Glossary

A

Agentic Engineering

‍Agentic engineering describes AI-assisted development where you mostly instruct autonomous AI agents rather than writing code by hand. It is emerging as the more disciplined successor term to vibe coding. Andrej Karpathy proposed the term to describe work where “you are not writing the code directly 99 percent of the time”, and instead act as director and reviewer for AI agents that plan, write, and test on their own.

How Thunkable fits in with agentic engineering

Thunkable’s AI Builder sits closer to agentic engineering than casual vibe coding once you factor in Discuss Mode, live device testing, and the ability to use the code editor for more precise control. You describe the goal, review what the AI produces, and do course corrections, which is the same oversight loop agentic engineering describes, applied to real native app development instead of a browser prototype.

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AI App Builder

An AI app builder is a platform that generates a working mobile or web app from a natural language description instead of requiring manual coding or manual drag-and-drop assembly. The category includes tools that produce web prototypes as well as tools that produce real, app store-ready native apps. This difference matters: A prompt that outputs a web page is a much different product than a prompt that outputs a publishable app store app. Do not be fooled by marketing language on this; going from prompt to true native apps that are ready for app store publishing cuts out a lot of time, effort, and resources for Thunkable creators.

What to look for in an AI app builder

Again, check for whether the output is a true, native app build or a web app wrapped to look like one (see: PWA). Native apps get full access to device hardware like the camera, GPS, and bluetooth, as they pass App Store review more reliably. Thunkable’s AI Builder generates native iOS and Android apps directly from your prompt, no wrappers involved.

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AI Code Generation

AI code generation is the process of an AI model writing usable source code in response to a prompt or written description. It is the underlying technology that powers AI app builders. Some tools stop at generating code you have to assemble yourself. Others, like Thunkable’s AI Builder, generate the code and assemble it into a running, testable app in the same step.

AI Pair Programmer

An AI pair programmer is an AI assistant that works alongside you during development, suggesting code, catching errors, and implementing changes as you go. The term comes from “pair programming”, where two human developers work at one workstation. 

Tools like Cursor and Claude Code act as an AI pair programmer for traditional coders. Thunkable’s AI Builder plays a similar role for no-code creators: It writes, tests, and adjusts your app’s logic in response to your direction, without requiring you to know how to code in the first place.

Android App Bundle (AAB)

An Android App Bundle is the packaging format Google Play requires for new app submissions, replacing the older APK format for store distribution. Google Play uses the AAB to generate optimized APKs for each specific device configuration, which keeps download sizes smaller than shipping one universal file to every phone.

API (Application Programming Interface)

An API is a defined set of rules that lets one piece of software request data or functionality from another, such as an app pulling weather data from a weather service. APIs are what let apps talk to the outside world: Payment processors, mapping services, social platforms, and countless other tools all expose an API for developers to connect to.

Connecting APIs in Thunkable

Thunkable lets you connect to any REST API to pull in outside data or functionality, whether you build that connection through blocks, code, or a prompt to the AI Builder describing what data you want to bring in.

APK

APK, short for Android Package Kit, is the file format used to install an app directly onto an Android device outside of the Google Play Store. APKs are commonly used for testing, sideloading, or distributing an app outside of official app stores. Google Play submissions now require the AAB format instead, which generates optimized APKs after being passed over to the store.

App Bundle

An app bundle is the packaged collection of an app’s code, assets, and configuration files compiled together into the format a device or app store requires to install and run it. On Android specifically, this packaged format is called an Android App Bundle (AAB).

App Icon

An app icon is the small graphic that represents an app on a device’s home screen and inside the App Store or Google Play listing. PRO TIP: An app icon needs to read and be seen clearly at a tiny size and stand out in a crowded home screen or search results page, which makes it one of the highest-leverage design decisions for an app.

App Monetization Models

App monetization models are the different strategies for generating revenue from an app, including subscriptions, in-app purchases (IAPs), advertising, and “freemium” pricing. The right model (or models, as these can be combined) depends heavily on your app’s use case. For instance:

• A productivity app with daily use often fits a subscription monetization model
• A game often fits in-app purchase and advertising models

There is no universal answer and depends entirely on your app type, as well as what you think will be the best way forward.

App Store Connect

App Store Connect is Apple’s web portal where developers manage app submissions, versions, pricing, and analytics for apps on the App Store. Every app published to the App Store gets set up and managed through App Store Connect, including the metadata, screenshots, and pricing that shape the store listing itself.

App Store Optimization (ASO)

App Store Optimization is the practice of improving your app’s visibility and conversion rate inside the Apple App Store and Google Play by optimizing its name, keywords, screenshots, and description. ASO works alongside, not instead of, a good app. The App Store and Google Play both rank listings using a mix of keyword relevance, install velocity, and ratings, so a strong listing draws organic traffic before you spend a dollar on ads.

ASO basics for a new app

Start with a clear app title that includes your primary keyword, write a description that states the core benefit in the first line, and choose screenshots that show the actual app experience rather than marketing graphics. These fundamentals apply whether your app was hand-coded or vibe coded, since the app stores rank listings the same way regardless of how the app was built.

App Store Submission and App Store Review

App Store submission is the process of packaging your finished app and sending it to Apple or Google for approval, and App Store Review is the evaluation each store performs before your app goes live. Apple’s review tends to be stricter and slower, often checking for functionality, content, and whether the app provides genuine value beyond a wrapped website. Google Play review is typically faster but still enforces its own policy set.

Submitting from Thunkable

Thunkable guides you through both submissions from inside the platform, though the two paths differ. Apple submissions go straight to TestFlight through Thunkable’s publishing wizard, while Android submissions arrive as a downloadable app file you upload to the Google Play Store yourself. Because Thunkable compiles true native apps rather than wrapped web pages, submissions are less likely to run into the functionality objections that trip up wrapper-based apps during review.

Apple App Store

The Apple App Store is the official marketplace for iOS apps, and the only sanctioned way most users install apps on an iPhone. Every app listed on the App Store passes through Apple’s review process first, which checks functionality, content, and compliance with Apple’s guidelines before publishing an app publicly.

Audio

Audio is the app component that handles playing sound, whether that is music, ambient effects, or spoken content, from inside an app. Audio playback needs to keep working reliably in the background and respond correctly to interruptions, like an incoming phone call, without crashing the app.

Audio Player

An audio player is the interface component that lets users play, pause, skip, and otherwise control audio content inside an app. A well-built audio player handles background playback, lockscreen controls, and interruption handling correctly, which is easier to get right in a native app than a browser-based one.

Authentication

Authentication is the process of verifying a user’s identity before granting them access to an app or specific features inside it. Authentication can happen through a password, a one-time code, a biometric scan, or a third-party login like Google or Apple.

Authentication in Thunkable

Thunkable provides pre-built sign-up and sign-in blocks that connect to Firebase Authentication, along with dedicated blocks for Google and Apple sign-in.

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B

Backend

The backend is the server-side part of an app that handles data storage, business logic, and authentication, working behind the scenes to support what users see on the frontend. A weak backend shows up as a slow, unreliable app, even if the frontend design looks great, since the backend is what actually stores and retrieves the data the frontend uses and displays.

Frontend and backend in Thunkable

You design the frontend in Thunkable, visually or by prompt, and connect it to a backend through Thunkable’s data source and authentication blocks. Firebase, Airtable, Google Sheets, and similar connected services handle the actual data storage and logic (see also: Backend-as-a-Service), and the server code itself lives with that connected service rather than something you write or host directly.

Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS)

Backend-as-a-service is a model where the server, database, and authentication infrastructure behind an app are managed by the platform, so you never have to set up or maintain that infrastructure yourself. Traditionally, standing up a backend meant provisioning servers, configuring a database, and writing authentication logic before you could build a single app feature.

How this shows up in Thunkable

Thunkable is primarily a frontend builder, so it connected to outside BaaS and database platforms rather than running its own backend server. 

• Firebase handles authentication
• Airtable, Google Sheets, and Webflow facilitate cloud data storage
• Integrations like Backendless and Xano cover more advanced backend needs

Thunkable also includes a simple Local DB for data that only needs to live on an individual device.

Beta

A beta version of an app is a pre-release build shared with a limited group of testers to catch bugs and gather feedback before a full public launch. Apple’s TestFlight and Google Play’s internal testing tracks are the standard ways to distribute a beta build ahead of a storewide release.

Biometrics

Biometrics use a device’s fingerprint or facial recognition hardware to verify a user’s identity inside an app. Biometric login replaces typing a password with a fingerprint or a glance at the camera, cutting friction at the exact moment users are most likely to abandon a sign-in flow.

Block-Based Programming

Block-based programming is a visual coding method where you build logic by snapping together labeled blocks that represent actions, conditions, and data, instead of typing syntax. Each block is shaped to connect only with blocks that are logically compatible, and that shape constraint prevents most syntax errors, since a block that doesn’t belong simply won’t connect.

Why block-based programming matters, especially for education

Block-based programming, popularized by MIT’s Scratch, is widely used to teach programming concepts because it lets students focus on logic and sequencing without getting stuck on punctuation or syntax. Thunkable’s block editor uses this same model, which is a core reason more than 10,000 educational organizations use Thunkable to teach app development and computer science fundamentals.

Block-based vs. AI prompting

Thunkable creators can mix both approaches in the same project. You can prompt the AI Builder to generate a feature, then open the blocks view to see exactly how it works and adjust the logic by hand, which makes block-based programming a learning tool even for creators who started by vibe coding.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a short-range wireless standard that lets a phone communicate directly with nearby devices without a Wi-Fi network or cellular connection. Apps use Bluetooth to pair with headphones, printers, fitness trackers, and countless other accessories.

Bluetooth as a Thunkable component

Bluetooth is available as a drag-and-drop component in Thunkable, letting your app scan for, connect to, and exchange data with nearby Bluetooth devices without writing native connectivity code.

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) for devices with small batteries

Bluetooth Low Energy is a version of Bluetooth built for devices that need to run for months or years on a small battery, such as fitness trackers, smart locks, and sensors. BLE trades raw data speed for dramatically lower power draw, which is exactly the trade-off most connected hardware accessories need.

Direct BLE communication is one of Thunkable’s key technical differentiators, and it is a capability several competing no-code and AI app builders simply do not offer. If your app connects to a physical device (ex. a smart home gadget, a fitness wearable, a hardware), Thunkable’s native BLE support is often the deciding factor over platforms limited to web-based output.

Bugs

A bug is any unintended behavior in an app, ranging from small issues like visual glitches to huge ones, like a crash that stops the app from working entirely. Catching bugs before publishing matters, since App Store reviewers and users both notice broken functionality quickly, and negative early reviews are hard to recover from.

Testing for bugs in Thunkable

Thunkable’s live testing feature lets you run your app on a real iOS or Android device while you build, which surfaces bugs immediately instead of waiting for a full compile and export cycle to catch them.

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C

Camera

The camera component gives an app access to a device’s built-in camera for taking photos or recording video from inside the app. Camera access enables everything from profile photo uploads and updates to barcode scanning to augmented reality filters.

Adding a camera feature in Thunkable

The camera is a drag-and-drop component in Thunkable, or you can prompt the AI Builder to add a photo capture screen directly, without writing native camera-permission code for iOS and Android separately.

Certification

Certification, in mobile publishing, refers to the code-signing and identity verification process that proves an app comes from a verified developer before it can be installed or distributed. Both Apple and Google require certification steps before allowing an app onto their platforms, as a safeguard against unverified or tampered software.

Citizen Developer

A citizen developer is someone who builds applications using no-code or low-code tools without formal software development training or engineering experience. The term reflects a true shift currently happening in companies: operations managers, marketers, and founders now regularly build, or contribute to the building of, internal tools and customer-facing apps themselves.

Cloud Storage

Cloud storage keeps an app’s data on remote servers rather than on a local device, making it accessible from any device the user logs into. Cloud storage is what makes an account, and the data tied to it, portable between phones, tablets, and web browsers.

Storage in Thunkable

Thunkable’s Local DB stores data on the device itself, while cloud storage that syncs across devices runs through a connected data source, most commonly Airtable, Google Sheets, or Webflow. Choosing between them comes down to whether your app’s data needs to follow a user across devices or only needs to persist on the one they are using.

Cloudinary

Cloudinary is a third-party media management service that stores, optimizes, and delivers images and video for an app, handling resizing and format conversion automatically. Rather than storing every media file at full size and hoping it loads quickly on a slow connection, Cloudinary serves an appropriately-sized version on the fly based on the device requesting it.

Using Cloudinary in Thunkable

Thunkable supports Cloudinary integration for apps with heavy media needs, giving creators a production-grade media pipeline for images and video without building that infrastructure themselves.

Coding for Kids

Coding for kids refers to programming education designed for children and teens, usually built around visual, block-based tools instead of text-based syntax. Block-based coding removes the syntax barrier that trips up beginners, letting younger students focus on logic and creativity from their very first lesson. 

Thunkable’s role in youth coding

Thunkable’s block editor descends directly from MIT App Inventor, a tool built specifically to teach programming to beginners, including kids. That lineage is part of why Thunkable has a legitimate purpose in classrooms.

Compass

The compass component reads a device’s magnetometer to determine which direction the phone is facing relative to magnetic North. Compass data is used in navigation apps, outdoor recreation apps, and any app experience that needs real-world directional orientation.

Component Library

A component library is a collection of pre-built, reusable interface pieces like buttons, forms, cards, navigation bars, that a builder can drag into a project instead of designing them from scratch. A strong component library is what makes drag-and-drop app building fast in the first place, since most apps reuse the same handful of interface patterns.

Thunkable’s component library

Thunkable’s component library covers everything from basic layout elements to device features like the camera and Bluetooth, giving both block-based builders and the AI Builder a shared set of proven, native building blocks to draw from.

Computer Science

Computer science is an education curriculum designed to teach programming concepts and computational thinking. A strong computer science curriculum builds concepts in order (sequencing, conditionals, loops, data) rather than throwing students straight into unfamiliar tools and scenarios.

Thunkable’s education program

Thunkable offers a full computer science curriculum built around its block-based editor, used by more than 10,000 educational organizations and recognized on the GSV 150 list of influential education companies. Students build real, working apps as they learn, rather than abstract exercises disconnected from their end result.

Conversational App Building

Conversational app building means developing an app through an ongoing back-and-forth chat with an AI assistant rather than a single one-time prompt. You build in rounds:

Describe a feature → Review the result → Ask for a change → Repeat

This is how Discuss Mode works inside Thunkable’s AI Builder, turning app building into a running conversation with the tool that built it, which makes revisions and additions faster than ever.

Cross-Platform App Development

Cross-platform app development means building one app project that runs on both iOS and Android, instead of writing and maintaining two separate codebases. The appeal is obvious: One build, two app stores, half the ongoing maintenance. Historically, the tradeoff has been performance quality or feature access, though modern native-compiling platforms have closed most of that gap.

How Thunkable handles cross-platform app development

You build a project once inside Thunkable, and it compiles to a native iOS app and a native Android app from the same source. Both versions get full device access, so each platform gets the same complete, native experience.

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D

Dark Mode

Dark mode is a color scheme option that uses dark backgrounds with light text as an alternative to an app’s standard “light” interface. Dark mode reduces eye strain in low light and has become an expected option rather than a novelty, particularly among users who keep their phone’s system setting on dark by default.

Deep Linking

Deep linking is a technique that opens a specific screen inside an app directly from a link, instead of dropping the user on the app’s home screen. A deep link might take someone straight to a product page, a specific profile, or a checkout flow from an email, ad, or text message. It removes friction between the moment someone clicks and the content they actually want.

Design

Design, in app development, refers to an app’s visual layout, color choices, typography, and overall user experience, everything a user sees and interacts with. Good app design balances visual appeal with clarity, since an app that looks polished but confuses users will lose them at the first unclear screen.

Download

A download, in the context of app publishing, refers to a user installing an app from the App Store or Google Play onto their device. In terms of engagement, downloads are one of the most visible success metrics for an app, though they matter most when paired with strong retention, since a download that never gets opened again is not much of a win.

Drag-and-Drop App Builder

A drag-and-drop app builder lets you construct an app’s interface by dragging visual components like buttons, text fields, and images onto a canvas rather than writing layout code. This was the first generation of no-code app building, and it remains the foundation most modern AI-assisted builders, including Thunkable, are built on top of.

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F

Flashlight

The flashlight component lets an app control a device’s built-in flash or LED light, independent of the camera. Flashlight access is common in utility apps, safety apps, and any app that needs a simple, reliable light source without going through the camera interface.

Freemium

Freemium is an app monetization model that offers a free version of an app with core functionality, then charges for premium features, higher usage limits, or an ad-free experience. Freemium works by lowering the barrier to that first download to nearly zero, then converting a percentage of engaged users to paying customers once they hit a limit or want more.

Frontend

The frontend is the part of an app users directly see and interact with: The screens, buttons, layouts, and visual design. Frontend work covers everything on the surface of an app, while the logic and data behind that surface live in the backend.

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G

Google Authentication

Google Authentication is a specific single sign-on method that lets users log into an app using their existing Google account. It is one of the most widely used SSO options because of how many people already have an active Google account on their phone.

Google Play

Google Play, also called the Google Play Store, is the official marketplace for Android apps. Google Play’s review process is generally faster than Apple’s, though it still enforces content and functionality policies before an app goes live.

Gyroscope

The gyroscope is a device sensor that measures rotation and orientation, letting an app detect how a phone is being tilted or turned in three-dimensional space. Gyroscope data is common in games, augmented reality, video streaming apps, and any interface that responds to how the user physically moves their device.

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H

Haptic Feedback

Haptic feedback is the small vibration or tactical response a device produces as a reaction to a user action, like tapping a button. Well-placed haptic feedback makes an app interface feel more responsive and substantial, confirming an action happened without requiring the users to look for a visual change.

Home Screen

In app design, the home screen is the first interactive screen a user lands on after an app finishes loading. The home screen carries the most traffic of any screen in an app, so its layout and navigation choices have an outsized effect on how easily users find what they came for.

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I

Image

Image is the app component that handles displaying, uploading, or manipulating photos and graphics inside an app. Image handling needs to account for different screen sizes and resolutions, so a photo looks sharp on every device rather than stretched or pixelated.

