Where does Bolt publish my game?

Open Bolt's Publish menu to see the current options. At times it has deployed to Netlify. You can also download the project or connect GitHub and host it yourself.

Does a Bolt game need a backend?

Only for shared state such as leaderboards, accounts or rooms. A single-player game with local saves runs from static files.

Why is my published Bolt game slow to start?

Usually the build is large: many packages, big images or long audio. Look at the biggest files in the Network tab, compress them, and load extras after the first play starts.

Can I move my Bolt project to another host later?

Yes. Export the code or sync it to GitHub, deploy it elsewhere, and keep the old address alive until the new one works. Then update the link on your Foundplay listing.

I built a game with Bolt. Where do I share it and get players?

Bolt builds the project in your browser and can publish it from the editor, let you download it, or send it to GitHub. Publish, then open the live address in a private window on your phone, since a game that runs in Bolt's preview can fail on a real host. If it plays well there, list the link on Foundplay.

Updated October 10, 2026. Written by Foundplay, a game discovery platform for free browser games. Foundplay also sells Boost, a paid promotion for games, and this guide says where it fits. The advice before that part works without it. All guides

Preview, publish, export

Bolt gives you three things: a preview inside the editor, a published address and the code itself. The preview is for you. For players, use the Publish menu. Its options have changed over time and have included deploying to Netlify, so open the menu and read what it offers now. If you want full control, download the project or connect GitHub and host it yourself.

Why a game can work in the preview and fail live

Bolt has run projects in a Node environment inside the browser tab. That setup can hide differences from a real host: absolute file paths, server code that depends on that environment, and settings that don't exist outside the editor. Play the published address from start to finish, on a phone, and read the browser console.

Keep the project small

AI builders add packages freely, and each one adds to the first load. Check the size of the built files and open the Network tab to find the biggest ones. Compress images and sounds, drop unused packages, and load heavy assets after the player presses Start. A game that waits several seconds on a blank page loses visitors before the first play.

Make it look like a game, not a web page

Builders often wrap the game in a header, a footer and page margins. Ask for the game to fill the visible screen, with no scrolling, text selection or double-tap zoom in play, and a layout that works with the browser's changing address bar on phones. After each prompt, ask it to list the files it changed, so a rewrite of the layout doesn't quietly touch the scoring.

Keep your own copy

Connect GitHub early so every change is saved outside Bolt, and you can go back to a version that worked. Before you rebuild a large part of the game with a new prompt, save the current version.

How Foundplay can help

Foundplay is a game discovery platform for free browser games. It doesn't host games: every listing sends players to the creator's own site.

The free listing

Listing a game is free. Paste the link where people play it at /submit, check the details and publish. The game goes live right away, and Play sends players to your own site.

Paste the published address. If you later move the project to another host, edit the link on your listing.

Boost, the paid option

Foundplay sells Boost, so it has a reason to want you to buy it. The free listing works without it.

Starter tests your cover and first minute with strangers. Run it once the published version plays well on a phone, since plays go to whatever the link shows while the boost runs.

The Starter plan costs $5 for 50 plays in 3 days, which works out to 10¢ a play. Where it shows: its genre pages and search results.

A play is a counted click on Play from a sponsored spot, the same way public play counts work: once per game per network a day. Every sponsored spot is labelled Sponsored, and the share of plays not delivered by the end of the plan's days is refunded automatically. Foundplay can't see what players do after the click. Fan games and copies of commercial games can't be boosted. A game has to be listed before it can be boosted. List it first, or start a Boost and add your play link there, and Foundplay lists the game for free as part of the same flow.

For scale, Foundplay's own visit counter shows an average of 4,500+ visitors a day over the last three full days, and 600+ games are listed. It updates every few minutes.

List your game for free Boost with Starter See all Boost plans

More free ways to find players are in the full guide.

Questions

Where does Bolt publish my game?: Open Bolt's Publish menu to see the current options. At times it has deployed to Netlify. You can also download the project or connect GitHub and host it yourself.
Does a Bolt game need a backend?: Only for shared state such as leaderboards, accounts or rooms. A single-player game with local saves runs from static files.
Why is my published Bolt game slow to start?: Usually the build is large: many packages, big images or long audio. Look at the biggest files in the Network tab, compress them, and load extras after the first play starts.
Can I move my Bolt project to another host later?: Yes. Export the code or sync it to GitHub, deploy it elsewhere, and keep the old address alive until the new one works. Then update the link on your Foundplay listing.