How to turn an Emergent app into an iOS and Android app
Emergent builds web apps, but getting a full native app into the Apple App Store and Google Play is a separate step. Median converts your deployed Emergent URL into native iOS and Android apps with push notifications, native navigation, and native features like RevenueCat In-App Purchases. Builds and app store uploads run in the cloud, so no Mac, Xcode, or Android Studio is required. Emergent's own Mobile Agent can generate a separate Expo app on paid plans, but you must manage the Expo toolchain and the app store submissions yourself.
Emergent is good at getting a working product live fast. If you are reading this, your app is probably already deployed at an emergent.host URL or a custom domain, and now you want it in the Apple App Store and Google Play.
You have two options. Emergent's Mobile Agent generates a brand-new Expo app, a native build that comes with real toolchain work. Median takes the web app you already deployed and turns it into the iOS and Android app, so the product stays one codebase.
This guide covers both, then walks through the website to app conversion step by step: building the native app from your Emergent URL, testing it, adding native features, and publishing to both stores.
Enter your Emergent URL and test the mobile app version
What is Emergent?
Source: emergent.sh
Emergent is an AI app builder from Y Combinator's Summer 2024 batch that turns plain-English prompts into working full-stack applications. Its agents generate a React frontend, a FastAPI backend, and a MongoDB database, and a deploy takes about 15 minutes to a stable URL at your-app.emergent.host, with custom domains supported.
That deployed URL is the input for everything below. Whether your app stays web-only or ships to the app stores, the URL is where the product lives.
Emergent's Mobile Agent is a second codebase, not your web app in the stores
Emergent has its own mobile option, and it is worth understanding before you pick one. On paid plans, the Mobile Agent builds a cross-platform app with Expo, the React Native framework, alongside a FastAPI backend.
What you get from Emergent's Mobile Agent:
A generated Expo app you can test on a real phone through the Expo Go app, by scanning a QR code.
Native React Native components rather than a web view.
Access to device features through the Expo ecosystem.
What it leaves you managing:
A second codebase. The Mobile Agent builds a new mobile app, not a mobile version of the web app you already deployed. Features you add on the web side do not appear in the mobile app until you build them again.
The Expo toolchain. Emergent's own documentation walks you through downloading the code, installing the EAS command line tool, configuring builds, and generating signing keys with openssl and keytool in a terminal.
The store submission. You create the listings in App Store Connect and Google Play Console, run the submit commands, and handle Apple and Google review feedback yourself. Expo's cloud handles the compile, and everything around it is on you.
A paid Emergent plan plus Expo build quotas once you pass Expo's free tier.
If you want a from-scratch React Native app and you are comfortable in a terminal, the Mobile Agent is a reasonable choice. If what you actually want is the product you already built, installed from the app stores with native features on top, that is the web to app conversion Median does, and it keeps you at one codebase.
How to build the native app from your Emergent URL
Step 1: Build your app in the Median App Studio
Start at median.co/app. Enter your deployed Emergent URL, whether that is your-app.emergent.host or your custom domain, as the "Website URL" and set your app name. An email address is required for ongoing access to your app in the App Studio, and a verification link arrives by email.
Step 2: Preview and test
Median's browser-based simulators preview your app on iOS and Android devices without leaving your web browser. Confirm the basic flows work inside the app frame before going deeper, because an app that feels finished in a desktop browser can behave differently inside a mobile WebView.
Step 3: Customize the native app
In the Branding tab, upload an app icon and splash screen and set theme colors. Interface Settings, Link Handling, Website Overrides, and Permissions control how the app behaves around your web content, and Native Navigation adds the app-like structure Apple and Google expect.
Median's native plugins add push notifications, haptics, biometric login, offline access, and other device features your web app cannot reach from the browser.
Want to learn more about our plugins?
Launch a full-feature native app without native development!
Step 4: Test on real devices
Before submission, move past the simulator. Use the public sharing link to give stakeholders access during testing, and install test builds on physical devices. An Apple Developer account is required for iOS device testing.
Test login, forms, file uploads, any camera or location prompts, external links, and payment flows on a phone. Generated apps often lean on the FastAPI backend for authentication, so check that session handling works the same inside the installed app as it does in a browser tab.
Step 5: License and launch
The Billing tab in the App Studio lists plans by app functionality, select a plan based on your needs. Median also offers an optional publishing service where its team manages the app store submission process end to end.
How to publish your Emergent app to the Apple App Store and Google Play
The steps below assume you have built the app in the Median App Studio and tested it in the simulators or on a device.
