How to vibe code a mobile app: a practical guide

You have a mobile app idea. You know exactly what it should do. But you do not write code. Vibe coding promises a shortcut: describe your app in plain English and let AI generate the code.

This guide walks you through a realistic workflow for vibe coding a mobile app, from choosing the right tools to publishing on the App Store. You will learn which capabilities matter for mobile development, how to write prompts that generate usable code, and where this approach breaks down. Verified success stories remain scarce, and significant technical challenges persist.

The approach has real traction. A quarter of Y Combinator's Winter 2025 cohort built codebases that are 95% AI-generated. A large-scale developer survey in 2025 found that 84% of developers are using or planning to use AI tools, up from 76% the year before. But most vibe coding success stories involve web apps, not mobile. Building a mobile app this way is possible, and this guide shows you how to do it without wasting months on the wrong tools.

What vibe coding actually means for mobile builders

Vibe coding is a practice where you describe what you want in natural language and AI generates the code. Andrej Karpathy, former head of AI at Tesla, coined the term in February 2025. Understanding what vibe coding is and what it is not will save you from choosing the wrong tools.

The key distinction: users typically accept AI-generated code without fully understanding every line. That separates vibe coding from traditional programming, where developers write and comprehend each code element. One startup guide describes it as a conversation between you and an AI assistant, where you describe your app idea in plain language and the AI writes the code.

This matters for mobile because the conversation is only half the challenge. Mobile apps require more than code generation. They demand App Store compliance, device-specific testing, production infrastructure, and security hardening that vibe coding tools often miss.

Vibe-coded applications frequently contain security vulnerabilities, code quality issues, and architectural limitations that grow costly as your app scales. If you are building a prototype to validate an idea quickly, vibe coding handles the code generation. But production-ready mobile apps require significantly more attention to security, code review, and testing, plus a clear plan to transition to traditional development.

The first decision that determines success or failure is which tool you choose.

Most vibe coding tools build web apps, not native mobile apps

Before you pick a tool, know that most popular vibe coding platforms do not build native mobile apps. Many AI coding assistants generate web applications or frontend components that cannot ship to app stores. Only specialized platforms purpose-built for mobile can create iOS and Android applications deployable to the App Store and Google Play.

What to look for in a mobile-focused builder

The right tool for vibe coding mobile apps needs several key capabilities:

Native app output. The platform must generate actual iOS and Android applications, not responsive web apps wrapped in a container. Look for React Native or Expo-based output that compiles to native code.

App Store submission support. Building the app is only half the challenge. Your tool should handle code signing, build configuration, and submission workflows. Managed build services abstract much of this complexity for non-technical builders.

Full code export. You need complete ownership of what you build. GitHub Sync and full project export protect you from platform lock-in and let you transition to traditional development when needed.

Production infrastructure. Prototypes need databases, authentication, and hosting. The best mobile builders include these capabilities without requiring separate configuration.

Tools like Anything combine these capabilities in one platform. Anything handles iOS deployment via Expo with cloud-signed App Store submission, includes built-in PostgreSQL databases and authentication, and offers full GitHub Sync for code ownership.

Realistic first-year budget

Typical costs for mobile app development include:

• Platform subscription: $240-600/year ($20-50/month)
• Apple Developer account: $99/year
• Google Play developer fee: $25 one-time

Total first-year: $364-724

With the right tool selected, here is the workflow that produces results.

A four-phase workflow from idea to working prototype

Each phase builds on the previous one. Resist the urge to skip ahead to UI design. The builders who succeed with vibe coding spend more time on planning and data logic than on visual polish.

Phase 1: define your app in concrete terms

Write down your app's core functionality in two to three sentences. List specific features with clear boundaries. Use specific, bounded descriptions rather than vague requests like "build a fitness app." See the prompting section below for examples of effective feature descriptions.

Choose your technology stack upfront. Look for platforms that use Expo for mobile development, which provides proven paths for vibe-coded mobile apps without requiring deep technical expertise.

Phase 2: build core logic before the interface

Start with data flow and business logic. Specific, bounded prompts produce better results through AI-assisted iterations. Only after establishing a working data pipeline should you build the UI.