In-App Purchase (IAP)

An in-app purchase is a transaction made from inside an app to unlock additional content, features, or virtual goods. IAPs cover everything from removing ads to buying in-game currency to unlocking a pro feature set, and they route through Apple’s or Google’s payment systems, which take a revenue share on most transactions.

Setting up IAPs in Thunkable

Thunkable’s IAP component connects through RevenueCat, a third-party subscription and purchase management platform, to handle billing on both the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Integrations

 Integrations are connections between an app and outside services, tools, or platforms, letting data and functionality flow between them. Common integrations include payment processors, email tools, analytics platforms, and social logins, each typically connected through an API or SDK.

Internal Tools

Internal tools are apps built for a company’s own employees to use, such as inventory trackers, scheduling apps, or approval workflows, rather than for public customers. Internal tools rarely need  polish for app store attractiveness, but they do need to be reliable, fast to update, and cheap to maintain, which makes them a natural fit for no-code building.

Building internal tools with Thunkable

Thunkable’s Operations and IT solutions are built precisely for this use case: Letting a team build and update its own internal app without opening a ticket with engineering every time a workflow changes. 

iOS 

iOS is Apple’s mobile operating system, running on every iPhone, and one of two platforms, alongside Android, that most mobile apps need to support. Building for iOS means following Apple’s design guidelines and passing Apple’s app review process before an app can appear in the app store.

IoT App Development

IoT app development is building the mobile app that controls, monitors, or receives data from an internet-connected physical device. IoT is an acronym for “Internet of Things”, which is the broad category of internet-connected hardware, from smart thermostats to industrial sensors, that pair with a companion app.

Building IoT apps without code

Thunkable’s combination of native compilation, Bluetooth and BLE support, and sensor access makes it a practical fit for IoT companion apps, letting hardware startups and hobbyists build an app without hiring a mobile developer.

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K

Keys (API Keys)

An API key is a unique credential an app uses to authenticate itself when connecting to a third-party service or backend. Losing control of an API key can allow unauthorized users to make requests and potentially damage–or rack up charges on–your account, so keys are typically stored securely rather than hard-coded into an app’s visible logic.

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L

License

In app development, a license is the legal agreement governing how software, code, or a component can be used, modified, or distributed. Every third-party library or component your app uses comes with its own license terms, and mixing incompatible licenses can create real legal exposure once an app is published commercially.

Loading Screen

A loading screen appears while an app fetches data or completes a task, giving the user visual confirmation that something is happening rather than the app being frozen. Good loading states, even a simple spinner, reduce the chance a user gives up and closes the app during a brief waiting period.

Local Storage

Local storage keeps data saved directly on the user’s device rather than sending it to a remote server. Local storage is fast and works without an internet connection, which makes it the foundation of any offline-first app.

Location (Geolocation)

The location component, also called geolocation, gives an app access to a device’s GPS coordinates to determine where the user physically is. Location data powers navigation, delivery tracking, nearby search results, and check-in features. 

Low-Code

Low-code refers to development tools that minimize handwritten code through visual tools and pre-built components, while still allowing developers to write custom code where needed. The distinction from no-code matters for hiring and workflow. Low-code tools generally assume there is at least one technical team member who can step in and code when the visual/block-building layer hits its limits.

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M

Maps

The maps component embeds an interactive map inside of an app, typically showing the user’s location, points of interest, or a route between two or more places. Maps are one of the most requested components across nearly every app category, from real estate to food delivery to field service.

Media Storage

Media storage is storage specifically designed to hold larger files like images, video, and audio, as opposed to small pieces of structured data like text or numbers. Media files are much larger than typical database records, so they are usually stored separately from an app’s main database and referenced by a link rather than stored directly inside it.

Modal

A modal is a screen or window that appears on top of an app’s current content, requiring the user to interact with it or dismiss it before continuing. Modals are used for confirmation, quick forms, and alerts where interrupting the main flow briefly is useful for the user.

MVP (Minimum Viable Product)

An MVP is the simplest working version of a product that still delivers enough value to test with real users and validate the underlying idea. The point of an MVP is to learn whether people actually want something before spending months of time and a large budget fully building something, like an app, out.

Building an MVP on Thunkable

Because Thunkable compiles a true native app, your MVP is a real, publishable app from the start. You can put it front of users, gather feedback, and keep building on the same project once you’re ready to scale, with no need to transfer or rebuild in a different tool.

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N

Native App vs. Hybrid App vs. Web App

A native app is built and compiled specifically for iOS or Android and runs directly on the device, while a hybrid app wraps web code in a native shell, and a web app runs directly and entirely inside a browser. The distinction determines what your app will actually be able to do.

‍Native apps get full access to the camera, GPS, Bluetooth, push notifications, and offline storage, and they run at full device speed. 

Hybrid and web apps are limited by what the browser layer allows, and they often move slower and feel less polished.

Why this matters when picking a builder

Some no-code platforms produce web apps dressed up to look native, then require a separate wrapper service to reach the app store of your choice. Thunkable compiles a true native binary for iOS and Android from your project, so what you build is what actually ships, prepared for full functionality on users’ devices.

Natural Language Programming (NLP)

Natural language programming, or NLP, is writing software instructions in ordinary language instead of formal programming syntax. It is the broader, more technical term for what vibe coding and prompt-based development do in practice. Instead of writing code, the AI model you’re working with translates your plain-language requests into working logic to create your apps.

Navigation Bar

A navigation bar is the persistent menu, usually along the bottom or top of the screen, that lets users move between an app’s main sections. A clear navigation bar is one of the simplest ways to make an app feel familiar, since it follows a pattern nearly every mobile app user already recognizes. 

NFC (Near-Field Communication)

NFC is a short-range wireless technology that lets two devices exchange data by being held within a couple of inches of each other, the same technology behind tap-to-pay. Beyond payments, NFC is used for access badges, smart tags, and pairing hardware with a single tap instead of a manual Bluetooth pairing flow. 

No-Code

No-code refers to development tools that let you build a complete, working application without writing any code, using visual components, blocks, or prompts instead. No-code removes the syntax layer entirely, letting you work directly with the aforementioned visual building blocks, layouts, and, on newer platforms, plain-language prompts.

No-code on Thunkable

Thunkable was built to be a no-code solution from the start, well before AI entered the picture, using a visual design canvas paired with a block-based logic editor inspired by MIT’s Scratch. The AI Builder adds a prompt-based layer on top of that same no-code foundation, so you can build entirely by chatting, or with blocks, or a blend of both approaches within the same project.

No-code MVP

A no-code MVP is a minimum viable product (MVP) built entirely with no-code tools, letting a founder test an idea without hiring a developer or writing a line of code. This has become the default starting point for most non-technical founders, since it removes the biggest early cost and delay: Finding and paying a technical co-founder or contractor before you even know if the idea works.

No-code vs. Low-code

No-code tools require zero coding knowledge to build a complete app, while low-code tools reduce the amount of code needed but still expect some technical skill for more advanced logic. The right choice depends on who is building. A solo founder with no technical background needs true no-code. A product team with an engineer on staff would do fine with low-code, perhaps even preferring it for technical flexibility.

No-code and low-code accessibility with Thunkable

Thunkable starts as a true noc-de experience, buildable entirely through prompts or blocks. You or a teammate can also  open the built-in code editor at any point and write directly, pairing the accessibility of no-code with a low-code escape hatch for whenever you want it.

Notification

A notification is any message an app surfaces to alert a user, whether it appears on the lock screen as a push notification or inside the app itself as an in-app alert. Notifications are one of the most effective tools for bringing users back to an app, and also one of the easiest features to overuse until users disable them entirely, so be sure to use them wisely.

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O

Offline-First App

An offline-first app is designed to keep working, saving data locally, when the device has no internet connection, then syncing that data once a connection returns. This matters most for field service, travel, and rural-use apps where a reliable connection cannot be guaranteed. An app that breaks the moment it loses signal will lose users fast in those contexts.

Building offline support in Thunkable 

Thunkable supports local, on-device storage alongside cloud storage, so you can design an app that saves data locally when offline and syncs it back once the device reconnects. This is a significant differentiator against no-code tools limited to browser-based storage, which typically break the moment the connection drops.

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P

Payment and Payment Integration

Payment integration is the component that lets an app accept a payment from users, connecting to a processor like Stripe to handle the transaction securely. Payment handling involves real security and compliance requirements, since an app is processing sensitive card data even if only briefly, before passing it to the processor.

Progressive Web App (PWA)

A progressive web app is a website built to behave like an app, with offline support and a home screen icon, but it runs through a browser engine rather than compiling to native code. PWAs are faster to build than native apps but come with significant limits: No listing in the Apple App Store, restricted access to hardware features, and generally weaker performance overall.

PWA vs. native on Thunkable

Several no-code builders are PWA-only, which means their apps cannot appear in the Apple App Store or Google Play at all. Thunkable builds true native apps, so if your plan includes App Store distribution, that path is available from day one instead of requiring a migration later.

Prompt-Based App Development

Prompt-based app development means building an app by writing instructions in everyday language rather than configuring components or writing syntax. A prompt can create a full screen, add a feature, or restyle an entire app. It is the interaction model underneath vibe coding and the primary way Thunkable creators build their own apps.

Example prompts

• “Add a login screen with email and Google sign-in”
• “Turn this list into a map view”
• “Build a pricing tier screen with a recommended midway price column”

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These are typical examples of prompts, but Thunkable is built to be flexible and can handle as many iterations of your ideas as you need. Thunkable’s AI Builder will interpret the request, build the corresponding screens and logic, and show you the results immediately in a live preview. 

Provisioning Profile

A provisioning profile is an Apple-issued file that links a specific app, developer account, and set of devices, authorizing that app to run on iOS during development and testing. Provisioning profiles are a required, and often confusing, part of iOS development, since Apple uses them to control exactly which apps can install on which devices before formal App Store release.

Push Notification

A push notification is a message sent from an app to a user’s device even when the app is closed, appearing on the lock screen or notification tray. Push notifications require native app capabilities. Web apps and most PWAs cannot send true push notifications the way a native app can, particularly on iOS.

Adding push notifications in Thunkable

Thunkable’s push notification component connected to OneSignal, a third-party notification service, and sending to Android devices also requires linking a Firebase project for credentials. Once that connection is in place, you can prompt the AI Builder to add a push notification trigger, or wire it up directly in the blocks editor for finer control over timing and targeting.

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R

Rapid Application Development (RAD)

Rapid Application Development is a software development approach that prioritizes fast, iterative building and testing over extensive upfront planning and documentation. RAD emerged decades before modern no-code tools, but the philosophy is the same one driving today’s AI app builders:

1. Build something that works, fast
2. Get feedback
3. Iterate based on that feedback

RAD removes months of designing before being able to push the first version out to real people.

Recording

Recording is the component category covering video and screen capture directly from within an app, letting users generate their own content instead of only consuming it. User-generated video is a core feature for social apps, tutorial apps, and any product built around people creating and sharing content with each other.

Reviews

In the context of app development, reviews are the ratings and written feedback users leave developers for their apps on the App Store or Google Play after downloading it. Reviews directly influence both a potential user’s decision to download and an app’s ranking in app store search results, along with determining how a developer updates and improves future iterations of their app. This makes user reviews an integral part of App Store Optimization (ASO) and user retention.

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S

Software Development Kit (SDK)

A Software Development Kit, or SDK, is a bunch of tools, libraries, and documentation that lets developers add a specific service or or feature to an app. Payment processors, analytics tools, and ad networks all typically ship an SDK so developers can integrate their service without building the connection from scratch.

SDKs and no-code app development

Traditional SDK integration requires writing native code for iOS and Android separately. Thunkable’s component library packages many common SDK integrations into ready-to-use, drag-and-drop pieces, so the underlying complexity doesn’t slow you down.

Sensor API (Device Sensors)

A sensor API gives an app programmatic access to the physical sensors built into a phone, including the accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, and proximity sensor. Sensor data powers everything from step counters to augmented reality apps to games that respond to how you tilt and move your phone.

Sensors in Thunkable

Thunkable exposes device sensors as ready-to-use components, including the accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer, so you can read live sensor data with a block or a prompt instead of writing native sensor-handling code for two operating systems separately.

Single Sign-on (SSO)

Single sign-on lets a user log into an app using an existing account, typically from Google, Apple, or a company identity provider, instead of creating a new username and password. SSO reduces signup friction and cuts down on forgotten password-specific support requests, since users are logging in with credentials they already use daily. 

Speech-to-Text

Speech-to-text is technology that converts spoken audio into written text in real time or from a recorded clip. It powers voice commands, dictation features, and accessibility tools that let users interact with an app without typing.

Splash Screen

A splash screen is the branded loading screen an app briefly displays as it starts up, before the main interface appears. A splash screen also covers the small delay every app has while it initializes, and it is often the first visual impression of an app’s brand.

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics) Education Apps

STEM education apps are mobile or web applications designed to teach science, technology, engineering, or mathematics concepts, often through interactive or project-based learning. App building itself has become a popular STEM subject, since it combines logic, design, and problem solving into one hands-on project that produces something a student can actually show off.

Storage

Storage, in the context of an app, refers to where the app’s data lives, whether that is on the device itself or on a remote server. Every app needs a storage strategy, even a simple one, to remember user preferences, save content, or keep someone logged in between sessions.

Subscription

A subscription is a recurring app monetization model where users pay on a regular schedule, usually monthly or annually, for continued access to an app and its premium features. Subscriptions provide predictable, recurring revenue, which is part of why they have become the dominant monetization model for apps with ongoing utility rather than a single use.

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T

Text-to-App

Text-to-app is the shorthand term for turning a written description directly into a functioning application. It describes the same thing as prompt-based development and vibe coding, and it is often used in comparisons of AI app builders because it captures the whole pitch in three words.

Text-to-Speech (TTS)

Text-to-speech (TTS) is technology that converts written text into spoken audio, read aloud by a synthetic voice. It is widely used for accessibility, letting visually impaired users hear content instead of only being able to read it, along with finding main feature-level utility in language learning apps and for hands-free use cases like driving.

Time to Market

Time to market, in the context of an app, is the length of time between an idea and its public launch. Shorter time to market means faster feedback, faster revenue, and less time for a competitor to launch something similar before you.

Why time to market is one of Thunkable’s major benefits

Reducing time to market is the central promise behind vibe coding an app instead of hiring a development team. What used to take weeks of design and development can now happen in a single sitting, with a true native app ready to test the same day the idea takes shape.

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V

Versioning

Versioning is the practice of assigning a version number to each release of an app, tracking updates over time is a consistent, predictable format. Clear versioning helps both users and app stores understand whether they are looking at the latest release, and it is required metadata for every App Store and Google Play submission.

Vibe Coding

Vibe Coding is building software by describing what you want in plain language and letting an AI model generate the working result. Instead of writing lines of code, you describe the app(s), screen(s), and feature(s) you want as a prompt or series of prompts, and AI builds it for you. The term was coined by Andrej Karpathy in 2025 to describe development where you “give in to the vibes” and let AI models handle implementation while you essentially give creative and iterative direction.

On Thunkable, vibe coding is the core way creators start building their own apps: Describe your app idea in the AI builder, and in return, get a true native app. Then, keep chatting to refine it and steer the outcome toward exactly what you want.

How vibe coding works in Thunkable

You open a chat, describe your app idea, and Thunkable’s AI Builder generates screens, logic, and design in response. You can keep prompting to do a bunch of things:

1. Change features
2. Add/change colors
3. Fix/modify/add behaviors

You can also switch between the Block Editor and Code Editor any time you want more control over the output. What you’ll get is a real, native iOS and Android app you can test on a device right away.

Vibe coding vs. traditional no-code

Older no-code tools still require you to place every component and wire up every action by hand. Vibe coding removes that manual assembly step. You direct the outcome in words, and the platform handles the construction, which is why it has become the fastest on-ramp for people with zero coding experience. Not knowing how to code shouldn’t mean not being able to create something awesome to share with the world.

Video

Video is the app component that lets you embed, play, and control video content directly inside an app, from onboarding walkthroughs to social feeds to to product demos. Adding native video used to mean writing separate playback code for iOS and Android and handling formats, buffering, and controls by hand.

Building a video app with AI, no code required

With Thunkable’s AI Builder, adding video only requires a prompt. Ask for a video feed, a looping background video on your splash screen, or an in-app video player with custom controls, and the AI Builder generates the screen and logic for you.

This is what a vibe coded video app actually looks like in practice: Describe the feature in plain language, and Thunkable’s AI handles the native video implementation on both iOS and Android at once.

Visual Programming Language

A visual programming language expresses logic through connected graphical blocks or shapes instead of typed text syntax. Scratch, MIT App Inventor, and Thunkable’s own block editor are all examples. 

Each block is shaped to connect only with blocks that are logically compatible, so the visual structure itself represents the program’s logic.

Thunkable’s block editor

Thunkable’s blocks are directly descended from the visual programming approach pioneered at MIT App Inventor, the project that two of Thunkable’s founders helped build before starting the company. It is one reason Thunkable has a strong, lasting foundation in classrooms in addition to startups.

Voice Recording

Voice recording is the component that captures audio directly from a device’s microphone, storing it for playback, transcription, or sharing. Voice recording powers voice memo apps, voice messaging features, and any app that needs a spoken input alternative to typing.

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W

Widget

A widget is a small, self-contained interface element. Examples of widgets include:

• Buttons
• Weather displays
• Calendars
• Clocks
• To-do lists

Widgets can either be used inside an app’s screens, or placed directly on a device’s home or secondary screens outside of the app itself. Home screen widgets give users a glance at key information without fully opening the app, which can meaningfully increase how often an app gets used.

WYSIWYG Editor

WYSIWYG stands for “what you see is what you get”, describing an editor where the layout you build on screen matches the final result exactly. The term originated in desktop publishing and now applies broadly to no-code design canvases like Thunkable’s editors, where you place and style elements visually instead of describing their position in code.

AI Code Generation

AI code generation is the process of an AI model writing usable source code in response to a prompt or written description. It is the underlying technology that powers AI app builders. Some tools stop at generating code you have to assemble yourself. Others, like Thunkable’s AI Builder, generate the code and assemble it into a running, testable app in the same step.

AI Pair Programmer

An AI pair programmer is an AI assistant that works alongside you during development, suggesting code, catching errors, and implementing changes as you go. The term comes from “pair programming”, where two human developers work at one workstation. 

