You just built an app in 5 minutes with an AI coding tool. It works on localhost. It looks great. You’re feeling good.

Then you try to get it online. And suddenly you’re 45 minutes into a Vercel docs page, wondering why your full-stack app doesn’t fit their serverless model. Or you’re staring at a DigitalOcean droplet, Googling “how to configure nginx reverse proxy” for something that took you 5 minutes to build.

This is the vibe coding gap. AI tools made building instant. Deployment is still stuck in 2015.

Quick Answer: How to Deploy Any Vibe Coded App

If you just want the steps, here they are. One section per tool, all deploy to a live URL with HTTPS.

All four paths end at a live URL. Pricing starts at $3/mo. Details for each tool below.

Deploy a Cursor App

Cursor generates code directly on your machine. Your project is already a folder on your file system. That makes deployment the simplest of all the vibe coding tools.

Step 1: Install the CLI

$ curl -fsSL https://instapods.com/install.sh | sh

Step 2: Deploy

$ cd my-cursor-app
$ instapods deploy

  Deploying my-cursor-app
  Detected nodejs (package.json)

  Creating pod ·················· ✓ 1.2s
  42 files uploaded ············· ✓ 0.8s
  Reloading ····················· ✓ 1.4s
    15 deps installed · service active · HTTP 200

✓ Deployed in 3.4s
→ https://my-cursor-app.instapods.app

The CLI detects your runtime from your project files — package.json for Node.js, requirements.txt for Python, index.html for static, composer.json for PHP. No config file. No Dockerfile. No YAML.

Step 3: Update

Made changes in Cursor? Same command:

$ instapods deploy

  Deploying my-cursor-app
  Pod exists (nodejs · running)

  42 files uploaded ············· ✓ 0.8s
  Reloading ····················· ✓ 0.6s
    service active · HTTP 200

✓ Deployed in 1.4s
→ https://my-cursor-app.instapods.app

Or connect a GitHub repo for auto-deploy on every push:

$ instapods git connect my-cursor-app --repo yourname/my-cursor-app --branch main

Deploy a Claude Code App

Claude Code works the same as Cursor — your code is local. The deploy process is identical.

$ cd my-claude-app
$ instapods deploy

Claude Code can also deploy through its MCP integration. Add InstaPods as an MCP server, and Claude can create pods, deploy code, and manage your app directly from the conversation:

“Deploy this Express app to InstaPods”

The agent creates a pod, pushes your code, and returns the live URL. No terminal needed.

Deploy a Lovable App

Lovable runs in the browser, so your code isn’t on your machine. The deploy path goes through GitHub — no CLI required.

Step 1: Connect Lovable to GitHub

In your Lovable project, click the GitHub icon and transfer the project. Lovable creates a private GitHub repo with your source code. This is free.

Step 2: Create a Pod

Go to app.instapods.com and create a new pod. Choose Node.js as the preset — Lovable apps are built with Vite + React and run on Node.js.

Step 3: Connect GitHub and Deploy

In your pod’s dashboard, go to the Git tab. Click Connect GitHub Repository, select the repo Lovable created, and click Deploy Now.

Your Lovable app is live with HTTPS. And it stays in sync — every change you make in Lovable pushes to GitHub, and InstaPods auto-deploys on every push.

The full workflow takes about 60 seconds. We wrote a detailed Lovable deploy guide if you want the step-by-step with screenshots.

Deploy a Bolt App

Bolt generates apps in the browser. To deploy, download your project and use the CLI.

Step 1: Export from Bolt

In Bolt, click Download to export your project as a zip file. Unzip it.

Step 2: Deploy

$ cd my-bolt-app
$ instapods deploy

  Deploying my-bolt-app
  Detected nodejs (package.json)

  Creating pod ·················· ✓ 1.2s
  38 files uploaded ············· ✓ 0.7s
  Reloading ····················· ✓ 1.4s

✓ Deployed in 3.3s
→ https://my-bolt-app.instapods.app

If you want auto-deploys, push the exported code to a GitHub repo and connect it in the Git tab — same flow as Lovable.

Deploy a Replit App

Replit has its own hosting, but the costs add up fast. If you want flat-rate pricing and a real server you control, export and deploy to InstaPods.

Step 1: Export from Replit

Download your project files from Replit (the three-dot menu in the file panel).

Step 2: Deploy

$ cd my-replit-app
$ instapods deploy

Same auto-detection, same one-command deploy. Your app runs on a real Linux server instead of Replit’s managed environment — SSH access, file system, databases, no usage-based billing.

Hosting Comparison for Vibe Coded Apps

Not sure which hosting platform works for AI-built apps? Here’s how the options compare:

Platform Works With Deploy Method Pricing SSH Access Database
InstaPods Cursor, Claude Code, Lovable, Bolt, Replit CLI or GitHub auto-deploy $3/mo flat Yes, all plans Included (MySQL, Postgres, Redis)
Vercel Cursor, Lovable (static only), Bolt (static only) GitHub auto-deploy Free tier + usage No Add-on (KV, Postgres)
Netlify Cursor, Lovable (static only), Bolt (static only) GitHub auto-deploy Free tier + usage No No
Railway Cursor, Claude Code, Bolt GitHub or CLI $5/mo + usage No Usage-based
Render Cursor, Claude Code, Bolt GitHub auto-deploy $7/mo + add-ons Paid plans $7/mo extra
Replit Hosting Replit only Built-in Usage-based No Built-in (Replit DB)
Lovable Hosting Lovable only Built-in Included in paid plan No No (use Supabase)

Why Existing Hosting Doesn’t Fit Vibe Coded Apps

The hosting landscape was built for a different era. None of the mainstream options were designed for apps built by AI tools in 5 minutes.

Serverless can’t handle full-stack AI-generated apps. Vercel and Netlify work for static frontends. But AI tools generate full-stack apps — backends, databases, file uploads, WebSockets. Try deploying a Claude Code Python app with SQLite to Vercel. You can’t. The model doesn’t fit.

VPS requires DevOps knowledge vibe coders don’t have. A raw DigitalOcean droplet gives you full control. But now you’re configuring nginx, setting up systemd services, managing SSL certificates, and writing firewall rules. That’s 2 hours of DevOps for an app you built in 5 minutes.

Usage-based pricing is unpredictable for side projects. Railway and Fly.io charge by compute time, bandwidth, and storage. Your $5/mo side project becomes $40/mo after one viral Reddit post. When you’re vibe coding, you want to know what you’ll pay before you deploy.

We wrote a deeper analysis of why AI-generated apps need new hosting if you want the full picture.

What You Get With InstaPods

Every pod is a real Linux server, not a sandboxed function or a container-as-a-service black box.

Get Your App Online

You built something with AI. That’s the hard part done. Deployment shouldn’t take longer than building did.

$ curl -fsSL https://instapods.com/install.sh | sh
$ instapods deploy my-app

Two commands. Live URL with HTTPS. Under 10 seconds.

Try InstaPods → — Deploy your vibe coded app in seconds. Starts at $3/mo.