Why use Porch instead of Bolt’s built-in sharing?
Bolt can publish your project to a StackBlitz URL or deploy it to Netlify — both of which are public by default and require your recipient to navigate to a third-party platform. Porch gives you two things those options don’t:
- Access control — password-protect your app or share with a specific invite list; nobody else can see it
- No account for your viewer — your recipient opens the link and the app loads, nothing to sign up for
Step 1: Export your Bolt project
In Bolt.new, look for the download icon in the top-right corner of the editor (it may be inside an overflow menu depending on the Bolt version). Click it to download your full project as a zip file. Extract the zip to a folder on your computer.
What you get is a standard Vite + React project. It has a package.json, a src/ folder, and a vite.config.ts (or similar). To get a static output you can upload, you need to build it.
Step 2: Install dependencies and build
Open Terminal (Mac) or Command Prompt (Windows), navigate to your extracted project folder, and run:
This creates a dist/ folder inside your project. That folder contains all the static files Porch needs.
Need Node.js? The build step requires Node.js installed on your computer. If npm is not found, download Node.js from nodejs.org (the LTS version), install it, and try again.
Step 3: Upload the dist/ folder to Porch
Sign in to Porch (free, no credit card) and click + New Porch. Drag the dist/ folder onto the upload area — or click to open a folder picker and select it. Porch deploys it in about 30 seconds and gives you a live yourapp.getporch.app URL.
Step 4: Set access (optional)
By default, anyone with the link can open your Porch. To restrict access:
- Password: go to Manage Access, set the mode to Password, and enter a password. Text or email it to whoever you want to share with.
- Invite-only: go to Manage Access, set the mode to Invite-only, and enter email addresses. Each person gets a one-click magic link — no Porch account required on their end.
Step 5: Share the link
Copy the yourapp.getporch.app link from your dashboard. Send it via text, email, Slack — anywhere. Your recipient taps the link and the app opens in any browser, with no account required.
Note on API-dependent features:Bolt apps that make calls to external services using server-side secrets (private API keys, database connections) won’t have those calls working in the static export — the secrets aren’t bundled into the HTML. Pure front-end apps — dashboards, calculators, games, form UIs — work perfectly on Porch.
Frequently asked questions
Do recipients need a Bolt account to view my app?+
No. Once you upload to Porch, visitors open the Porch link in any browser. They never see Bolt, StackBlitz, or any other platform. For password-protected Porches they enter the password; for invite-only they verify via a one-click email link.
Can I update my Bolt app after sharing the Porch link?+
Yes. Make changes in Bolt, re-export, rebuild locally, then go to your Porch dashboard and upload the new dist/ folder. The URL stays the same — everyone who has the link automatically gets the updated version.
My Bolt app uses environment variables — will they work?+
Vite bundles VITE_-prefixed variables directly into the build output. Create a .env file in your project root with any VITE_ variables before running npm run build, and they’ll be included. Do not put private server-side keys here — they’ll be visible in the browser.
The build failed — what should I check?+
First, make sure npm install completed without errors before running npm run build. If the build still fails, look at the error message — it usually points to a missing environment variable or a TypeScript type error. Bolt sometimes generates code that assumes a specific Node.js version; try using Node.js 20 LTS if you get unexpected errors.