Why does Lovable keep breaking my app when I add new features?

The breakage pattern almost every frustrated Lovable user describes has the same root: dozens of quick, vague prompts have produced code that works but is tangled, and each new feature request forces the AI to modify things it half-remembers, knocking something else over. The tool is not randomly destructive; it is faithfully compounding unclear instructions.

Three habits stop the cycle. First, scope every prompt to one change and name where it applies ('add an export button to the invoices table' rather than 'add exporting'). Second, every ten to fifteen prompts, ask Lovable to review and clean up the existing code before adding anything new; this consolidates the tangle instead of building on it. Third, use version history deliberately: after every working milestone, note the checkpoint so a bad change is a rollback rather than a repair project.

When something does break, resist the reflex to describe the symptom ('the page is blank now'). Open the error, copy the exact text, and paste it. Precise errors usually get one-shot fixes; descriptions start expensive guessing loops that burn credits and morale.

If the project is already deeply tangled, the counterintuitive cheap fix is often a partial rebuild: start a fresh project, paste your proven spec, and rebuild in planned slices. Builders consistently report the second build taking a fraction of the time, because the thinking is already done.