Build profitable iOS Apps Using Just Cursor + Claude (Full Tutorial)

April 28, 2025

AI Summary

5 min read

Chris Perroke has built a portfolio of four polished, revenue-generating iOS apps—including a daily planner with roughly 2,000 paid users—without a Stanford degree or a Google badge. His secret is not a secret: he uses AI to code. But his specific workflow for native iOS development, which he walked through on The Startup Ideas Podcast, is far from the typical vibe-coding tutorial. He revealed the exact prompts, tools, and techniques he uses to build production-grade apps with Cursor and Claude, including how to add an AI agent with tool-calling capabilities in just a handful of prompts.

The Janky but Effective iOS Workflow

Most AI coding tutorials focus on web apps built with React or Expo. Native iOS development is a different beast, and Perroke’s setup is surprisingly low-tech. He does not use Cursor to set up an Xcode project from scratch—that fails. Instead, he manually configures the project in Xcode (setting up frameworks, enabling network requests, etc.) and then simply opens the Xcode project folder in Cursor. He makes edits using Cursor’s chat feature, then switches back to Xcode to build and run. It is a back-and-forth workflow, but it is substantially faster than his old method of pasting code into Claude and copying it back. The key caveat: do not try to use Cursor to configure Xcode settings. Apple forces manual setup for things like enabling outgoing netw

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What you'll learn

1 (00:00) **Episode Introduction & Guest Background** - Greg introduces Chris, who builds a portfolio of native iOS apps using AI tools like Cursor and Claude.
2 (03:00) **Core Tool Stack & Workflow Setup** - Chris explains his exact toolchain and the "janky" but effective way to use Cursor for native iOS development.
3 (09:56) **Live Demo: Adding an AI Chat Feature to a Budgeting App** - Chris walks through the exact prompts used to add an AI chat to his existing app, Luna.
4 (26:07) **Improving the AI Prompt** - Chris shows how to craft a better system prompt for the AI feature, using Claude to generate an XML-formatted prompt.
5 (31:21) **Generating Realistic Mock Data** - Chris uses AI to create realistic demo data for testing and marketing.
6 (34:37) **Building an Agent with Tool/Function Calling** - Chris implements OpenRouter's function calling to create an agent that intelligently fetches data instead of feeding all transactions every time.
7 (45:17) **Adding Cost Tracking & Model Selection** - Chris adds a cost-per-query display and a dynamic model picker from OpenRouter.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

Join me as I chat with Chris Raroque, who demonstrates how to use AI tools to build sophisticated mobile apps as a solo developer. Chris walks through adding an AI chat feature to his budgeting app, showing his workflow with Cursor and Claude 3.7. He explains how to implement function calling to create an intelligent agent that can access transaction data and answer questions about spending patterns.
Timestamps:
• 00:00 - Introduction to Chris Raroque and his portfolio of apps
• 02:32 - Overview of Cursor workflow for native iOS development
• 09:54 - Demo of adding AI chat to a budgeting app
• 17:50 - Connecting AI Chat Feature with Open Router
• 25:55 - Improving prompts using Claude for better responses
• 34:19 - Implementing tool/function calling for efficient data access
• 45:13 - Adding token usage and cost tracking to the app
• 48:34 - Techniques for AI-generated app assets and illustrations
Key Points:
• Chris Raroque demonstrates how to use Cursor with Claude 3.7 to build native iOS apps with AI features
• Shows a workflow for adding an AI chat feature to an existing budgeting app using OpenRouter
• Explains tool/function calling implementation to create an AI agent that can access transaction data
• Shares techniques for generating high-quality app assets using ChatGPT 4.0
1) Chris has built FOUR successful productivity apps as a solo developer - including a daily planning app with 2,000+ paid users.
His secret weapon? Using AI to supercharge his workflow.
"The only reason I'm able to do this is because I have AI to supercharge my workflow."
2) SURPRISING TOOL #1: Using Cursor for native iOS development
Most devs use Cursor for React/web apps, but Chris opens Xcode projects directly in Cursor!
His workflow:
• Set up project manually in Xcode
• Open files in Cursor for edits
• Switch to Xcode to build
• Repeat
3) KEY INSIGHT: Don't try to use Cursor to set up iOS projects - it won't work!
You need to:
- Set up the project manually in Xcode
- Configure frameworks and settings in Xcode
- Handle network permissions in Xcode
- THEN use Cursor for coding
4) Chris demonstrated building an AI chat feature for his budgeting app "Luna" in just 4 major prompts:
- Create the UI first (hardcoded)
- Hook it up to OpenRouter API
- Improve the prompt quality
- Add function calling
Each step builds on the previous one!
5) POWER TIP: Feed documentation directly into Cursor!
Type docs and paste in API documentation URLs to give Cursor context.
This DRAMATICALLY reduces hallucinations, especially for:
• iOS/Mac development
• New/changing APIs
• Complex integrations
Game-changer for accuracy!
6) PROMPT ENGINEERING SECRET: Use Claude to generate better prompts for your AI apps!
Chris uses Claude to create XML-formatted prompts that produce better results from LLMs.
This simple technique improves response quality by 30-40%!
7) ADVANCED TECHNIQUE: Function calling to build true AI agents in your apps!
Instead of sending ALL user data with each request (expensi