Key Concepts
- Full-stack web application development with AI: Using AI to generate both the server-side and client-side code for web applications.
- Open Source: Software with publicly accessible source code that can be freely used, modified, and distributed.
- Bolt New: A new open-source tool for AI-powered full-stack web application development by Tlets.
- OpenRouter: A platform that provides access to various AI models through a single API, including both free and paid options.
- LLMs (Large Language Models): AI models like Google Gemini, Meta Llama, OpenAI's GPT models, and Anthropic's models used for code generation and other tasks.
- Context Window: The amount of text an LLM can consider when generating output, measured in tokens.
- Community-driven development: A collaborative approach to software development where contributions from many individuals improve the project.
Bolt New: A New Open-Source AI Web Development Tool
The video introduces Bolt New, a new open-source tool from Tlets that allows developers to create full-stack web applications using AI. It emphasizes that Bolt New generates both the front-end and back-end code, differentiating it from tools like GPT Engineer, which primarily focuses on front-end development.
Comparison with Existing Tools
The video compares Bolt New to other AI-powered development tools like Lazy.ai, Replit Agent, and GPT Engineer. While acknowledging that these tools exist, the speaker highlights Bolt New's superior performance in generating a functional full-stack application from a single prompt. The key differentiator is that Bolt New is open source, unlike Lazy.ai and Replit Agent. This allows users to:
- Download and run Bolt New locally or host it on their own servers.
- Modify and extend the tool's functionality.
- Integrate freely available AI models.
Open Source Advantages
The open-source nature of Bolt New is presented as a significant advantage, potentially leading to a community-driven ecosystem similar to WordPress. This could result in numerous integrations, plugins, and templates developed by the community.
Using Bolt New with OpenRouter and Free Models
The video demonstrates how to use Bolt New with OpenRouter to access various AI models. It highlights the availability of free models like Google Gemini Flash, which is fast and capable of coding. The speaker also mentions that Meta's Llama 70B is a good model.
Step-by-step guide to using OpenRouter API key:
- Click the "get here" button to go to OpenRouter.
- Log in or register on the OpenRouter platform.
- Register an API key.
- Add credits to your OpenRouter account.
- Copy the API key and paste it into Bolt New.
Using an OpenRouter API key unlocks access to more powerful models like Anthropic Sonnet 3.5 Unmoderated and OpenAI's GPT-4, but these require payment based on token usage. The video provides a cost comparison between Anthropic and OpenAI models.
Demo: Creating a Landing Page
The video includes a demo where Bolt New is used to create a simple HTML/CSS landing page with an animated link. The prompt used is: "Create a plain HTML CSS landing page that shows this link as it is in large text that is animated and fancy."
The demo reveals a bug in the open-source version where the preview functionality doesn't work correctly. The speaker explains that this is due to the terminal not opening and displaying error messages.
Workaround for the preview bug:
- Copy the command from the Bolt New interface.
- Run the command manually in a terminal.
- Identify and fix any errors (in the demo, the error was an unknown option "-a").
After fixing the error, the preview works, and the landing page is displayed.
Missing Features and Community Contributions
The video acknowledges that the open-source version of Bolt New is missing some features present in the official (paid) version, such as the ability to download and deploy projects. The speaker added a download feature during a live stream.
How to download projects in the modified open-source version:
- Click the "Download" button.
- Extract the downloaded archive.
- Open the HTML file in a browser to view the project.
The speaker expresses hope for community collaboration to improve Bolt New, suggesting that different developers could focus on different features or bug fixes. The video notes that there are already several forks of the Bolt New repository on GitHub, with developers adding features like OpenRouter integration and multi-LLM support.
Call to Action and Future Content
The video concludes with a call to action, encouraging viewers to like the video, subscribe to the channel, and provide feedback on what topics they would like to see covered in future videos. Potential topics include:
- How to install and use Bolt New locally.
- How to develop and extend Bolt New.
- The internal architecture of Bolt New.
The speaker also encourages developers to collaborate on a community version of Bolt New, potentially addressing the slow merge rate of pull requests in the official repository.
Conclusion
Bolt New is presented as a promising new tool for AI-assisted full-stack web development, particularly due to its open-source nature. While the open-source version has some limitations compared to the official version, the potential for community-driven development and the ability to integrate free AI models make it an exciting project to watch. The video encourages viewers to explore Bolt New, contribute to its development, and provide feedback on future content.
AI summaries can miss context or contain errors. Check important details against the original video.