r/vibecoding • u/codes_astro • 1d ago
Discussion Vibe coding mobile apps?
I wanted to know if anyone is doing mobile apps with ai assisted coding.
Web apps - yes lot of vibe code apps are getting deployed with proper testing and debugging.
Would be interesting to see how many of you are actually vibe coding mobile apps - android/ios
And if you’re doing mobile apps, what tools are you using to debug and testing? I recently came across an open source tool “Measure.sh” that seems good for ai assisted debugging but I wanted to understand what others are using.
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u/Lanfeust09 1d ago
I am about to launch my second app on both stores. Fully IA assisted. My first one didn't have user except for my wife and me but it was super niche. Still happy it taught me many thing I re-use for my second one.
I spend a LOT of time planning everything. Lot of time asking 1000 question like "why do we use that, why do we do it this way, any other recommendation ect..." I spent a LOT of time testing it manually but I also spend a LOT of time (and token usage) having codex and Claude code run multiple end to end test. I run also countless security and performance audit. I never accept "ok, it's done". Everything I add or remove with Astra is review by opus and vice versa. I spend a LOT of time reading and feeding articles about security and constantly asking to compare with mine.
Will there still be bugs? Probably. But honestly, as much as many app I use everyday that have countless user. Will I always be able to solve the bug? As long as I pay for a Claude subscription, 100% yes
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u/codes_astro 1d ago
But why are you just using Claude to debug it will burn token and still you will get bugs. Plug tools via mcp and then let it test and fix for good, via app testing/crash/obserbility data. The tool I mentioned might be best fit for you.
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u/Lanfeust09 1d ago
You are pushing that tool a lot. You say "open source" but there is a pricing. Is that your tool?
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u/codes_astro 1d ago
No not mine, I was using free version from last week
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u/Lanfeust09 1d ago
I have unlimited token with Astra so I am not sure I really need it but I will have a look
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u/codes_astro 1d ago
Wait, unlimited Astra token? Is it from open source program or any offer that I’m not aware of
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u/Lanfeust09 1d ago
No, I just have a 100 usd codex account, I use it without restrain and they keep giving free reset and bank reset so I never run out of token
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u/codes_astro 1d ago
Oh okay, I exhausted my reset on $200 account yesterday. Was using it for a complete build and test task
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u/Level_Complex_4847 1d ago
Making multiple but I'm struggling to get the testers for the play store
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u/ohhellnaws 13h ago
How so? I put my first version of my app up on Insiders and then published it straight to play store, built and published in within two weeks. Only me testing.
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u/London-Boat 1d ago
if it's react native, expo makes this a lot less painful. expo go on a real phone gives you fast reload and the console logs show up in your terminal. for actual crashes the native logs are where the truth is: xcode console on ios, adb logcat on android. the thing that helped most with ai though was having it add logging around whatever i'm testing, then pasting the real log back instead of describing the bug.
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u/ohhellnaws 12h ago
Yeah, I just did this with Claude within the last couple of weeks. Now it's live on iOS and Play Store.
I use Sentry crash reporting for both.1
u/London-Boat 1h ago
nice, getting through both store reviews is the part most people stall on. sentry on both is a good call, the ai is way better at fixing a crash when you paste the actual stack trace instead of describing it. did you go expo or native for each?
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u/After-Base-8368 1d ago
I’d separate debugging from checking that a user journey still works. For React Native, its DevTools cover the React/JavaScript side; native issues still need Xcode or Android Studio. For repeatable tap-through tests, Maestro is worth a look: https://docs.maestro.dev/
Start with one small flow: create an item, close the app, reopen it and check the item is still there. Then try the same flow with the connection interrupted and make sure retrying doesn’t create duplicates. Give the coding agent the exact steps, expected result and actual result, rather than just “it broke.”
Are you working with React Native/Expo, Flutter, or native Swift/Kotlin? That changes the debugging tools. React Native’s guide: https://reactnative.dev/docs/react-native-devtools
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u/codes_astro 1d ago
Maestro looks good for UI, I was going with flutter.
Thanks for the flow!
I’m exploring https://github.com/measure-sh/measure for app monitoring, observability, and crash-reporting before I ship. it lets me plug mcp and agent can debug on its own from data.