Tools like Cursor and Claude Code act as an AI pair programmer for traditional coders. Thunkable’s AI Builder plays a similar role for no-code creators: It writes, tests, and adjusts your app’s logic in response to your direction, without requiring you to know how to code in the first place.

Android App Bundle (AAB)

An Android App Bundle is the packaging format Google Play requires for new app submissions, replacing the older APK format for store distribution. Google Play uses the AAB to generate optimized APKs for each specific device configuration, which keeps download sizes smaller than shipping one universal file to every phone.

API (Application Programming Interface)

An API is a defined set of rules that lets one piece of software request data or functionality from another, such as an app pulling weather data from a weather service. APIs are what let apps talk to the outside world: Payment processors, mapping services, social platforms, and countless other tools all expose an API for developers to connect to.

Connecting APIs in Thunkable

Thunkable lets you connect to any REST API to pull in outside data or functionality, whether you build that connection through blocks, code, or a prompt to the AI Builder describing what data you want to bring in.

APK

APK, short for Android Package Kit, is the file format used to install an app directly onto an Android device outside of the Google Play Store. APKs are commonly used for testing, sideloading, or distributing an app outside of official app stores. Google Play submissions now require the AAB format instead, which generates optimized APKs after being passed over to the store.

App Bundle

An app bundle is the packaged collection of an app’s code, assets, and configuration files compiled together into the format a device or app store requires to install and run it. On Android specifically, this packaged format is called an Android App Bundle (AAB).

App Icon

An app icon is the small graphic that represents an app on a device’s home screen and inside the App Store or Google Play listing. PRO TIP: An app icon needs to read and be seen clearly at a tiny size and stand out in a crowded home screen or search results page, which makes it one of the highest-leverage design decisions for an app.

App Monetization Models

App monetization models are the different strategies for generating revenue from an app, including subscriptions, in-app purchases (IAPs), advertising, and “freemium” pricing. The right model (or models, as these can be combined) depends heavily on your app’s use case. For instance:

• A productivity app with daily use often fits a subscription monetization model
• A game often fits in-app purchase and advertising models

There is no universal answer and depends entirely on your app type, as well as what you think will be the best way forward.

App Store Connect

App Store Connect is Apple’s web portal where developers manage app submissions, versions, pricing, and analytics for apps on the App Store. Every app published to the App Store gets set up and managed through App Store Connect, including the metadata, screenshots, and pricing that shape the store listing itself.

App Store Optimization (ASO)

App Store Optimization is the practice of improving your app’s visibility and conversion rate inside the Apple App Store and Google Play by optimizing its name, keywords, screenshots, and description. ASO works alongside, not instead of, a good app. The App Store and Google Play both rank listings using a mix of keyword relevance, install velocity, and ratings, so a strong listing draws organic traffic before you spend a dollar on ads.

ASO basics for a new app

Start with a clear app title that includes your primary keyword, write a description that states the core benefit in the first line, and choose screenshots that show the actual app experience rather than marketing graphics. These fundamentals apply whether your app was hand-coded or vibe coded, since the app stores rank listings the same way regardless of how the app was built.

App Store Submission and App Store Review

App Store submission is the process of packaging your finished app and sending it to Apple or Google for approval, and App Store Review is the evaluation each store performs before your app goes live. Apple’s review tends to be stricter and slower, often checking for functionality, content, and whether the app provides genuine value beyond a wrapped website. Google Play review is typically faster but still enforces its own policy set.

Submitting from Thunkable

Thunkable guides you through both submissions from inside the platform, though the two paths differ. Apple submissions go straight to TestFlight through Thunkable’s publishing wizard, while Android submissions arrive as a downloadable app file you upload to the Google Play Store yourself. Because Thunkable compiles true native apps rather than wrapped web pages, submissions are less likely to run into the functionality objections that trip up wrapper-based apps during review.

Apple App Store

The Apple App Store is the official marketplace for iOS apps, and the only sanctioned way most users install apps on an iPhone. Every app listed on the App Store passes through Apple’s review process first, which checks functionality, content, and compliance with Apple’s guidelines before publishing an app publicly.

Audio

Audio is the app component that handles playing sound, whether that is music, ambient effects, or spoken content, from inside an app. Audio playback needs to keep working reliably in the background and respond correctly to interruptions, like an incoming phone call, without crashing the app.

Audio Player

An audio player is the interface component that lets users play, pause, skip, and otherwise control audio content inside an app. A well-built audio player handles background playback, lockscreen controls, and interruption handling correctly, which is easier to get right in a native app than a browser-based one.

Authentication

Authentication is the process of verifying a user’s identity before granting them access to an app or specific features inside it. Authentication can happen through a password, a one-time code, a biometric scan, or a third-party login like Google or Apple.

Authentication in Thunkable

Thunkable provides pre-built sign-up and sign-in blocks that connect to Firebase Authentication, along with dedicated blocks for Google and Apple sign-in.

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B

Backend

The backend is the server-side part of an app that handles data storage, business logic, and authentication, working behind the scenes to support what users see on the frontend. A weak backend shows up as a slow, unreliable app, even if the frontend design looks great, since the backend is what actually stores and retrieves the data the frontend uses and displays.

Frontend and backend in Thunkable

You design the frontend in Thunkable, visually or by prompt, and connect it to a backend through Thunkable’s data source and authentication blocks. Firebase, Airtable, Google Sheets, and similar connected services handle the actual data storage and logic (see also: Backend-as-a-Service), and the server code itself lives with that connected service rather than something you write or host directly.

Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS)

Backend-as-a-service is a model where the server, database, and authentication infrastructure behind an app are managed by the platform, so you never have to set up or maintain that infrastructure yourself. Traditionally, standing up a backend meant provisioning servers, configuring a database, and writing authentication logic before you could build a single app feature.

How this shows up in Thunkable

Thunkable is primarily a frontend builder, so it connected to outside BaaS and database platforms rather than running its own backend server. 

• Firebase handles authentication
• Airtable, Google Sheets, and Webflow facilitate cloud data storage
• Integrations like Backendless and Xano cover more advanced backend needs

Thunkable also includes a simple Local DB for data that only needs to live on an individual device.

Beta

A beta version of an app is a pre-release build shared with a limited group of testers to catch bugs and gather feedback before a full public launch. Apple’s TestFlight and Google Play’s internal testing tracks are the standard ways to distribute a beta build ahead of a storewide release.

Biometrics

Biometrics use a device’s fingerprint or facial recognition hardware to verify a user’s identity inside an app. Biometric login replaces typing a password with a fingerprint or a glance at the camera, cutting friction at the exact moment users are most likely to abandon a sign-in flow.

Block-Based Programming

Block-based programming is a visual coding method where you build logic by snapping together labeled blocks that represent actions, conditions, and data, instead of typing syntax. Each block is shaped to connect only with blocks that are logically compatible, and that shape constraint prevents most syntax errors, since a block that doesn’t belong simply won’t connect.

Why block-based programming matters, especially for education

Block-based programming, popularized by MIT’s Scratch, is widely used to teach programming concepts because it lets students focus on logic and sequencing without getting stuck on punctuation or syntax. Thunkable’s block editor uses this same model, which is a core reason more than 10,000 educational organizations use Thunkable to teach app development and computer science fundamentals.

Block-based vs. AI prompting

Thunkable creators can mix both approaches in the same project. You can prompt the AI Builder to generate a feature, then open the blocks view to see exactly how it works and adjust the logic by hand, which makes block-based programming a learning tool even for creators who started by vibe coding.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a short-range wireless standard that lets a phone communicate directly with nearby devices without a Wi-Fi network or cellular connection. Apps use Bluetooth to pair with headphones, printers, fitness trackers, and countless other accessories.

Bluetooth as a Thunkable component

Bluetooth is available as a drag-and-drop component in Thunkable, letting your app scan for, connect to, and exchange data with nearby Bluetooth devices without writing native connectivity code.

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) for devices with small batteries

Bluetooth Low Energy is a version of Bluetooth built for devices that need to run for months or years on a small battery, such as fitness trackers, smart locks, and sensors. BLE trades raw data speed for dramatically lower power draw, which is exactly the trade-off most connected hardware accessories need.

Direct BLE communication is one of Thunkable’s key technical differentiators, and it is a capability several competing no-code and AI app builders simply do not offer. If your app connects to a physical device (ex. a smart home gadget, a fitness wearable, a hardware), Thunkable’s native BLE support is often the deciding factor over platforms limited to web-based output.

Bugs

A bug is any unintended behavior in an app, ranging from small issues like visual glitches to huge ones, like a crash that stops the app from working entirely. Catching bugs before publishing matters, since App Store reviewers and users both notice broken functionality quickly, and negative early reviews are hard to recover from.

Testing for bugs in Thunkable

Thunkable’s live testing feature lets you run your app on a real iOS or Android device while you build, which surfaces bugs immediately instead of waiting for a full compile and export cycle to catch them.

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C

Camera

The camera component gives an app access to a device’s built-in camera for taking photos or recording video from inside the app. Camera access enables everything from profile photo uploads and updates to barcode scanning to augmented reality filters.

Adding a camera feature in Thunkable

The camera is a drag-and-drop component in Thunkable, or you can prompt the AI Builder to add a photo capture screen directly, without writing native camera-permission code for iOS and Android separately.

Certification

Certification, in mobile publishing, refers to the code-signing and identity verification process that proves an app comes from a verified developer before it can be installed or distributed. Both Apple and Google require certification steps before allowing an app onto their platforms, as a safeguard against unverified or tampered software.

Citizen Developer

A citizen developer is someone who builds applications using no-code or low-code tools without formal software development training or engineering experience. The term reflects a true shift currently happening in companies: operations managers, marketers, and founders now regularly build, or contribute to the building of, internal tools and customer-facing apps themselves.

Cloud Storage

Cloud storage keeps an app’s data on remote servers rather than on a local device, making it accessible from any device the user logs into. Cloud storage is what makes an account, and the data tied to it, portable between phones, tablets, and web browsers.

Storage in Thunkable

Thunkable’s Local DB stores data on the device itself, while cloud storage that syncs across devices runs through a connected data source, most commonly Airtable, Google Sheets, or Webflow. Choosing between them comes down to whether your app’s data needs to follow a user across devices or only needs to persist on the one they are using.

Cloudinary

Cloudinary is a third-party media management service that stores, optimizes, and delivers images and video for an app, handling resizing and format conversion automatically. Rather than storing every media file at full size and hoping it loads quickly on a slow connection, Cloudinary serves an appropriately-sized version on the fly based on the device requesting it.

Using Cloudinary in Thunkable

Thunkable supports Cloudinary integration for apps with heavy media needs, giving creators a production-grade media pipeline for images and video without building that infrastructure themselves.

Coding for Kids

Coding for kids refers to programming education designed for children and teens, usually built around visual, block-based tools instead of text-based syntax. Block-based coding removes the syntax barrier that trips up beginners, letting younger students focus on logic and creativity from their very first lesson. 

Thunkable’s role in youth coding

Thunkable’s block editor descends directly from MIT App Inventor, a tool built specifically to teach programming to beginners, including kids. That lineage is part of why Thunkable has a legitimate purpose in classrooms.

Compass

The compass component reads a device’s magnetometer to determine which direction the phone is facing relative to magnetic North. Compass data is used in navigation apps, outdoor recreation apps, and any app experience that needs real-world directional orientation.

Component Library

A component library is a collection of pre-built, reusable interface pieces like buttons, forms, cards, navigation bars, that a builder can drag into a project instead of designing them from scratch. A strong component library is what makes drag-and-drop app building fast in the first place, since most apps reuse the same handful of interface patterns.

Thunkable’s component library

Thunkable’s component library covers everything from basic layout elements to device features like the camera and Bluetooth, giving both block-based builders and the AI Builder a shared set of proven, native building blocks to draw from.

Computer Science

Computer science is an education curriculum designed to teach programming concepts and computational thinking. A strong computer science curriculum builds concepts in order (sequencing, conditionals, loops, data) rather than throwing students straight into unfamiliar tools and scenarios.

Thunkable’s education program

Thunkable offers a full computer science curriculum built around its block-based editor, used by more than 10,000 educational organizations and recognized on the GSV 150 list of influential education companies. Students build real, working apps as they learn, rather than abstract exercises disconnected from their end result.

Conversational App Building

Conversational app building means developing an app through an ongoing back-and-forth chat with an AI assistant rather than a single one-time prompt. You build in rounds:

Describe a feature → Review the result → Ask for a change → Repeat

This is how Discuss Mode works inside Thunkable’s AI Builder, turning app building into a running conversation with the tool that built it, which makes revisions and additions faster than ever.

Cross-Platform App Development

Cross-platform app development means building one app project that runs on both iOS and Android, instead of writing and maintaining two separate codebases. The appeal is obvious: One build, two app stores, half the ongoing maintenance. Historically, the tradeoff has been performance quality or feature access, though modern native-compiling platforms have closed most of that gap.

How Thunkable handles cross-platform app development

You build a project once inside Thunkable, and it compiles to a native iOS app and a native Android app from the same source. Both versions get full device access, so each platform gets the same complete, native experience.

D

Dark Mode

Dark mode is a color scheme option that uses dark backgrounds with light text as an alternative to an app’s standard “light” interface. Dark mode reduces eye strain in low light and has become an expected option rather than a novelty, particularly among users who keep their phone’s system setting on dark by default.

Deep Linking

Deep linking is a technique that opens a specific screen inside an app directly from a link, instead of dropping the user on the app’s home screen. A deep link might take someone straight to a product page, a specific profile, or a checkout flow from an email, ad, or text message. It removes friction between the moment someone clicks and the content they actually want.

Design

Design, in app development, refers to an app’s visual layout, color choices, typography, and overall user experience, everything a user sees and interacts with. Good app design balances visual appeal with clarity, since an app that looks polished but confuses users will lose them at the first unclear screen.

Download

A download, in the context of app publishing, refers to a user installing an app from the App Store or Google Play onto their device. In terms of engagement, downloads are one of the most visible success metrics for an app, though they matter most when paired with strong retention, since a download that never gets opened again is not much of a win.

Drag-and-Drop App Builder

A drag-and-drop app builder lets you construct an app’s interface by dragging visual components like buttons, text fields, and images onto a canvas rather than writing layout code. This was the first generation of no-code app building, and it remains the foundation most modern AI-assisted builders, including Thunkable, are built on top of.

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F

Flashlight

The flashlight component lets an app control a device’s built-in flash or LED light, independent of the camera. Flashlight access is common in utility apps, safety apps, and any app that needs a simple, reliable light source without going through the camera interface.

Freemium

Freemium is an app monetization model that offers a free version of an app with core functionality, then charges for premium features, higher usage limits, or an ad-free experience. Freemium works by lowering the barrier to that first download to nearly zero, then converting a percentage of engaged users to paying customers once they hit a limit or want more.

Frontend

The frontend is the part of an app users directly see and interact with: The screens, buttons, layouts, and visual design. Frontend work covers everything on the surface of an app, while the logic and data behind that surface live in the backend.

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G

Google Authentication

Google Authentication is a specific single sign-on method that lets users log into an app using their existing Google account. It is one of the most widely used SSO options because of how many people already have an active Google account on their phone.

Google Play

Google Play, also called the Google Play Store, is the official marketplace for Android apps. Google Play’s review process is generally faster than Apple’s, though it still enforces content and functionality policies before an app goes live.

Gyroscope

The gyroscope is a device sensor that measures rotation and orientation, letting an app detect how a phone is being tilted or turned in three-dimensional space. Gyroscope data is common in games, augmented reality, video streaming apps, and any interface that responds to how the user physically moves their device.

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H

Haptic Feedback

Haptic feedback is the small vibration or tactical response a device produces as a reaction to a user action, like tapping a button. Well-placed haptic feedback makes an app interface feel more responsive and substantial, confirming an action happened without requiring the users to look for a visual change.

Home Screen

In app design, the home screen is the first interactive screen a user lands on after an app finishes loading. The home screen carries the most traffic of any screen in an app, so its layout and navigation choices have an outsized effect on how easily users find what they came for.

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I

Image

Image is the app component that handles displaying, uploading, or manipulating photos and graphics inside an app. Image handling needs to account for different screen sizes and resolutions, so a photo looks sharp on every device rather than stretched or pixelated.

In-App Purchase (IAP)

An in-app purchase is a transaction made from inside an app to unlock additional content, features, or virtual goods. IAPs cover everything from removing ads to buying in-game currency to unlocking a pro feature set, and they route through Apple’s or Google’s payment systems, which take a revenue share on most transactions.

Setting up IAPs in Thunkable

Thunkable’s IAP component connects through RevenueCat, a third-party subscription and purchase management platform, to handle billing on both the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Integrations

 Integrations are connections between an app and outside services, tools, or platforms, letting data and functionality flow between them. Common integrations include payment processors, email tools, analytics platforms, and social logins, each typically connected through an API or SDK.

Internal Tools

Internal tools are apps built for a company’s own employees to use, such as inventory trackers, scheduling apps, or approval workflows, rather than for public customers. Internal tools rarely need  polish for app store attractiveness, but they do need to be reliable, fast to update, and cheap to maintain, which makes them a natural fit for no-code building.

Building internal tools with Thunkable

Thunkable’s Operations and IT solutions are built precisely for this use case: Letting a team build and update its own internal app without opening a ticket with engineering every time a workflow changes. 

iOS 

iOS is Apple’s mobile operating system, running on every iPhone, and one of two platforms, alongside Android, that most mobile apps need to support. Building for iOS means following Apple’s design guidelines and passing Apple’s app review process before an app can appear in the app store.

IoT App Development

IoT app development is building the mobile app that controls, monitors, or receives data from an internet-connected physical device. IoT is an acronym for “Internet of Things”, which is the broad category of internet-connected hardware, from smart thermostats to industrial sensors, that pair with a companion app.

Building IoT apps without code

Thunkable’s combination of native compilation, Bluetooth and BLE support, and sensor access makes it a practical fit for IoT companion apps, letting hardware startups and hobbyists build an app without hiring a mobile developer.

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K

Keys (API Keys)

An API key is a unique credential an app uses to authenticate itself when connecting to a third-party service or backend. Losing control of an API key can allow unauthorized users to make requests and potentially damage–or rack up charges on–your account, so keys are typically stored securely rather than hard-coded into an app’s visible logic.

