AppRelay is a native Mac/Windows console that lets you build, test, run and ship apps across 25 toolchains and 27 distribution channels from one place.
- for
- Developers who manage multi-platform projects and want a local, no-cloud build and release tool.
- pricing
- freemium
Key features
- Auto-detect toolchains — Scans a folder and identifies up to 25 supported toolchains and their versions.
- One-click multi-distribution — Build once and deploy to 27 destinations such as App Store, Play Console, Vercel, Netlify, S3, npm, Docker, etc.
- Integrated test console — Run XCTest, Gradle, npm test, pytest and view results without leaving the app.
- Live git status view — Shows branch, ahead/behind and dirty state for every repo in the workspace.
- Dispatch AI assistant — Ask plain-English questions to configure lanes or recipes; proposals are approved before execution.
- Headless CLI & MCP server — Subcommands and an MCP server let scripts, CI and Claude agents control builds, tests and releases.
- Portable .relay archives — Export projects with encrypted secrets as a single file that can be opened on any Mac.
- Remote mobile control — Use an iOS/Android app to trigger builds on the host Mac over a LAN-only, token-protected connection.
Use cases
- Build a React Native app once and ship it to the App Store, Play Console and a custom S3 bucket.
- Run unit and integration tests for a mixed Swift/Java/Kotlin codebase from a single UI.
- Automate nightly builds and releases via the headless CLI integrated into CI pipelines.
AppRelay for Mac & Windows vs alternatives
 AppRelay for Mac & Windows |  Fluent CI | .svg?width=64) Devzero |  DeployHQ |  RunsOn | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Unified local build-test-release console | TypeScript-based CI pipelines | Local, no-cloud releases | All-in-one desktop deployment | Low-cost CI with local UI |
| Pricing | Freemium | Free | Subscription | Free | Subscription |
| DevHunt upvotes | 1 | 158 | 85 | 32 | 32 |
| Launched | Feb 2029 | Jan 2024 | Apr 2024 | Jun 2024 | Feb 2024 |
- AppRelay for Mac & Windows vs Fluent CI: Fluent CI focuses on writing CI/CD pipelines in TypeScript, while AppRelay provides a full GUI for build, test and release across many toolchains.
- AppRelay for Mac & Windows vs Devzero: Devzero is a cloud-hosted release platform; AppRelay runs entirely locally with no cloud sync.
- AppRelay for Mac & Windows vs DeployHQ: DeployHQ automates deployments via cloud services; AppRelay combines build, test and deployment in a native desktop app.
- AppRelay for Mac & Windows vs RunsOn: RunsOn offers cheap CI execution; AppRelay adds UI, multi-toolchain detection and distribution management on the developer’s machine.
AppRelay for Mac & Windows FAQ
Do I need an online account or subscription to use AppRelay?+
No, AppRelay runs 100 % locally on your Mac or Windows machine and has no cloud service.
Can I use AppRelay with my existing CI pipelines?+
Yes, the headless CLI provides subcommands that output JSON, allowing easy integration into scripts and CI systems.
How are secrets stored when I export a .relay archive?+
Secrets are encrypted with AES-GCM using a passphrase you set; the encryption uses PBKDF2-SHA256 with over 310 k iterations.
What platforms can I deploy to from AppRelay?+
AppRelay supports 27 distribution channels including App Store, TestFlight, Play Console, Firebase, Vercel, Netlify, Cloudflare, S3, npm, Homebrew, Docker, PyPI, crates.io and more.
Is there a way to control AppRelay from a mobile device?+
Yes, the AppRelay Mobile app (iOS & Android) can remotely trigger builds on your Mac over a LAN-only, token-protected connection.
What AI capabilities does AppRelay provide?+
The Dispatch assistant lets you ask plain-English questions to generate or modify lanes and recipes, using your own Claude Code without sending data to an external service.
Summarized by DevHunt from apprelay.io · Sep 30, 2026. Details may change; check the official site.
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