Idea to App Store — The Complete AI Coding Build Guide

Learn how to build a mobile app with AI coding (in particular, Claude Code) - from idea all the way to launching on the App Store.

This guide will take you through each stage of launching an app.

1. Idea
2. Validation
3. Product Specification
4. Design
5. Build
6. Launch
7. Post-launch Analytics

Chapters

Introduction

• Tech Stack Overview
• Pre-requisites (Account creations, installations, etc.)
• How To Work With an AI Coding Agent
• How To Write Prompts for Code
• How To Write Prompts for Debugging
• Claude Code Controls/Shortcuts
• GitHub Version Control

Ideation

• Looking For An Idea
• Grilling Your Idea with AI
• Idea Scoring

Validation

• How To Validate Your Idea
• Proven Methods To Validate Your Idea

Product Specification

• Product Requirements Document (PRD)
• CLAUDE.md
• Building A Plan with Your PRD
• Stress Testing Your PRD

Design

• AI-generated Design VS AI-assisted Design
• Designing a Design Language or System
• How To Prompt for UI Design
• Tools for Designing UI with AI
• Prompting for Accessibility and Critique
• Recognising AI Slop

Build

• AI Coding Stack
• AI Agent Workflow for Building
• Authentication
• Creating Xcode and Expo Projects
• Database Setup (Firebase)
• Data Modelling with AI
• Onboarding Flows
• Mobile App Notifications Setup
• Cost of Building an App
• Setting Up App Store Connect
• Setting Up Subscriptions with RevenueCat and StoreKit

Launch

• Testing on TestFlight
• Website, Privacy and Support
• Building and Submitting Builds with EAS
• App Store Listing
• App Screenshots
• App Review Walkthrough and Tips
• Handling App Review Rejections
• How To Ship App Updates

Post-launch Analytics

• Analytics with PostHog
• What To Track in Your App

Extras

• Master Checklist
• Troubleshooting Index
• Prompt Libraries
• Important Keywords to Understand