Mainline · App development
Native iOS + Android, progressive web apps, custom in-app tools — Mainline ships them at a tenth of what agencies quote. Same engineering rigor. App Store and Play Store submission included. Real users, real installs.
/01 — Selected work
A mix of shipped and in-flight builds. Most apps go from brief to TestFlight in under three weeks.
Youth-employment marketplace pairing teen workers with neighborhood employers. Native iOS + Android via Expo, real-time job feed, parent controls, BlockWork-branded debit card integration. In-flight Phase 1 build.
Internal field-rep app: scan a SKU, check live stock, submit a quote, message the warehouse. Cuts the order-to-quote loop from 20 minutes to 90 seconds.
PWA companion to the in-browser site builder. Push notifications when a deploy ships, edit-on-the-go from a phone, client preview with reviewer mode.
Native bilingual EN/ES app for SC mortgage broker. Live rate calculator, application intake, document upload, agent-direct chat. Spanish was a first-class build, not an afterthought.
Branded native app for a multi-location restaurant — points, online ordering deep-link, push for new specials, single-tap reservation booking.
Tablet-first dispatch app for a service business — live job map, voice-to-text notes, photo upload, signature capture, route planning. The kind of internal tool nobody else wants to build cheaply.
/02 — What we build
One stack, one engineer, one timeline. We pick the right shape (PWA / native / hybrid) for your build — not the one that maximizes our hours.
React Native + Expo. Real native apps that ship to the App Store and Google Play, with a single codebase your future engineer can maintain. The same stack Discord, Coinbase, and Shopify use — at a fraction of the agency rate.
Spark tier. Your website becomes an app — home-screen icon, splash screen, offline support, push. No app stores, no review delays.
Targeted notifications, segmented audiences, scheduled campaigns, deep links. Wired into your CRM so reps can fire from inside PipelineIQ.
Mainline submits the build, writes the listing copy, picks the screenshots, handles the review back-and-forth. You get an icon on your phone, not a TestFlight maze.
Email + magic-link, Apple ID, Google Sign-in, Sign in with Phone. Secure session handling out of the box. Pro tier.
Stripe for direct charges. Apple In-App Purchase + Google Play Billing for subscriptions. The compliance work that takes most teams a month — done in days.
Photo upload, document scan, GPS, barcode/QR. We wire whatever device features your build needs without months of plumbing.
User accounts, live updates, file storage, row-level security — all from a backend you can also access via SQL whenever you need to.
After launch, edit copy, swap product photos, post a new promo screen, change pricing — all through Iris, our in-browser AI editor. No App Store re-submission for content changes. Your team owns the app.
/02b — The build menu
Skim the menu, mark what you need, hand the list to your rep. Anything not on this menu, ask — we've probably built it once already. Most items are bundled into the right tier or available as a small add-on.
Foundations
10 optionsAccounts & auth
10 optionsPayments & commerce
10 optionsDevice features
12 optionsCommunication
10 optionsEngagement & retention
10 optionsData & backend
10 optionsMaps & location
8 optionsStorefront / marketplace
10 optionsAI features
8 optionsAnalytics & ops
10 optionsIndustry-specific
10 options118 options across 12 categories · ask about anything not listed
/03 — Why trust us
App agencies typically take 3–6 months and quote $50K–$200K for what we ship in 2–4 weeks for under $2,500. Same code quality. Same compliance. Different overhead.
Spark in a week. Native in two. Pro in three to four. We don't pad timelines for the agency calendar — you tell us your deadline, we tell you what fits.
Mainline writes the listing, designs the icon, picks the screenshots, submits the build, handles review feedback. You get an icon on your phone — not a TestFlight maze.
Secure auth, encrypted storage, rate-limited APIs, zero hardcoded secrets, no third-party SDKs without a privacy review. The basics most agencies skip.
We deploy under your Apple Developer account, your Play Console, your Supabase. Source code lives in your GitHub. If we ever part ways, you keep building — no rewrite.
Every project gets a lead you message directly. No account managers, no ticket portal, no 'we'll get back to you in 5–7 business days.'
After launch, the app care plan covers content updates, OS-version compatibility, store re-submissions, and small tweaks. We treat your app like ours.
/04 — How we build
You see daily TestFlight builds you can actually try on your phone. No three-month black box. We catch what doesn't feel right while we're still cheap to change it.
30-min call, written brief. We tell you which tier fits your build and what's realistic in your timeline.
Three opinionated UI directions inside a real device frame. You pick one. We ship a clickable prototype.
Native + AI-assisted. Daily TestFlight builds you can actually try on your phone. No 'wait til the end' surprise.
Animations, haptics, edge cases. We submit to App Store + Play Store, write the listing, screenshots, the works.
Live on stores. Onboarding analytics wired up. Handover docs + tutorial videos for your team. Month-1 metrics review.
/05 — What it costs
Other agencies start at $25K. We start at $599. Same engineering quality, just without the agency overhead. Most clients land on Native ($1,299) and never need anything more.
Your website becomes an installable app. Home-screen icon, push notifications, offline mode. The fastest, cheapest way to ship a real app.
Real native iOS + Android via React Native + Expo. App Store + Play Store submission included. The right tier for 80% of clients.
Native + auth + database + payments + custom backend. The tier when your app needs to actually run a business.
Bigger custom builds (3D scenes, ML/AI features inside the app, deep enterprise integrations) get a flat-rate quote up front — usually $4k–$10k. Always told to you before any work starts.
/06 — After launch
Apps need babysitting — iOS updates, Play Store policy changes, occasional crash reports. Default into the care plan; switch to self-serve when you're ready.
Your app, fully managed. Email us any change and we ship a TestFlight + production update within the week.
Manage edits yourself with the same tools we use. App-store submissions still on us.
Crashlytics + Sentry watching. If your app starts crashing, we know before users tweet about it.
iOS 27, Android 16, new Play Store policies, deprecated APIs — handled. You don't read App Store changelogs; we do.
A/B test push copy, refine onboarding, push new features when retention asks for them. The app ships, then it gets better.
/07 — Start your app
First reply within 24 hours. Fixed cost, fixed delivery date, real demo build before you commit. We don't do scoping calls before you have a number.