Publishing to the Apple App Store
Apple's review process is rigorous, and your app needs to avoid looking like a bare web container. Follow these steps:
Register with the Apple Developer Program: Enrollment is typically $99 USD per year. Businesses register as an Organization, which requires a D‑U‑N‑S number, so the brand name appears correctly in the App Store.
Create your app record: In App Store Connect, create a New App and match the Bundle ID to the one in your Median-built app.
Complete metadata and privacy details: Upload iPhone screenshot sets, fill in name, description, keywords, category, and support URL, and complete Apple's App Privacy section. If the app requires login, add demo credentials under App Review Information.
Upload the build: Connect your Apple Developer account in the Median App Studio using an App Store Connect API key. Median then builds a signed distribution IPA in the cloud and uploads it directly to App Store Connect for TestFlight and App Store submission. No Mac, Xcode, or Apple Transporter is required (see the upload documentation).
Submit for review: Apple typically responds within 24 to 48 hours, though it can take longer.
Publishing to the Google Play Store
Create your Play Console account: Registration is a one-time $25 fee, and Google requires developer verification before publishing.
Complete the Play Console checklist: store listing metadata and graphics, a valid privacy policy URL, the Data Safety section, content declarations, permissions, target audience details, and app access instructions if login is required.
Upload your Android App Bundle: Generate the AAB from the Median App Studio (see the Android build documentation). Google no longer accepts APKs for new submissions.
Start the rollout: After review and policy checks pass, roll out to Production. New accounts can wait up to 7 days for the initial security review.
Note: Before submitting your app, download the free App Store Publishing Checklist to make sure it's ready for both the Apple App Store and Google Play review.
If you would rather not manage submission yourself
Median's publishing service has the Median team handle the entire submission: metadata, review feedback, and resubmissions. Median has published over 4,000 apps and, as of July 2026, maintains a 100% approval rate.
Case Studies
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Subscriptions and in-app purchases in an Emergent app
If the app sells digital subscriptions or paid features, the app stores require their own billing. Apple requires In-App Purchases for digital products, and Google Play requires Google Play Billing, so the Stripe checkout your web app uses cannot be the purchase path inside the stores.
RevenueCat is Median's recommended way to handle this, and your web app code can read subscription status through Median's JavaScript Bridge to gate premium features. The RevenueCat subscriptions guide covers the store setup and why the app needs a rebuild after monetization is added.
Frequently asked questions
Can Emergent make mobile apps?
Emergent's Mobile Agent, available on paid plans, generates a separate Expo app in React Native. That is a genuine native app, and it is also a second codebase with its own backend, testing, and store submission work. To put the web app you already deployed into the app stores as one codebase, Median converts the deployed URL into native iOS and Android apps.
Can I publish an Emergent app to the App Store or Google Play?
Yes. With Median, the deployed URL becomes a native app that you configure, test, and submit through App Store Connect and Google Play Console, with signed builds produced in the cloud. If you go through Emergent's Expo tooling instead, you download the code and run the build and submission yourself.
Does Emergent submit my app to the app stores for me?
No. Emergent's documentation walks through the submission as your responsibility: you set up the Expo tooling, generate signing keys, create the store listings, and respond to Apple and Google review feedback. If you would rather hand that work off, Median's publishing service manages the entire submission.
Can I turn an Emergent app into an APK?
Yes. Median can produce an Android build from the deployed URL, which is useful for installing and testing on a real device. Google Play distribution needs a signed Android App Bundle plus the Play Console setup, so treat the APK as the testing step rather than the launch plan.
Do I need to export my Emergent app's code first?
Not for a Median app. Median loads your published Emergent URL directly, so the native app stays in sync with the version you keep editing in Emergent. Exporting code only comes into play if you build Emergent's separate Expo app, which lives and gets maintained outside the platform.
Do I need a custom domain to publish an Emergent app?
No. A stable your-app.emergent.host URL is enough to build and submit the app. A custom domain looks more finished to users and reviewers, and it keeps login and deep links consistent if you ever change hosting, so it is worth adding before a serious launch.
What should I test before submitting to the app stores?
Test login and session handling, mobile navigation, forms, file uploads, camera and location prompts, push notifications, deep links, app icons, splash screens, and privacy links. Emergent's generated backend handles auth through your web code, and flows that pass in a desktop browser are exactly where mobile review issues tend to start.
Enter your Emergent URL and test the mobile app version
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