Bolt.new AI and RescueTime integration: Step-by-Step Guide 2025

The short answer: Bolt.new does not have any built‑in or magical “RescueTime integration”, but you can integrate with RescueTime the same way you integrate with any external service inside Bolt.new — by calling the RescueTime REST API from your Bolt workspace using a normal HTTP client, and authenticating with a RescueTime API key. In practice, this means: store the RescueTime API key in Bolt.new environment variables, write frontend or backend code that calls RescueTime’s API endpoints (usually the “Daily Summary Feed” or “Analytic Data API”), and then consume the returned JSON inside your app.

 

How to integrate Bolt.new with RescueTime (real, working approach)

 

RescueTime exposes a simple, well-documented REST API. Bolt.new can call this API the same way it calls any external HTTP endpoint. There is no special plugin system. You wire it manually, which is the correct and reliable way.

• You get a RescueTime API key from https://www.rescuetime.com/anapi/manage.
• You put that API key into Bolt.new environment variables, for example RESCUETIME_API_KEY.
• You call their API via fetch (in Node) or axios inside a server route or inside a background task.
• You parse the JSON and use it in your UI or logic.

That’s all you need. RescueTime does not use OAuth; it uses a simple API key appended to query parameters. This makes the integration straightforward for junior devs.

 

Step-by-step explanation

 

The steps below show the exact patterns used in Bolt.new when calling an external service.

• Step: Get the API key
  Log into RescueTime → API Key page → copy your key. This key identifies your RescueTime account. Treat it like a password.
• Step: Add API key to Bolt.new environment variables
  In Bolt.new, open the Environment panel → add a variable named RESCUETIME_API_KEY → paste your key. Environment variables are how Bolt.new lets your server code access secrets without hardcoding them.
• Step: Write a server route that calls RescueTime
  The server route will fetch data from RescueTime and return it to your frontend.
• Step: Use RescueTime endpoints
  The most common endpoint for quick testing is the Daily Summary Feed:
  https://www.rescuetime.com/anapi/daily_summary_feed?key=YOUR\_KEY&format=json

 

Example backend route in Bolt.new (Node.js)

 

// bolt-backend/routes/rescuetime.js
import express from "express";
import fetch from "node-fetch";

const router = express.Router();

router.get("/rescuetime/daily", async (req, res) => {
  try {
    const apiKey = process.env.RESCUETIME_API_KEY; // secure storage in bolt.new
    if (!apiKey) {
      return res.status(500).json({ error: "Missing RescueTime API key" });
    }

    // RescueTime Daily Summary API endpoint
    const url = `https://www.rescuetime.com/anapi/daily_summary_feed?key=${apiKey}&format=json`;

    const response = await fetch(url);
    const data = await response.json();

    res.json(data); // return RescueTime data to frontend
  } catch (err) {
    res.status(500).json({ error: err.message });
  }
});

export default router;

 

Frontend call from your Bolt.new app

 

// Example React call inside your bolt-new frontend
async function loadDailySummary() {
  const res = await fetch("/rescuetime/daily"); // hitting your backend
  const data = await res.json();
  console.log("RescueTime summary:", data);
}

 

What you get from RescueTime

 

RescueTime returns JSON objects describing your time spent in productivity categories (productive, neutral, distracting), plus minutes logged in various activity groups (communication, utilities, software development, etc.). You can now store this, graph it, or mix it with your own app logic.

• No magic integration layer — just API requests.
• No OAuth complexity — a simple API key.
• Works 100% inside Bolt.new’s sandbox.

 

Hardening for production

 

• Never log API keys.
• Rate-limit your calls because RescueTime has limits (per-minute and per-day, depending on endpoint).
• Cache responses — RescueTime updates in daily intervals for many endpoints, so caching saves bandwidth and avoids hitting rate limits.
• Move secrets to environment variables in your real deployment (Vercel, Render, or your own server).

This is the complete, correct, real-world way to integrate Bolt.new with RescueTime.