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u/After-Base-8368 1d ago
Thanks, that clears up the stack. For the agent-debugging part, I’d try a small test with a bug you already understand: reproduce it, let the agent inspect the report, then check whether its fix passes the original steps and a nearby happy path. That gives you something concrete to judge before trusting it with unfamiliar failures. Monitoring and the tap-through test would complement each other nicely.
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u/baddaywithacamera 1d ago
Doing Web, desktop (Windows and Linux), and mobile (Android). Using Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Qwen to debug each other and find errors. Don't see a need for Measure.
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u/codes_astro 1d ago
Any other tools are you using? Or just agent is enough
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u/baddaywithacamera 1d ago
Agents have been enough for me. Most of the "tools" posted here are just rent-seeking SaaS crap that I could have built on my own if I really wanted them and not worth the time or money. Just people looking to get rich quick on the latest fad. If you really feel you need good tools to help, hit github and score free ones, lots there. Don't get suckered into paying.
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u/devrives 1d ago
Yes, a Flutter app that’s live on Android, with the iOS build waiting in App Store review right now. For testing I run it in the emulator and do the last check on a real device. For my Wear OS watch faces I built a browser preview, so I can see each one working before it goes on the watch.
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u/Fire-Nation-17 1d ago
How did you get enough people to test your app so google let's it go to full publish? I think you need 12 users right?
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u/devrives 1d ago
My account was exempt from that testing requirement, so I never had to find testers. You’re right on the number though, it’s 12 testers for 14 days on new personal accounts.
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u/catstone82 13h ago
There are a few paying *communities thzt can help you overcome this issue. Am presently having a vibe coded app tested presently by these
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u/catstone82 13h ago
https://www.testerscommunity.com
Still a week to go, console is showing me all required testers are accounted for so far..
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u/codes_astro 1d ago
Nice, and all done via ai? Completely
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u/devrives 1d ago
Pretty much, yeah. Claude Code writes the code from what I describe, and a lot of my own time goes into testing and fixing what it gives me.
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u/codes_astro 1d ago
I’m also using combination of Claude and Codex. Claude to build and codex to test. It’s really amazing to see how much thing it can handle for us. And once it’s done I start the manual test myself
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u/timcorin 1d ago
Yeah mate I’m up to 4 apps on iOS. 5th hopefully submitting this weekend. I showcase the on my project site www.altroadstudio.com You can never get rid of all bugs.
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u/JustEar7 1d ago
Mobile does seem like a different beast because the feedback loop is slower than web, and a lot comes down to how quickly you can reproduce issues on real devices instead of only simulators. I'd be curious whether people here are building with React Native or Flutter style stacks, or going fully native, because the debugging pain probably changes a lot between those paths. The AI-assisted part feels less important than whether your test setup catches crashes, permission weirdness, and background-state bugs before each build turns into guesswork.
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u/Total_Explanation_62 1d ago
Senior App Engineer here 👋 I use AI at work to improve my work output, but this will be my first vibe coded app.
I'm combining four of my favourite Japanese learning apps into one native Android app. I've wanted to do this project for years, but value my spare time too much to do much coding outside of work.
Will probably use a combination of agents and my own two eyes for testing and debugging, I use these apps on a daily basis anyway, so once it's a bit more polished I'll be on it everyday and keeping an eye out for anything that feels off.
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u/bara_tone 1d ago
I have 2 on Google Play and the App Store that I continue to work on. Both are fully native to each platform and separate code bases because I wanted to them to feel at home.
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u/GaRaGeD_Style 23h ago
Have a couple of apps in apple store, is easier that getting them in android land… and I don’t use android so not particularly interested, but also don’t discard the possibility
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u/No-Market-2766 23h ago
I make mobile apps with AI. CristalDig was a mobile game I shipped in Unity, then ported to Godot. And Polari an AI companion app. Usually build fully native apps or Godot for games.
