Join 5,901+ iOS/macOS developers using Codex and agents to build and ship apps. Expect practical tutorials, repeatable workflows, and hard-earned lessons from 7 shipped apps and time at Apple, Microsoft, and GoPro.
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Hey Reader, I hope you’re having a fantastic morning. I’m out on my deck enjoying the sunrise and a cup of coffee. This month has been busy because we’re expecting a baby alien in the next week or two. I haven’t had time to write to you, but I wanted to give you an update on what I’ve been working on. Before the baby arrives, I decided to refocus on shipping my app, Brew Coffee. I have been working on some experimental UI changes and alternative recipes. Here's an experimental view of James Hoffmann's V60 recipe. ASO Additionally, I’m considering how to position the app using App Store Optimization (ASO). Choosing the right name, subtitle, and keywords can help boost your app downloads (more on ASO in a future video or email). I'm playing with Astro to research keywords (i.e., position your app for keywords people are already searching for). With ASO, you can get free customers if you title your app correctly (and have compelling icons and screenshots). How do you get more downloads? To find more customers, I plan to publish more videos about my coffee app. I filmed for my Brew Coffee app, showcasing the upcoming features and experiments I’ve been running.
The challenge of a pour-over coffee app is that I have to make coffee to know if the recipe changes help. With that said, I’m pleasantly caffeinated this morning. Enjoy your morning cup of coffee (or tea). I have 36 new email subscribers from those 3 videos. If you want to find customers for your own apps, YouTube is a great way to build an audience. Do you want to publish an app too? How can I help you start? Talk soon, P.S. I help developers publish iPhone apps. If you’re interested in working with me on your next app, I’ll be kicking off a new group with weekly office hours. Join the waitlist for the App Launch Community here (ETA: September). Claudia has been working with me since January through my iPhone Apps 101 course. She recently published her first iPhone app to help people learn to crochet. Last week, we used ChatGPT o3 to explore new App Icon concepts. Would you like to work with Claudia and me? Join the waitlist and let’s chat. |
AI Code Brief - Paul Solt
Join 5,901+ iOS/macOS developers using Codex and agents to build and ship apps. Expect practical tutorials, repeatable workflows, and hard-earned lessons from 7 shipped apps and time at Apple, Microsoft, and GoPro.
Hey Reader, Agents write better code when they can read docs instead of guessing from memory. A 2026 paper found up to a 20% improvement in first-try code accuracy when models were given the right programming context. So what do you do with that? Don’t rely on the agent to know everything from their training set. Instead, provide tools or local docs that they can reference. Your local docs should include sample code so agents can use the code correctly (the first time). If you’ve ever read...
Hey Reader, My iOS and macOS app development workflow has changed since my last GPT-5.2 Workflow video. GPT-5.4 lets me iterate on bug fixes, features, and ideas much faster than before. Watch: How I Build Apps with Codex and GPT-5.4 If you want to build apps with agents, use my app-creator skill. It can scaffold a new Xcode project and teach your agent how to create a Makefile for an existing Xcode project. 2 Tactics You Can Steal #1 Use a Learnings.md File with Your Agent Self-improvement...
Hey Reader, I’m launching early access for my new app-creator agent skill for iOS/macOS apps today! In this email: 2 Tactics You Can Steal This Weekend 5 Resources and Links Community Spotlight What does app development look like in 2026? Coding has forever changed over the last 3 months. I’m all-in on app development with Codex 5.3. It’s a workhorse. If you’re an idea person still learning the basics, you have a huge opportunity. Gone are the days when you need to know every line of code....