Your Rork App's 'Documents & Data' Keeps Growing — Taming expo-image's Disk Cache
My wallpaper app's binary was 40 MB, yet 'Documents & Data' had ballooned to 2.4 GB. Here is how I diagnosed expo-image's unbounded disk cache and fixed it with cachePolicy tuning, thumbnail URLs, and generational cache clearing.
Rork Lab This Week: Apple's Free Foundation Models, and Knowing When to Go Deeper
Editor's notes on four posts: data-driven triggers for moving up to Rork Max, a three-layer AI cost design after Apple opened Foundation Models, WidgetKit within Expo, and catching subscription refunds.
Schema Versioning for Local Data in Rork Apps — Shipping Updates Without Wiping a Single Favorite
How I stopped losing users' locally stored data when shipping updates to Rork apps. A complete TypeScript migration runner with envelope versioning, backup keys, fixture tests, and the rule that keeps EAS Update schema-neutral.
Building a Developer Debug Menu Into Your Rork App — Verify Ads, Purchases, and Remote Config Before Release
A production-safe developer debug menu for Rork apps — switch environments, force test ads, simulate entitlements, and override Remote Config, with working TypeScript code and the pitfalls I hit running six apps.
Adding a Home Screen Widget to a Rork App — Making WidgetKit Work Within Expo's Constraints
Rork generates Expo apps, and home screen widgets can't be written in React Native. Here's how to wire up WidgetKit with a config plugin and App Groups — including the parts that tripped me up.
When Should a Rork App Move Up to Rork Max? Deciding With Store Data, Not Aspiration
A framework for deciding whether the $200/month Rork Max tier is justified: three data-driven migration triggers, the case for staying on Expo, why June 2026 lowered the lock-in risk, and the practical steps once you do commit to the move.
What Did Rork Actually Change as an AI Mobile App Builder? A Six-Month Field Review
An honest, indie-developer review of Rork as an AI mobile app builder after six months of real-world use. What changed, where it shines, where it gets stuck, and how to decide whether to start with it.
Deep Links in Rork Max — Universal Links and URL Schemes
A hands-on guide to deep linking in Rork Max apps: when to use URL Schemes vs. Universal Links, the AASA/assetlinks pitfalls, and the cold-start trap — with working examples.
Unifying Onboarding Across Six Wallpaper Apps: What One Month of First-Day Retention Showed Me
I folded the onboarding flows of six wallpaper apps scaffolded with Rork into a single config-driven component and watched first-day retention and push opt-in for a month. Here is an honest, operational note on what moved and what didn't.
Guarding Analytics Events With Types Across Six Rork Apps — A Shared Event Layer
After event names drifted across six apps and quietly broke my dashboards, I built a typed event registry and a thin wrapper to centralize tracking, plus a CI check that catches schema drift. Here is the design, with the code I actually use.
Fixing 'No bundle URL present' on a Release Build to a Real iOS Device
How to read the 'No bundle URL present' error that shows up when you build a Rork-exported app locally in Xcode. We separate the Metro-connection case from the missing-embedded-bundle case, and walk through generating an offline bundle by hand with working commands.
What Localizing My Wallpaper Apps' App Store Listings Taught Me — Translation Isn't the Hard Part, Being Read Locally Is
Field notes from localizing my wallpaper apps' App Store listings across many locales: where literal translation fell short, where the keyword field and screenshot copy actually moved the needle, and how I now prioritize localization as a solo developer.