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L

License

In app development, a license is the legal agreement governing how software, code, or a component can be used, modified, or distributed. Every third-party library or component your app uses comes with its own license terms, and mixing incompatible licenses can create real legal exposure once an app is published commercially.

Loading Screen

A loading screen appears while an app fetches data or completes a task, giving the user visual confirmation that something is happening rather than the app being frozen. Good loading states, even a simple spinner, reduce the chance a user gives up and closes the app during a brief waiting period.

Local Storage

Local storage keeps data saved directly on the user’s device rather than sending it to a remote server. Local storage is fast and works without an internet connection, which makes it the foundation of any offline-first app.

Location (Geolocation)

The location component, also called geolocation, gives an app access to a device’s GPS coordinates to determine where the user physically is. Location data powers navigation, delivery tracking, nearby search results, and check-in features. 

Low-Code

Low-code refers to development tools that minimize handwritten code through visual tools and pre-built components, while still allowing developers to write custom code where needed. The distinction from no-code matters for hiring and workflow. Low-code tools generally assume there is at least one technical team member who can step in and code when the visual/block-building layer hits its limits.

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M

Maps

The maps component embeds an interactive map inside of an app, typically showing the user’s location, points of interest, or a route between two or more places. Maps are one of the most requested components across nearly every app category, from real estate to food delivery to field service.

Media Storage

Media storage is storage specifically designed to hold larger files like images, video, and audio, as opposed to small pieces of structured data like text or numbers. Media files are much larger than typical database records, so they are usually stored separately from an app’s main database and referenced by a link rather than stored directly inside it.

Modal

A modal is a screen or window that appears on top of an app’s current content, requiring the user to interact with it or dismiss it before continuing. Modals are used for confirmation, quick forms, and alerts where interrupting the main flow briefly is useful for the user.

MVP (Minimum Viable Product)

An MVP is the simplest working version of a product that still delivers enough value to test with real users and validate the underlying idea. The point of an MVP is to learn whether people actually want something before spending months of time and a large budget fully building something, like an app, out.

Building an MVP on Thunkable

Because Thunkable compiles a true native app, your MVP is a real, publishable app from the start. You can put it front of users, gather feedback, and keep building on the same project once you’re ready to scale, with no need to transfer or rebuild in a different tool.

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N

Native App vs. Hybrid App vs. Web App

A native app is built and compiled specifically for iOS or Android and runs directly on the device, while a hybrid app wraps web code in a native shell, and a web app runs directly and entirely inside a browser. The distinction determines what your app will actually be able to do.

‍Native apps get full access to the camera, GPS, Bluetooth, push notifications, and offline storage, and they run at full device speed. 

Hybrid and web apps are limited by what the browser layer allows, and they often move slower and feel less polished.

Why this matters when picking a builder

Some no-code platforms produce web apps dressed up to look native, then require a separate wrapper service to reach the app store of your choice. Thunkable compiles a true native binary for iOS and Android from your project, so what you build is what actually ships, prepared for full functionality on users’ devices.

Natural Language Programming (NLP)

Natural language programming, or NLP, is writing software instructions in ordinary language instead of formal programming syntax. It is the broader, more technical term for what vibe coding and prompt-based development do in practice. Instead of writing code, the AI model you’re working with translates your plain-language requests into working logic to create your apps.

Navigation Bar

A navigation bar is the persistent menu, usually along the bottom or top of the screen, that lets users move between an app’s main sections. A clear navigation bar is one of the simplest ways to make an app feel familiar, since it follows a pattern nearly every mobile app user already recognizes. 

NFC (Near-Field Communication)

NFC is a short-range wireless technology that lets two devices exchange data by being held within a couple of inches of each other, the same technology behind tap-to-pay. Beyond payments, NFC is used for access badges, smart tags, and pairing hardware with a single tap instead of a manual Bluetooth pairing flow. 

No-Code

No-code refers to development tools that let you build a complete, working application without writing any code, using visual components, blocks, or prompts instead. No-code removes the syntax layer entirely, letting you work directly with the aforementioned visual building blocks, layouts, and, on newer platforms, plain-language prompts.

No-code on Thunkable

Thunkable was built to be a no-code solution from the start, well before AI entered the picture, using a visual design canvas paired with a block-based logic editor inspired by MIT’s Scratch. The AI Builder adds a prompt-based layer on top of that same no-code foundation, so you can build entirely by chatting, or with blocks, or a blend of both approaches within the same project.

No-code MVP

A no-code MVP is a minimum viable product (MVP) built entirely with no-code tools, letting a founder test an idea without hiring a developer or writing a line of code. This has become the default starting point for most non-technical founders, since it removes the biggest early cost and delay: Finding and paying a technical co-founder or contractor before you even know if the idea works.

No-code vs. Low-code

No-code tools require zero coding knowledge to build a complete app, while low-code tools reduce the amount of code needed but still expect some technical skill for more advanced logic. The right choice depends on who is building. A solo founder with no technical background needs true no-code. A product team with an engineer on staff would do fine with low-code, perhaps even preferring it for technical flexibility.

No-code and low-code accessibility with Thunkable

Thunkable starts as a true noc-de experience, buildable entirely through prompts or blocks. You or a teammate can also  open the built-in code editor at any point and write directly, pairing the accessibility of no-code with a low-code escape hatch for whenever you want it.

Notification

A notification is any message an app surfaces to alert a user, whether it appears on the lock screen as a push notification or inside the app itself as an in-app alert. Notifications are one of the most effective tools for bringing users back to an app, and also one of the easiest features to overuse until users disable them entirely, so be sure to use them wisely.

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O

Offline-First App

An offline-first app is designed to keep working, saving data locally, when the device has no internet connection, then syncing that data once a connection returns. This matters most for field service, travel, and rural-use apps where a reliable connection cannot be guaranteed. An app that breaks the moment it loses signal will lose users fast in those contexts.

Building offline support in Thunkable 

Thunkable supports local, on-device storage alongside cloud storage, so you can design an app that saves data locally when offline and syncs it back once the device reconnects. This is a significant differentiator against no-code tools limited to browser-based storage, which typically break the moment the connection drops.

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P

Payment and Payment Integration

Payment integration is the component that lets an app accept a payment from users, connecting to a processor like Stripe to handle the transaction securely. Payment handling involves real security and compliance requirements, since an app is processing sensitive card data even if only briefly, before passing it to the processor.

Progressive Web App (PWA)

A progressive web app is a website built to behave like an app, with offline support and a home screen icon, but it runs through a browser engine rather than compiling to native code. PWAs are faster to build than native apps but come with significant limits: No listing in the Apple App Store, restricted access to hardware features, and generally weaker performance overall.

PWA vs. native on Thunkable

Several no-code builders are PWA-only, which means their apps cannot appear in the Apple App Store or Google Play at all. Thunkable builds true native apps, so if your plan includes App Store distribution, that path is available from day one instead of requiring a migration later.

Prompt-Based App Development

Prompt-based app development means building an app by writing instructions in everyday language rather than configuring components or writing syntax. A prompt can create a full screen, add a feature, or restyle an entire app. It is the interaction model underneath vibe coding and the primary way Thunkable creators build their own apps.

Example prompts

• “Add a login screen with email and Google sign-in”
• “Turn this list into a map view”
• “Build a pricing tier screen with a recommended midway price column”

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These are typical examples of prompts, but Thunkable is built to be flexible and can handle as many iterations of your ideas as you need. Thunkable’s AI Builder will interpret the request, build the corresponding screens and logic, and show you the results immediately in a live preview. 

Provisioning Profile

A provisioning profile is an Apple-issued file that links a specific app, developer account, and set of devices, authorizing that app to run on iOS during development and testing. Provisioning profiles are a required, and often confusing, part of iOS development, since Apple uses them to control exactly which apps can install on which devices before formal App Store release.

Push Notification

A push notification is a message sent from an app to a user’s device even when the app is closed, appearing on the lock screen or notification tray. Push notifications require native app capabilities. Web apps and most PWAs cannot send true push notifications the way a native app can, particularly on iOS.

Adding push notifications in Thunkable

Thunkable’s push notification component connected to OneSignal, a third-party notification service, and sending to Android devices also requires linking a Firebase project for credentials. Once that connection is in place, you can prompt the AI Builder to add a push notification trigger, or wire it up directly in the blocks editor for finer control over timing and targeting.

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R

Rapid Application Development (RAD)

Rapid Application Development is a software development approach that prioritizes fast, iterative building and testing over extensive upfront planning and documentation. RAD emerged decades before modern no-code tools, but the philosophy is the same one driving today’s AI app builders:

1. Build something that works, fast
2. Get feedback
3. Iterate based on that feedback

RAD removes months of designing before being able to push the first version out to real people.

Recording

Recording is the component category covering video and screen capture directly from within an app, letting users generate their own content instead of only consuming it. User-generated video is a core feature for social apps, tutorial apps, and any product built around people creating and sharing content with each other.

Reviews

In the context of app development, reviews are the ratings and written feedback users leave developers for their apps on the App Store or Google Play after downloading it. Reviews directly influence both a potential user’s decision to download and an app’s ranking in app store search results, along with determining how a developer updates and improves future iterations of their app. This makes user reviews an integral part of App Store Optimization (ASO) and user retention.

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S

Software Development Kit (SDK)

A Software Development Kit, or SDK, is a bunch of tools, libraries, and documentation that lets developers add a specific service or or feature to an app. Payment processors, analytics tools, and ad networks all typically ship an SDK so developers can integrate their service without building the connection from scratch.

SDKs and no-code app development

Traditional SDK integration requires writing native code for iOS and Android separately. Thunkable’s component library packages many common SDK integrations into ready-to-use, drag-and-drop pieces, so the underlying complexity doesn’t slow you down.

Sensor API (Device Sensors)

A sensor API gives an app programmatic access to the physical sensors built into a phone, including the accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, and proximity sensor. Sensor data powers everything from step counters to augmented reality apps to games that respond to how you tilt and move your phone.

Sensors in Thunkable

Thunkable exposes device sensors as ready-to-use components, including the accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer, so you can read live sensor data with a block or a prompt instead of writing native sensor-handling code for two operating systems separately.

Single Sign-on (SSO)

Single sign-on lets a user log into an app using an existing account, typically from Google, Apple, or a company identity provider, instead of creating a new username and password. SSO reduces signup friction and cuts down on forgotten password-specific support requests, since users are logging in with credentials they already use daily. 

Speech-to-Text

Speech-to-text is technology that converts spoken audio into written text in real time or from a recorded clip. It powers voice commands, dictation features, and accessibility tools that let users interact with an app without typing.

Splash Screen

A splash screen is the branded loading screen an app briefly displays as it starts up, before the main interface appears. A splash screen also covers the small delay every app has while it initializes, and it is often the first visual impression of an app’s brand.

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics) Education Apps

STEM education apps are mobile or web applications designed to teach science, technology, engineering, or mathematics concepts, often through interactive or project-based learning. App building itself has become a popular STEM subject, since it combines logic, design, and problem solving into one hands-on project that produces something a student can actually show off.

Storage

Storage, in the context of an app, refers to where the app’s data lives, whether that is on the device itself or on a remote server. Every app needs a storage strategy, even a simple one, to remember user preferences, save content, or keep someone logged in between sessions.

Subscription

A subscription is a recurring app monetization model where users pay on a regular schedule, usually monthly or annually, for continued access to an app and its premium features. Subscriptions provide predictable, recurring revenue, which is part of why they have become the dominant monetization model for apps with ongoing utility rather than a single use.

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T

Text-to-App

Text-to-app is the shorthand term for turning a written description directly into a functioning application. It describes the same thing as prompt-based development and vibe coding, and it is often used in comparisons of AI app builders because it captures the whole pitch in three words.

Text-to-Speech (TTS)

Text-to-speech (TTS) is technology that converts written text into spoken audio, read aloud by a synthetic voice. It is widely used for accessibility, letting visually impaired users hear content instead of only being able to read it, along with finding main feature-level utility in language learning apps and for hands-free use cases like driving.

Time to Market

Time to market, in the context of an app, is the length of time between an idea and its public launch. Shorter time to market means faster feedback, faster revenue, and less time for a competitor to launch something similar before you.

Why time to market is one of Thunkable’s major benefits

Reducing time to market is the central promise behind vibe coding an app instead of hiring a development team. What used to take weeks of design and development can now happen in a single sitting, with a true native app ready to test the same day the idea takes shape.

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V

Versioning

Versioning is the practice of assigning a version number to each release of an app, tracking updates over time is a consistent, predictable format. Clear versioning helps both users and app stores understand whether they are looking at the latest release, and it is required metadata for every App Store and Google Play submission.

Vibe Coding

Vibe Coding is building software by describing what you want in plain language and letting an AI model generate the working result. Instead of writing lines of code, you describe the app(s), screen(s), and feature(s) you want as a prompt or series of prompts, and AI builds it for you. The term was coined by Andrej Karpathy in 2025 to describe development where you “give in to the vibes” and let AI models handle implementation while you essentially give creative and iterative direction.

On Thunkable, vibe coding is the core way creators start building their own apps: Describe your app idea in the AI builder, and in return, get a true native app. Then, keep chatting to refine it and steer the outcome toward exactly what you want.

How vibe coding works in Thunkable

You open a chat, describe your app idea, and Thunkable’s AI Builder generates screens, logic, and design in response. You can keep prompting to do a bunch of things:

1. Change features
2. Add/change colors
3. Fix/modify/add behaviors

You can also switch between the Block Editor and Code Editor any time you want more control over the output. What you’ll get is a real, native iOS and Android app you can test on a device right away.

Vibe coding vs. traditional no-code

Older no-code tools still require you to place every component and wire up every action by hand. Vibe coding removes that manual assembly step. You direct the outcome in words, and the platform handles the construction, which is why it has become the fastest on-ramp for people with zero coding experience. Not knowing how to code shouldn’t mean not being able to create something awesome to share with the world.

Video

Video is the app component that lets you embed, play, and control video content directly inside an app, from onboarding walkthroughs to social feeds to to product demos. Adding native video used to mean writing separate playback code for iOS and Android and handling formats, buffering, and controls by hand.

Building a video app with AI, no code required

With Thunkable’s AI Builder, adding video only requires a prompt. Ask for a video feed, a looping background video on your splash screen, or an in-app video player with custom controls, and the AI Builder generates the screen and logic for you.

This is what a vibe coded video app actually looks like in practice: Describe the feature in plain language, and Thunkable’s AI handles the native video implementation on both iOS and Android at once.

Visual Programming Language

A visual programming language expresses logic through connected graphical blocks or shapes instead of typed text syntax. Scratch, MIT App Inventor, and Thunkable’s own block editor are all examples. 

Each block is shaped to connect only with blocks that are logically compatible, so the visual structure itself represents the program’s logic.

Thunkable’s block editor

Thunkable’s blocks are directly descended from the visual programming approach pioneered at MIT App Inventor, the project that two of Thunkable’s founders helped build before starting the company. It is one reason Thunkable has a strong, lasting foundation in classrooms in addition to startups.

Voice Recording

Voice recording is the component that captures audio directly from a device’s microphone, storing it for playback, transcription, or sharing. Voice recording powers voice memo apps, voice messaging features, and any app that needs a spoken input alternative to typing.

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W

Widget

A widget is a small, self-contained interface element. Examples of widgets include:

• Buttons
• Weather displays
• Calendars
• Clocks
• To-do lists

Widgets can either be used inside an app’s screens, or placed directly on a device’s home or secondary screens outside of the app itself. Home screen widgets give users a glance at key information without fully opening the app, which can meaningfully increase how often an app gets used.

WYSIWYG Editor

WYSIWYG stands for “what you see is what you get”, describing an editor where the layout you build on screen matches the final result exactly. The term originated in desktop publishing and now applies broadly to no-code design canvases like Thunkable’s editors, where you place and style elements visually instead of describing their position in code.

AI Code Generation

AI code generation is the process of an AI model writing usable source code in response to a prompt or written description. It is the underlying technology that powers AI app builders. Some tools stop at generating code you have to assemble yourself. Others, like Thunkable’s AI Builder, generate the code and assemble it into a running, testable app in the same step.

AI Pair Programmer

An AI pair programmer is an AI assistant that works alongside you during development, suggesting code, catching errors, and implementing changes as you go. The term comes from “pair programming”, where two human developers work at one workstation. 

Tools like Cursor and Claude Code act as an AI pair programmer for traditional coders. Thunkable’s AI Builder plays a similar role for no-code creators: It writes, tests, and adjusts your app’s logic in response to your direction, without requiring you to know how to code in the first place.

Android App Bundle (AAB)

An Android App Bundle is the packaging format Google Play requires for new app submissions, replacing the older APK format for store distribution. Google Play uses the AAB to generate optimized APKs for each specific device configuration, which keeps download sizes smaller than shipping one universal file to every phone.

API (Application Programming Interface)

An API is a defined set of rules that lets one piece of software request data or functionality from another, such as an app pulling weather data from a weather service. APIs are what let apps talk to the outside world: Payment processors, mapping services, social platforms, and countless other tools all expose an API for developers to connect to.

Connecting APIs in Thunkable

Thunkable lets you connect to any REST API to pull in outside data or functionality, whether you build that connection through blocks, code, or a prompt to the AI Builder describing what data you want to bring in.

APK

APK, short for Android Package Kit, is the file format used to install an app directly onto an Android device outside of the Google Play Store. APKs are commonly used for testing, sideloading, or distributing an app outside of official app stores. Google Play submissions now require the AAB format instead, which generates optimized APKs after being passed over to the store.

App Bundle

An app bundle is the packaged collection of an app’s code, assets, and configuration files compiled together into the format a device or app store requires to install and run it. On Android specifically, this packaged format is called an Android App Bundle (AAB).

App Icon

An app icon is the small graphic that represents an app on a device’s home screen and inside the App Store or Google Play listing. PRO TIP: An app icon needs to read and be seen clearly at a tiny size and stand out in a crowded home screen or search results page, which makes it one of the highest-leverage design decisions for an app.

App Monetization Models

App monetization models are the different strategies for generating revenue from an app, including subscriptions, in-app purchases (IAPs), advertising, and “freemium” pricing. The right model (or models, as these can be combined) depends heavily on your app’s use case. For instance:

• A productivity app with daily use often fits a subscription monetization model
• A game often fits in-app purchase and advertising models

There is no universal answer and depends entirely on your app type, as well as what you think will be the best way forward.

