Exploring Replit: Make Personal Apps for Yourself

As an iOS developer, when I saw the promotional video of Replit's new agent on the App Store, I sent it to my friend and he said that "We are screwed." (He did drop the f-word, but I will keep it clean here.)

This app definitely piqued my curiosity and I wanted to see how their product opens a world of possibilities where anyone, without any coding experience, can bring their app ideas to life directly from their iPhone.

How Does Replit Agent Work?

You use natural language prompt to describe the app you envision, and Replit Agent handles the heavy lifting of code generation. It promotes that whether you are dreaming up of reviving a personal project that was in the side-project graveyard for years or a professional tool, the agent bridges the gap between idea and execution—all without requiring you to write a single line of code.

The vibe from the promotional video is that app development is as intuitive as a conversation with your phone.

But, is it? Time to explore!

Building an Intermittent Fasting App

Today is the 4th day of strict 16:8 intermittent fasting, and I got the first sponsored link I saw for the keyword "intermittent fasting".

To get hands-on with Replit Agent, let’s start with an example for that: a basic intermittent fasting app. If you are into health and wellness, you might find this useful. However, if you have another idea that excites you more, the process remains largely the same.

Downloading the App

At the time of writing this blog post, the app is No. 2 under Developer Tools in India.

Here is the link to it:

‎Replit: Idea to app, fast

‎Replit is the best way to code and ship real projects, apps, games, and more right from your phone. With Replit, you can code anything, anywhere. We support hundreds of programming languages and frameworks with zero setup. Here’s what you can do with the Replit app: • Build websites and apps with…

App StoreReplit

Defining the Idea

Let me first jot down the core features I would like:

• Timer/Countdown: A visual timer for fasting and feeding periods.

• Schedule Reminder: Notifications or alerts for starting and ending fasting sessions.

• Progress Tracker: A simple log to track days, hours fasted, and progress over time.

Describing the App to Replit Agent

Once I have the idea sketched out, I open the Replit Agent app. The UI directly opens to the second tab wanting me to describe the app that I want to make.

Here is my initial prompt:

Create an app for intermittent fasting that includes a fasting timer, schedule reminders, and a progress tracker with customizable fasting protocols.

There is a prompt improve functionality that enhanced (I wrote that word) it to:

A mobile application to help users manage their fasting schedules and track progress.

Core Features:
Customizable fasting timer with start/stop functionality
Schedule reminders for fasting and eating windows
Progress tracker to log and visualize fasting history
Customizable fasting protocols (e.g., 16:8, 18:6, 20:4)

Visual References:
Inspired by Zero and Fastic apps, known for their clean interfaces and intuitive timer designs.

Style Guide:
Colors: Primary #4A90E2 (calming blue), Secondary #50E3C2 (refreshing mint), Accent #FF9500 (energizing orange), Background #F5F5F5 (light grey), Text #333333 (dark grey)

Design: SF Pro Text/Roboto fonts, minimalist circular timer display, card-based layout for tracking and schedules, 16px padding, 8px radius, responsive design for mobile and desktop

The agent then processes the request, generate the necessary code, and presents me with a basic but functional app layout.

Waiting for Agent

The Agent mentioned it could not create a native mobile app, reminding me that—at least for now—my coding skills (and my friend) are still very much in demand.

I check Advanced statistic and insights as well because that is cool, right?

Here is another screenshot that shows the process on how it works:

Here is the first prototype that the agent created; but I could not "Start Fast":

I prompted that back to the agent, and it added a new commit to correctly handle starting a fast:

Challenges & Troubleshooting

Unfortunately, it did not work again.

Maybe I am doing something? Maybe it is doing wrong?

I prompted it again that the app is not working, and this time there were notifications errors. After another back and forth, it said that my browser, Safari on iOS, does not support notifications. I opened the link on my Mac on Zen browser, and it popped up the alert, only to fail again.

Instead of trying it out again, I decided to create a new chat with the simple prompt I had before.

It created a much more visual web app this time, but the functionality still did not work. Not on my iPhone, not on my Mac.

Maybe the prompt was wrong, or this was a one-off case, so I may explore Replit in the near future again when I can get it to work.

Moving Forward

Will I use Replit Agent for my projects? Not really.

I am comfortable enough using Alex Sidebar for iOS development to create prototypes where I have the full control of the app and load it on TestFlight.

For a general user? Replit Agent might be an enticing option—if not for the occasional technical hiccup, then for its promise of turning ideas into apps with just a few words. However, I think it is a big hassle especially if they do not understand the errors that they face, and have no idea what is happening.

I am not an AI doomer. I love to see the output more than the process of coding. So, apps like Replit is what I want to see more in the future, especially if there are ways to have native iOS apps like this: right inside the Apple's Walled Garden.

Happy building!