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While not equivalent to a true iOS app, PWA is a decent option that allows you to circumvent the app store restrictions. If you are trying to build apps primari

While not equivalent to a true iOS app, PWA is a decent option that allows you to circumvent the app store restrictions. If you are trying to build apps primarily for yourself, it's a decent option.

latexr 5mo ago
Doesn’t that require you to host it and have it available on the open web, though? Is there a host that allows you to, for free, not only HTML/CSS/JS but also access to arbitrary tools and bespoke scripts on the backend?
- rybosworld 5mo ago
  Yeah it stands for Progressive Web App - but there are lots of hosting solutions with generous free tiers.
- herzigma 5mo ago
  As a lark, I built a set of personal productivity apps that are delivered as standalone local webpages. Works surprisingly well on Android, haven't tested on iOS.
- noduerme 5mo ago
  For free? No, but if you built a native app that needed a backend, you'd still need to host the backend somewhere too. I host my own web apps from a cheap mini pc at home and access them over tailscale for personal use.
- godwept 5mo ago
  I host a bunch of my own PWAs on Cloudflare using Pages and Workers. It's been free so far.
- tnelsond4 5mo ago
  I host my app on GitHub pages for free. But yes, it's just static which is really all you need with how powerful wasm and JavaScript are.
  - noduerme 5mo ago
    That's true for most things where you don't need users to share or collaborate on updated data. But if you need so much as a highscore board for your casual javascript game, you need some kind of backend. The parent's assumption that it should be totally free to run arbitrary server code somewhere is mildly ridiculous.
- Bewelge 5mo ago
  I'm pretty sure that if you build your PWA in a way it works offline through caching (which is easy if it's just a static website), you could host/serve it temporarily and just install it once.
groby_b 5mo ago
Have PWAs stopped working on Android, or something?
pngwen 5mo ago
Actually I have been tinkering with PWA as a way to remake some of my toy apps. Though a lot of the automations I made for Android can be replicated through Apple’s Shortcuts app. The biggest loss for me was Termux. I had lots of scripts and such that I ran, plus just having a Linux environment in my pocket was nice. Luckily I found ish which gives me alpine Linux on top of a virtual x86 machine as provided by a JITC layer. I can host PWA apps out of that environment for local use. Of course I can also ssh to my unix like machines from there too. I am starting to tinker with swift a bit more too. As with google, I could buy a dev key to deploy my own apps only this way I have all the window dressing and end to end encryption on cloud storage.
beej71 5mo ago
I love PWAs. I just hope they never get too popular, or Google will kill them.

While not equivalent to a true iOS app, PWA is a decent option that allows you to circumvent the app store restrictions. If you are trying to build apps primarily for yourself, it's a decent option.

latexr 5mo ago

Doesn’t that require you to host it and have it available on the open web, though? Is there a host that allows you to, for free, not only HTML/CSS/JS but also access to arbitrary tools and bespoke scripts on the backend?

rybosworld 5mo ago
Yeah it stands for Progressive Web App - but there are lots of hosting solutions with generous free tiers.
herzigma 5mo ago
As a lark, I built a set of personal productivity apps that are delivered as standalone local webpages. Works surprisingly well on Android, haven't tested on iOS.
noduerme 5mo ago
For free? No, but if you built a native app that needed a backend, you'd still need to host the backend somewhere too. I host my own web apps from a cheap mini pc at home and access them over tailscale for personal use.
godwept 5mo ago
I host a bunch of my own PWAs on Cloudflare using Pages and Workers. It's been free so far.
tnelsond4 5mo ago
I host my app on GitHub pages for free. But yes, it's just static which is really all you need with how powerful wasm and JavaScript are.
- noduerme 5mo ago
  That's true for most things where you don't need users to share or collaborate on updated data. But if you need so much as a highscore board for your casual javascript game, you need some kind of backend. The parent's assumption that it should be totally free to run arbitrary server code somewhere is mildly ridiculous.
Bewelge 5mo ago
I'm pretty sure that if you build your PWA in a way it works offline through caching (which is easy if it's just a static website), you could host/serve it temporarily and just install it once.

groby_b 5mo ago

Have PWAs stopped working on Android, or something?

pngwen 5mo ago

Actually I have been tinkering with PWA as a way to remake some of my toy apps. Though a lot of the automations I made for Android can be replicated through Apple’s Shortcuts app. The biggest loss for me was Termux. I had lots of scripts and such that I ran, plus just having a Linux environment in my pocket was nice. Luckily I found ish which gives me alpine Linux on top of a virtual x86 machine as provided by a JITC layer. I can host PWA apps out of that environment for local use. Of course I can also ssh to my unix like machines from there too. I am starting to tinker with swift a bit more too. As with google, I could buy a dev key to deploy my own apps only this way I have all the window dressing and end to end encryption on cloud storage.

beej71 5mo ago

I love PWAs. I just hope they never get too popular, or Google will kill them.