Getting started with Lovable: the no-hype beginner tips to building with AI

AI for Non-Techies

I spent my first week diving headfirst down the Lovable rabbit hole while building my course for moonlearning.io for non-technies.

Spoiler: I didn’t ship a unicorn before breakfast, but I did come out with a grounded beginner guide to get you started right.

From the outside, Lovable looks almost too simple: type a prompt, boom, full-stack app.
Inside? A whole different ecosystem nobody prepares you for.

This first week taught me far more than I expected. No hype, no “SaaS in 10 minutes” screenshots, just the parts that genuinely helped me move, build, and understand how the tool actually is set up and behaves.

Here’s the beginner’s map I wish I had on day one:

1. Your first prompt quietly decides your fate

Your first prompt matters more than people think. It sets the tone for the entire build. Write it like a mini blueprint:

What I’m building = project overview
Who it’s for = target users
Main pages = app structure + future flow
Key features = core functionality + what’s coming later (login, payment…)
Design vibe = visual direction
What not to do = guardrails + exclusions
Ask for help = Tell Lovable to review the prompt and ask questions before building.

Fill this out with your vision and plan, then ask another LLM, like ChatGPT, to improve it for Lovable use.

📌 Extra Tip: If the first result feels messy or off, don’t try to rescue it. Start fresh with a cleaner prompt. It saves time and sanity.

2. The Custom Knowledge file is the project’s brain!

It’s a bit hidden inside your settings, but it’s fantastic! You drop in the rules and context you want, and Lovable carries them through everything it builds. You don’t need long essays, just a few sharp lines. Anything you’re sick of repeating goes here, and Lovable remembers it for the whole project. It’s not code. It’s guidance.

3. Learn the modes, or you’ll go in circles

Agent Mode → Builds, refactors, and gets things done.
Chat Mode → A space to think out loud without touching your code.
Code Mode → The raw editor when you want full control.
Visual Edit → Make quick, intuitive changes right on the screen.

The moment you understand when to switch, your stress level drops by half. And yes, it’ll save you some money too, since you’re not burning tokens on accidental work.

4. Version history will save your sanity

Jump back. Preview. Restore.
Edit old messages to explore a different path without trashing your current work. This is the closest Lovable gets to emotional support.

5. Designers, breathe

Visual Edit is not Figma.
You’ll get “functional Tailwind energy,” not pixel poetry.

Good enough to ship is where we’re at.
I’m going down the rabbit hole on how to improve this, plus working on a Figma Make course, so make sure you subscribe to my newsletter, and I’ll be happy to keep you posted.

6. Security is surprisingly handled well

This used to be my loudest anxiety.
Lovable runs a pre-publish health check: exposed keys, weird logic, risky pages… all flagged with explanations and fixes.

You still need to care, but you don’t start from zero.
Dev friends: I’d love your take here, since security isn’t my superpower and it matters. So please DO comment!

7. Cloud without fear

Lovable Cloud runs on Supabase, but you never touch Supabase directly.
No dashboards. No wiring. No random SQL from StackOverflow.

You just say “Add login” and it sets up the database, auth, tables, storage, and security.
Non-tech builders finally unclench here.

8. Use AI features with zero setup

Summaries, chatbots, translations, sentiment checks, document Q&A — already wired in. (You only pay extra for the LLM usage.)

Stripe → Handles payments for your app.
OpenAI → Adds AI features using OpenAI models.
Anthropic → Adds AI features using Claude models.
Resend → Sends emails through a modern email API.
Clerk → Manages users, auth, and identities.
Three.js → Builds interactive 3D graphics.
D3.js → Creates data-driven visualisations.
Highcharts → Produces polished charts and dashboards.
p5.js → For creative coding and interactive visuals.
Runware → Generates images from text.
ElevenLabs → High-quality text-to-speech.
Make → Visual tool for automating workflows.
Replicate → Runs and fine-tunes open-source AI models.
Stability AI → Open-model image generation and more.
Twilio → Adds SMS and communication features.
n8n → Visual workflow automation with integrations.

And if Lovable doesn’t support an API yet, you can drop the docs into the chat, and it still hooks it up!
As someone who used to fear API integrations… this felt like witchcraft.

9. Learn prompting! It changes everything

Use location + behaviour + guardrails.
“On /settings, add X. It should do Y. Don’t touch Z.”

Break tasks into small pieces — max three at a time.

📌 Magic trick: add this to your main prompts:
“Ask me anything you need to understand this prompt fully.”Lovable slows down, asks questions, and builds what you meant, not what you accidentally wrote. SOOOOOO GOOD!

10. Working on it!

Any good list has 10 points, right? Well, this is a work in progress!

My honest summary after week one

A full rollercoaster.
At first, it feels like magic. Then you realise (like any real tool) you still need to understand how it thinks.
You still need docs ( I did that for you and summarised them in the course!)
You still need to level up your prompts.
You still need to shift from “instant SaaS” to “collaborating with a very fast robot.”

And that’s fine.

Lovable isn’t a replacement for thinking.
It’s a multiplier for anyone who typically gets locked out of the building.

And if today’s version feels clunky… remember this:
In AI, today is the worst this tool will ever be.
The curve is brutally fast. Don’t sleep on it!

Liked this? Follow me!

Follow me here or on LinkedIn, or even better, join my newsletter at moonlearning.io/newsletter, and I’ll send you free tips as I go.
And if you want to go deeper, check out my courses on Design, Figma, and building with AI at moonlearning.io as well as my book on solo building theSolo.io

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