App Store Connect

App Store Connect is Apple’s web portal where developers manage app submissions, versions, pricing, and analytics for apps on the App Store. Every app published to the App Store gets set up and managed through App Store Connect, including the metadata, screenshots, and pricing that shape the store listing itself.

App Store Optimization (ASO)

App Store Optimization is the practice of improving your app’s visibility and conversion rate inside the Apple App Store and Google Play by optimizing its name, keywords, screenshots, and description. ASO works alongside, not instead of, a good app. The App Store and Google Play both rank listings using a mix of keyword relevance, install velocity, and ratings, so a strong listing draws organic traffic before you spend a dollar on ads.

ASO basics for a new app

Start with a clear app title that includes your primary keyword, write a description that states the core benefit in the first line, and choose screenshots that show the actual app experience rather than marketing graphics. These fundamentals apply whether your app was hand-coded or vibe coded, since the app stores rank listings the same way regardless of how the app was built.

App Store Submission and App Store Review

App Store submission is the process of packaging your finished app and sending it to Apple or Google for approval, and App Store Review is the evaluation each store performs before your app goes live. Apple’s review tends to be stricter and slower, often checking for functionality, content, and whether the app provides genuine value beyond a wrapped website. Google Play review is typically faster but still enforces its own policy set.

Submitting from Thunkable

Thunkable guides you through both submissions from inside the platform, though the two paths differ. Apple submissions go straight to TestFlight through Thunkable’s publishing wizard, while Android submissions arrive as a downloadable app file you upload to the Google Play Store yourself. Because Thunkable compiles true native apps rather than wrapped web pages, submissions are less likely to run into the functionality objections that trip up wrapper-based apps during review.

Apple App Store

The Apple App Store is the official marketplace for iOS apps, and the only sanctioned way most users install apps on an iPhone. Every app listed on the App Store passes through Apple’s review process first, which checks functionality, content, and compliance with Apple’s guidelines before publishing an app publicly.

Audio

Audio is the app component that handles playing sound, whether that is music, ambient effects, or spoken content, from inside an app. Audio playback needs to keep working reliably in the background and respond correctly to interruptions, like an incoming phone call, without crashing the app.

Audio Player

An audio player is the interface component that lets users play, pause, skip, and otherwise control audio content inside an app. A well-built audio player handles background playback, lockscreen controls, and interruption handling correctly, which is easier to get right in a native app than a browser-based one.

Authentication

Authentication is the process of verifying a user’s identity before granting them access to an app or specific features inside it. Authentication can happen through a password, a one-time code, a biometric scan, or a third-party login like Google or Apple.

Authentication in Thunkable

Thunkable provides pre-built sign-up and sign-in blocks that connect to Firebase Authentication, along with dedicated blocks for Google and Apple sign-in.

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B

Backend

The backend is the server-side part of an app that handles data storage, business logic, and authentication, working behind the scenes to support what users see on the frontend. A weak backend shows up as a slow, unreliable app, even if the frontend design looks great, since the backend is what actually stores and retrieves the data the frontend uses and displays.

Frontend and backend in Thunkable

You design the frontend in Thunkable, visually or by prompt, and connect it to a backend through Thunkable’s data source and authentication blocks. Firebase, Airtable, Google Sheets, and similar connected services handle the actual data storage and logic (see also: Backend-as-a-Service), and the server code itself lives with that connected service rather than something you write or host directly.

Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS)

Backend-as-a-service is a model where the server, database, and authentication infrastructure behind an app are managed by the platform, so you never have to set up or maintain that infrastructure yourself. Traditionally, standing up a backend meant provisioning servers, configuring a database, and writing authentication logic before you could build a single app feature.

How this shows up in Thunkable

Thunkable is primarily a frontend builder, so it connected to outside BaaS and database platforms rather than running its own backend server. 

• Firebase handles authentication
• Airtable, Google Sheets, and Webflow facilitate cloud data storage
• Integrations like Backendless and Xano cover more advanced backend needs

Thunkable also includes a simple Local DB for data that only needs to live on an individual device.

Beta

A beta version of an app is a pre-release build shared with a limited group of testers to catch bugs and gather feedback before a full public launch. Apple’s TestFlight and Google Play’s internal testing tracks are the standard ways to distribute a beta build ahead of a storewide release.

Biometrics

Biometrics use a device’s fingerprint or facial recognition hardware to verify a user’s identity inside an app. Biometric login replaces typing a password with a fingerprint or a glance at the camera, cutting friction at the exact moment users are most likely to abandon a sign-in flow.

Block-Based Programming

Block-based programming is a visual coding method where you build logic by snapping together labeled blocks that represent actions, conditions, and data, instead of typing syntax. Each block is shaped to connect only with blocks that are logically compatible, and that shape constraint prevents most syntax errors, since a block that doesn’t belong simply won’t connect.

Why block-based programming matters, especially for education

Block-based programming, popularized by MIT’s Scratch, is widely used to teach programming concepts because it lets students focus on logic and sequencing without getting stuck on punctuation or syntax. Thunkable’s block editor uses this same model, which is a core reason more than 10,000 educational organizations use Thunkable to teach app development and computer science fundamentals.

Block-based vs. AI prompting

Thunkable creators can mix both approaches in the same project. You can prompt the AI Builder to generate a feature, then open the blocks view to see exactly how it works and adjust the logic by hand, which makes block-based programming a learning tool even for creators who started by vibe coding.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a short-range wireless standard that lets a phone communicate directly with nearby devices without a Wi-Fi network or cellular connection. Apps use Bluetooth to pair with headphones, printers, fitness trackers, and countless other accessories.

Bluetooth as a Thunkable component

Bluetooth is available as a drag-and-drop component in Thunkable, letting your app scan for, connect to, and exchange data with nearby Bluetooth devices without writing native connectivity code.

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) for devices with small batteries

Bluetooth Low Energy is a version of Bluetooth built for devices that need to run for months or years on a small battery, such as fitness trackers, smart locks, and sensors. BLE trades raw data speed for dramatically lower power draw, which is exactly the trade-off most connected hardware accessories need.

Direct BLE communication is one of Thunkable’s key technical differentiators, and it is a capability several competing no-code and AI app builders simply do not offer. If your app connects to a physical device (ex. a smart home gadget, a fitness wearable, a hardware), Thunkable’s native BLE support is often the deciding factor over platforms limited to web-based output.

Bugs

A bug is any unintended behavior in an app, ranging from small issues like visual glitches to huge ones, like a crash that stops the app from working entirely. Catching bugs before publishing matters, since App Store reviewers and users both notice broken functionality quickly, and negative early reviews are hard to recover from.

Testing for bugs in Thunkable

Thunkable’s live testing feature lets you run your app on a real iOS or Android device while you build, which surfaces bugs immediately instead of waiting for a full compile and export cycle to catch them.

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C

Camera

The camera component gives an app access to a device’s built-in camera for taking photos or recording video from inside the app. Camera access enables everything from profile photo uploads and updates to barcode scanning to augmented reality filters.

Adding a camera feature in Thunkable

The camera is a drag-and-drop component in Thunkable, or you can prompt the AI Builder to add a photo capture screen directly, without writing native camera-permission code for iOS and Android separately.

Certification

Certification, in mobile publishing, refers to the code-signing and identity verification process that proves an app comes from a verified developer before it can be installed or distributed. Both Apple and Google require certification steps before allowing an app onto their platforms, as a safeguard against unverified or tampered software.

Citizen Developer

A citizen developer is someone who builds applications using no-code or low-code tools without formal software development training or engineering experience. The term reflects a true shift currently happening in companies: operations managers, marketers, and founders now regularly build, or contribute to the building of, internal tools and customer-facing apps themselves.

Cloud Storage

Cloud storage keeps an app’s data on remote servers rather than on a local device, making it accessible from any device the user logs into. Cloud storage is what makes an account, and the data tied to it, portable between phones, tablets, and web browsers.

Storage in Thunkable

Thunkable’s Local DB stores data on the device itself, while cloud storage that syncs across devices runs through a connected data source, most commonly Airtable, Google Sheets, or Webflow. Choosing between them comes down to whether your app’s data needs to follow a user across devices or only needs to persist on the one they are using.

Cloudinary

Cloudinary is a third-party media management service that stores, optimizes, and delivers images and video for an app, handling resizing and format conversion automatically. Rather than storing every media file at full size and hoping it loads quickly on a slow connection, Cloudinary serves an appropriately-sized version on the fly based on the device requesting it.

Using Cloudinary in Thunkable

Thunkable supports Cloudinary integration for apps with heavy media needs, giving creators a production-grade media pipeline for images and video without building that infrastructure themselves.

Coding for Kids

Coding for kids refers to programming education designed for children and teens, usually built around visual, block-based tools instead of text-based syntax. Block-based coding removes the syntax barrier that trips up beginners, letting younger students focus on logic and creativity from their very first lesson. 

Thunkable’s role in youth coding

Thunkable’s block editor descends directly from MIT App Inventor, a tool built specifically to teach programming to beginners, including kids. That lineage is part of why Thunkable has a legitimate purpose in classrooms.

Compass

The compass component reads a device’s magnetometer to determine which direction the phone is facing relative to magnetic North. Compass data is used in navigation apps, outdoor recreation apps, and any app experience that needs real-world directional orientation.

Component Library

A component library is a collection of pre-built, reusable interface pieces like buttons, forms, cards, navigation bars, that a builder can drag into a project instead of designing them from scratch. A strong component library is what makes drag-and-drop app building fast in the first place, since most apps reuse the same handful of interface patterns.

Thunkable’s component library

Thunkable’s component library covers everything from basic layout elements to device features like the camera and Bluetooth, giving both block-based builders and the AI Builder a shared set of proven, native building blocks to draw from.

Computer Science

Computer science is an education curriculum designed to teach programming concepts and computational thinking. A strong computer science curriculum builds concepts in order (sequencing, conditionals, loops, data) rather than throwing students straight into unfamiliar tools and scenarios.

Thunkable’s education program

Thunkable offers a full computer science curriculum built around its block-based editor, used by more than 10,000 educational organizations and recognized on the GSV 150 list of influential education companies. Students build real, working apps as they learn, rather than abstract exercises disconnected from their end result.

Conversational App Building

Conversational app building means developing an app through an ongoing back-and-forth chat with an AI assistant rather than a single one-time prompt. You build in rounds:

Describe a feature → Review the result → Ask for a change → Repeat

This is how Discuss Mode works inside Thunkable’s AI Builder, turning app building into a running conversation with the tool that built it, which makes revisions and additions faster than ever.

Cross-Platform App Development

Cross-platform app development means building one app project that runs on both iOS and Android, instead of writing and maintaining two separate codebases. The appeal is obvious: One build, two app stores, half the ongoing maintenance. Historically, the tradeoff has been performance quality or feature access, though modern native-compiling platforms have closed most of that gap.

How Thunkable handles cross-platform app development

You build a project once inside Thunkable, and it compiles to a native iOS app and a native Android app from the same source. Both versions get full device access, so each platform gets the same complete, native experience.

D

Dark Mode

Dark mode is a color scheme option that uses dark backgrounds with light text as an alternative to an app’s standard “light” interface. Dark mode reduces eye strain in low light and has become an expected option rather than a novelty, particularly among users who keep their phone’s system setting on dark by default.

Deep Linking

Deep linking is a technique that opens a specific screen inside an app directly from a link, instead of dropping the user on the app’s home screen. A deep link might take someone straight to a product page, a specific profile, or a checkout flow from an email, ad, or text message. It removes friction between the moment someone clicks and the content they actually want.

Design

Design, in app development, refers to an app’s visual layout, color choices, typography, and overall user experience, everything a user sees and interacts with. Good app design balances visual appeal with clarity, since an app that looks polished but confuses users will lose them at the first unclear screen.

Download

A download, in the context of app publishing, refers to a user installing an app from the App Store or Google Play onto their device. In terms of engagement, downloads are one of the most visible success metrics for an app, though they matter most when paired with strong retention, since a download that never gets opened again is not much of a win.

Drag-and-Drop App Builder

A drag-and-drop app builder lets you construct an app’s interface by dragging visual components like buttons, text fields, and images onto a canvas rather than writing layout code. This was the first generation of no-code app building, and it remains the foundation most modern AI-assisted builders, including Thunkable, are built on top of.

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F

Flashlight

The flashlight component lets an app control a device’s built-in flash or LED light, independent of the camera. Flashlight access is common in utility apps, safety apps, and any app that needs a simple, reliable light source without going through the camera interface.

Freemium

Freemium is an app monetization model that offers a free version of an app with core functionality, then charges for premium features, higher usage limits, or an ad-free experience. Freemium works by lowering the barrier to that first download to nearly zero, then converting a percentage of engaged users to paying customers once they hit a limit or want more.

Frontend

The frontend is the part of an app users directly see and interact with: The screens, buttons, layouts, and visual design. Frontend work covers everything on the surface of an app, while the logic and data behind that surface live in the backend.

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G

Google Authentication

Google Authentication is a specific single sign-on method that lets users log into an app using their existing Google account. It is one of the most widely used SSO options because of how many people already have an active Google account on their phone.

Google Play

Google Play, also called the Google Play Store, is the official marketplace for Android apps. Google Play’s review process is generally faster than Apple’s, though it still enforces content and functionality policies before an app goes live.

Gyroscope

The gyroscope is a device sensor that measures rotation and orientation, letting an app detect how a phone is being tilted or turned in three-dimensional space. Gyroscope data is common in games, augmented reality, video streaming apps, and any interface that responds to how the user physically moves their device.

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H

Haptic Feedback

Haptic feedback is the small vibration or tactical response a device produces as a reaction to a user action, like tapping a button. Well-placed haptic feedback makes an app interface feel more responsive and substantial, confirming an action happened without requiring the users to look for a visual change.

Home Screen

In app design, the home screen is the first interactive screen a user lands on after an app finishes loading. The home screen carries the most traffic of any screen in an app, so its layout and navigation choices have an outsized effect on how easily users find what they came for.

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I

Image

Image is the app component that handles displaying, uploading, or manipulating photos and graphics inside an app. Image handling needs to account for different screen sizes and resolutions, so a photo looks sharp on every device rather than stretched or pixelated.

In-App Purchase (IAP)

An in-app purchase is a transaction made from inside an app to unlock additional content, features, or virtual goods. IAPs cover everything from removing ads to buying in-game currency to unlocking a pro feature set, and they route through Apple’s or Google’s payment systems, which take a revenue share on most transactions.

Setting up IAPs in Thunkable

Thunkable’s IAP component connects through RevenueCat, a third-party subscription and purchase management platform, to handle billing on both the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Integrations

 Integrations are connections between an app and outside services, tools, or platforms, letting data and functionality flow between them. Common integrations include payment processors, email tools, analytics platforms, and social logins, each typically connected through an API or SDK.

Internal Tools

Internal tools are apps built for a company’s own employees to use, such as inventory trackers, scheduling apps, or approval workflows, rather than for public customers. Internal tools rarely need  polish for app store attractiveness, but they do need to be reliable, fast to update, and cheap to maintain, which makes them a natural fit for no-code building.

Building internal tools with Thunkable

Thunkable’s Operations and IT solutions are built precisely for this use case: Letting a team build and update its own internal app without opening a ticket with engineering every time a workflow changes. 

iOS 

iOS is Apple’s mobile operating system, running on every iPhone, and one of two platforms, alongside Android, that most mobile apps need to support. Building for iOS means following Apple’s design guidelines and passing Apple’s app review process before an app can appear in the app store.

IoT App Development

IoT app development is building the mobile app that controls, monitors, or receives data from an internet-connected physical device. IoT is an acronym for “Internet of Things”, which is the broad category of internet-connected hardware, from smart thermostats to industrial sensors, that pair with a companion app.

Building IoT apps without code

Thunkable’s combination of native compilation, Bluetooth and BLE support, and sensor access makes it a practical fit for IoT companion apps, letting hardware startups and hobbyists build an app without hiring a mobile developer.

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K

Keys (API Keys)

An API key is a unique credential an app uses to authenticate itself when connecting to a third-party service or backend. Losing control of an API key can allow unauthorized users to make requests and potentially damage–or rack up charges on–your account, so keys are typically stored securely rather than hard-coded into an app’s visible logic.

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L

License

In app development, a license is the legal agreement governing how software, code, or a component can be used, modified, or distributed. Every third-party library or component your app uses comes with its own license terms, and mixing incompatible licenses can create real legal exposure once an app is published commercially.

Loading Screen

A loading screen appears while an app fetches data or completes a task, giving the user visual confirmation that something is happening rather than the app being frozen. Good loading states, even a simple spinner, reduce the chance a user gives up and closes the app during a brief waiting period.

Local Storage

Local storage keeps data saved directly on the user’s device rather than sending it to a remote server. Local storage is fast and works without an internet connection, which makes it the foundation of any offline-first app.

Location (Geolocation)

The location component, also called geolocation, gives an app access to a device’s GPS coordinates to determine where the user physically is. Location data powers navigation, delivery tracking, nearby search results, and check-in features. 

Low-Code

Low-code refers to development tools that minimize handwritten code through visual tools and pre-built components, while still allowing developers to write custom code where needed. The distinction from no-code matters for hiring and workflow. Low-code tools generally assume there is at least one technical team member who can step in and code when the visual/block-building layer hits its limits.

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M

Maps

The maps component embeds an interactive map inside of an app, typically showing the user’s location, points of interest, or a route between two or more places. Maps are one of the most requested components across nearly every app category, from real estate to food delivery to field service.

Media Storage

Media storage is storage specifically designed to hold larger files like images, video, and audio, as opposed to small pieces of structured data like text or numbers. Media files are much larger than typical database records, so they are usually stored separately from an app’s main database and referenced by a link rather than stored directly inside it.

Modal

A modal is a screen or window that appears on top of an app’s current content, requiring the user to interact with it or dismiss it before continuing. Modals are used for confirmation, quick forms, and alerts where interrupting the main flow briefly is useful for the user.

MVP (Minimum Viable Product)

An MVP is the simplest working version of a product that still delivers enough value to test with real users and validate the underlying idea. The point of an MVP is to learn whether people actually want something before spending months of time and a large budget fully building something, like an app, out.

