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Publishing your apps

Learn how to publish your apps, manage visibility, and understand the publishing process.

How to publish your app

Publishing your app makes it available for you and others to use. Follow these simple steps to publish your app:

1

Review your app in the preview

Test your app in the preview pane to make sure everything works as expected. The preview shows your app exactly as it will appear after publishing.

2

Click "Review & publish"

Once you're happy with your app, click the "Review & publish" button in the editor. This opens the publish dialog where you can review your app details.

3

Fill in app details

Add the following information about your app:

  • App Icon: Choose an emoji that represents your app
  • Title: Give your app a clear, descriptive name
  • Description: Briefly explain what your app does
4

Choose visibility settings

Select who can access your app: Public (discoverable by everyone), Unlisted (shareable via link), or Private (only you). Learn more about visibility settings.

5

Publish your app

Click the "Publish app" button. Publishing usually takes a few seconds, but can take up to a minute if your app requires data migration. Stay on the page until publishing completes.

Note: When republishing changes to an existing app, your app's data will be automatically migrated to match the new version.

6

Share and use your app

Once published, you'll get a shareable link to your app. You can open your app, install it as a Progressive Web App on your devices, or share it with others depending on your visibility settings.

Understanding visibility settings

Choose who can access your app with three visibility options. Your data is always private regardless of visibility settings.

Public

Showcase your app to the world! Public apps are discoverable in the app directory, featured on your profile, and can be found by anyone.

Best for: Apps you want to share with the community, portfolio pieces, or tools others might find useful.

Unlisted

Share your app with specific people via a direct link. Unlisted apps won't appear in public listings or search results, but anyone with the link can access them.

Best for: Apps for specific groups, internal tools, or apps you want to share selectively.

Private

Keep your app just for yourself. Private apps are only accessible to you and won't appear anywhere on the platform.

Best for: Personal tools, experiments, or apps with sensitive information.

Important: Your data is always private

Regardless of visibility settings, your data is always private. When you share an app (public or unlisted), other users see their own data, not yours. Each user has their own isolated database.

You can also install any app (public, unlisted, or private) as a Progressive Web App on your mobile devices and desktops for quick access.

AI credits and shared apps

Understanding how AI credits work when you publish and share apps is important for both creators and users.

Users consume their own AI credits, not yours

When you share an app with others, their AI usage counts towards their own monthly credit limit, not yours. This means you can share apps freely without worrying about other people's usage depleting your credit balance.

When you use your own apps

Your AI interactions consume your AI credits

When others use apps you've shared

Their AI interactions consume their own AI credits, not yours

When you use apps others have shared

Your AI interactions consume your AI credits, not the app creator's

This credit model allows you to build and share AI-powered apps without worrying about managing costs for other users. Learn more about how AI credits work.

How private data works in published apps

Every user of your app has their own completely isolated database. This ensures privacy and security for everyone.

Data Isolation

When someone uses your published app, they automatically get their own private database. They can't see your data, and you can't see theirs. Each user's data is completely isolated and secure.

Data Persistence

User data persists across sessions and syncs across all their devices. Whether they use your app on their phone, tablet, or computer, their data follows them everywhere.

Creator Privacy

As an app creator, your data remains private. Any information you entered while building or testing your app is yours alone and separate from other users' data.

User Privacy

Users can confidently enter personal information in your apps knowing their data is private, secure, and only accessible to them.

Automatic data migrations

When you publish changes to an existing app, our AI-powered migration system automatically handles updating your data to match the new version.

How migrations work

When you publish a new version of your app, our AI analyzes the changes and automatically creates a migration plan to update your data structure. This happens in the background during publishing.

  • Data Safety: Your existing data remains safe as a backup. The migration creates new data structures that work with your updated app.
  • AI-Powered: Our AI intelligently migrates your data, handling field changes, new features, and structural updates automatically.
  • Seamless Updates: After publishing, your app immediately works with the updated data structure without any manual intervention.

What gets migrated

Migrations handle changes to:

  • Database schema and field definitions
  • Data types and structures
  • New features requiring data updates
  • Field renames and reorganization

Migration best practices

  • Test your changes in the preview before publishing to ensure they work as expected
  • For major structural changes, consider publishing smaller incremental updates
  • Stay on the publishing page until the migration completes successfully

Common publishing issues

Troubleshooting common problems you might encounter when publishing your apps.

Why didn't my app publish?

Publishing can fail if there are issues with your app's code or data migration. Check for any error messages shown during publishing. If your app has existing data, the platform needs to migrate it to match your new version.

Why is my data migration failing?

Data migrations happen automatically when you publish changes that affect how data is stored. If migration fails, try simplifying your changes or publishing smaller updates. Major structural changes to data may need to be done in steps.

Why can't I see my changes?

Make sure you've published your latest version. The preview shows unpublished changes, but the live app only updates after publishing. Try refreshing the page or clearing your browser cache.

What happens to my existing data when I republish?

Your existing data is safely preserved as a backup. When you publish a new version, the migration system creates updated data that works with your new app version while keeping your original data safe.

How long does publishing take?

Publishing typically takes a few seconds. However, if your app requires data migration or has complex changes, it can take up to a minute. Always stay on the page until publishing completes.

Can I unpublish or hide my app?

Yes, you can hide your app by changing its visibility to Private or archiving it. Both options will make your app hidden from others while keeping your data safe. Hard deletion is not currently supported, but private or archived apps are effectively hidden from public view.

Ready to publish your app?

Now that you understand the publishing process, it's time to share your creation with the world.