When should I connect GitHub?

Good moments to connect

• At project start, if you already know it's a real product — you get full history from commit one.
• Before bringing in a developer or agency — they'll want to work in their own tools, review diffs, and run CI, which needs a real Git repository.
• Before going live / launching to real users — a backup independent of your Lovable account matters more once real customers depend on the site.
• The moment you start worrying "what if something goes wrong and I lose this" — that's the sign you should have connected already.

You can connect at any stage

Git sync isn't an all-or-nothing decision made on day one — you can connect a project that's already weeks into development. Lovable pushes the current state of the project to the repo when you connect; you won't retroactively get commit history for changes made before connecting, but everything going forward is captured.

Connect this project to GitHub now and confirm the current code has been pushed as the first commit.

Signs it's overdue

• You're the only person able to make changes, and there's no copy of the code anywhere but inside Lovable.
• You're about to hand the project to a contractor or PromptSites.com for further work.
• The project handles real user data or payments — treat this as production software, not a draft.

What usually goes wrong

• Waiting until after a costly mistake (accidental deletion, account lockout) to wish you'd connected GitHub.
• Connecting right before a big migration and being confused that historical versions aren't in GitHub retroactively — Lovable's own Version history still covers the pre-connection period.

See also how do I create a backup before making changes for backup options beyond GitHub.