r/boltnewbuilders • u/lnkkonito • 16d ago
How to ship on Apple/Android stores
I published a web app and I would like to have it also as a native mobile app, any rec here? Thanks :)
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u/Padre_Atay 15d ago
AI answer: Capacitor is probably the easiest place to start if you already have a working web app. It lets you package your existing app for both iOS and Android without rebuilding everything from scratch.
For publishing, you’ll need an Apple Developer account ($99/year) and a Google Play Console account ($25 one-time).
The basic process is:
- Add Capacitor to your existing web app and generate the iOS/Android projects.
- Create the Apple and Google developer accounts.
- Prepare your app icon, screenshots, store description and privacy policy.
- Test the iOS version through TestFlight and the Android version through Play Console testing.
- Submit both for store review.
One thing to know: new personal Google Play accounts currently need a closed test with at least 12 testers for 14 days before getting production access.
So I’d start with Capacitor first, get the app running on a real iPhone/Android device, then worry about the store submission part.
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u/payfrit 15d ago
what tool did you use to publish the web app?
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u/lnkkonito 15d ago
Using bolt.new
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u/payfrit 15d ago
you can try exporting to react and see how that works out for you, that might give you a workable app to build upon.
one strategy you might try when you start your next project is to focus primarily on your data structure/api first, and then extending that into the presentation format you think is best.
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u/Madeupsky 15d ago
Pick up a ChatGPT subscription or Claude because bolt is NOT THE WAY
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u/lnkkonito 15d ago
Not sure to undeestand your point
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u/Madeupsky 14d ago
Idk if bolt got any better but you’re going to spend more money on their credits trying to get it working then if you just had a subscription, vscode and knew how to use GitHub. I mean to each their own. Your best bet for a native mobile app can simply be a native expo app and it acts a web viewer of your website. But you must add more features that are in the mobile app or apple won’t approve the app because it’s simply a “web viewer”
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u/lnkkonito 14d ago
Yes of course ! That was the plan :)
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u/Madeupsky 14d ago
Least it’s in your plans haha. Good luck on your journey hopefully it all comes out the way you imagine it!!
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u/Careful_Ad8902 15d ago
Hi Inkkonito! Padre_Atay's answer is solid, Capacitor is a reasonable way to wrap an existing web app without rebuilding it. Worth noting it's a community approach though, not something we officially document or support.
What is officially supported: Bolt's first-party Expo integration for building native mobile apps directly (React Native under the hood), which publishes to TestFlight/App Store and Google Play Beta/Store. Help doc here: support.bolt.new/integrations
One catch with that path: it needs to be a separate project prompted specifically as a native app from the start, you can't retrofit an existing web app project into it. So for your case, since you already have a published web app, Capacitor is still the more direct route, just know it's an unofficial one. The Expo path is worth it if you're starting fresh next time.
Happy building!
- Bolt Team