Blog

Open a project on a cloud Mac with Xcode in VS Code or Cursor: nomac ssh-config names the Mac in your SSH config, the project stays on a 20 GB drive between sessions, and limits cap what a session costs.

6 min read

Put the agent on the Mac itself: Claude Code or Codex CLI over SSH, with Xcode and the iOS Simulator local to it and its API key kept as a NoMac secret. Plus when to drive the Mac from your machine instead.

6 min read

Codex Cloud tasks run in OpenAI's cloud VMs. With a NoMac API key in the environment and NoMac's domains allowed, a task can build and test an iOS app on a cloud Mac with Xcode.

5 min read

Cursor's cloud agents run on Ubuntu machines. Store a NoMac API key as a Cursor secret, or add NoMac as an MCP server, and an agent can build and test an iOS app on a cloud Mac with Xcode.

5 min read

Copilot cloud agent runs on Ubuntu or Windows runners, not macOS. Add NoMac as an MCP server with an Agents secret, and the agent can build and test an iOS app on a cloud Mac.

5 min read

Most Capacitor changes are web code. Build the iOS shell once on a cloud Mac, then ship HTML, CSS and JavaScript fixes over the air with OtaKit, without Xcode or App Review waits.

6 min read

MacinCloud, RentAMac, AWS EC2 Mac, Scaleway, Bitrise, GitHub Actions and NoMac side by side: what you rent, the minimum you pay, and who each one is for.

11 min read

Why developers leave MacinCloud, and which alternative fits: a dedicated Mac mini, an hourly bare-metal Mac, CI runners, or a disposable Mac your agent drives.

8 min read

Hourly cloud Mac prices often hide a 24-hour minimum. Here is what AWS, Scaleway, MacinCloud and per-second services actually charge for a 20-minute job.

7 min read

Agents now need macOS for Xcode, simulators and signing. A map of who offers a Mac an agent can drive, how they bill, and which kind of agent each one fits.

9 min read

Hosted coding agents run in Linux sandboxes, so xcodebuild is missing. How to hand the Apple steps to a Mac the agent can reach over HTTPS.

7 min read

Connect Claude Code to a real macOS VM with Xcode, then let it build, run tests and boot a simulator while you work on Windows, Linux or a phone.

7 min read

Boot an iPhone simulator on a cloud Mac, install your build and capture screenshots with simctl, driven by a coding agent. Including the 90-second first boot.

8 min read

Three realistic usage patterns priced across dedicated rentals, hourly bare metal, CI minutes and per-minute Mac time, so you can pick by how you actually work.

8 min read

Start a macOS VM, sync your project, get a shell with Xcode on it, forward a port and pull the build back. A practical guide for WSL and Linux users.

7 min read

A disposable Mac per task or one machine you keep: the trade-offs in cost, clean state, secrets, caches and speed, and how to decide.

7 min read

Stop pushing commits to guess at a CI failure. Reproduce it on a clean macOS VM, let your agent bisect the fix, then send one commit back to CI.

8 min read

Native Mac apps need macOS to compile and to run. How to build, unit test, launch headless and package a macOS app from Windows or Linux on a cloud Mac.

8 min read

What to send to a cloud Mac for signing, what never to send, and why a VM that is deleted on stop changes the risk. Certificates, API keys and keychains.

8 min read

VirtualBox and VMware macOS guests, Hackintosh builds and Docker-OSX: why they break for iOS work in 2026, what Apple's licence says, and the practical alternative.

8 min read

The shortest honest route from a finished iOS project to TestFlight and App Review in 2026, including signing, metadata, screenshots, and human checks.

9 min read

What Windows can do for native iOS development, what still requires macOS, and a practical workflow for coding, cloud builds, TestFlight, and the App Store.

10 min read

Use Linux for Swift source, AI agents, tests, and Git while a cloud Mac handles Xcode, signing, TestFlight, and App Store distribution.

