Documentation

Take your app from localhost to live.

You build with Claude Code or Codex — FoxDog prepares your app, gets it approved on the App Store and Google Play, and gets you your first users and feedback.

Give your agent this prompt

Paste this into Claude Code (Anthropic's terminal CLI) or Codex inside your app project — not the regular Claude chat app, which has no terminal and can't run these commands. It tells your agent what FoxDog is, points it at these docs, and starts prepping your app for production.

Agent bootstrap prompt
I'm using you to take my app from my laptop to live on the App Store with FoxDog AI (https://foxdog.ai). I have never shipped a mobile app before, so explain things simply and check with me before each step.

How this works: I stay in control and approve every step, my signing keys never leave my machine (FoxDog never sees them), and I own my developer accounts. FoxDog is a published npm package (foxdog) that adds guided launch steps to you.

To connect FoxDog, run this one command for me:
  npx foxdog start
It opens a browser so I can log into (or create) my FoxDog account, then adds FoxDog's tools to you and sets up this project. If it can't add the tools automatically, run: claude mcp add foxdog -- npx -y foxdog mcp

If you can't run terminal commands (for example, you're the Claude chat app, not Claude Code), tell me to switch to Claude Code or Codex.

Then:
1. Give me a quick read-only summary of my project — what the app is and roughly what's left to launch.
2. Once FoxDog is connected and my plan is active, call the FoxDog `foxdog_start` tool and walk me through it one step at a time — checking with me before each build, screenshot, store form, and upload.

Preview vs. guided launch: before you connect, your agent can only give you a quick read-only preview of your project. The real launch — build, screenshots, store setup, upload — runs through FoxDog's tools once you connect your agent and start a plan. Connect first; don't let your agent try to ship by hand (it'll skip FoxDog's frameworks and give a worse result).

What FoxDog is

FoxDog is a guided launch system for people building apps with an AI coding agent. You build the app with Claude Code or Codex. FoxDog does everything after the code: prepares it for the stores, generates your icon and screenshots, gets you through Apple and Google approval, instruments analytics, and helps you reach your first 100 users and gather feedback.

It's built on battle-tested tooling that has shipped 100+ real, native apps — not webview wrappers.

How it works

Three pieces work together:

  • Your agent (Claude Code or Codex) runs on your Mac and does the work locally, with your own credentials — which never leave your machine.
  • The FoxDog conductor tells your agent the exact next step, the command to run, and how to confirm it worked.
  • The FoxDog toolkit runs on your Mac — scaffold, build, screenshots, store metadata, and upload.

You stay in control. FoxDog never holds your signing keys or store credentials — it orchestrates; your machine does the work.

What you'll need

  • For iOS — a Mac with Xcode. Apple only lets you build and sign iPhone/iPad apps on macOS, so a Mac with Xcode is required for the App Store. Builds run locally on your machine.
  • For Android — Android Studio (the Android SDK). Android builds don't need a Mac — they run on macOS, Windows, or Linux. FoxDog uses the Android SDK to build and sign your app (the .apk/.aab) locally.
  • Apple Developer Program ($99/yr) for iOS, and/or Google Play Console ($25 one-time) for Android. You own them; FoxDog guides setup.
  • Claude Code or Codex — if you can build with one, FoxDog can get you to the stores.

Privacy & time-saver: new rules can put your name and home address on your public store listing. Setting up a simple company (an LLC) keeps it private — and on Android, a company account skips Google's 12-tester, 14-day waiting period. The onboarding recommends the right path for you.

The launch path

Every launch follows the same path. FoxDog tracks where you are and what's next:

  1. You build it — in Claude Code, Codex, or any coding agent.
  2. You create your free FoxDog account — the prompt and the agent are gated behind sign-in, so this is what unlocks the launch.
  3. You point your agent to FoxDog — one prompt, while signed in; that's the last part you do on your own.
  4. Scaffold — a production-ready project, with analytics and store config wired in.
  5. Brand & assets — your app icon and store screenshots, generated for you.
  6. Build & TestFlight — built on your Mac and pushed to TestFlight so you can hold it on your phone.
  7. Store setup — the Apple/Google forms with no API (privacy, data safety, content rating) — with the exact answers to paste.
  8. Go live — submit to the App Store and Google Play; track approval to live.
  9. First 100 users & feedback — installs, ratings, and feedback, so you know whether to double down or move on.

iOS & TestFlight

For iPhone/iPad, the fastest way to get your app into someone's hands is TestFlight — Apple's testing service. FoxDog builds and archives on your Mac, then uploads to TestFlight (no full App Store review needed for internal testers).