Building an MVP on Thunkable

Because Thunkable compiles a true native app, your MVP is a real, publishable app from the start. You can put it front of users, gather feedback, and keep building on the same project once you’re ready to scale, with no need to transfer or rebuild in a different tool.

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N

Native App vs. Hybrid App vs. Web App

A native app is built and compiled specifically for iOS or Android and runs directly on the device, while a hybrid app wraps web code in a native shell, and a web app runs directly and entirely inside a browser. The distinction determines what your app will actually be able to do.

‍Native apps get full access to the camera, GPS, Bluetooth, push notifications, and offline storage, and they run at full device speed. 

Hybrid and web apps are limited by what the browser layer allows, and they often move slower and feel less polished.

Why this matters when picking a builder

Some no-code platforms produce web apps dressed up to look native, then require a separate wrapper service to reach the app store of your choice. Thunkable compiles a true native binary for iOS and Android from your project, so what you build is what actually ships, prepared for full functionality on users’ devices.

Natural Language Programming (NLP)

Natural language programming, or NLP, is writing software instructions in ordinary language instead of formal programming syntax. It is the broader, more technical term for what vibe coding and prompt-based development do in practice. Instead of writing code, the AI model you’re working with translates your plain-language requests into working logic to create your apps.

Navigation Bar

A navigation bar is the persistent menu, usually along the bottom or top of the screen, that lets users move between an app’s main sections. A clear navigation bar is one of the simplest ways to make an app feel familiar, since it follows a pattern nearly every mobile app user already recognizes. 

NFC (Near-Field Communication)

NFC is a short-range wireless technology that lets two devices exchange data by being held within a couple of inches of each other, the same technology behind tap-to-pay. Beyond payments, NFC is used for access badges, smart tags, and pairing hardware with a single tap instead of a manual Bluetooth pairing flow. 

No-Code

No-code refers to development tools that let you build a complete, working application without writing any code, using visual components, blocks, or prompts instead. No-code removes the syntax layer entirely, letting you work directly with the aforementioned visual building blocks, layouts, and, on newer platforms, plain-language prompts.

No-code on Thunkable

Thunkable was built to be a no-code solution from the start, well before AI entered the picture, using a visual design canvas paired with a block-based logic editor inspired by MIT’s Scratch. The AI Builder adds a prompt-based layer on top of that same no-code foundation, so you can build entirely by chatting, or with blocks, or a blend of both approaches within the same project.

No-code MVP

A no-code MVP is a minimum viable product (MVP) built entirely with no-code tools, letting a founder test an idea without hiring a developer or writing a line of code. This has become the default starting point for most non-technical founders, since it removes the biggest early cost and delay: Finding and paying a technical co-founder or contractor before you even know if the idea works.

No-code vs. Low-code

No-code tools require zero coding knowledge to build a complete app, while low-code tools reduce the amount of code needed but still expect some technical skill for more advanced logic. The right choice depends on who is building. A solo founder with no technical background needs true no-code. A product team with an engineer on staff would do fine with low-code, perhaps even preferring it for technical flexibility.

No-code and low-code accessibility with Thunkable

Thunkable starts as a true noc-de experience, buildable entirely through prompts or blocks. You or a teammate can also  open the built-in code editor at any point and write directly, pairing the accessibility of no-code with a low-code escape hatch for whenever you want it.

Notification

A notification is any message an app surfaces to alert a user, whether it appears on the lock screen as a push notification or inside the app itself as an in-app alert. Notifications are one of the most effective tools for bringing users back to an app, and also one of the easiest features to overuse until users disable them entirely, so be sure to use them wisely.

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O

Offline-First App

An offline-first app is designed to keep working, saving data locally, when the device has no internet connection, then syncing that data once a connection returns. This matters most for field service, travel, and rural-use apps where a reliable connection cannot be guaranteed. An app that breaks the moment it loses signal will lose users fast in those contexts.

Building offline support in Thunkable 

Thunkable supports local, on-device storage alongside cloud storage, so you can design an app that saves data locally when offline and syncs it back once the device reconnects. This is a significant differentiator against no-code tools limited to browser-based storage, which typically break the moment the connection drops.

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P

Payment and Payment Integration

Payment integration is the component that lets an app accept a payment from users, connecting to a processor like Stripe to handle the transaction securely. Payment handling involves real security and compliance requirements, since an app is processing sensitive card data even if only briefly, before passing it to the processor.

Progressive Web App (PWA)

A progressive web app is a website built to behave like an app, with offline support and a home screen icon, but it runs through a browser engine rather than compiling to native code. PWAs are faster to build than native apps but come with significant limits: No listing in the Apple App Store, restricted access to hardware features, and generally weaker performance overall.

PWA vs. native on Thunkable

Several no-code builders are PWA-only, which means their apps cannot appear in the Apple App Store or Google Play at all. Thunkable builds true native apps, so if your plan includes App Store distribution, that path is available from day one instead of requiring a migration later.

Prompt-Based App Development

Prompt-based app development means building an app by writing instructions in everyday language rather than configuring components or writing syntax. A prompt can create a full screen, add a feature, or restyle an entire app. It is the interaction model underneath vibe coding and the primary way Thunkable creators build their own apps.

Example prompts

• “Add a login screen with email and Google sign-in”
• “Turn this list into a map view”
• “Build a pricing tier screen with a recommended midway price column”

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These are typical examples of prompts, but Thunkable is built to be flexible and can handle as many iterations of your ideas as you need. Thunkable’s AI Builder will interpret the request, build the corresponding screens and logic, and show you the results immediately in a live preview. 

Provisioning Profile

A provisioning profile is an Apple-issued file that links a specific app, developer account, and set of devices, authorizing that app to run on iOS during development and testing. Provisioning profiles are a required, and often confusing, part of iOS development, since Apple uses them to control exactly which apps can install on which devices before formal App Store release.

Push Notification

A push notification is a message sent from an app to a user’s device even when the app is closed, appearing on the lock screen or notification tray. Push notifications require native app capabilities. Web apps and most PWAs cannot send true push notifications the way a native app can, particularly on iOS.

Adding push notifications in Thunkable

Thunkable’s push notification component connected to OneSignal, a third-party notification service, and sending to Android devices also requires linking a Firebase project for credentials. Once that connection is in place, you can prompt the AI Builder to add a push notification trigger, or wire it up directly in the blocks editor for finer control over timing and targeting.

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R

Rapid Application Development (RAD)

Rapid Application Development is a software development approach that prioritizes fast, iterative building and testing over extensive upfront planning and documentation. RAD emerged decades before modern no-code tools, but the philosophy is the same one driving today’s AI app builders:

1. Build something that works, fast
2. Get feedback
3. Iterate based on that feedback

RAD removes months of designing before being able to push the first version out to real people.

Recording

Recording is the component category covering video and screen capture directly from within an app, letting users generate their own content instead of only consuming it. User-generated video is a core feature for social apps, tutorial apps, and any product built around people creating and sharing content with each other.

Reviews

In the context of app development, reviews are the ratings and written feedback users leave developers for their apps on the App Store or Google Play after downloading it. Reviews directly influence both a potential user’s decision to download and an app’s ranking in app store search results, along with determining how a developer updates and improves future iterations of their app. This makes user reviews an integral part of App Store Optimization (ASO) and user retention.

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S

Software Development Kit (SDK)

A Software Development Kit, or SDK, is a bunch of tools, libraries, and documentation that lets developers add a specific service or or feature to an app. Payment processors, analytics tools, and ad networks all typically ship an SDK so developers can integrate their service without building the connection from scratch.

SDKs and no-code app development

Traditional SDK integration requires writing native code for iOS and Android separately. Thunkable’s component library packages many common SDK integrations into ready-to-use, drag-and-drop pieces, so the underlying complexity doesn’t slow you down.

Sensor API (Device Sensors)

A sensor API gives an app programmatic access to the physical sensors built into a phone, including the accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, and proximity sensor. Sensor data powers everything from step counters to augmented reality apps to games that respond to how you tilt and move your phone.

Sensors in Thunkable

Thunkable exposes device sensors as ready-to-use components, including the accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer, so you can read live sensor data with a block or a prompt instead of writing native sensor-handling code for two operating systems separately.

Single Sign-on (SSO)

Single sign-on lets a user log into an app using an existing account, typically from Google, Apple, or a company identity provider, instead of creating a new username and password. SSO reduces signup friction and cuts down on forgotten password-specific support requests, since users are logging in with credentials they already use daily. 

Speech-to-Text

Speech-to-text is technology that converts spoken audio into written text in real time or from a recorded clip. It powers voice commands, dictation features, and accessibility tools that let users interact with an app without typing.

Splash Screen

A splash screen is the branded loading screen an app briefly displays as it starts up, before the main interface appears. A splash screen also covers the small delay every app has while it initializes, and it is often the first visual impression of an app’s brand.

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics) Education Apps

STEM education apps are mobile or web applications designed to teach science, technology, engineering, or mathematics concepts, often through interactive or project-based learning. App building itself has become a popular STEM subject, since it combines logic, design, and problem solving into one hands-on project that produces something a student can actually show off.

Storage

Storage, in the context of an app, refers to where the app’s data lives, whether that is on the device itself or on a remote server. Every app needs a storage strategy, even a simple one, to remember user preferences, save content, or keep someone logged in between sessions.

Subscription

A subscription is a recurring app monetization model where users pay on a regular schedule, usually monthly or annually, for continued access to an app and its premium features. Subscriptions provide predictable, recurring revenue, which is part of why they have become the dominant monetization model for apps with ongoing utility rather than a single use.

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T

Text-to-App

Text-to-app is the shorthand term for turning a written description directly into a functioning application. It describes the same thing as prompt-based development and vibe coding, and it is often used in comparisons of AI app builders because it captures the whole pitch in three words.

Text-to-Speech (TTS)

Text-to-speech (TTS) is technology that converts written text into spoken audio, read aloud by a synthetic voice. It is widely used for accessibility, letting visually impaired users hear content instead of only being able to read it, along with finding main feature-level utility in language learning apps and for hands-free use cases like driving.

Time to Market

Time to market, in the context of an app, is the length of time between an idea and its public launch. Shorter time to market means faster feedback, faster revenue, and less time for a competitor to launch something similar before you.

Why time to market is one of Thunkable’s major benefits

Reducing time to market is the central promise behind vibe coding an app instead of hiring a development team. What used to take weeks of design and development can now happen in a single sitting, with a true native app ready to test the same day the idea takes shape.

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V

Versioning

Versioning is the practice of assigning a version number to each release of an app, tracking updates over time is a consistent, predictable format. Clear versioning helps both users and app stores understand whether they are looking at the latest release, and it is required metadata for every App Store and Google Play submission.

Vibe Coding

Vibe Coding is building software by describing what you want in plain language and letting an AI model generate the working result. Instead of writing lines of code, you describe the app(s), screen(s), and feature(s) you want as a prompt or series of prompts, and AI builds it for you. The term was coined by Andrej Karpathy in 2025 to describe development where you “give in to the vibes” and let AI models handle implementation while you essentially give creative and iterative direction.

On Thunkable, vibe coding is the core way creators start building their own apps: Describe your app idea in the AI builder, and in return, get a true native app. Then, keep chatting to refine it and steer the outcome toward exactly what you want.

How vibe coding works in Thunkable

You open a chat, describe your app idea, and Thunkable’s AI Builder generates screens, logic, and design in response. You can keep prompting to do a bunch of things:

1. Change features
2. Add/change colors
3. Fix/modify/add behaviors

You can also switch between the Block Editor and Code Editor any time you want more control over the output. What you’ll get is a real, native iOS and Android app you can test on a device right away.

Vibe coding vs. traditional no-code

Older no-code tools still require you to place every component and wire up every action by hand. Vibe coding removes that manual assembly step. You direct the outcome in words, and the platform handles the construction, which is why it has become the fastest on-ramp for people with zero coding experience. Not knowing how to code shouldn’t mean not being able to create something awesome to share with the world.

Video

Video is the app component that lets you embed, play, and control video content directly inside an app, from onboarding walkthroughs to social feeds to to product demos. Adding native video used to mean writing separate playback code for iOS and Android and handling formats, buffering, and controls by hand.

Building a video app with AI, no code required

With Thunkable’s AI Builder, adding video only requires a prompt. Ask for a video feed, a looping background video on your splash screen, or an in-app video player with custom controls, and the AI Builder generates the screen and logic for you.

This is what a vibe coded video app actually looks like in practice: Describe the feature in plain language, and Thunkable’s AI handles the native video implementation on both iOS and Android at once.

Visual Programming Language

A visual programming language expresses logic through connected graphical blocks or shapes instead of typed text syntax. Scratch, MIT App Inventor, and Thunkable’s own block editor are all examples. 

Each block is shaped to connect only with blocks that are logically compatible, so the visual structure itself represents the program’s logic.

Thunkable’s block editor

Thunkable’s blocks are directly descended from the visual programming approach pioneered at MIT App Inventor, the project that two of Thunkable’s founders helped build before starting the company. It is one reason Thunkable has a strong, lasting foundation in classrooms in addition to startups.

Voice Recording

Voice recording is the component that captures audio directly from a device’s microphone, storing it for playback, transcription, or sharing. Voice recording powers voice memo apps, voice messaging features, and any app that needs a spoken input alternative to typing.

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W

Widget

A widget is a small, self-contained interface element. Examples of widgets include:

• Buttons
• Weather displays
• Calendars
• Clocks
• To-do lists

Widgets can either be used inside an app’s screens, or placed directly on a device’s home or secondary screens outside of the app itself. Home screen widgets give users a glance at key information without fully opening the app, which can meaningfully increase how often an app gets used.

WYSIWYG Editor

WYSIWYG stands for “what you see is what you get”, describing an editor where the layout you build on screen matches the final result exactly. The term originated in desktop publishing and now applies broadly to no-code design canvases like Thunkable’s editors, where you place and style elements visually instead of describing their position in code.

AI Code Generation

AI code generation is the process of an AI model writing usable source code in response to a prompt or written description. It is the underlying technology that powers AI app builders. Some tools stop at generating code you have to assemble yourself. Others, like Thunkable’s AI Builder, generate the code and assemble it into a running, testable app in the same step.

AI Pair Programmer

An AI pair programmer is an AI assistant that works alongside you during development, suggesting code, catching errors, and implementing changes as you go. The term comes from “pair programming”, where two human developers work at one workstation. 

Tools like Cursor and Claude Code act as an AI pair programmer for traditional coders. Thunkable’s AI Builder plays a similar role for no-code creators: It writes, tests, and adjusts your app’s logic in response to your direction, without requiring you to know how to code in the first place.

Android App Bundle (AAB)

An Android App Bundle is the packaging format Google Play requires for new app submissions, replacing the older APK format for store distribution. Google Play uses the AAB to generate optimized APKs for each specific device configuration, which keeps download sizes smaller than shipping one universal file to every phone.

API (Application Programming Interface)

An API is a defined set of rules that lets one piece of software request data or functionality from another, such as an app pulling weather data from a weather service. APIs are what let apps talk to the outside world: Payment processors, mapping services, social platforms, and countless other tools all expose an API for developers to connect to.

Connecting APIs in Thunkable

Thunkable lets you connect to any REST API to pull in outside data or functionality, whether you build that connection through blocks, code, or a prompt to the AI Builder describing what data you want to bring in.

APK

APK, short for Android Package Kit, is the file format used to install an app directly onto an Android device outside of the Google Play Store. APKs are commonly used for testing, sideloading, or distributing an app outside of official app stores. Google Play submissions now require the AAB format instead, which generates optimized APKs after being passed over to the store.

App Bundle

An app bundle is the packaged collection of an app’s code, assets, and configuration files compiled together into the format a device or app store requires to install and run it. On Android specifically, this packaged format is called an Android App Bundle (AAB).

App Icon

An app icon is the small graphic that represents an app on a device’s home screen and inside the App Store or Google Play listing. PRO TIP: An app icon needs to read and be seen clearly at a tiny size and stand out in a crowded home screen or search results page, which makes it one of the highest-leverage design decisions for an app.

App Monetization Models

App monetization models are the different strategies for generating revenue from an app, including subscriptions, in-app purchases (IAPs), advertising, and “freemium” pricing. The right model (or models, as these can be combined) depends heavily on your app’s use case. For instance:

• A productivity app with daily use often fits a subscription monetization model
• A game often fits in-app purchase and advertising models

There is no universal answer and depends entirely on your app type, as well as what you think will be the best way forward.

App Store Connect

App Store Connect is Apple’s web portal where developers manage app submissions, versions, pricing, and analytics for apps on the App Store. Every app published to the App Store gets set up and managed through App Store Connect, including the metadata, screenshots, and pricing that shape the store listing itself.

App Store Optimization (ASO)

App Store Optimization is the practice of improving your app’s visibility and conversion rate inside the Apple App Store and Google Play by optimizing its name, keywords, screenshots, and description. ASO works alongside, not instead of, a good app. The App Store and Google Play both rank listings using a mix of keyword relevance, install velocity, and ratings, so a strong listing draws organic traffic before you spend a dollar on ads.

ASO basics for a new app

Start with a clear app title that includes your primary keyword, write a description that states the core benefit in the first line, and choose screenshots that show the actual app experience rather than marketing graphics. These fundamentals apply whether your app was hand-coded or vibe coded, since the app stores rank listings the same way regardless of how the app was built.

App Store Submission and App Store Review

App Store submission is the process of packaging your finished app and sending it to Apple or Google for approval, and App Store Review is the evaluation each store performs before your app goes live. Apple’s review tends to be stricter and slower, often checking for functionality, content, and whether the app provides genuine value beyond a wrapped website. Google Play review is typically faster but still enforces its own policy set.

Submitting from Thunkable

Thunkable guides you through both submissions from inside the platform, though the two paths differ. Apple submissions go straight to TestFlight through Thunkable’s publishing wizard, while Android submissions arrive as a downloadable app file you upload to the Google Play Store yourself. Because Thunkable compiles true native apps rather than wrapped web pages, submissions are less likely to run into the functionality objections that trip up wrapper-based apps during review.

Apple App Store

The Apple App Store is the official marketplace for iOS apps, and the only sanctioned way most users install apps on an iPhone. Every app listed on the App Store passes through Apple’s review process first, which checks functionality, content, and compliance with Apple’s guidelines before publishing an app publicly.

