how to develop solana mobile apps for ios and android
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How to Build Mobile Apps with Send’s Solana AppKit

9 min read

Building a mobile app on Solana can feel overwhelming. Before you begin designing great user experiences, you’re forced to navigate a maze of integrations, from wallet management and transaction handling to fetching on-chain data and managing funds.

These complexities stack up fast, making it hard to focus on what truly matters: delivering value to your users.

Putting all these pieces together can take weeks. But what if you could skip the complexity and start building immediately?

Meet the Solana AppKit — an open-source React Native toolkit that makes it easy to build iOS and Android apps on Solana. With support for over 18 protocol integrations out of the box!

Solana AppKit is designed to simplify mobile development on Solana for everyone. It’s a comprehensive mobile app development framework developed by the SEND ecosystem. The AppKit provides a ready-to-use scaffold so that you can build a working Solana app in minutes.

Whether you're a Web2 mobile developer with no Solana experience or a seasoned Solana developer with no mobile background, you can now build Solana mobile apps across categories such as AI, social, launchpads, and wallets using the React Native AppKit.

While crypto has seen growth in mobile apps, web apps still dominate. But with the upcoming launch of the Solana Seeker, Solana is positioning itself as the leading platform for on-chain mobile apps and the AppKit is a key enabler of that vision.

AppKit includes plug-and-play modules to help you build on top of leading Solana protocols. Building production-ready mobile Solana applications is now just a matter of minutes.

Why AppKit Exists

AppKit was built to simplify mobile app development and accelerate the growth of the Solana consumer ecosystem. The core idea behind AppKit is to empower both seasoned developers and passionate newcomers to build mobile apps without needing extensive prior knowledge.

Building a Solana mobile app involves many moving parts. As a builder, you need to let users connect their wallets. When a user sends tokens or interacts with a smart contract, you must construct, sign, and send transactions. You also need to fetch on-chain data, such as token balances or NFT collections. Users may also want to swap or launch tokens.

Doing all of this from scratch would require writing hundreds, if not thousands, of lines of boilerplate code.

AppKit bundles these components together, so you can focus directly on building the unique features of your app.

Instead of starting with an empty code folder, AppKit gives you:

  • Prebuilt Modules — Wallets, token swaps, feeds, chats, profiles, NFTs, and more are already handled.
  • Integrated Protocols — All modules are built using leading Solana protocols.
  • One Command Launch — Spin up a mobile app in minutes. A single command scaffolds your app with all the core features

It’s a ready-to-use project structure with all battle-tested Solana protocols for standard Solana app features, so you don’t have to write a single line of smart contract code!

What protocols are integrated with AppKit?

The toolkit offers over 18 protocol integrations, covering a wide range of functionalities.

AppKit is built on a modular architecture, meaning you can pick and choose only the components your app needs. This selective approach not only streamlines development but also helps keep your app lightweight and efficient.

Wallet Integrations

AppKit supports multiple embedded wallets, including Privy, Turnkey, Dynamic, and Solana Mobile’s Wallet Adapter.

On Ramps

AppKit supports services such as MoonPay for fiat-to-crypto conversions, including credit cards, Apple Pay, and additional options. A module for On/Off ramping with Mercuryo is coming soon.

Trading

AppKit has integrations with decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregators, such as Jupiter, and DEXs like Raydium and Pump.Fun to provide a unified in-app trading experience.

AI Integrations

AppKit integrates SendAI for AI capabilities and enables over 100 Solana actions, including trading, staking, lending, launching tokens, and more, using simple prompts.

Data Providers

AppKit unifies all the necessary data, thanks to integrations with token data providers like Coingecko, Birdeye, and Rugcheck.

Token Launchpads

AppKit offers integrations with the largest Solana launchpads, featuring configurable bonding curves, including Pump.Fun, Raydium, and Meteora. There is also support for Token Mill. 

NFT Support 

AppKit’s NFT module leverages Metaplex and Tensor for creating and managing NFTs and compressed NFTs.

Infrastructure Providers

AppKit integrates with leading Solana infrastructure providers, such as Helius and Jito, to enhance reliability and optimize transaction landing and performance.

Future Modules Being Developed

AppKit is just getting started, and there’s much more on the roadmap. Upcoming modules in development include:

  • Governance – Built-in DAO tooling with voting and proposal management
  • DeFi – Support for advanced features like borrowing, lending, perpetuals, and beyond
  • Social – Enhanced social experiences, including live streaming, stories, and creator tools
  • Scaling – Cutting-edge scalability with ZK compression and ephemeral rollups

What Social Features and UI/UX components are included?

App Kit also includes social features and UI/UX components.

