# Bolt.new Mobile Apps: Expo Builds, Phone Tests, Store Steps

> Bolt.new (Bolt) builds iPhone and Android apps through Expo. How to test on your phone with Expo Go, and what store publishing needs outside Bolt.

_Source: https://professionalstoolkit.com/articles/bolt-new-mobile-apps — The Professional's Toolkit · updated November 2026_

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Yes, through Expo. Bolt.new (Bolt) builds native iPhone and Android apps from one JavaScript codebase, and you can try the result on your own phone in Expo Go by scanning a QR code. What Bolt does not do is put the app in a store. Submitting to the App Store or Google Play happens outside Bolt: you download the code, run Expo's EAS command-line tool on a computer with Node.js LTS and Git, and sign in with your own Expo, Apple and Google developer accounts [1]. So the answer splits in two. Building and testing a mobile app is a Bolt job. Shipping it is yours, and every update repeats the trip.


**12 testers, 14 days** — Google Play's closed test for personal developer accounts created after November 2023, per Bolt's launch guide.



- **Expo** — Bolt's route to native iPhone and Android apps
- **Expo Go** — Free on-phone testing via a QR code in Device Preview
- **Outside Bolt** — App Store and Google Play submission, through the EAS CLI


## Say mobile app in the very first prompt

Bolt decides what kind of project it is creating from your opening message. The help center is blunt about it: include the words mobile app in the first prompt so Bolt sets up an Expo-compatible project, because a project created for the web does not easily switch to mobile later. That rules out a tempting shortcut. An existing Bolt web app is not a half-finished phone app. If you already have a web version you like, plan a new mobile project; sharing one backend between the two means connecting the same Supabase database, which needs Pro or Teams.

Plan Mode is the cheaper way to start. It lets you lay out screens, navigation, sign-in and data without changing any code, using the codebase and recent messages as context, and you can start a project in Plan Mode straight from the homepage; for a mobile build, that first message must name a mobile app. When the plan reads right, Implement this plan hands it to Build Mode. Plan Mode uses fewer tokens than building, though not zero.


> 💡 **Name the app type first:** Write mobile app in the first prompt, or in the first Plan Mode message; a project started for the web does not easily switch to mobile later.


Two agents do the building. Standard is fast and token-efficient for small or medium apps and well-defined tasks, and it is the only agent on Free. Max reasons more deeply for large apps and refactoring, spends more tokens per prompt, and is available on paid plans only. Free gives you 1M tokens a month with a 300K daily limit. For scale, the help center's small sample web app used about 204K tokens on its first build, which is Bolt's figure for one example rather than a forecast for a phone app. Token use grows with project size because Bolt reads your project files on every message, as our [Bolt pricing guide](/articles/bolt-new-pricing) explains.

## Testing on a real device with Expo Go

Install Expo Go on your phone, open the Device Preview icon in Bolt, and scan the QR code it shows. The app then runs on the handset in your pocket rather than in a browser frame. Bolt's Expo page warns that the first build takes some time, and it says testing with Expo tools is free. This is the loop you will live in for most of the project: prompt, wait for the build, check the change on the phone, prompt again.

Bolt saves a version after every processed prompt, and restoring one costs no tokens. That matters on mobile, where a broken navigation stack can take several screens down at once. Each click on Attempt fix spends tokens, so Bolt's own advice is to restore a working version and describe the problem rather than clicking repeatedly. Direct edits in Code view also cost nothing. The catch is the device: Code view is read-only in Safari or on a phone, and the terminal needs Chrome or another Chromium browser on a desktop.

Bolt also works from a phone. Since October 2026 you can preview projects, publish or unpublish, and restore versions from a mobile browser, while Code view, visual edits and the database stay desktop-only [2]. Treat that as project management on the move: checking a build, rolling back a bad change or unpublishing a page while away from your desk. It is not a way to reach the app stores, and the zip download that store builds start from works on desktop only.

## The handoff from Bolt to your own machine

| Step | Where it happens | What it needs |
|---|---|---|
| Screens, logic, data | Inside Bolt | A first prompt naming a mobile app |
| Device testing | Expo Go on your phone | The QR code from Device Preview |
| Getting the code out | Bolt in a desktop browser | Zip download (desktop only) or GitHub sync |
| Store builds and submission | Your computer, EAS CLI | Node.js LTS, Git, an Expo account |
| iPhone release | TestFlight, then the App Store | An Apple Developer account |
| Android release | Google Play Beta, then Google Play Store | A Google Play Developer account |

The help center describes store publishing as a manual routine. You download the project, then use the EAS CLI to build the binaries and submit them. There is no button in Bolt that pushes a release to Apple or Google. When you change something in Bolt afterwards, you download the code again and rebuild. Exports carry code but not secrets, so any keys your build depends on have to be supplied again on your side. If you keep the project synced to GitHub, the repository is the cleaner source to pull from; our guide to [moving Bolt code through GitHub](/articles/bolt-new-github) covers branches and the sync rules.


> ⚠ **Every update means a rebuild:** Bolt has no button that sends a release to Apple or Google: after each change you download the code again and rebuild and submit with the EAS CLI on your own computer.


Two details trip people up. First, the app slug in app.json cannot be changed after the first build is created, so settle the app's permanent identifier before you run EAS for the first time. Second, logging in to Expo or EAS from Bolt's own terminal fails, because the browser sign-in cannot return to your computer. The documented fix is an Expo personal access token saved as a secret named EXPO_TOKEN, set up separately in each project [3].

