How to prototype an iPhone app with Claude Code.
You can prototype a native iPhone app with Claude Code (or Codex) without writing code. Prototo Desktop gives the agent a project that is already set up for native iOS, with a live iPhone preview beside it. You describe screens, watch them appear, and publish a link when it is ready.
What you need
- A Mac with Apple Silicon.
- Xcode, free from the Mac App Store, for the iOS Simulator.
- Claude Code or Codex, on the plan you already have.
- Prototo Desktop, free from prototo.app/download.
Steps
- Open Prototo Desktop and create a new prototype. It sets up the project and opens a live iPhone preview.
- Describe the first screen in plain language, for example: "A travel app home screen with a search bar, a horizontal row of destination cards and a tab bar."
- Watch it hot-reload into the preview. Scroll it, tap it, swipe it.
- Describe changes one at a time. Use point-and-edit to click an element in the preview and say what should change.
- Add screens and navigation the same way: "Tapping a card opens a detail screen with a large photo and a Book button."
- Click Publish to share it as a link that runs natively on any iPhone.
Prompts that work well
- Name the iOS pattern you want: large title, sheet, tab bar, swipe actions, context menu.
- Describe motion and feel: "the header collapses on scroll", "a light haptic on toggle".
- Change one thing per prompt, and check it in the preview before the next.
Keep reading
Download Prototo for Mac. Free to build, and viewers get the free Prototo app on iPhone.