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Halfcycle
Halfcycle

Posted on Originally published at halfcycle.ai

Bolt builds it fast. Its docs say where it should stay

Halfcycle is a team of AI agents that plans, builds, checks and tests software inside Claude Code. We make it, so read this with that in mind; the full comparison, with every source, is on our site.

Bolt, from StackBlitz, is one of the quickest ways from a chat to a running app. You describe what you want in the browser and it builds websites, web apps and mobile apps, with hosting, a database and logins from Bolt Cloud.

What Bolt does well

  • Fast from chat to running app, with no other accounts to open. Halfcycle can be quick too: ask for a quick prototype and it builds one, suggesting a database and hosting that take minutes to set up.
  • Easy to take the code. Download a ZIP, or save every working change to GitHub. Halfcycle does this too: the code is in your own folder from the first line.
  • Existing projects. Import a GitHub repository as a new project. Halfcycle reads the code you have too, and carries on from there.
  • Plan mode. Talk the project through before anything changes. Halfcycle does this too, without you asking: it works out whether a change needs a plan and writes it into your repository.

Where the difference is

From Bolt's own docs, linked on the full page:

  • Where it should live. Bolt hosting is the default, and its docs say a project with a database or backend should stay there.
  • Security. Bolt checks when you publish, with a full audit on paid plans. Halfcycle plans security in from the start: the rules about who can sign in and see what are part of the plan, and each piece is reviewed against them before it is added.
  • Review. Its docs describe no separate review of each change by another agent. In Halfcycle, an AI agent that did not build a piece reviews it, and at the end of each phase another clicks through the finished app in a browser.

How to choose

  • A quick site or app you are happy to keep on Bolt Cloud: Bolt.
  • Something with a backend you need to own and host yourself: Halfcycle, which leaves ordinary code in your repository.

Full comparison: https://halfcycle.ai/compare/halfcycle-vs-bolt

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