Man Builds Paid Mac App in 11 Days Using AI, No Coding
This could mean anyone can create software without years of training.
Thirty years after he sold a boxed set of 2,338 color icons called Icon Gallery, a longtime software developer found the old Macromedia Director file on his Mac. He handed it to Claude, which extracted 2,000-plus PNGs in four minutes and 30 steps.
Eighteen days later, around noon on Sunday, Sept. 20, an idea struck: an app to browse and resize those retro icons.
Working in Claude Desktop and Claude Code, he had a working Mac app within a few hours. A week later he submitted it to Apple, and four days after that Apple accepted it and it went live on the App Store.
- A writer used AI to turn old icons into a Mac app in 11 days, without coding.
- The app, Icon Gallery '97, is now on Apple's App Store and sells for a fee.
- This shows how AI can help non-programmers build and sell software quickly.
Why It Matters
AI is making it easier for anyone to create and sell software, potentially leading to new job opportunities and side businesses.