Build Mac App is a complete template for selling paid macOS apps. After purchase you get a working Mac app and its sales website, both working on day one, with the full source code in a private GitHub repository. The template is designed specifically for AI coding agents: you just tell the AI agent in natural language what your app should do, and it writes the code, with built-in checks that catch common mistakes.
Key capabilities and built-in features:
- Licensing and activation: license keys activate per Mac, are checked weekly, and have a 14-day offline grace period; refunds revoke keys; lost keys can be recovered by email, on the website, or in the app.
- Build and distribution: one command completes building, signing, and Apple notarization, producing a universal binary (supporting Apple silicon and Intel Macs), signed with the hardened runtime, notarized with notarytool and stapled, and the DMG passes Gatekeeper checks and opens without warnings. Supports local or GitHub Actions workflows.
- Automatic updates: uses Sparkle and a separate EdDSA key per product, with the appcast signed against the exact bytes of the DMG to prevent forged updates.
- Payments: processes credit cards, sales tax, and invoices through Creem or Polar as merchant of record, supporting checkout, webhooks, refunds, and disputes; providers can be switched with one click, and old keys continue to work.
- Email: uses Resend and React Email to send receipts, key recovery, refund notifications, and waitlist and launch broadcasts, with idempotency keys to prevent duplicate sends, and provides DNS guidance for SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
- Sales website: built on Next.js and Tailwind, including pricing, terms, privacy, refund policy, FAQ, blog, and changelog, and configured with Sitemap, feed, llms.txt, and IndexNow so search engines and AI assistants can discover it.
- AI agent support: the repository includes a rulebook, a machine-readable project map, a doctor command, detailed error reports, and 13 Claude Code skills to help AI agents modify the project safely.
How to use it:
- Provide your GitHub username at checkout, accept the private repository invitation, and clone it to your Mac.
- Install Xcode from the App Store, and install two tools in Terminal, and run the website and the Mac app.
- Rename the app, website, emails, and settings with one command or one sentence to the AI agent to turn it into your product.
- Describe app features to the AI agent one by one, and run the repository checks after each change.
- Deploy the website to Vercel, enroll in the Apple Developer Program, connect payment accounts, and test the full purchase flow with a test card.
- Build, sign, notarize, and publish the app with one command, then turn on sales.
Use cases: independent developers who want to quickly launch and sell macOS apps, especially those who want to use AI coding agents to speed up development but do not want to deal with infrastructure such as signing, notarization, payments, licensing, and updates.
Limitations and requirements:
- Requires a Mac with Xcode installed.
- Requires Apple Developer Program membership (an annual fee paid to Apple).
- Requires a Creem or Polar account and a domain name.
- Requires an AI coding agent (optional, but Claude Code, Cursor, or Codex is recommended) to assist with development.
- You still need to work in Terminal and should expect to read the changes made by the AI agent.
- The actual app functionality (that is, your product logic) is the only part you need to do yourself; the template does not include specific business features.
- The rates and specific fees of the payment providers Creem or Polar are not yet provided.
- The price of the template itself is not yet provided.
