away from lovableYou are here when
Nobody but you and a few test accounts use the app.
What usually goes wrong at this stage
- The project only exists in Lovable. If a prompt breaks something, the undo button lives in the same place as the problem. A copy on GitHub is the cheapest insurance there is.
- Breaking the sync by accident. Deleting the GitHub repository stops the sync, and disconnecting and reconnecting GitHub in Lovable makes Lovable create a new repository rather than go back to the old one (Lovable docs). Renaming the repository is fine.
What it costs: nothing. GitHub sync is available on every Lovable plan, and the repository Lovable creates is private by default (Lovable docs). It changes nothing about your app.
What this stage gets you
Your code in your own GitHub account, with every change Lovable makes from then on saved there too. Lovable syncs both ways: what Lovable changes lands in the repository, and what lands on the synced branch shows up in Lovable (Lovable docs). You connect it in Project settings → Git → GitHub, or from the + next to the chat box, under Project → GitHub (Lovable docs).
When to move on
- Lovable’s credits start to hurt, Lovable keeps looping on a bug, or you want to build with Claude Code or Codex: stage 2.
- People other than you start signing up: stage 3.
Short answers for this stage
The full stage, step by step with the agent prompts, is in the paid guide that comes with the kit.