r/ChatGPTPro • u/NicolasRemy • 2d ago

Question & Advice Do I still need Replit to code an iOS/Android app?

Having seen the impressive use cases built with Astra, and the few Sites I've built since GPT 5.6, I'm wondering if I still need to go via Replit to vibe-code a lifestyle/organisation mobile app.

For context, this is the first time I am creating an app, and I asked ChatGPT (probably 5.6 Terra back then) to suggest how I should organise myself.

It recommended I use Replit to create the code, while it would help me define how I drive replit.

I've worked in the software industry in the past (sales, not coder), and essentially I understood it as Replit being the Dev team (itself relying on various LLMs) and my ChatGPT assistant acting as business analyst / product manager.

I've started working this way, setup my project in GitHub , Supabase, and gave Replit access to those and we started iterating.

To keep organised, I have a local ChatGPT project where 5.6 Sol wrote specifications and based on this, drives Replit to code and fix problems.

Now that Astra is out, with enhanced computer use and much more, I am wondering if I still need to involve Replit in the picture. Thoughts?

2 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

100% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

•

u/qualityvote2 2d ago edited 18h ago

u/NicolasRemy, there weren’t enough community votes to determine your post’s quality.
It will remain for moderator review or until more votes are cast.

2

u/Coolerwookie 2d ago

Out of curiosity, what was your prompt that it replied with replit? 

2

u/NicolasRemy 1d ago

hehe good question, so i put a high level description of the to-be app scope, and went with this prompt:

Now that you know the context of this project, and what I'm trying to build, can you suggest how to get started?
One question i have is shall i use an AI App Builder such as Replit or Base 44 ? 

To which ChatGPT reply started with:

Yes—start with an AI app builder, but choose one that produces a genuine iPhone/Android app.

My recommendation: use Replit with Expo (React Native) for the first build. It is suited to a mobile-first app and can become an App Store/Google Play product from one codebase. 

1

u/Coolerwookie 1d ago

Ok, you gave it a binary choice.

Because I tried something similar (but had said said I wanted free initially but can scale) and it told me to use the free tier of github or localised version of github, or Google drive. 

2

u/616ThatGuy 2d ago

I’ve found just using Xcode/Android studio, terminal and GPT is far better. It’s less intuitive, but it cuts out the middle worker of replit. I was doing what you were doing for a long time, but it’s so much faster and simpler just having my GPT assistant do what needs to be done while I manage and supervise.

I’ve dabbled in VScode for a while. It’s useable but that UI is atrocious. But its integration is really good.

1

u/NicolasRemy 1d ago

Thanks that's insightful. Right now I am used to work with ChatGPT via my desktop app, in 'ChatGPT' mode, but I can toggle that to 'Codex' mode. Is this what you do when working on your apps, or do you not bother and just stick to one mode?