Mobile apps
Choose App on the build page to get a real iOS and Android app from one description. It's a native app built with Expo and React Native — not a website inside a wrapper — with its own database and customer accounts, like a website.
Preview on your phone
When the build finishes, the Studio shows a QR code. Install Expo Go from your phone's app store and scan it to use the app on your phone.
What you need to publish
| Account | Cost | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Expo (EAS) | Free tier available | Building the app files — required for any build |
| Google Play Console | US$25 once | Publishing on Android |
| Apple Developer Program | US$99 a year | Publishing on iPhone |
Connect them in the Studio's store settings: an Expo token; "Connect with Google" for Play; and for Apple an App Store Connect API key (Issuer ID, Key ID and the .p8 file, with Admin access) plus your Team ID.
The store questionnaire
Before a build is spent, Chirai asks what the stores require: what makes your app different, who it's for, a support email, a contact for Apple's reviewers, what personal data it collects, age-rating questions, and whether it uses custom encryption. From your answers Chirai writes the store listing and a privacy policy page, and takes real screenshots of your app.
The app is checked against the stores' common rejection reasons before building; a serious problem stops the build so you don't waste one.
Building
Builds run in Expo's cloud and usually take 15–20 minutes — longer when Expo's queue is busy. You can close the Studio.
Google Play
Chirai uploads the app to the internal testing track and fills in the listing and screenshots. Things only you can do, with copy-ready answers in the Studio's guide:
- Create the app in Play Console once and upload the first build there (the guide shows how; Chirai notices and continues).
- Answer the App content questions, including Data safety.
- Move to production. In the guide, Move to closed testing and Send to production do the move for you; later versions go to the same track automatically. New personal developer accounts must first run a closed test with at least 12 testers for 14 days and apply for production in Play Console — a Google rule. If Google isn't ready yet, the guide says why in plain words.
App Store
Chirai registers the app, signs and uploads the build to TestFlight, adds the iPhone screenshots, category, age rating and reviewer contact, and sends it for review. If your app has sign-in, Chirai makes a reviewer account on your app and gives it to Apple (and shows it for Google Play's App access), because "no test login" is a common reason reviews stop. You also get Apple's TestFlight invite by email to install the app on your own iPhone right away. Things only you can do:
- Create the app record in App Store Connect once (the guide gives the exact name, bundle ID and SKU; Chirai notices and continues).
- Answer App Privacy — Apple doesn't allow this through its API. If it's missing, the guide says what Apple still needs; once you've answered, Chirai sends the app for review by itself within about 10 minutes.
After you send it
Chirai follows each app: Apple's review (waiting, in review, approved, rejected, live) every 10 minutes and your Google Play track every hour. The publishing guide shows where it stands, and you get an email when Apple approves or rejects it. A rejection shows where Apple's message is; fix it and publish again. A new iOS release gets the next version number by itself.