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u/Stone_Tribe_Dev 22h ago
I have vibe coded a game that is destined to be pc on steam but I have started with making android and put it little version on Google play to get some feedback. I think it's going ok, ofc very few downloads
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u/No_Formal_2261 22h ago
I started by reviewing almost all the generated code. When the same corrections kept coming up, I turned them into project rules: avoid unnecessary layout wrappers, keep repeated UI components shallow, and move data processing off the main thread. Those rules grew out of actual review comments. I still review the code, but now I have specific things to check instead of repeating the same explanation each session.
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u/Serious_Ad_2515 19h ago
Search on How To Build Mobile Apps with Claude: Full Course (2026) by Nick Saraev. It is a fantastic course, uses VSCode, Expo and React Native, works with Android and iOS.
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u/Tight_Ad_5115 17h ago
I built Leaflo using AI. It’s native SwiftUI. In my experience, there weren’t any major issues; the AI handled even the layout quite well. Then again, my application isn’t overly complex. I suspect there are quite a few apps like this out there now.
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u/Pleasant_Cover9441 16h ago
I have created two apps (a metronome with bpm increase and a fencing scoring app) with copilot and Claude and they are on app store and one of them is on android play store too. Couple purchases, 2 subscriptions and one is a friend :)
Metronome
https://apps.apple.com/hu/app/the-metronome-gnome/id6769737820?l=hu
And a fencing scoring app
https://apps.apple.com/hu/app/aramis-fencing-score-sheet/id6764003932?l=hu
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u/Sad-Juggernaut3750 15h ago
I made an App using AI. Connected ChatGPT to XCode and explain what I was trying to build in many iterations. The app is called Growing Chapters, feel free to have a look.
https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/growing-chapters-journal/id6805832494
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u/jayseattle 5h ago
These guys have been early in on the VC'ing side and have really put effort into mobile first:
https://www.vibecodeapp.com/
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u/Calm_Person100 5h ago
HTML apps to android apps using capacitor; I use Claude Sonnet 5.5 medium and high efforts for bug scan
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u/ThatOneGuyWhoEatsYou 3h ago
I've done a few iOS apps mostly with Claude Code and the code part honestly went fine. What took me longest was everything around it, getting builds onto TestFlight, signing, and App Store review. For testing I run it on my own phone a lot and send TestFlight builds to a few friends, and I add crash reporting before anyone else touches it (Sentry free plan or Crashlytics) bc people won't tell you it crashed, they just delete it
If you're submitting to Apple a few things got flagged that Claude never brought up on its own. In app account deletion if your app has accounts, Sign in with Apple or a similar private login if you offer Google login, and a reason string for every permission you ask for. Worth asking Claude to check those before you submit
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u/johnesco 1h ago
I haven't taken an attempt that wasn't involved with being a web app. I made a game that can work on desktop or mobile browser. What I've not done yet is tried to show something native for Android or Mac, though I know a lot shipping these, I'd not built one before. Thanks to everyone sharing their experience in that.
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u/Miserable-Money642 1d ago
One thing that catches bugs agents often miss is a small device-state matrix for the same flow: fresh install, permission denied, app sent to background and reopened, keyboard open, and slow or offline network. Keep the test data fixed so a failure is reproducible. Simulators are great for quick iteration, but do the permission and keyboard checks on at least one real device because those depend on OS behavior and screen size. Once the flow is stable, automate it and save the device logs with the failure report.
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u/OrneryBison4895 23h ago
Hi. I built entire platform mobaide.com that includes two mobile apps (Android/iOS), WebApp, server side and agent (installed on user's remote PC) by vibecoding. But of course it is not pure vibecoding when AI Agents do all work. It's also a lot of human work of research how make robust system for automative e2e testing, deploying, etc and also some everyday work not related to coding at all. But I have been developing the project since March 2026. But I have never developed mobile apps before the project.
That is my experience.
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u/geoffreybyers 55m ago
The bottleneck isn't the code generation. The bottleneck is the lack of a reliable, fast feedback loop for testing UI on real devices. Web apps don't face this to the same degree. I'd bet on the person who solves that over whoever builds another tool for debugging.
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u/DreamDragonP7 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yeah im working on one now for both android/iphone.
My wife has an iphone and I android, I just hooked them up wifi debugging with my claude/codex. Haven't really downloaded anything special to do it no special plug-ins or mcps really. It just works.