Social Features

AppKit includes user profiles, social feeds with posts, likes, and comments, community engagement tools, NFT display and management, and IPFS-based storage.

UI/UX Components

AppKit offers modern, responsive design elements including tab-based navigation, interactive charts and visualizations, elegant loading states, error handling, and platform-specific optimizations for iOS and Android.

What crypto apps can be built using the AppKit?

The AppKit team is building a suite of showcase apps to demonstrate what’s possible with the toolkit. The first of these is the Solana SuperApp, a feature-rich mobile application with over 18 protocol integrations. It delivers a seamless, all-in-one experience where users can access everything from wallets and launchpads to social trading tools, all within a single interface.

The SuperApp serves as a comprehensive gateway to the Solana ecosystem, allowing users to explore and interact with a wide range of on-chain services within the app.

In addition to the SuperApp, several other apps are currently available through early access.

Sendshot

A mobile-native launchpad aggregator. A token launch aggregation platform on Solana that enables anyone to launch new tokens separately to multiple launchpads from a single app. Currently, Meteora, Raydium, and Pump are supported. It also combines launch functionality with token discoverability, integrated trading, and easy on-ramps

Send Guys

A multiplayer obstacle game inspired by fall guys, where you can win SOL and SEND.

SendAI Mobile

A mobile MCP Client that leverages AI for enhanced user interactions and automated processes within the Solana ecosystem.

Pluto Wallet

A fun wallet app inspired from Jupiter Mobile, focusing on all necessary wallet features like transfers, swapping, staking, USDC yields, and so on.

Social Trading

Let users swap and copy trade directly using in-app wallets on your consumer apps while earning revenue. Users can follow traders and friends and copy their trading strategies.

All apps will be updated and listed on the Solana AppKit directory.

Further App Ideas

Here are a few more Solana mobile app ideas we’re excited about:

  • Social Tipping App: A social platform where users send SOL as micro-tips to content creators
  • Portfolio App: A central place for users to view all their Solana balances across wallets
  • Swap Price Comparator: Show users the swap price across DEXes in one place
  • Launchpad Scouting App: Lists all upcoming token sales from various launchpads with token details and security checks
  • Lottery App: Users buy tickets with SOL to enter a raffle
  • Web3 Instagram: A social photo sharing app where users upload images and mint them as NFTs instantly

Soon, we’ll be launching an ideaboard on the Solana AppKit website.

How to Start Building with the Solana AppKit

Before you start, make sure these prerequisites are met:

  • Node.js – version 18 or higher
  • pnpm – preferred package manager

For iOS Development

  • Xcode – IDE for building iOS apps
  • CocoaPods – for managing iOS dependencies

For Android Development

  • Android Studio
  • Android SDK
  • Java Development Kit (JDK)

1. Clone the Repository

Code
git clone https://github.com/SendArcade/solana-app-kit.git
cd solana-app-kit

2. Install Dependencies

Code
pnpm install

3. Create your Environment Variables

Create a .env.local file with your environment variables (see Environment Variables section).

4. Run the App

Run the app in development mode with dev tools enabled:

Code
# Run with development tools enabled
pnpm start --dev

# clear cache
pnpm start --dev --clear

5. Run on a Specific Platform

For iOS run:

Code
npx expo run:ios

For Android run:

Code
npx expo run:android

To run in development mode with cache clearing:

Code
pnpm start --dev --clear

What’s the difference between Development Mode vs Standard Mode?

Standard Mode is your default production-like experience, and Development Mode is enhanced with developer tools, navigation helpers, and error handling.

To run in development mode, use the --dev flag or the dev script:

Code
# Using npm script
npm run dev

# Or with the start script flag
npm start --dev

You can also set up Cursor and connect it with Solana App Kit.

Join the Community

Solana AppKit is fully open source and we welcome contributions! If you’re interested in getting involved, head over to the official Solana-App-Kit GitHub repo. You don’t have to build your Solana mobile app alone. Hop into the AppKit Telegram or follow on X. Ask questions, share what you’re working on, and get help from the team.

Conclusion

Following the launch of the Solana Agent Kit by SendAI, which simplified building AI agents on-chain, we’re now introducing Solana AppKit to power the next wave of mobile and consumer apps on Solana.

To make cryptocurrency mainstream, we need to simplify the process of building mobile apps. With Solana AppKit, developers can push the boundaries of what’s possible.

As Solana continues to expand its mobile ecosystem, AppKit is a cornerstone tool for empowering the next generation of builders and new users on-chain. This isn’t just an onboarding kit, it’s a fully equipped framework for creating robust, scalable iOS and Android apps on Solana.

The Solana App Szn is here!

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