Audio

Audio is the app component that handles playing sound, whether that is music, ambient effects, or spoken content, from inside an app. Audio playback needs to keep working reliably in the background and respond correctly to interruptions, like an incoming phone call, without crashing the app.

Audio Player

An audio player is the interface component that lets users play, pause, skip, and otherwise control audio content inside an app. A well-built audio player handles background playback, lockscreen controls, and interruption handling correctly, which is easier to get right in a native app than a browser-based one.

Authentication

Authentication is the process of verifying a user’s identity before granting them access to an app or specific features inside it. Authentication can happen through a password, a one-time code, a biometric scan, or a third-party login like Google or Apple.

Authentication in Thunkable

Thunkable provides pre-built sign-up and sign-in blocks that connect to Firebase Authentication, along with dedicated blocks for Google and Apple sign-in.

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B

Backend

The backend is the server-side part of an app that handles data storage, business logic, and authentication, working behind the scenes to support what users see on the frontend. A weak backend shows up as a slow, unreliable app, even if the frontend design looks great, since the backend is what actually stores and retrieves the data the frontend uses and displays.

Frontend and backend in Thunkable

You design the frontend in Thunkable, visually or by prompt, and connect it to a backend through Thunkable’s data source and authentication blocks. Firebase, Airtable, Google Sheets, and similar connected services handle the actual data storage and logic (see also: Backend-as-a-Service), and the server code itself lives with that connected service rather than something you write or host directly.

Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS)

Backend-as-a-service is a model where the server, database, and authentication infrastructure behind an app are managed by the platform, so you never have to set up or maintain that infrastructure yourself. Traditionally, standing up a backend meant provisioning servers, configuring a database, and writing authentication logic before you could build a single app feature.

How this shows up in Thunkable

Thunkable is primarily a frontend builder, so it connected to outside BaaS and database platforms rather than running its own backend server. 

• Firebase handles authentication
• Airtable, Google Sheets, and Webflow facilitate cloud data storage
• Integrations like Backendless and Xano cover more advanced backend needs

Thunkable also includes a simple Local DB for data that only needs to live on an individual device.

Beta

A beta version of an app is a pre-release build shared with a limited group of testers to catch bugs and gather feedback before a full public launch. Apple’s TestFlight and Google Play’s internal testing tracks are the standard ways to distribute a beta build ahead of a storewide release.

Biometrics

Biometrics use a device’s fingerprint or facial recognition hardware to verify a user’s identity inside an app. Biometric login replaces typing a password with a fingerprint or a glance at the camera, cutting friction at the exact moment users are most likely to abandon a sign-in flow.

Block-Based Programming

Block-based programming is a visual coding method where you build logic by snapping together labeled blocks that represent actions, conditions, and data, instead of typing syntax. Each block is shaped to connect only with blocks that are logically compatible, and that shape constraint prevents most syntax errors, since a block that doesn’t belong simply won’t connect.

Why block-based programming matters, especially for education

Block-based programming, popularized by MIT’s Scratch, is widely used to teach programming concepts because it lets students focus on logic and sequencing without getting stuck on punctuation or syntax. Thunkable’s block editor uses this same model, which is a core reason more than 10,000 educational organizations use Thunkable to teach app development and computer science fundamentals.

Block-based vs. AI prompting

Thunkable creators can mix both approaches in the same project. You can prompt the AI Builder to generate a feature, then open the blocks view to see exactly how it works and adjust the logic by hand, which makes block-based programming a learning tool even for creators who started by vibe coding.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a short-range wireless standard that lets a phone communicate directly with nearby devices without a Wi-Fi network or cellular connection. Apps use Bluetooth to pair with headphones, printers, fitness trackers, and countless other accessories.

Bluetooth as a Thunkable component

Bluetooth is available as a drag-and-drop component in Thunkable, letting your app scan for, connect to, and exchange data with nearby Bluetooth devices without writing native connectivity code.

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) for devices with small batteries

Bluetooth Low Energy is a version of Bluetooth built for devices that need to run for months or years on a small battery, such as fitness trackers, smart locks, and sensors. BLE trades raw data speed for dramatically lower power draw, which is exactly the trade-off most connected hardware accessories need.

Direct BLE communication is one of Thunkable’s key technical differentiators, and it is a capability several competing no-code and AI app builders simply do not offer. If your app connects to a physical device (ex. a smart home gadget, a fitness wearable, a hardware), Thunkable’s native BLE support is often the deciding factor over platforms limited to web-based output.

Bugs

A bug is any unintended behavior in an app, ranging from small issues like visual glitches to huge ones, like a crash that stops the app from working entirely. Catching bugs before publishing matters, since App Store reviewers and users both notice broken functionality quickly, and negative early reviews are hard to recover from.

Testing for bugs in Thunkable

Thunkable’s live testing feature lets you run your app on a real iOS or Android device while you build, which surfaces bugs immediately instead of waiting for a full compile and export cycle to catch them.

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C

Camera

The camera component gives an app access to a device’s built-in camera for taking photos or recording video from inside the app. Camera access enables everything from profile photo uploads and updates to barcode scanning to augmented reality filters.

Adding a camera feature in Thunkable

The camera is a drag-and-drop component in Thunkable, or you can prompt the AI Builder to add a photo capture screen directly, without writing native camera-permission code for iOS and Android separately.

Certification

Certification, in mobile publishing, refers to the code-signing and identity verification process that proves an app comes from a verified developer before it can be installed or distributed. Both Apple and Google require certification steps before allowing an app onto their platforms, as a safeguard against unverified or tampered software.

Citizen Developer

A citizen developer is someone who builds applications using no-code or low-code tools without formal software development training or engineering experience. The term reflects a true shift currently happening in companies: operations managers, marketers, and founders now regularly build, or contribute to the building of, internal tools and customer-facing apps themselves.

Cloud Storage

Cloud storage keeps an app’s data on remote servers rather than on a local device, making it accessible from any device the user logs into. Cloud storage is what makes an account, and the data tied to it, portable between phones, tablets, and web browsers.

Storage in Thunkable

Thunkable’s Local DB stores data on the device itself, while cloud storage that syncs across devices runs through a connected data source, most commonly Airtable, Google Sheets, or Webflow. Choosing between them comes down to whether your app’s data needs to follow a user across devices or only needs to persist on the one they are using.

Cloudinary

Cloudinary is a third-party media management service that stores, optimizes, and delivers images and video for an app, handling resizing and format conversion automatically. Rather than storing every media file at full size and hoping it loads quickly on a slow connection, Cloudinary serves an appropriately-sized version on the fly based on the device requesting it.

Using Cloudinary in Thunkable

Thunkable supports Cloudinary integration for apps with heavy media needs, giving creators a production-grade media pipeline for images and video without building that infrastructure themselves.

Coding for Kids

Coding for kids refers to programming education designed for children and teens, usually built around visual, block-based tools instead of text-based syntax. Block-based coding removes the syntax barrier that trips up beginners, letting younger students focus on logic and creativity from their very first lesson. 

Thunkable’s role in youth coding

Thunkable’s block editor descends directly from MIT App Inventor, a tool built specifically to teach programming to beginners, including kids. That lineage is part of why Thunkable has a legitimate purpose in classrooms.

Compass

The compass component reads a device’s magnetometer to determine which direction the phone is facing relative to magnetic North. Compass data is used in navigation apps, outdoor recreation apps, and any app experience that needs real-world directional orientation.

Component Library

A component library is a collection of pre-built, reusable interface pieces like buttons, forms, cards, navigation bars, that a builder can drag into a project instead of designing them from scratch. A strong component library is what makes drag-and-drop app building fast in the first place, since most apps reuse the same handful of interface patterns.

Thunkable’s component library

Thunkable’s component library covers everything from basic layout elements to device features like the camera and Bluetooth, giving both block-based builders and the AI Builder a shared set of proven, native building blocks to draw from.

Computer Science

Computer science is an education curriculum designed to teach programming concepts and computational thinking. A strong computer science curriculum builds concepts in order (sequencing, conditionals, loops, data) rather than throwing students straight into unfamiliar tools and scenarios.

Thunkable’s education program

Thunkable offers a full computer science curriculum built around its block-based editor, used by more than 10,000 educational organizations and recognized on the GSV 150 list of influential education companies. Students build real, working apps as they learn, rather than abstract exercises disconnected from their end result.

Conversational App Building

Conversational app building means developing an app through an ongoing back-and-forth chat with an AI assistant rather than a single one-time prompt. You build in rounds:

Describe a feature → Review the result → Ask for a change → Repeat

This is how Discuss Mode works inside Thunkable’s AI Builder, turning app building into a running conversation with the tool that built it, which makes revisions and additions faster than ever.

Cross-Platform App Development

Cross-platform app development means building one app project that runs on both iOS and Android, instead of writing and maintaining two separate codebases. The appeal is obvious: One build, two app stores, half the ongoing maintenance. Historically, the tradeoff has been performance quality or feature access, though modern native-compiling platforms have closed most of that gap.

How Thunkable handles cross-platform app development

You build a project once inside Thunkable, and it compiles to a native iOS app and a native Android app from the same source. Both versions get full device access, so each platform gets the same complete, native experience.

D

Dark Mode

Dark mode is a color scheme option that uses dark backgrounds with light text as an alternative to an app’s standard “light” interface. Dark mode reduces eye strain in low light and has become an expected option rather than a novelty, particularly among users who keep their phone’s system setting on dark by default.

Deep Linking

Deep linking is a technique that opens a specific screen inside an app directly from a link, instead of dropping the user on the app’s home screen. A deep link might take someone straight to a product page, a specific profile, or a checkout flow from an email, ad, or text message. It removes friction between the moment someone clicks and the content they actually want.

Design

Design, in app development, refers to an app’s visual layout, color choices, typography, and overall user experience, everything a user sees and interacts with. Good app design balances visual appeal with clarity, since an app that looks polished but confuses users will lose them at the first unclear screen.

Download

A download, in the context of app publishing, refers to a user installing an app from the App Store or Google Play onto their device. In terms of engagement, downloads are one of the most visible success metrics for an app, though they matter most when paired with strong retention, since a download that never gets opened again is not much of a win.

Drag-and-Drop App Builder

A drag-and-drop app builder lets you construct an app’s interface by dragging visual components like buttons, text fields, and images onto a canvas rather than writing layout code. This was the first generation of no-code app building, and it remains the foundation most modern AI-assisted builders, including Thunkable, are built on top of.

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F

Flashlight

The flashlight component lets an app control a device’s built-in flash or LED light, independent of the camera. Flashlight access is common in utility apps, safety apps, and any app that needs a simple, reliable light source without going through the camera interface.

Freemium

Freemium is an app monetization model that offers a free version of an app with core functionality, then charges for premium features, higher usage limits, or an ad-free experience. Freemium works by lowering the barrier to that first download to nearly zero, then converting a percentage of engaged users to paying customers once they hit a limit or want more.

Frontend

The frontend is the part of an app users directly see and interact with: The screens, buttons, layouts, and visual design. Frontend work covers everything on the surface of an app, while the logic and data behind that surface live in the backend.

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G

Google Authentication

Google Authentication is a specific single sign-on method that lets users log into an app using their existing Google account. It is one of the most widely used SSO options because of how many people already have an active Google account on their phone.

Google Play

Google Play, also called the Google Play Store, is the official marketplace for Android apps. Google Play’s review process is generally faster than Apple’s, though it still enforces content and functionality policies before an app goes live.

Gyroscope

The gyroscope is a device sensor that measures rotation and orientation, letting an app detect how a phone is being tilted or turned in three-dimensional space. Gyroscope data is common in games, augmented reality, video streaming apps, and any interface that responds to how the user physically moves their device.

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H

Haptic Feedback

Haptic feedback is the small vibration or tactical response a device produces as a reaction to a user action, like tapping a button. Well-placed haptic feedback makes an app interface feel more responsive and substantial, confirming an action happened without requiring the users to look for a visual change.

Home Screen

In app design, the home screen is the first interactive screen a user lands on after an app finishes loading. The home screen carries the most traffic of any screen in an app, so its layout and navigation choices have an outsized effect on how easily users find what they came for.

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I

Image

Image is the app component that handles displaying, uploading, or manipulating photos and graphics inside an app. Image handling needs to account for different screen sizes and resolutions, so a photo looks sharp on every device rather than stretched or pixelated.

In-App Purchase (IAP)

An in-app purchase is a transaction made from inside an app to unlock additional content, features, or virtual goods. IAPs cover everything from removing ads to buying in-game currency to unlocking a pro feature set, and they route through Apple’s or Google’s payment systems, which take a revenue share on most transactions.

Setting up IAPs in Thunkable

Thunkable’s IAP component connects through RevenueCat, a third-party subscription and purchase management platform, to handle billing on both the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Integrations

 Integrations are connections between an app and outside services, tools, or platforms, letting data and functionality flow between them. Common integrations include payment processors, email tools, analytics platforms, and social logins, each typically connected through an API or SDK.

Internal Tools

Internal tools are apps built for a company’s own employees to use, such as inventory trackers, scheduling apps, or approval workflows, rather than for public customers. Internal tools rarely need  polish for app store attractiveness, but they do need to be reliable, fast to update, and cheap to maintain, which makes them a natural fit for no-code building.

Building internal tools with Thunkable

Thunkable’s Operations and IT solutions are built precisely for this use case: Letting a team build and update its own internal app without opening a ticket with engineering every time a workflow changes. 

iOS 

iOS is Apple’s mobile operating system, running on every iPhone, and one of two platforms, alongside Android, that most mobile apps need to support. Building for iOS means following Apple’s design guidelines and passing Apple’s app review process before an app can appear in the app store.

IoT App Development

IoT app development is building the mobile app that controls, monitors, or receives data from an internet-connected physical device. IoT is an acronym for “Internet of Things”, which is the broad category of internet-connected hardware, from smart thermostats to industrial sensors, that pair with a companion app.

Building IoT apps without code

Thunkable’s combination of native compilation, Bluetooth and BLE support, and sensor access makes it a practical fit for IoT companion apps, letting hardware startups and hobbyists build an app without hiring a mobile developer.

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K

Keys (API Keys)

An API key is a unique credential an app uses to authenticate itself when connecting to a third-party service or backend. Losing control of an API key can allow unauthorized users to make requests and potentially damage–or rack up charges on–your account, so keys are typically stored securely rather than hard-coded into an app’s visible logic.

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L

License

In app development, a license is the legal agreement governing how software, code, or a component can be used, modified, or distributed. Every third-party library or component your app uses comes with its own license terms, and mixing incompatible licenses can create real legal exposure once an app is published commercially.

Loading Screen

A loading screen appears while an app fetches data or completes a task, giving the user visual confirmation that something is happening rather than the app being frozen. Good loading states, even a simple spinner, reduce the chance a user gives up and closes the app during a brief waiting period.

Local Storage

Local storage keeps data saved directly on the user’s device rather than sending it to a remote server. Local storage is fast and works without an internet connection, which makes it the foundation of any offline-first app.

Location (Geolocation)

The location component, also called geolocation, gives an app access to a device’s GPS coordinates to determine where the user physically is. Location data powers navigation, delivery tracking, nearby search results, and check-in features. 

Low-Code

Low-code refers to development tools that minimize handwritten code through visual tools and pre-built components, while still allowing developers to write custom code where needed. The distinction from no-code matters for hiring and workflow. Low-code tools generally assume there is at least one technical team member who can step in and code when the visual/block-building layer hits its limits.

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M

Maps

The maps component embeds an interactive map inside of an app, typically showing the user’s location, points of interest, or a route between two or more places. Maps are one of the most requested components across nearly every app category, from real estate to food delivery to field service.

Media Storage

Media storage is storage specifically designed to hold larger files like images, video, and audio, as opposed to small pieces of structured data like text or numbers. Media files are much larger than typical database records, so they are usually stored separately from an app’s main database and referenced by a link rather than stored directly inside it.

Modal

A modal is a screen or window that appears on top of an app’s current content, requiring the user to interact with it or dismiss it before continuing. Modals are used for confirmation, quick forms, and alerts where interrupting the main flow briefly is useful for the user.

MVP (Minimum Viable Product)

An MVP is the simplest working version of a product that still delivers enough value to test with real users and validate the underlying idea. The point of an MVP is to learn whether people actually want something before spending months of time and a large budget fully building something, like an app, out.

Building an MVP on Thunkable

Because Thunkable compiles a true native app, your MVP is a real, publishable app from the start. You can put it front of users, gather feedback, and keep building on the same project once you’re ready to scale, with no need to transfer or rebuild in a different tool.

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N

Native App vs. Hybrid App vs. Web App

A native app is built and compiled specifically for iOS or Android and runs directly on the device, while a hybrid app wraps web code in a native shell, and a web app runs directly and entirely inside a browser. The distinction determines what your app will actually be able to do.

‍Native apps get full access to the camera, GPS, Bluetooth, push notifications, and offline storage, and they run at full device speed. 

Hybrid and web apps are limited by what the browser layer allows, and they often move slower and feel less polished.

Why this matters when picking a builder

Some no-code platforms produce web apps dressed up to look native, then require a separate wrapper service to reach the app store of your choice. Thunkable compiles a true native binary for iOS and Android from your project, so what you build is what actually ships, prepared for full functionality on users’ devices.

Natural Language Programming (NLP)

Natural language programming, or NLP, is writing software instructions in ordinary language instead of formal programming syntax. It is the broader, more technical term for what vibe coding and prompt-based development do in practice. Instead of writing code, the AI model you’re working with translates your plain-language requests into working logic to create your apps.

Navigation Bar

A navigation bar is the persistent menu, usually along the bottom or top of the screen, that lets users move between an app’s main sections. A clear navigation bar is one of the simplest ways to make an app feel familiar, since it follows a pattern nearly every mobile app user already recognizes. 

NFC (Near-Field Communication)

NFC is a short-range wireless technology that lets two devices exchange data by being held within a couple of inches of each other, the same technology behind tap-to-pay. Beyond payments, NFC is used for access badges, smart tags, and pairing hardware with a single tap instead of a manual Bluetooth pairing flow. 

No-Code

No-code refers to development tools that let you build a complete, working application without writing any code, using visual components, blocks, or prompts instead. No-code removes the syntax layer entirely, letting you work directly with the aforementioned visual building blocks, layouts, and, on newer platforms, plain-language prompts.

