

2. Creating your first app from a prompt

The quality of your first generation depends on how specific your initial prompt is. Here's how to write a good starting prompt:

What makes a good Lovable prompt?

Be specific about features: "A task manager with projects, tasks, due dates, priority levels, and a kanban board" not "a to-do app".

Describe the layout: "Sidebar navigation on the left, main content area on the right, responsive for mobile". Layout guidance saves credits vs iterating after.

Mention user types: "Users should be able to register and log in. Each user sees only their own data." This tells Lovable to wire up Supabase auth and RLS automatically.

Name the data model: "Projects have: name, description, created_at. Tasks have: title, description, due_date, priority (low/medium/high), project_id." This directly maps to Supabase table creation.

Example first prompt: "Build a simple CRM for freelancers. Users register and log in. They can add clients (name, email, company, status: active/inactive). For each client, they can add projects (name, budget, deadline, status: proposal/in-progress/completed). Dashboard shows total active clients and in-progress projects. Use a clean minimal design with sidebar navigation."

3. Connecting Supabase (auth + database)

Supabase is where your data lives. Lovable can generate the frontend without Supabase, but any app with user accounts or persistent data needs it.

How to connect Supabase

Create a free Supabase project at supabase.com (takes 2 minutes)
In Lovable, click the Supabase icon in the top toolbar
Click "Connect Supabase" and sign in with your Supabase account
Select your project from the dropdown
Lovable now has access to create tables, RLS policies, and auth flows

Authentication: Tell Lovable "add user auth" and it sets up Supabase Auth with email/password, creates login and signup pages, adds protected routes, and stores session state. It also adds RLS policies so users only see their own data.

Tables: When you describe your data model, Lovable generates SQL migrations and creates the tables in your Supabase project. You can see the tables in your Supabase dashboard.

Supabase free tier: Supabase has a generous free tier (500MB database, 50MB file storage, 50k monthly active users) — sufficient for most Lovable apps until you get real users.

4. GitHub sync & custom code

Lovable can sync your generated code to a GitHub repository. This unlocks editing the code in Cursor/VS Code and pushing changes back to Lovable.

Setting up GitHub sync

In Lovable, click the GitHub icon in the toolbar
Authenticate with GitHub and select or create a repository
Lovable pushes the current codebase to that repo
Clone the repo locally and edit in Cursor or VS Code
Push your changes — Lovable pulls them and redeploys automatically

Two-way sync workflow: Use Lovable for big structural changes (add a feature, change the layout) and the code editor for precise fixes (tweak a CSS class, fix a bug in a function). This combines AI speed with developer precision.

Avoid merge conflicts: Don't edit the same files in Lovable and locally at the same time. Make one set of changes, push, then switch tools. Conflicts are resolved manually in the code editor and can break the Lovable sync.

5. Custom domains

Every Lovable app gets a free your-app-name.lovable.app subdomain by default. For production, connect your own domain.

Adding a custom domain

Go to Project Settings → Domains in Lovable
Click "Add custom domain" and enter your domain (e.g. app.yourcompany.com)
Lovable shows you two DNS records: CNAME pointing to Lovable's CDN
Add these records in your DNS provider (Cloudflare, Namecheap, etc.)
Lovable auto-provisions an SSL certificate (Let's Encrypt, takes 5–10 min)

6. Teams & collaboration

Lovable supports team workspaces where multiple members can collaborate on the same project. Available on Pro plan and above.

Team workspace features

Shared project access for team members
Each member uses their own credits
Shared Supabase connections
Role-based permissions (owner, editor, viewer)

Best practices for teams

One person edits at a time to avoid conflicts
Use GitHub sync for version history
Assign feature ownership: product lead edits in Lovable, devs in code editor

7. Plans and credits explained

Plan	Price	Credits	Custom domain	Teams
Free	$0	5/day	✗	✗
Starter	$25/mo	100/mo	✓	✗
Pro	$100/mo	400/mo	✓	✓

Credits model — what uses a credit: Every time you send a prompt and Lovable generates or modifies code, that uses 1 credit. This includes small changes (update button text) and large ones (add a full feature). Plan your credits accordingly — a complex app build might use 30–50 credits in a session.

Credits don't roll over: Unused monthly credits expire at the end of each billing cycle. If you're not using your full allocation consistently, consider downgrading.

Extra credits: You can purchase additional credits outside your plan at $0.25/credit. Useful for intensive build sessions without upgrading your monthly plan.

Lovable vs Bolt.new vs v0

Lovable vs Bolt.new: Lovable includes Supabase backend + auth + deployment platform. Bolt.new generates code in-browser with WebContainers — good for frontend but no managed backend. Choose Lovable for production SaaS; Bolt.new for rapid prototyping or frontend-only apps.

Lovable vs v0 (Vercel): v0 generates React/Next.js UI components you copy into your existing project. Lovable generates complete apps with routing, auth, and deployment. v0 is for developers who want AI-generated components; Lovable is for non-developers who want a complete app.

🔔

Monitor Lovable and Supabase status

Lovable generation failures and Supabase outages affect your app directly. Track both at prismix.dev — get free email alerts so downtime doesn't catch you off guard.

Lovable status Get alerts free →

FAQ

What is Lovable?

Lovable (formerly GPT Engineer) is an AI full-stack app builder. Describe your app in plain English — Lovable generates React + TypeScript frontend, wires Supabase for database + auth, and deploys automatically. Designed for non-developers launching real web apps.

Is Lovable free?

Lovable has a free plan with 5 credits per day. Each generation uses 1 credit. Starter ($25/mo) gives 100 credits/mo; Pro ($100/mo) gives 400 credits/mo. Credits reset monthly and don't roll over.

Can Lovable connect to a real database?

Yes. Lovable has native Supabase integration. Connect your Supabase project and Lovable creates tables, RLS policies, and auth flows from your descriptions — making it genuinely full-stack, not just a frontend generator.

What is the credits model?

Each Lovable prompt that generates or modifies code uses 1 credit — whether it's updating button text or adding a whole feature. Free: 5/day. Starter: 100/mo. Pro: 400/mo. Extra credits: $0.25 each. Credits don't roll over.

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