--- title: "Bolt keeps breaking what it just fixed" description: "Bolt breaks fixes because it rewrites whole files with limited memory. How to check the loop and fix it with locked files, Plan mode and version history." url: https://whocanfixmyapp.com/problems/bolt-keeps-breaking-what-it-just-fixed --- [Home](https://whocanfixmyapp.com/) / [Problems](https://whocanfixmyapp.com/problems) / [AI loops and credits](https://whocanfixmyapp.com/problems#ai-loops-and-credits) # Bolt keeps breaking what it just fixed VC-03 · Bolt · Updated October 2026 · By [Nathaniel Kelley](https://whocanfixmyapp.com/authors/nathaniel-kelley) Quick verdict Partly fixable yourself. Prompt habits and locked files, under an hour. - **How serious**: Medium - **Fix it yourself?**: Partly, some steps need a developer - **Typical cost**: $49–$800 one-off check, or €99–$990 for a single fix ([prices](https://whocanfixmyapp.com/pricing)) - **Top rated for Bolt**: [Afterbuild Labs](https://whocanfixmyapp.com/companies/afterbuild-labs) · **10.0**/10 **What you see.** Each fix in Bolt works for one prompt, then the next change breaks the same screen again. ## Why it happens Bolt rewrites files instead of editing a few lines. When you ask for one change, it may regenerate whole components, and anything it did not remember about the earlier fix is lost. Bolt's own help says its chat memory is limited and that large, multi-part prompts are the most common cause of broken or skipped work. Two things make it worse. First, clicking **Attempt fix** again and again lets Bolt guess at the symptom without finding the cause, and each attempt costs tokens. Second, a project with large files gives Bolt too much to hold in context, so edits to one file quietly break another. The result feels like a loop: fix, break, fix, break. The code is not cursed. The agent is working without a stable picture of your app. ## Fix it yourself 1. Stop the loop. Run `/clear` in the chatbox and click **Clear context**, then describe the single bug again with the exact error text. 2. Open **Code view**, right-click files that already work and choose **Lock file**. Right-click the broken file and choose **Target file** so Bolt edits only that one. 3. Switch to **Plan mode** and ask Bolt to explain the cause before writing code. Approve the plan, then build one step at a time and test after each. 4. If the screen worked earlier, open **Version history** in the top menu and restore that version. Restoring costs no tokens. 5. Ask Bolt to add logging around the failing feature, reproduce the bug, and paste the browser console output back into the chat. 6. Connect the project to GitHub so every working state is saved outside Bolt before the next big prompt. ## When to get an engineer Get an engineer when three focused prompts in a row still break the same feature, or when the loop touches sign-in, payments or user data. Share the project URL, the GitHub repo, the last working version in history and a short list of what each attempt changed. A one-off check costs $49–$800 and takes 1 day to 1 week. A single targeted fix is €99–$990, about 2 days. See [keep prompting or get a human](https://whocanfixmyapp.com/questions/keep-prompting-or-get-a-human). ## Top-rated companies for Bolt apps Ranked by our score: published prices, scope of work, AI tools named, timing and a low-risk first step. [How we score](https://whocanfixmyapp.com/methodology#score). - 1 · [Afterbuild Labs](https://whocanfixmyapp.com/companies/afterbuild-labs) · **10.0**/10 · Best for: A check before launch · Free first step · from $49 - 2 · [Redlab](https://whocanfixmyapp.com/companies/redlab) · **10.0**/10 · Best for: A full rescue by one team that keeps building · Free first step · from $490 - 3 · [Vibe Code Rescue (Lev Arakelyan)](https://whocanfixmyapp.com/companies/vibe-code-rescue-lev-arakelyan) · **9.0**/10 · Best for: A one-off check and a cleanup · From $299 [All 48 Bolt companies, ranked](https://whocanfixmyapp.com/best/bolt-developers) ## Check these CODE-01 · High The code lives in a Git repository you own Connect GitHub or export the project. If the builder account is lost, the product should not be. CODE-02 · Medium The flows that make money have tests Sign-up, checkout and the core action. A few end-to-end tests catch most regressions from new prompts. CODE-03 · Medium Dead code and duplicate components are removed Search for components with near-identical names. Three versions of one button means three places to fix every bug. OPS-03 · High Errors reach you before users do Add error monitoring and uptime alerts. If you learn about outages from customers, this is missing. ## Questions ### Why does Bolt forget the fix it just made? Bolt's chat memory is limited and it reads only what is in context. If the fixed file is not in view or the prompt is large, it may regenerate code without the earlier change. ### Does restoring a version cost tokens? No. Bolt's help says Version history and the Publish button cost nothing, while every prompt and every Attempt fix click uses tokens. Sources: [Bolt: Prompt effectively](https://support.bolt.new/best-practices/prompting-effectively); [Bolt: Troubleshooting issues](https://support.bolt.new/troubleshooting/issues); [Bolt: Maximize token efficiency](https://support.bolt.new/prompting/maximizing-token-efficiency); [Bolt: Version history and GitHub](https://support.bolt.new/concepts/version-history-github). **Bolt guide** What Bolt builds, where it breaks and how to check it: [Bolt app rescue: moving a Bolt.new project to production](https://whocanfixmyapp.com/guides/bolt). **Same category** - [Lovable keeps saying it fixed the bug: how to get out of the loop without burning credits](https://whocanfixmyapp.com/problems/lovable-stuck-in-a-fix-loop) - [Replit agent stuck in a loop or deleted my data: what to do now](https://whocanfixmyapp.com/problems/replit-agent-stuck-or-lost-data) - [Replit Agent burned my credits and the app still doesn't work](https://whocanfixmyapp.com/problems/replit-agent-burned-credits-nothing-works) - [Cursor or Claude Code rewrote files and the app stopped working](https://whocanfixmyapp.com/problems/cursor-or-claude-code-rewrote-files-app-stopped-working) - [The agent ran a migration and my data is gone](https://whocanfixmyapp.com/problems/agent-ran-a-migration-and-my-data-is-gone) - [My app worked yesterday and I changed nothing](https://whocanfixmyapp.com/problems/app-worked-yesterday-nothing-changed) [All ai loops and credits problems](https://whocanfixmyapp.com/problems#ai-loops-and-credits) **Run every check** The [production checklist](https://whocanfixmyapp.com/checklist) has all 24 checks with a verdict.