## Store accounts, fees and the review calendar

None of the store costs are Bolt charges, and no Bolt plan covers them. Bolt's own launch guide names Apple's annual developer program fee for iPhone apps and Google Play's one-time registration fee for Android. It adds a rule that surprises first-time publishers. Personal Google Play developer accounts created after November 2023 must run a closed test with 12 testers for 14 days before they get production access [4]. Build those 14 days into the schedule before any public Android listing.

Approval is the other clock. Bolt's blog says native apps in the app stores do not ship in a weekend, because they depend on another company signing off. That is why the publishing targets Bolt lists include TestFlight and Google Play Beta alongside the public App Store and Google Play Store. Those test tracks let you put builds in testers' hands before a public release, and you can keep fixing in Bolt between rounds. Each round still means a fresh download and rebuild. Selling inside the app is handled by a separate service: Bolt's help center points to RevenueCat for in-app purchases, which publishes a guide written for Bolt-generated apps.

## The backend behind the phone app

A mobile app usually needs accounts and stored data, and Bolt Cloud supplies both. Bolt Database is built on PostgreSQL, runs on Supabase infrastructure managed by Bolt, and is available on every plan; Bolt creates one automatically when the app needs it, for example when you ask for a login screen. Tables created from late October 2026 on are private by default, so the app needs explicit read and write permissions before your screens can show any records.

Bringing your own Supabase project is the alternative, and it is gated. Starting on Supabase, connecting an existing database or claiming a Bolt database into your Supabase account all need Pro or Teams. A Bolt account connects to only one Supabase organization and cannot change it, and there is no path from Supabase back to a Bolt database. Decide at project start. Whichever you pick, restoring an earlier version rolls back code but never your database, so back up data before risky changes, as our [Bolt.new review](/articles/bolt-new-review) notes.


> 💡 **Choose the database early:** Bolt Database works on every plan, while your own Supabase needs Pro or Teams and an account links to only one Supabase organization, with no way back to a Bolt database.


A shared Supabase backend, which needs Pro or Teams, also lets a phone app and a website run side by side. Bolt's blog tells the FlagStat story this way: the web app was built entirely on Bolt, while the mobile companion, FlagStat Go, came from a different AI tool and reads the same Supabase database. Digital Virgo went further and built its Drama Pills streaming app for iOS, Android and the web with Bolt, according to Bolt's post on its Microsoft partnership.

## When a web app or a different route fits better

Ask first whether you need a store listing at all. Bolt says the apps it generates are responsive on desktop, tablet and phone screens by default, and its blog notes that mobile-first tools can launch as progressive web apps that people save to the home screen and use offline, with no App Store or Google Play involved. For an internal tool, a booking page or a client portal, a published web app on a bolt.host address skips the developer accounts, the fees and the review wait. Choose Expo when the store presence, or the native feel, is the point.

Buyers comparing builders will find each takes a different road to phones. Replit also publishes native iPhone apps through Expo, but its route does not cover Google Play. Lovable builds web apps rather than native ones, so a phone version means a progressive web app or a Capacitor wrapper assembled outside Lovable. Base44 produces App Store and Google Play files on its Builder plan and above. Softr offers no native store apps and supports an installable progressive web app on its Business plan or higher. Bolt's route reaches both stores from one codebase, with the submission work left in your hands.


## FAQ

**Can I try the Max agent on a mobile project before paying?**

No. Max is available on paid plans only, and Bolt's paid plans come with no trial period; Free projects use the Standard agent.

**If a teammate prompts on my mobile project, whose tokens are spent?**

The prompter's own account pays, not the project owner's. That holds on shared projects, in real-time collaboration and when comments are sent to Bolt.

**Can I edit my app's code from my phone?**

No. Code view is read-only in Safari or on a phone and the terminal is unavailable there; editing and the terminal need Chrome or another Chromium browser on a desktop.

**Will Bolt refund my plan if a store rejects the app?**

No. Bolt subscriptions and used AI usage are non-refundable except where the law requires it, whatever happens in store review.


## The bottom line

Bolt.new is a credible way to get a working iPhone and Android app built and running on your own phone, because Expo sits underneath and Expo Go testing is free. Its limits are clear and fixed. Store publishing lives outside Bolt, on your computer, under your Expo, Apple and Google accounts, with Apple's annual fee, Google's one-time fee and Google's closed-test rule for new personal accounts. Every update means downloading and rebuilding. Name the project a mobile app on day one, lock the app slug before the first build, and settle the database choice early. If a link on a home screen would do, publish the web version instead.



## Sources

[1] Bolt help: Expo for mobile apps — https://support.bolt.new/integrations/expo (2026-11)
[2] Bolt help: Release Notes — https://support.bolt.new/release-notes (2026-11)
[3] Bolt help: Integrations issues — https://support.bolt.new/troubleshooting/integrations-issues (2026-11)
[4] How to launch an app end-to-end quickly — https://bolt.new/blog/how-to-launch-an-app-end-to-end-quickly (2026-11)
[5] Bolt.new pricing page — https://bolt.new/pricing
[6] Bolt help center: tokens — https://support.bolt.new/account/tokens
[7] StackBlitz Terms of Service — https://stackblitz.com/terms-of-service
[8] StackBlitz Privacy Policy — https://stackblitz.com/privacy-policy