“Something went wrong” tells you that something failed, not what. Bolt's support docs don't list this message or give one cause for it (we checked their troubleshooting, preview and publishing pages, and Bolt's public GitHub issues, in October 2026). What they do document is a set of specific errors, each with its own fix. So the fix here is a short process: rule out an outage, get the real error message, then match it to the fix below.
If your Bolt app keeps breaking as it grows, or works in Bolt but fails once deployed, that's a different problem. See Bolt app not working? Common failure modes and fixes.
Step 1: Check whether Bolt itself is down
Open status.bolt.new before you change anything in your project. Bolt's troubleshooting guide puts this check first. Bolt's status history lists repeated “Prompting Degraded” incidents in September and October 2026, and earlier incidents with project saving and publishing. If there is an active incident for the part you were using, your project is probably fine. Wait for it to be resolved, then try again.
Step 2: Get the real error message
The generic message usually sits on top of a more specific one. Bolt's docs point to three places to find it:
- The browser console. Press
Cmd + Option + J(Mac) orCtrl + Shift + I(Windows), repeat what you were doing, and copy any red errors. - The Bolt tab in Code view. Switch to Code view (the
<>icon) and look for red text in the bottom panel. - A build in the Terminal. In Code view, open the Terminal and run
npm run build. Compilation errors show up here.
Bolt's docs suggest pasting the error into the chat and asking Bolt to fix it. That's worth one try. If the same error comes back after a fix, stop prompting and find it in the list below.
Step 3: Match the error to Bolt's documented fix
Where it happened: the editor won't start, or the project won't load
- WebContainer startup error. Bolt runs your project inside the browser. Use Chrome or another Chromium-based browser (Edge, Brave, Opera and others), clear the browser cache, turn off extensions (ad blockers first), turn off any VPN, or try Chrome's Guest mode.
- You're on Safari. Bolt works in Safari with limits: files are read-only, there's no terminal, and previews are built on a server instead of in your browser. A project made in Chrome needs a prompt such as “Load the preview” to show in Safari. If something fails in Safari, try the same project in Chrome before anything else.
- Out of memory. Close tabs and apps you don't need, close other Bolt or StackBlitz projects, then refresh and reopen the project. If that fails, restart your computer.
- Seeing 403 or 404 errors? Check whether antivirus software is blocking Bolt's files.
Where it happened: the chat stops responding or won't take your prompt
- Bolt is stuck. Type
/clearin the chat box and confirm “Clear context”. - Prompt too long, or project too big for a prompt. Download your project as a backup first. Then remove unused files (ask Bolt, or run Knip in the terminal). Next, ask Bolt to list any files longer than about 700 lines, and ask it to split each one into smaller files, one file at a time. Test the project after each split. If this keeps happening, read failure mode 1 on /fix-bolt-app.
Where it happened: the preview
- Blank, white or grey preview. Hard refresh (
Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + R) or open the project in a new tab. Then check the console (step 2), runnpm run build, and ask Bolt which environment variables the app needs. Add any missing ones in a.envfile or the Secrets menu. - Stuck on “Your preview will appear here”. Bolt's docs say this usually means a port conflict or an error stopping the app from running. Copy the red text from the Bolt tab in Code view into the chat.
- Supabase URL errors in the console. Your app expects a database that isn't connected. If you have your own Supabase project, connect it in the advanced database settings. If you use Bolt's built-in database, contact Bolt support.
Where it happened: the Publish button
- “Project is too large to deploy. The maximum allowed size is 100MB.” This is the size of your project files, usually large images or videos stored in Bolt. Back up, delete unused media, and move the rest to external storage (Supabase Storage, Cloudflare R2, S3 or similar), then point the app at those URLs.
- “Could not find a build output directory to publish.” The build didn't produce its output folder (often
distorbuild) where Bolt expected it. Your code is not lost. Paste the error into the chat, ask Bolt to fix the build and publishing setup, and publish again. - “This site can't provide a secure connection”, “<your-site>.bolt.host sent an invalid response” or ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR. Bolt's docs say this is usually your network or internet provider blocking
.bolt.hostaddresses, not your site failing. Open the site on mobile data with the VPN off. If it loads there, allow.bolt.hoston your network, or ask your IT team. If it fails on every network you try, contact Bolt support and include your site's URL. - Publishing to Netlify fails. Run
npm run build, download the project and deploy it to Netlify by hand. - You duplicated a project and it no longer publishes. Copies lose their Netlify connection. Reconnecting creates a new Netlify site, so you'll need to move any custom domain to it.
Where it happened: after signing in
- Your projects are missing. You're probably in a different workspace or signed in with a different account. Check the workspace with the checkmark in the account menu and the email you're signed in with. You can also open the project from your Bolt collection on StackBlitz.
Still seeing it?
If none of these match, email Bolt support at [email protected] from the address you created the project with. Include the exact error text from step 2 and your project or site URL.
If the errors keep coming back whatever you fix, the project has usually outgrown what prompting can hold together. That's the point where a person needs to read the code. See the next section.
Bolt app stuck behind one error after another?
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