Fastlane without a Mac
NoMac vs Fastlane
Fastlane is free, open source and runs on a Mac you own and maintain. That last clause is the entire trade. NoMac is the Mac, by the minute.
A Mac for your agent, ready in about a minute.
$0.80/hour · billed by the minute · credit never expires
7-day money-back guarantee on your first purchase. Prices checked 22 September 2026 from public list prices.
What Fastlane is
The open-source automation toolkit almost every iOS pipeline is built on: lanes in Ruby, match for signing, deliver for metadata.
Fastlane vs NoMac at a glance
| Fastlane | NoMac | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free; you supply the Mac | $0.80/hour by the minute; the Mac is included |
| Where it runs | A machine you maintain | A macOS VM per session; ~/drive is kept between sessions |
| Signing | match, and your own key management | Profiles made from your App Store Connect key, or your own .p12 |
| Failure output | Raw logs | Command output and exit codes your agent reads |
| Learning curve | Real: lanes, plugins, signing | Your agent runs the commands |
| Ceiling | Very high | A full Mac with admin; Ruby and Bundler preinstalled for fastlane |
Choose Fastlane when
- ·You own a Mac and are comfortable with Ruby and lane configuration.
- ·You want zero vendor cost and full control.
- ·Your setup is unusual enough that a fixed pipeline would not fit.
- ·You are automating something no product covers.
Choose NoMac when
- ·You do not have a Mac to run it on, which is the common case.
- ·You do not want to maintain the Mac, its keychains and its Ruby versions.
- ·You want an agent to call the tooling directly, with structured results.
- ·You want to keep your lanes and run them on a Mac rented by the minute.
The verdict
Fastlane is what a good deal of the industry is built on, and it runs on NoMac too. The question is whether you want to own and maintain the Mac it needs.
Try it in two minutes
Keep Fastlane for what it does best, and give your agent a Mac for everything else. From your project directory:
npm install -g @nomac/cli nomac login nomac start --json nomac sync . nomac ssh -- xcodebuild -list nomac stop --json # or let Claude Code drive it claude mcp add nomac -- npx @nomac/cli mcp
Or give your agent nomac.app/install and it sets itself up.
Questions
What is the best Fastlane alternative for AI agents?＋
NoMac is built for coding agents: a fresh macOS VM with Xcode and root, started and driven over MCP, CLI, REST API or SSH, at $0.80 an hour, billed by the minute from prepaid credit. Your agent can sign the app, send it to TestFlight and submit it to the App Store from the same Mac. It is the better fit when an agent needs a Mac in short bursts. Fastlane is the better fit when you own a Mac and are comfortable with Ruby and lane configuration.
How much does NoMac cost?＋
$0.80 an hour, billed by the minute, from prepaid credit: $10 buys 12.5 hours, and credit never expires. You pay only while the Mac is ready, with a one-minute minimum; queue and setup are free. No subscription and no overage. 7-day money-back guarantee on your first purchase.
Can Claude Code, Codex or Cursor use NoMac?＋
Yes. Add the MCP server with one command (claude mcp add nomac -- npx @nomac/cli mcp), or use the hosted MCP endpoint from a cloud sandbox. The agent can start a Mac, run commands, read output and stop it.
Do I need an Apple Developer account?＋
Not to start a Mac, compile, run tests or use the iOS Simulator. Signing and TestFlight uploads need your own Apple Developer membership, as on any Mac.
What happens to my files when I stop?＋
The VM is deleted with everything on it, including anything your agent installed and any credentials you sent, except your account's 50 GB drive at ~/drive. The drive is kept for your next Mac, with your projects and build caches, and deleted after 90 days without a Mac. Pull anything else first with nomac pull.
Stop paying for a Mac that waits for you.
Full macOS with Xcode and root, over MCP, CLI, API or SSH. $0.80 an hour, billed by the minute. The VM is deleted when you stop; your 50 GB drive is kept. $10 of credit is 12.5 hours.
Get your agent a Mac7-day money-back guarantee on your first purchase.