Skip to main content
A goal is a Build mode message that Lovable keeps working on until the goal is achieved. You can set one on any message: the first prompt of a new project or any message in an existing project. Set a goal for a large task that you want finished completely, such as a feature that spans several parts of your app. A goal can take hours to finish and use a large number of credits, so use it for work where a complete result matters more than speed or cost.
A goal still pauses at your credit check-in level and asks whether to continue, like any long-running message. With the default level of 20 credits, a large goal pauses several times along the way. Adjust the level in account settings to check in less often.

​
How Lovable works on a goal

A goal changes how Lovable works on the message:
  • Lovable works until the goal is achieved, for up to 10 hours on the one message, and uses the final half hour to finish what is in progress and summarize what is done.
  • Lovable doesn’t pause to ask questions about the work. It makes routine decisions itself, and stops early only when it needs something that only you can provide, such as access to another service. Because of this, write the goal so Lovable can finish on its own.
  • Lovable still checks in about cost. Like any long-running message, a goal pauses when it crosses your credit check-in level and asks whether to continue. Choose Continue and Lovable resumes where it left off.
  • Lovable builds the finished version. It completes what you asked for, rather than delivering a first version for you to review and refine.
  • You can still guide the work. Send follow-up messages to adjust the direction, and they become part of the goal. Follow the progress in the activity cards, or click the stop button to stop the work.

​
Set a goal

You set a goal in the message itself, with the /goal command:
1

Start your message with the command

Type /goal at the very start of your message, followed by a description of the goal, or type / and pick Goal from the menu that opens. A banner above the chat input confirms the goal: “Lovable will work until your goal is achieved. This might take hours and use a large number of credits.” Anywhere else in the message, the command has no effect, and a message with /goal and nothing else doesn’t send.
2

Send the message

Lovable removes the /goal command from the message text, and the sent message is marked Goal in the chat so you can recognize it later.
If your workspace has a skill named goal, /goal at the start of a message still sets a goal. You can still use the skill later in the message.

​
Write a goal Lovable can finish on its own

Lovable doesn’t pause to ask you questions during a goal, so the message needs to include everything Lovable would otherwise ask about:
  • What a finished result looks like. Describe the parts you expect, such as the pages, flows, or data involved, and what the finished app should do.
  • The decisions you care about. Lovable decides anything you leave open, so state how you want the result to look and behave, and the edge cases it must handle.
  • Access to other services. If the work involves other services, set up the connectors and secrets it needs before you send the goal. Lovable stops early if it needs access that only you can grant.
A goal still pauses at your credit check-in level like any long-running message. If you want fewer pauses on a large goal, adjust the level in account settings before you start.

​
Goals run in Build mode

Goals always run in Build mode. If the mode picker is on Plan when you send a /goal message, Lovable switches the picker to Build, and it stays on Build until you change it. If the message fails to send, the picker stays on Plan. The goal applies only to the message you send it with: your next message is a regular message, in the mode the picker shows.

​
When you can’t set a goal

You can’t set a goal while Lovable is already working. What happens to a /goal message you send during that time depends on what Lovable is working on:
  • While Lovable works on a regular message, no goal is set. A notice above the chat input warns you first, and the message is sent as a regular message: the /goal command has no effect and stays in the message as ordinary text.
  • While Lovable works on a goal, your message joins that goal as a follow-up and becomes part of the work toward the same goal. No notice appears.

​
What a goal costs

A goal is billed on the work Lovable does, and it costs noticeably more than a regular Build mode message, for two reasons: the same work uses more credits, and a goal involves more work, because Lovable keeps working until the goal is achieved. You are charged for all of that work, from start to finish. Credit check-ins still apply: the work pauses when it crosses your check-in level, and choosing Finish up ends the goal early, with Lovable finishing the work in progress and stopping. The stop button stops the work at any time, and you are only charged for the work completed up to that point. Check your credit balance before you set a large goal. The cost controls for Build mode requests all apply to goals too.

​
FAQ

Goals always run in Build mode, so if the mode picker is on Plan when you send a /goal message, Lovable switches the picker to Build, and it stays on Build until you change it. The goal itself applies only to the message you send it with: your next message is a regular message, in the mode the picker shows. The same is true for a project you create from the dashboard with a /goal prompt: the goal covers only that first message, and the editor opens in Build mode like any new project.
Lovable was already working on a regular message when you sent it. You can’t set a goal while a message is in progress, and a notice above the chat input warns you before you send. The message is still sent, but /goal has no effect and stays in the message as ordinary text. If Lovable is working on a goal instead, your message joins that goal as a follow-up.
No. If a message you sent as a goal fails and you retry it from the chat, the retried message is sent as a goal again.
A goal is billed on the work Lovable does, and it costs noticeably more than a regular Build mode message, for two reasons: the same work uses more credits, and a goal involves more work, because Lovable keeps working until the goal is achieved. Credit check-ins still pause the work at your check-in level, and the stop button stops it at any time.
Messages you sent with /goal are marked Goal in the chat, so you can tell them apart from your other messages.

Related topics

Add payments to your appChat with Lovable to build your appImplement changes in Build modeBrainstorm in Plan modeAccount settings