10 min read

Xcode does not run on Windows. Learn which alternatives genuinely help, why fake simulators fall short, and how to build and test a native iOS app remotely.

8 min read

Write and organize SwiftUI source outside macOS, test portable Swift logic locally, then compile the Apple interface remotely and install it through TestFlight.

9 min read

Set up a clean Windows and WSL workspace for Swift, Git, and AI coding agents, then use remote Xcode builds and TestFlight for the native iOS steps.

9 min read

Use a browser-based Linux codespace for the repository and coding agent, then hand Xcode compilation, signing, and TestFlight delivery to a cloud Mac.

8 min read

Choose the right route for Expo or bare React Native, prepare reproducible iOS dependencies, and create signed TestFlight builds without owning a Mac.

10 min read

Develop Flutter on Windows or Linux, prepare a reproducible iOS project, build it remotely with Xcode, and send the signed app to TestFlight.

10 min read

Understand Apple distribution certificates, provisioning profiles, bundle IDs, and API keys, and set up signing on a cloud Mac without owning one.

9 min read

Run compile checks and the iOS Simulator on a cloud Mac, then test on a real iPhone with TestFlight, with a practical test matrix and faster feedback loop.

8 min read

Create a native SwiftUI app with Claude Code on Windows or Linux, build it on a cloud Mac, and test the signed release on your iPhone with TestFlight.

9 min read

Use Cursor on Windows to create a native SwiftUI project, build and sign it on a cloud Mac, and install each version on a real iPhone through TestFlight.

9 min read

Grok's web builder makes web apps, while its terminal agent can create SwiftUI source. Follow the practical route from an idea to a native TestFlight build.

8 min read

Build a SwiftUI app with Codex, check it in the cloud, send it to TestFlight, and prepare an App Store release without owning a Mac.

9 min read

The workflow that led to NoMac: keep the repository and coding agent on a Hetzner Linux VPS, build remotely on macOS, and test every release on an iPhone.

9 min read

Use your iPhone to control a remote coding agent, run a cloud iOS build, and test with TestFlight, with an honest guide to what still needs a computer.

8 min read

MobileBuildMCP, formerly XcodeBuildMCP, gives an AI agent hands inside Xcode, but it needs a Mac. Run it on your own Mac, or from Windows or Linux on a NoMac cloud Mac over SSH, and ship with NoMac.

9 min read

The credential every iOS automation runs on: how to create one, which role to give it, why the .p8 downloads exactly once, and the one thing it still cannot do.

7 min read

"No profiles for X were found", certificate/profile mismatches, expired everything. What each error actually means, in the order they happen, and the fix for each.

8 min read

Internal testing skips review. External testing does not. What Beta App Review actually checks, the builds Apple will not accept at all, and how to keep a beta out of the queue.

6 min read

Three pieces of App Store paperwork will stop a release cold: the privacy manifest, the App Privacy label, and the age-rating questionnaire that has blocked updates since January. What each one is, and which parts nobody can fill in for you.

8 min read

A straight comparison of the ways to get a signed iOS build without owning a Mac: what each one assumes you already know, what it costs, and which one fits an agent-driven workflow.

8 min read

The scene lifecycle became mandatory, Xcode 27 dropped Intel Macs, and CocoaPods goes read-only in December. What each one means for getting a build to the App Store this autumn.

7 min read

Apple does not reject an app for being built with AI. It rejects it for being indistinguishable from what already exists, and for being submitted by the generator instead of by you. The exact guidelines, quoted, and what to change before you submit.

8 min read

An honest inventory of iOS shipping in 2026: what genuinely requires Apple hardware, what only requires a human, and what a cloud pipeline can do on its own. Including the four things nobody can automate away.

6 min read

A coding agent can write a whole iOS app and then stall at the last mile, because shipping needs a Mac, a certificate and a form. Here is the loop that closes it: build, TestFlight, crash reports, back to the agent.

6 min read