When building the frontend for our new SaaS project emailmanager.ai (an AI-powered email response generator), I quickly became a fan of Lovable.dev. It offered a slick, streamlined environment to prototype and develop our frontend. Making quick UI changes, reworking the app flow, and instantly pushing code to GitHub felt almost magical — until it didn’t.
What started as a dream workflow turned into a backend nightmare and cost us half a day of troubleshooting.
Why We Changed Our GitHub Setup
In our setup, I’m working on the frontend development from Austria, while my backend developer is located in Pakistan. A perfect combination — two time zones, two skill sets, one shared goal.
But exactly this setup made it even more critical that we have a clean, controlled GitHub structure.
In the early development phase, Lovable.dev committed changes directly into the main branch of our GitHub repository. While this was convenient for fast iterations, it was a disaster for backend stability. My backend developer was rightfully annoyed every time I accidentally overwrote his code.
To avoid this chaos, we decided to move the repository into a GitHub Organization account, introduce branch protection rules, and separate frontend and backend development into clean branches.
This decision made total sense — until everything broke.
The Moment Lovable.dev Stopped Working
Once the repository was moved to the organization account, the Lovable.dev agent stopped syncing.
The platform couldn’t fetch commits, push changes, or even recognize the repository anymore.
We tried everything:
- Reconnecting Lovable to GitHub
- Re-authenticating access tokens
- Manually adjusting repository links
Nothing worked.
The underlying reason?
Lovable.dev’s connection relies heavily on the original repository name and location.
The moment we moved the repository, that connection was irreparably broken.
What the Official Guide Says — And Why It’s Not Enough
We stumbled upon this helpful guide:
How to Import a GitHub Repository into Lovable.dev Projects – digimoor.com
It describes an approach that seems feasible at first glance. Lovable.dev allows you to update to a new GitHub address and theoretically reconnect a project. The problem is that Lovable has the fragment “newrepo123” in its Github setup and tries to sync at that location. Immediately after renaming the repository at Github to e.g. “temp123” Lovable.dev updates the Github sync link also and tries to sync from and to that location. Hence the rename workaround did not work in our case.
But in practice, this only works when the repository stays within the same account structure.
The moment you move it to an organization or change permissions, the agent breaks, and reconnecting fails.
The Real Problem: How Lovable.dev Tracks Repositories
Here’s what we learned after deep research and painful trial & error:
Working with Lovable.dev is fantastic when you create new projects from scratch. But when you want to import or restructure an existing GitHub repository, things get tricky.
Why?
Lovable.dev doesn’t use complex tracking mechanisms like repository IDs or hashes.
Instead, it primarily relies on:
- Repository name
- Repository location (personal account)
This means if you move, rename, or change ownership of the repository — Lovable.dev loses track completely.
The Only Solution That Worked
After several failed attempts, we discovered the only reliable way to fix the connection:
Recreate the Repository at the Original Location
You need to manually recreate the repository under your personal GitHub account, at the same location and name where Lovable.dev originally linked it.
Here’s the step-by-step process:
1. Recreate the Repository
Use GitHub’s Import Repository function or manually clone and push the current repository state to your personal account, using the original repository name.
You can even automate this with a GitHub app or script.
2. Remix the Project in Lovable.dev
Once the repo is back at its old location, Lovable.dev will immediately recognize it again. You can now use the Remix feature in Lovable.dev to duplicate the project and start fresh.
3. Connect the New Project to Your Organization
Now, link the new project to your GitHub Organization account.
This time, the connection is stable because you established it before moving the repo.
Why This Repository Swap Technique Works
This workaround leverages a little-known fact about how GitHub and Lovable.dev handle repositories:
GitHub identifies repositories mainly by name and owner.
Lovable.dev binds projects based on the repository name.
So by restoring the repository at its original location and name, you’re essentially tricking Lovable.dev into reconnecting to your existing project — without losing commit history, branches, or settings.
This technique preserves:
- Complete commit history
- All branches, tags, pull requests
- Collaborator permissions
- GitHub Actions workflows
- Project settings and integrations
What to Watch Out For
While this method worked perfectly for us, there are some potential challenges:
Dependency Conflicts
If your existing project uses different dependencies than Lovable’s starter project, you may need to adjust package.json and configuration files.
Build Process Differences
You’ll likely need to update your build commands in Lovable.dev to match your project’s setup.
Environment Variables
Re-enter any environment variables in the Lovable.dev dashboard.
Repository Size
If your repository is very large, initial syncing may take longer.
Key Takeaways
Plan your GitHub repository structure early when working with Lovable.dev.
Avoid moving repositories mid-development — it will break the connection.
If you have to move it, use the repository swap technique described above.
Lovable.dev is a fantastic tool for rapid frontend development — but only if you understand its limitations.
With this approach, you can combine the freedom of Lovable.dev’s frontend builder with the stability and protection of a professional GitHub Organization setup.
Especially in a distributed setup like ours — frontend development from Austria, backend development in Pakistan — it’s essential to have clean workflows and clear boundaries in the development pipeline. This solution finally gave us both.