Phase 3: iterate in small increments

Do not try to build everything in one prompt. Ask AI to generate one feature at a time. Test it. Fix issues. Then move to the next feature. The most effective workflow uses two distinct modes: "Ask Mode" for planning decisions and architecture questions, then "Agent Mode" for building complete features once planning is finalized.

Phase 4: test on real devices early

Simulators miss real-world problems. Testing on actual physical devices early in development catches performance issues, touch interactions, and layout problems that only appear on hardware.

Prompting strategies that produce usable code

Your prompts determine the quality of everything AI generates. Better prompts do not just save time; they reduce the debugging that eats entire weekends. Internal testing at one AI lab found that adding project context files improved success rates from roughly one-third to two-thirds on complex tasks.

Create a project context file first. Before writing any prompts, create a document describing your project goals, tech stack, folder structure, and coding preferences. Reference it in every conversation.

Be specific about constraints. "Allow users to upload an Excel file of marathon events (location and date) and store the data locally" produces working code. "Make a file upload feature" produces guesswork.

Ask AI to plan before it builds. Effective prompting patterns separate planning from code generation. One proven technique is chain-of-thought prompting: "Before writing code for the shopping cart feature, explain your data structure, state management approach, and edge cases. Then provide the code."

Use screenshots for debugging. When troubleshooting errors or UI problems, paste screenshots directly into your AI tool. A screenshot communicates layout issues and error contexts far more effectively than written descriptions.

Clear conversation history between features. Experienced builders recommend using the /clear command when switching between features to manage token usage and provide fresh context.

Where vibe coding breaks down for mobile apps

Strong prompts and the right tools get you to a working prototype. But the gap between prototype and production app is where most vibe-coded mobile projects encounter significant challenges. This transition requires moving beyond rapid prototyping into production-grade infrastructure, security hardening, and long-term maintenance planning.

Security vulnerabilities are the most concerning risk

Security is the most prominent concern with vibe-coded software. Common issues range from hardcoded credentials and deprecated crypto libraries to authentication flaws and permissive CORS settings. For mobile apps handling user authentication, payments, or personal data, these vulnerabilities create real business liability. AI-generated security code needs expert review before going to production.

Maintenance costs are hidden

The initial build is fast. What follows is not. Software spends the majority of its lifetime in maintenance. When you do not fully understand the generated code, debugging a single issue can take longer than rewriting the feature from scratch.

Unverified code creates compounding risk

A senior Google engineer describes a concept he calls "trust debt": every time you accept AI output without verification, you accumulate a cost that someone must pay later by combing through that code. For solopreneurs building alone, that someone is you.

When to transition away from vibe coding

Use vibe coding for concept validation, simple prototypes, and personal projects. Transition to traditional development when your app handles sensitive data, needs to scale beyond a small user base, or requires complex business logic.

How to publish your vibe-coded mobile app to the App Store

Getting past the prototype means meeting App Store requirements, which apply identically regardless of how you built the app. Both Apple and Google reject apps with bugs or poor user experience.

Apple App Store requirements: You need an Apple Developer Program membership ($99/year), and you must upload all iOS apps through Xcode or Transporter. A privacy policy is mandatory. Starting April 28, 2026, apps will require builds with Xcode 26 and the iOS 26 SDK.

Google Play requirements: Registration costs a one-time $25 fee. Starting in 2026, all apps must meet verified developer requirements. You will need properly signed App Bundles and a complete store listing.

Managed build services like Expo's EAS abstract much of this complexity. For non-technical builders, managed builds provide the most realistic path to submission without learning Xcode from scratch.

One early Anything user demonstrated this path in practice. A non-technical founder built a habit-tracking app with a built-in betting mechanic, reached $2,000 in revenue, and shipped to the App Store in a matter of weeks rather than months.

Start with what vibe coding does well, then build from there

Vibe coding works best as a validation tool. It lets you test whether your app idea resonates with real users before committing significant resources. The practice is still maturing for mobile, with most proven success stories focusing on web applications rather than native mobile apps.

The practical path forward: use vibe coding to build a working prototype, validate your concept with real users, then invest in production-grade development for the features that matter. Tools like Anything help non-technical builders move from prototype to production-ready app.

Your domain expertise is the hard part. The code is becoming the easy part. Start building. Try Anything free.