For the public App Store, FoxDog handles the metadata, in-app purchases, screenshots, and the App Privacy questionnaire, then guides the one step Apple makes you do by hand (creating the app record). Your app's bundle ID is permanent once set — FoxDog helps you choose it.

Android & APK sharing

Android has a uniquely fast feedback path: you can send your whole app as a single file (an APK) by text or email — your friend taps to install, no store needed. It's the quickest way to get real feedback before dealing with the store. FoxDog builds the signed file for you.

For Google Play, FoxDog handles the build, listing, and the Data Safety / Content Rating / Target Audience forms. Note: brand-new personal Play accounts must run a 12-tester, 14-day closed test before publishing — a company account skips this.

Connect your agent Early Access

Once you've started a plan (or redeemed an invite code), connect your agent in two steps — there's no key to copy or paste.

1. Log in once. In your terminal, run:

Log your agent in
npx foxdog login

A browser opens — sign in with your FoxDog account, and this machine is authorized. No API key to handle.

2. Add FoxDog to your agent (one time):

Claude Code
claude mcp add foxdog -- npx -y foxdog mcp

Using Codex? Point an MCP server at the command npx -y foxdog mcp.

Important — start a new session to load the tools. Adding the MCP doesn't pull it into the chat you're already in. FoxDog's tools only appear in a fresh session:

  • Claude Code desktop / web app: open a new chat or session (the + button), pointed at the same project folder. If it asks to approve the new “foxdog” MCP server, accept it.
  • Claude Code or Codex in the terminal: exit and relaunch the CLI in the same project — the tools load on the next start.

In that new session, tell your agent: “Let's launch my app with FoxDog.” If you don't start a fresh session, your agent won't see the foxdog tools and will think it isn't connected.

That's it — in the new session, tell your agent to start, and FoxDog drives the guided launch, checking each step automatically. Your plan stays in control: if it lapses, the connection pauses until you reactivate.

Developers: the foxdog CLI is on npm — every command, the MCP config for Claude Code and Codex, the agent status contract, and how auth works are in the CLI reference.

Security & trust — what FoxDog can and can't touch

You're handing a tool access to the things that ship your app, so here's exactly where the lines are. Short version: you stay in control, your secrets stay on your machine, and you own everything.

  • Your signing keys never leave your machine. Your Apple .p8 key, Android keystore, and service-account file stay in your local project. FoxDog tells your agent where to put them and how to verify them — it never uploads, reads, or stores their contents.
  • You own your developer accounts. You create and pay for your own Apple Developer and Google Play accounts. FoxDog never logs into them; it gives you the exact clicks and copy-paste answers, and your agent acts on your machine with your approval.
  • You approve every step. Nothing builds, submits, or uploads without you saying go. FoxDog's conductor walks one step at a time and checks with you before each build, screenshot, store form, and submission.
  • The tool is open and inspectable. The foxdog package is published on npm. It's a thin client: it handles login and proxies your agent to FoxDog's tools — the framework runs server-side behind your account, so there's no opaque blob running on your machine.
  • Authentication is browser-based. npx foxdog login opens a normal browser sign-in; there's no API key to copy, paste, or leak. The device gets a scoped key cached locally in ~/.foxdog, which you can revoke anytime with npx foxdog logout.
  • Your plan stays in control. If your subscription lapses, the connection pauses — FoxDog can't act until you reactivate.

If your agent is cautious about connecting an unfamiliar tool, that's healthy — point it here. Everything above is verifiable: the package is public, the keys are local, and you approve each action.

FAQ

Do I need to know how to code?

You need to be able to build your app with an AI agent. FoxDog handles the launch part — you don't need prior app-store experience.

Does FoxDog build my app for me?

No. You build it with your agent. FoxDog does everything after the code: prep, assets, approvals, launch, and feedback.

Do my keys leave my computer?

No. Your signing keys and store credentials stay on your Mac and are used locally. FoxDog never holds them.

How do my users pay me?

Through Apple and Google's in-app payments (which FoxDog wires up). Your FoxDog subscription is separate.