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Is your Lovable app TanStack Start or Vite?
On 13 May 2026 Lovable changed the stack of new apps. Apps made since then use TanStack Start. Older apps use React and Vite. Both look the same in the editor, but they build and deploy differently, so check yours before you move it.
How to check
Open package.json in the Code tab in Lovable or in your GitHub repository. If it lists @tanstack/react-start under its dependencies, it is a TanStack Start app. If not, it is React and Vite. You can also ask Lovable in the project chat which stack the project uses.
Or paste this into Claude Code, Codex or Cursor in the project folder:
Look at package.json. Tell me in one line if this app uses TanStack Start or React with Vite.
What is different
| React and Vite (before 13 May 2026) | TanStack Start (since 13 May 2026) | |
|---|---|---|
| Build output | Static files in dist | A server and static files |
| Runs server code | No | Yes |
| Hosts | Any static host or web server | A host that runs the server part: Vercel, Netlify, Cloudflare Pages or your own Node.js server |
| Build command | npm run build, on Node.js 22 | npm run build, on Node.js 22 |
| Supabase values | VITE_SUPABASE_URL, VITE_SUPABASE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY and VITE_SUPABASE_PROJECT_ID | The same three, plus SUPABASE_URL, SUPABASE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY and SUPABASE_PROJECT_ID for the server |
| Page routing | On a plain web server, every address must go to index.html | The server handles it |
What it changes when you move
- Hosting: file storage or a CDN alone cannot run a TanStack Start app. It needs a host that runs its server.
- Variables: values that start with VITE_ are built into the app. Build and deploy again after you change them.
- Routing: on a plain web server like Nginx, a Vite app needs every address sent to index.html, or reloading a page other than the home page gives a 404 error. Do not add that to a TanStack Start app.
TanStack Start on your own server
Lovable's docs build it for Node.js with one extra setting, then start the server from the .output folder. It listens on port 3000 unless you set PORT.
NITRO_PRESET=node-server npm run build node .output/server/index.mjs
PanelAlpha Engine does this for you: it detects the framework and builds the app. You only need the commands if you set up the server yourself.
Which one is easier to move?
The Vite app. It is a folder of files that any host can serve, even for free. A TanStack Start app needs Node.js or a host whose build Lovable lists, like Vercel, Netlify or Cloudflare. That is not hard, but it rules out the plain file hosts.