The Clone

Why this matters

Cloning unlocks the open-source world. Every useful project, template, and starter kit on GitHub becomes directly accessible. More importantly, cloning your own Lovable project gives you full local control: you can run it, modify it, test it offline, and use Claude Code on it in Module 5. This is where the Lovable app you built stops being a cloud artifact and becomes local code you own.

How to do it

1. 1

   Clone your Module 3 Lovable project

   In terminal: git clone [YOUR GITHUB REPO URL] — find the URL in your GitHub repository under the green "Code" button. Copy the HTTPS URL.

2. 2

   Navigate into the cloned folder and install dependencies

   cd [repo-name] → npm install — this installs all the packages your app needs to run. It may take 1–3 minutes.

3. 3

   Run the app locally

   npm run dev — your app should start on localhost:3000 or localhost:5173. Open that URL in your browser.

4. 4

   Ask Claude Desktop to give you a project tour

   Paste your folder structure (ls -la in terminal) into Claude Desktop with the project tour prompt below.

The prompt

I just cloned a web application project. Here is the folder structure:

[PASTE OUTPUT OF: ls -la or find . -maxdepth 2 -not -path "*/node_modules/*"]

Please give me:
1. A plain-language tour: what each folder and key file is for
2. The entry point: where does the app start executing?
3. The most important files I should understand first
4. The relationship between the files (which files use which)

Success criteria

• ✓You cloned the repository with git clone
• ✓npm install completed successfully
• ✓The app is running at localhost in your browser
• ✓You can describe what each main folder is for

Common mistakes