Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about App Factory and how it works.
What is App Factory?
App Factory is an AI-native system that transforms your idea into a complete, production-ready application. It uses Claude (Opus 4.5) and six specialized builders to handle market research, product design, code generation, and quality assurance—all automatically in a single-shot operation.
What are the six builders?
App Factory includes six specialized builders: App Builder for mobile apps (Expo + React Native), dApp Builder for Web3 applications (Next.js + Base), Agent Builder for AI agents (Node.js), Plugin Builder for MCP servers and plugins, Mini App Builder for Base mini apps (MiniKit + Next.js), and Website Builder for production-ready websites (Next.js 14). Each builder is optimized for its target platform.
What is Ralph Mode?
Ralph Mode is App Factory's built-in AI quality assurance system. After code generation, Ralph reviews every file, scores the quality, and iterates until the app passes a 97% threshold. This ensures no placeholder content, no broken features, and no incomplete implementations.
Why is research mandatory?
Every build includes market research because apps built on real market intelligence succeed more often. App Factory researches competitors, target users, and positioning before generating code. Ralph Mode validates that all research data is real, not fabricated.
How do I use App Factory?
Just describe the app you want to build in plain language. App Factory handles everything else—market research, product specification, UX design, monetization, and code generation. No commands to memorize, no stages to manage.
What does App Factory build?
App Factory builds six types of applications: mobile apps (React Native with Expo and RevenueCat), Web3 dApps (Next.js with Base wallet integration), AI agents (Node.js autonomous agents), plugins (MCP servers and extensions), Base mini apps (lightweight apps that run inside the Base app), and production websites (SEO-optimized Next.js 14 sites). Each output includes full documentation, market research, and marketing materials.
What do I get from a build?
Every build produces a complete package: market research and competitive analysis, product specifications, UX/UI design decisions, ASO-optimized App Store metadata, and a production-ready Expo React Native app with all necessary assets.
Do I need to know how to code?
No coding knowledge is required to use App Factory. However, to run and test the generated apps, you'll need basic familiarity with the terminal to run commands like 'npx expo start'.
Why are profiles minted instead of created?
Profiles are minted, not created. Each profile requires an on-chain mint that burns $FACTORY, preventing spam and aligning builders who commit to shipping. There are no non-minted profiles—if a profile exists, it was minted.
Why does the minting cost increase over time?
Profiles are not capped. The cost increases naturally as more profiles are minted. Scarcity emerges mechanically, not by admin control. Minting earlier costs less; minting later is still possible but comes with tradeoffs. There is no deadline—only a moving cost curve.
What does minting NOT guarantee?
Minting grants eligibility, not placement. There is no guaranteed ranking, no promised traffic, and no returns. The $FACTORY burn is permanent. Profile value comes from what you build, not from the mint itself.
How does the profile leaderboard work?
Profiles are ranked by contribution—builds completed, apps shipped, and ongoing activity—not by stake alone. Stake may provide a stabilizing signal, but it cannot dominate ranking. Early minters gain no permanent advantage; placement reflects continued output with recency weighting.
What are the prerequisites?
You need Claude Code (Opus 4.5) for pipeline execution, Node.js 18+ for the generated apps, and Expo CLI for testing. The generated apps are offline-first and require minimal additional infrastructure.
Do I own the apps I generate?
Yes. Apps generated by App Factory are yours. You can submit them to app stores, sell them, or do whatever you want with them. App Factory is open source under MIT license.
What's the 'offline-first bias'?
App Factory prioritizes apps that work offline with minimal backend dependencies. This reduces operational costs, enables faster iteration, and results in more shippable apps. Backend-heavy apps require explicit justification.
How do I preview generated apps?
Generated apps include a preview system. After building, you can use 'npx expo start' in the app directory to launch the development server. You can then preview on iOS and Android simulators or physical devices.
What happens if something goes wrong?
App Factory follows a fail-fast approach. If any stage fails validation, it writes a detailed error report and stops immediately. You can review the error, make adjustments to your description, and try again.
Can I customize the build process?
The factory templates are configurable for advanced users. You can modify templates in the templates/agents/ directory and schemas in the schemas/ directory. However, the single-shot execution model and Ralph Mode QA thresholds are fixed to ensure consistent, high-quality output.
What is a Base mini app?
A mini app is a lightweight application that runs inside the Base app (by Coinbase). Mini apps are built with Next.js and MiniKit SDK. Users can discover and launch your mini app directly in Base without downloading anything separately. Mini apps can be purely social or integrate wallet features for payments and NFTs.
Do mini apps require crypto knowledge?
No. You can build mini apps that are purely social with no blockchain involved. Crypto features like payments, NFTs, and onchain functionality are completely optional. MiniKit provides the integration—you just describe what you want to build.
What is the UX Polish Loop?
The UX Polish Loop is App Factory's structured quality assurance system for React UIs. It combines a 20-pass iterative polish methodology with Playwright E2E testing. Every UI passes lint, typecheck, and E2E tests before receiving a Completion Promise confirming production readiness.
What is the Factory Ready Standard?
The Factory Ready Standard defines seven quality gates every project must pass before deployment: Build (code compiles), Run (app starts), Test (smoke tests pass), Validate (contract requirements met), Package (ready for deployment), Launch Ready (documentation complete), and optionally Token Integration. This ensures consistent, launch-ready output.
What's different about the Website Builder?
The Website Builder creates production-ready Next.js 14 websites optimized for Core Web Vitals and WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility. Every website passes mandatory skills audits for react-best-practices (≥95%) and web-design-guidelines (≥90%) before final QA. The output includes SEO metadata, structured data, and is Vercel deployment ready.