How to Build an iOS App Without Learning Swift: A Vibe Coding Guide
This isn’t about learning Swift. It isn’t about understanding memory management, what a CocoaPod is, or why Xcode takes forty minutes to "index" a project that is currently empty.
This is about Vibe Coding.
If you are here, you probably have an idea. Maybe it’s a niche dating app for people who hate hiking. Maybe it’s a calorie tracker that insults you when you eat pizza. Maybe it's a tool to organize your collection of vintage mechanical keyboards. In the past, you had two choices: pay an agency $50,000 to ignore your emails, or spend two years learning to code only to realize your idea wasn't that good anyway.
Now, you have a third choice. You can just tell the computer to build it.
I’m going to show you exactly how to take an idea from the back of a napkin to the Apple App Store using two of the heaviest hitters in the AI coding space: Replit and Emergent.
TL;DR
- Choose Replit if you want a native iOS experience right out of the box. Their integration with Expo and "Publish to App Store" feature is the closest thing to magic for mobile deployment. It feels like a mobile-first tool.
- Choose Emergent if you are building a complex data-driven business (like a SaaS, a marketplace, or a subscription platform) that you want to function primarily as a powerful web app, which you can then wrap for mobile.
The New Reality: Software is English
We used to treat coding like a trade skill, like plumbing or welding. You needed to know the tools. You needed to know the safety regulations. If you messed up a line of code, the whole thing exploded.
That era is dead.
Coding is now about intent. It is about describing what you want clearly enough that a machine can execute it. We call this "Vibe Coding." It’s less about syntax and more about product management. You are no longer the bricklayer; you are the architect.
But you still need the right site manager. That’s where Replit and Emergent come in.
The Players
1. Replit
Replit is the OG. It started as a browser-based IDE (code editor) but has pivoted hard to being "Agent-first." With Replit Agent, you aren't just getting a chatbot; you're getting a project manager that has access to a file system, a terminal, and a deployment pipeline.
The Vibe: It feels like pairing with a senior engineer who types really fast but needs you to point at the screen occasionally.
2. Emergent
Emergent is the new challenger. It positions itself not just as a coder, but as a "Software Company in a Box." It excels at the full stack—connecting databases, authentication, and payments in a way that feels incredibly cohesive. It thinks in systems, not just files.
The Vibe: It feels like describing a product to a genius product manager who instantly hands you a finished prototype.
Tutorial A: Building a Native iOS App with Replit
This is my preferred path for a "pure" mobile app. Replit uses Expo, which is a framework that makes building React Native apps significantly less painful.
The Goal: We are going to build a "Daily Stoic" quote app. It will show a new quote every day, let you save favorites, and send a notification at 9 AM.
Prerequisites:
- A Replit account (Core plan recommended for the Agent).
- An iPhone.
- The Expo Go app installed on your iPhone.
- (Eventually) An Apple Developer Account ($99/year). You cannot avoid this fee if you want to be on the store. Apple doesn't vibe code; they vibe cash.
Step 1: The Setup
Go to Replit and sign up. Click "Create Repl". This is crucial: Select "Replit Agent" (or just open the Agent pane on the right side). Do not just open a blank Node.js project. You want the brain power.
Step 2: The Initial Prompt
You need to treat the Agent like a smart intern. Be specific. Don't be vague.
Bad Prompt:
"Make me a quote app."
Vibe Coder Prompt:
"Create a mobile app using Expo and React Native. It is a daily quote generator based on Stoic philosophy.
Core Features:
- Home Screen: Displays one quote per day. Big typography. Minimalist design. Black background, white text.
- Favorites: A button to 'heart' a quote, which saves it to a local list.
- History: A tab to see previous days' quotes.
Use local storage to save the favorites. Use a hardcoded JSON file for the quotes for now (generate 10 examples)."
Step 3: The Build Process
Hit enter.
Replit Agent will start "thinking." You’ll see it creating files. It will install dependencies (package.json). It will write the code.
The Iteration Loop: The Agent will likely stop and say "I've set up the basic structure." Now you look at the Preview. On the right side of the screen, there is a QR code.
- Open your iPhone camera.
- Scan the QR code.
- It opens inside Expo Go.
You are now holding your app. It’s on your phone.
Does the text look small? Tell the Agent: "The font size on the quote is too small. Bump it up to 24px and use a serif font. Make the heart icon red when active."
Does it crash when you click save? Tell the Agent: "I clicked the heart and nothing happened. Check the console logs and fix the state management."
This is the job now. You are testing and directing.
Step 4: Adding Polish
An app isn't an app without an icon.
Prompt: "Generate a cool, minimalist app icon for this. Maybe a marble bust style."
Replit has image generation tools built-in. It will create the asset and link it in the app.json file.
Step 5: Publishing to the App Store
This used to be the part where you quit. You had to open Xcode, deal with signing certificates, provisioning profiles, and cryptic error messages.
Replit has a "Publish" flow that simplifies this nightmare.
- You will need to link your Apple Developer Account to Expo.
- In Replit, search for "Deploy" or look for the deployment tab.
- Select "Submit to App Store."
- Replit runs the build command (using EAS - Expo Application Services).
It will ask you for your Apple ID credentials. It handles the signing. It uploads the binary to App Store Connect.
Once it says "Success," you go to appstoreconnect.apple.com.
You’ll see your build there.
Fill out the tax forms. Upload the screenshots (ask
