ChatGPT Prompts for App Development: 12 Spec to Ship Prompts

ChatGPT prompts for app development work best on the parts of a build that need clear thinking before code: cutting the first version down, listing every screen and its states, designing the data model, and planning the work week by week. Give the chatbot your real stack, your team size and your deadline, and it can turn an idea into a spec a developer can start on. The 12 prompts below go from idea to store submission.

The flagship is the app development prompt from idea to screens, data and build plan. It returns scope, flows, screens, data model, access rules, a store checklist and milestones in one pass.

Shape the idea

1. Scope cut

Here is my app idea: [idea]. Here are the features I want: [list]. Split them into v1 and later for a [team size] team shipping in [weeks]. Give one line on why each later feature can wait.

2. Main user flows

For [app] used by [users], write the three main flows as numbered steps from opening the app to reaching the goal. Mark any step that needs the user to be signed in.

Plan the screens

3. Screen inventory with states

From these flows: [flows], list every screen my v1 needs. For each, give its purpose and what it shows when empty, loading and in an error state.

4. Navigation map

Using these screens: [list], propose a navigation structure for [iOS, Android or both] (tabs, stacks, modals) and explain where each screen sits and how the user gets back.

5. Empty and error copy

Write short, friendly copy for the empty, error and offline states of these screens: [list]. Each message says what happened and what the user can do next, in under 12 words.

Design the data and backend

6. Data model

My app does [summary] on [database or backend]. Design the tables or collections with fields, types and relations, and the indexes v1 needs for these queries: [queries].

7. Access rules

Here is my data model: [model]. Write who can read, create, update and delete each table, then turn those rules into [row level security policies, Firestore rules or your backend's format].

8. Background jobs and notifications

List the scheduled jobs and server functions my app needs for [features, for example reminders or digests], what triggers each, and what it sends through [push service].

Build and test

9. Weekly build plan

I have [hours] per week and [weeks] until [milestone]. Turn this spec into weekly milestones with acceptance criteria I can test at the end of each week: [spec].

10. Tickets from a milestone

Break this milestone into tickets of half a day or less: [milestone]. Give each a title, the files or modules it touches in [framework], and a done check.

11. Edge case test list

For the [feature] in my app, list the edge cases to test: bad input, no network, two users acting at once, deleted records. Write each as a test name plus expected result.

Prepare for the stores

12. Store and privacy checklist

My app runs on [platforms], has [account creation yes or no] and collects [data]. List what I need before submission: account deletion, privacy disclosures and permission text. Tell me which official guideline page to check for each item.

Worked example: a tool-lending app for one building

A solo developer had about 10 hours a week and six weeks to get an internal test build of an app where neighbors in a 40-unit building lend each other tools. The stack was Expo with React Native and TypeScript, plus Supabase for Postgres, magic link sign-in and photo storage.

The flagship prompt moved chat and ratings to later, since a pickup time and a unit number cover the handoff in a single building. It listed seven screens, from Join building to Settings, each with empty, loading and error states. The data model came back as four tables (buildings, profiles, tools, loans) with indexes on building and due date, and the access rules limited every read to members of the same building. The checklist put Delete account in Settings in week 6, and the plan ended each week with a test, such as "a test user can only read their own building."

Variations

• Web app first: set Platforms to web and ask for a responsive layout per screen instead of a store checklist.
• Native iOS: name SwiftUI in the stack, then send each screen from the spec to a screen-building prompt.
• Paid app: add payments to Integrations and ask the plan to put the purchase flow and its tests in their own week.

Practical tips

• Apple and Google both require apps that let people create an account to also let them start account deletion inside the app, and Google Play also asks for a web link where people can request deletion. Plan the Settings screen for it from day one.
• Both stores ask you to disclose what data you collect: App Privacy details in App Store Connect and the Data safety form in Play Console. Keep your data model and those answers in sync.
• Paste your real schema back into the chat when you change it, so later prompts work from the current version.
• Treat generated access rules as a first draft. Test them with two user accounts before you ship.

Related coding prompts

These prompts write a build spec for the developer, not a product requirements document for stakeholders. For day-to-day engineering work, see the ChatGPT prompts for software engineers and the ChatGPT prompt for code generation. To build from the spec, try the SwiftUI screen from a spec prompt or the Cursor rules for Flutter, then cover edge cases with the test case generator prompt. When you are ready to publish, the App Store and Google Play listing copy prompt writes the store text.

Find more in the Coding prompts hub, browse all prompts, or share a prompt from your own build.