WebContainer Slow Startup - App Takes Time to Boot
Your Bolt WebContainer takes a long time to start - 30+ seconds before seeing the dev server running. Development workflow is slow due to startup delays.
This happens consistently, making every new session wait.
Error Messages You Might See
Common Causes
- Large node_modules size slowing file system
- Many dependencies causing npm install to take forever
- Post-install scripts (build, setup) in package.json taking time
- WebContainer downloading dependencies on first run
- Heavy TypeScript compilation on startup
How to Fix It
Minimize dependencies: remove unused packages, audit with npm ls
Use npm ci instead of npm install for faster, deterministic installs
Remove unnecessary postinstall scripts or make them optional
Pre-compile TypeScript if possible, or disable strict mode in dev
Clear npm cache in Bolt: might be cached from previous run
Consider using pnpm instead of npm (faster for monorepos)
Real developers can help you.
Sage Fulcher
Hey I'm Sage! Im a Boston area software engineer who grew up in South Florida. Ive worked at a ton of cool places like a telehealth kidney care startup that took part in a billion dollar merger (Cricket health/Interwell health), a boutique design agency where I got to work on a ton of exciting startups including a photography education app, a collegiate Esports league and more (Philosophie), a data analytics as a service startup in Cambridge (MA) as well as at Phillips and MIT Lincoln Lab where I designed and developed novel network security visualizations and analytics. I've been writing code and furiously devoted to using computers to make people’s lives easier for about 17 years. My degree is in making computers make pretty lights and sounds. Outside of work I love hip hop, the Celtics, professional wrestling, magic the gathering, photography, drumming, and guitars (both making and playing them)
Dor Yaloz
SW engineer with 6+ years of experience,
I worked with React/Node/Python
did projects with React+Capacitor.js for ios
Supabase expert
Jared Hasson
Full time lead founding dev at a cyber security saas startup, with 10 yoe and a bachelor's in CS. Building & debugging software products is what I've spent my time on for forever
legrab
I'll fill this later
Mehdi Ben Haddou
- Founder of Chessigma (1M+ users) & many small projects
- ex Founding Engineer @Uplane (YC F25)
- ex Software Engineer @Amazon and @Booking.com
Stanislav Prigodich
15+ years building iOS and web apps at startups and enterprise companies. I want to use that experience to help builders ship real products - when something breaks, I'm here to fix it.
Simon A.
I'm a backend developer building APIs, emulators, and interactive game systems. Professionally, I've developed Java/Spring reporting solutions, managed relational and NoSQL databases, and implemented CI/CD workflows.
Matthew Butler
Systems Development Engineer @ Amazon Web Services
Omar Faruk
As a Product Engineer at Klasio, I contributed to end-to-end product development, focusing on scalability, performance, and user experience.
My work spanned building and refining core features, developing dynamic website templates, integrating secure and reliable payment gateways, and optimizing the overall system architecture.
I played a key role in creating a scalable and maintainable platform to support educators and learners globally.
I'm enthusiastic about embracing new challenges and making meaningful contributions.
Costea Adrian
Embedded Engineer specilizing in perception systems. Latest project was a adas camera calibration system.
You don't need to be technical. Just describe what's wrong and a verified developer will handle the rest.
Get HelpFrequently Asked Questions
Why is WebContainer slow on first run?
Downloading node_modules, dependencies, and setting up environment. Subsequent runs are cached
Should I commit node_modules?
No, Bolt installs fresh. Keep package-lock.json committed for reproducible builds
How do I speed up dependencies?
Use pnpm (faster), audit and remove unused packages, use npm ci instead of install