No-code on Thunkable

Thunkable was built to be a no-code solution from the start, well before AI entered the picture, using a visual design canvas paired with a block-based logic editor inspired by MIT’s Scratch. The AI Builder adds a prompt-based layer on top of that same no-code foundation, so you can build entirely by chatting, or with blocks, or a blend of both approaches within the same project.

No-code MVP

A no-code MVP is a minimum viable product (MVP) built entirely with no-code tools, letting a founder test an idea without hiring a developer or writing a line of code. This has become the default starting point for most non-technical founders, since it removes the biggest early cost and delay: Finding and paying a technical co-founder or contractor before you even know if the idea works.

No-code vs. Low-code

No-code tools require zero coding knowledge to build a complete app, while low-code tools reduce the amount of code needed but still expect some technical skill for more advanced logic. The right choice depends on who is building. A solo founder with no technical background needs true no-code. A product team with an engineer on staff would do fine with low-code, perhaps even preferring it for technical flexibility.

No-code and low-code accessibility with Thunkable

Thunkable starts as a true noc-de experience, buildable entirely through prompts or blocks. You or a teammate can also  open the built-in code editor at any point and write directly, pairing the accessibility of no-code with a low-code escape hatch for whenever you want it.

Notification

A notification is any message an app surfaces to alert a user, whether it appears on the lock screen as a push notification or inside the app itself as an in-app alert. Notifications are one of the most effective tools for bringing users back to an app, and also one of the easiest features to overuse until users disable them entirely, so be sure to use them wisely.

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O

Offline-First App

An offline-first app is designed to keep working, saving data locally, when the device has no internet connection, then syncing that data once a connection returns. This matters most for field service, travel, and rural-use apps where a reliable connection cannot be guaranteed. An app that breaks the moment it loses signal will lose users fast in those contexts.

Building offline support in Thunkable 

Thunkable supports local, on-device storage alongside cloud storage, so you can design an app that saves data locally when offline and syncs it back once the device reconnects. This is a significant differentiator against no-code tools limited to browser-based storage, which typically break the moment the connection drops.

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P

Payment and Payment Integration

Payment integration is the component that lets an app accept a payment from users, connecting to a processor like Stripe to handle the transaction securely. Payment handling involves real security and compliance requirements, since an app is processing sensitive card data even if only briefly, before passing it to the processor.

Progressive Web App (PWA)

A progressive web app is a website built to behave like an app, with offline support and a home screen icon, but it runs through a browser engine rather than compiling to native code. PWAs are faster to build than native apps but come with significant limits: No listing in the Apple App Store, restricted access to hardware features, and generally weaker performance overall.

PWA vs. native on Thunkable

Several no-code builders are PWA-only, which means their apps cannot appear in the Apple App Store or Google Play at all. Thunkable builds true native apps, so if your plan includes App Store distribution, that path is available from day one instead of requiring a migration later.

Prompt-Based App Development

Prompt-based app development means building an app by writing instructions in everyday language rather than configuring components or writing syntax. A prompt can create a full screen, add a feature, or restyle an entire app. It is the interaction model underneath vibe coding and the primary way Thunkable creators build their own apps.

Example prompts

• “Add a login screen with email and Google sign-in”
• “Turn this list into a map view”
• “Build a pricing tier screen with a recommended midway price column”

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These are typical examples of prompts, but Thunkable is built to be flexible and can handle as many iterations of your ideas as you need. Thunkable’s AI Builder will interpret the request, build the corresponding screens and logic, and show you the results immediately in a live preview. 

Provisioning Profile

A provisioning profile is an Apple-issued file that links a specific app, developer account, and set of devices, authorizing that app to run on iOS during development and testing. Provisioning profiles are a required, and often confusing, part of iOS development, since Apple uses them to control exactly which apps can install on which devices before formal App Store release.

Push Notification

A push notification is a message sent from an app to a user’s device even when the app is closed, appearing on the lock screen or notification tray. Push notifications require native app capabilities. Web apps and most PWAs cannot send true push notifications the way a native app can, particularly on iOS.

Adding push notifications in Thunkable

Thunkable’s push notification component connected to OneSignal, a third-party notification service, and sending to Android devices also requires linking a Firebase project for credentials. Once that connection is in place, you can prompt the AI Builder to add a push notification trigger, or wire it up directly in the blocks editor for finer control over timing and targeting.

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R

Rapid Application Development (RAD)

Rapid Application Development is a software development approach that prioritizes fast, iterative building and testing over extensive upfront planning and documentation. RAD emerged decades before modern no-code tools, but the philosophy is the same one driving today’s AI app builders:

1. Build something that works, fast
2. Get feedback
3. Iterate based on that feedback

RAD removes months of designing before being able to push the first version out to real people.

Recording

Recording is the component category covering video and screen capture directly from within an app, letting users generate their own content instead of only consuming it. User-generated video is a core feature for social apps, tutorial apps, and any product built around people creating and sharing content with each other.

Reviews

In the context of app development, reviews are the ratings and written feedback users leave developers for their apps on the App Store or Google Play after downloading it. Reviews directly influence both a potential user’s decision to download and an app’s ranking in app store search results, along with determining how a developer updates and improves future iterations of their app. This makes user reviews an integral part of App Store Optimization (ASO) and user retention.

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S

Software Development Kit (SDK)

A Software Development Kit, or SDK, is a bunch of tools, libraries, and documentation that lets developers add a specific service or or feature to an app. Payment processors, analytics tools, and ad networks all typically ship an SDK so developers can integrate their service without building the connection from scratch.

SDKs and no-code app development

Traditional SDK integration requires writing native code for iOS and Android separately. Thunkable’s component library packages many common SDK integrations into ready-to-use, drag-and-drop pieces, so the underlying complexity doesn’t slow you down.

Sensor API (Device Sensors)

A sensor API gives an app programmatic access to the physical sensors built into a phone, including the accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, and proximity sensor. Sensor data powers everything from step counters to augmented reality apps to games that respond to how you tilt and move your phone.

Sensors in Thunkable

Thunkable exposes device sensors as ready-to-use components, including the accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer, so you can read live sensor data with a block or a prompt instead of writing native sensor-handling code for two operating systems separately.

Single Sign-on (SSO)

Single sign-on lets a user log into an app using an existing account, typically from Google, Apple, or a company identity provider, instead of creating a new username and password. SSO reduces signup friction and cuts down on forgotten password-specific support requests, since users are logging in with credentials they already use daily. 

Speech-to-Text

Speech-to-text is technology that converts spoken audio into written text in real time or from a recorded clip. It powers voice commands, dictation features, and accessibility tools that let users interact with an app without typing.

Splash Screen

A splash screen is the branded loading screen an app briefly displays as it starts up, before the main interface appears. A splash screen also covers the small delay every app has while it initializes, and it is often the first visual impression of an app’s brand.

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics) Education Apps

STEM education apps are mobile or web applications designed to teach science, technology, engineering, or mathematics concepts, often through interactive or project-based learning. App building itself has become a popular STEM subject, since it combines logic, design, and problem solving into one hands-on project that produces something a student can actually show off.

Storage

Storage, in the context of an app, refers to where the app’s data lives, whether that is on the device itself or on a remote server. Every app needs a storage strategy, even a simple one, to remember user preferences, save content, or keep someone logged in between sessions.

Subscription

A subscription is a recurring app monetization model where users pay on a regular schedule, usually monthly or annually, for continued access to an app and its premium features. Subscriptions provide predictable, recurring revenue, which is part of why they have become the dominant monetization model for apps with ongoing utility rather than a single use.

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T

Text-to-App

Text-to-app is the shorthand term for turning a written description directly into a functioning application. It describes the same thing as prompt-based development and vibe coding, and it is often used in comparisons of AI app builders because it captures the whole pitch in three words.

Text-to-Speech (TTS)

Text-to-speech (TTS) is technology that converts written text into spoken audio, read aloud by a synthetic voice. It is widely used for accessibility, letting visually impaired users hear content instead of only being able to read it, along with finding main feature-level utility in language learning apps and for hands-free use cases like driving.

Time to Market

Time to market, in the context of an app, is the length of time between an idea and its public launch. Shorter time to market means faster feedback, faster revenue, and less time for a competitor to launch something similar before you.

Why time to market is one of Thunkable’s major benefits

Reducing time to market is the central promise behind vibe coding an app instead of hiring a development team. What used to take weeks of design and development can now happen in a single sitting, with a true native app ready to test the same day the idea takes shape.

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V

Versioning

Versioning is the practice of assigning a version number to each release of an app, tracking updates over time is a consistent, predictable format. Clear versioning helps both users and app stores understand whether they are looking at the latest release, and it is required metadata for every App Store and Google Play submission.

Vibe Coding

Vibe Coding is building software by describing what you want in plain language and letting an AI model generate the working result. Instead of writing lines of code, you describe the app(s), screen(s), and feature(s) you want as a prompt or series of prompts, and AI builds it for you. The term was coined by Andrej Karpathy in 2025 to describe development where you “give in to the vibes” and let AI models handle implementation while you essentially give creative and iterative direction.

On Thunkable, vibe coding is the core way creators start building their own apps: Describe your app idea in the AI builder, and in return, get a true native app. Then, keep chatting to refine it and steer the outcome toward exactly what you want.

How vibe coding works in Thunkable

You open a chat, describe your app idea, and Thunkable’s AI Builder generates screens, logic, and design in response. You can keep prompting to do a bunch of things:

1. Change features
2. Add/change colors
3. Fix/modify/add behaviors

You can also switch between the Block Editor and Code Editor any time you want more control over the output. What you’ll get is a real, native iOS and Android app you can test on a device right away.

Vibe coding vs. traditional no-code

Older no-code tools still require you to place every component and wire up every action by hand. Vibe coding removes that manual assembly step. You direct the outcome in words, and the platform handles the construction, which is why it has become the fastest on-ramp for people with zero coding experience. Not knowing how to code shouldn’t mean not being able to create something awesome to share with the world.

Video

Video is the app component that lets you embed, play, and control video content directly inside an app, from onboarding walkthroughs to social feeds to to product demos. Adding native video used to mean writing separate playback code for iOS and Android and handling formats, buffering, and controls by hand.

Building a video app with AI, no code required

With Thunkable’s AI Builder, adding video only requires a prompt. Ask for a video feed, a looping background video on your splash screen, or an in-app video player with custom controls, and the AI Builder generates the screen and logic for you.

This is what a vibe coded video app actually looks like in practice: Describe the feature in plain language, and Thunkable’s AI handles the native video implementation on both iOS and Android at once.

Visual Programming Language

A visual programming language expresses logic through connected graphical blocks or shapes instead of typed text syntax. Scratch, MIT App Inventor, and Thunkable’s own block editor are all examples. 

Each block is shaped to connect only with blocks that are logically compatible, so the visual structure itself represents the program’s logic.

Thunkable’s block editor

Thunkable’s blocks are directly descended from the visual programming approach pioneered at MIT App Inventor, the project that two of Thunkable’s founders helped build before starting the company. It is one reason Thunkable has a strong, lasting foundation in classrooms in addition to startups.

Voice Recording

Voice recording is the component that captures audio directly from a device’s microphone, storing it for playback, transcription, or sharing. Voice recording powers voice memo apps, voice messaging features, and any app that needs a spoken input alternative to typing.

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W

Widget

A widget is a small, self-contained interface element. Examples of widgets include:

• Buttons
• Weather displays
• Calendars
• Clocks
• To-do lists

Widgets can either be used inside an app’s screens, or placed directly on a device’s home or secondary screens outside of the app itself. Home screen widgets give users a glance at key information without fully opening the app, which can meaningfully increase how often an app gets used.

WYSIWYG Editor

WYSIWYG stands for “what you see is what you get”, describing an editor where the layout you build on screen matches the final result exactly. The term originated in desktop publishing and now applies broadly to no-code design canvases like Thunkable’s editors, where you place and style elements visually instead of describing their position in code.

AI Code Generation

AI code generation is the process of an AI model writing usable source code in response to a prompt or written description. It is the underlying technology that powers AI app builders. Some tools stop at generating code you have to assemble yourself. Others, like Thunkable’s AI Builder, generate the code and assemble it into a running, testable app in the same step.

AI Pair Programmer

An AI pair programmer is an AI assistant that works alongside you during development, suggesting code, catching errors, and implementing changes as you go. The term comes from “pair programming”, where two human developers work at one workstation. 

Tools like Cursor and Claude Code act as an AI pair programmer for traditional coders. Thunkable’s AI Builder plays a similar role for no-code creators: It writes, tests, and adjusts your app’s logic in response to your direction, without requiring you to know how to code in the first place.

Android App Bundle (AAB)

An Android App Bundle is the packaging format Google Play requires for new app submissions, replacing the older APK format for store distribution. Google Play uses the AAB to generate optimized APKs for each specific device configuration, which keeps download sizes smaller than shipping one universal file to every phone.

API (Application Programming Interface)

An API is a defined set of rules that lets one piece of software request data or functionality from another, such as an app pulling weather data from a weather service. APIs are what let apps talk to the outside world: Payment processors, mapping services, social platforms, and countless other tools all expose an API for developers to connect to.

Connecting APIs in Thunkable

Thunkable lets you connect to any REST API to pull in outside data or functionality, whether you build that connection through blocks, code, or a prompt to the AI Builder describing what data you want to bring in.

APK

APK, short for Android Package Kit, is the file format used to install an app directly onto an Android device outside of the Google Play Store. APKs are commonly used for testing, sideloading, or distributing an app outside of official app stores. Google Play submissions now require the AAB format instead, which generates optimized APKs after being passed over to the store.

App Bundle

An app bundle is the packaged collection of an app’s code, assets, and configuration files compiled together into the format a device or app store requires to install and run it. On Android specifically, this packaged format is called an Android App Bundle (AAB).

App Icon

An app icon is the small graphic that represents an app on a device’s home screen and inside the App Store or Google Play listing. PRO TIP: An app icon needs to read and be seen clearly at a tiny size and stand out in a crowded home screen or search results page, which makes it one of the highest-leverage design decisions for an app.

App Monetization Models

App monetization models are the different strategies for generating revenue from an app, including subscriptions, in-app purchases (IAPs), advertising, and “freemium” pricing. The right model (or models, as these can be combined) depends heavily on your app’s use case. For instance:

• A productivity app with daily use often fits a subscription monetization model
• A game often fits in-app purchase and advertising models

There is no universal answer and depends entirely on your app type, as well as what you think will be the best way forward.

App Store Connect

App Store Connect is Apple’s web portal where developers manage app submissions, versions, pricing, and analytics for apps on the App Store. Every app published to the App Store gets set up and managed through App Store Connect, including the metadata, screenshots, and pricing that shape the store listing itself.

App Store Optimization (ASO)

App Store Optimization is the practice of improving your app’s visibility and conversion rate inside the Apple App Store and Google Play by optimizing its name, keywords, screenshots, and description. ASO works alongside, not instead of, a good app. The App Store and Google Play both rank listings using a mix of keyword relevance, install velocity, and ratings, so a strong listing draws organic traffic before you spend a dollar on ads.

ASO basics for a new app

Start with a clear app title that includes your primary keyword, write a description that states the core benefit in the first line, and choose screenshots that show the actual app experience rather than marketing graphics. These fundamentals apply whether your app was hand-coded or vibe coded, since the app stores rank listings the same way regardless of how the app was built.

App Store Submission and App Store Review

App Store submission is the process of packaging your finished app and sending it to Apple or Google for approval, and App Store Review is the evaluation each store performs before your app goes live. Apple’s review tends to be stricter and slower, often checking for functionality, content, and whether the app provides genuine value beyond a wrapped website. Google Play review is typically faster but still enforces its own policy set.

Submitting from Thunkable

Thunkable guides you through both submissions from inside the platform, though the two paths differ. Apple submissions go straight to TestFlight through Thunkable’s publishing wizard, while Android submissions arrive as a downloadable app file you upload to the Google Play Store yourself. Because Thunkable compiles true native apps rather than wrapped web pages, submissions are less likely to run into the functionality objections that trip up wrapper-based apps during review.

Apple App Store

The Apple App Store is the official marketplace for iOS apps, and the only sanctioned way most users install apps on an iPhone. Every app listed on the App Store passes through Apple’s review process first, which checks functionality, content, and compliance with Apple’s guidelines before publishing an app publicly.

Audio

Audio is the app component that handles playing sound, whether that is music, ambient effects, or spoken content, from inside an app. Audio playback needs to keep working reliably in the background and respond correctly to interruptions, like an incoming phone call, without crashing the app.

Audio Player

An audio player is the interface component that lets users play, pause, skip, and otherwise control audio content inside an app. A well-built audio player handles background playback, lockscreen controls, and interruption handling correctly, which is easier to get right in a native app than a browser-based one.

Authentication

Authentication is the process of verifying a user’s identity before granting them access to an app or specific features inside it. Authentication can happen through a password, a one-time code, a biometric scan, or a third-party login like Google or Apple.

Authentication in Thunkable

Thunkable provides pre-built sign-up and sign-in blocks that connect to Firebase Authentication, along with dedicated blocks for Google and Apple sign-in.

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B

Backend

The backend is the server-side part of an app that handles data storage, business logic, and authentication, working behind the scenes to support what users see on the frontend. A weak backend shows up as a slow, unreliable app, even if the frontend design looks great, since the backend is what actually stores and retrieves the data the frontend uses and displays.

Frontend and backend in Thunkable

You design the frontend in Thunkable, visually or by prompt, and connect it to a backend through Thunkable’s data source and authentication blocks. Firebase, Airtable, Google Sheets, and similar connected services handle the actual data storage and logic (see also: Backend-as-a-Service), and the server code itself lives with that connected service rather than something you write or host directly.

Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS)

Backend-as-a-service is a model where the server, database, and authentication infrastructure behind an app are managed by the platform, so you never have to set up or maintain that infrastructure yourself. Traditionally, standing up a backend meant provisioning servers, configuring a database, and writing authentication logic before you could build a single app feature.

How this shows up in Thunkable

Thunkable is primarily a frontend builder, so it connected to outside BaaS and database platforms rather than running its own backend server. 

• Firebase handles authentication
• Airtable, Google Sheets, and Webflow facilitate cloud data storage
• Integrations like Backendless and Xano cover more advanced backend needs

Thunkable also includes a simple Local DB for data that only needs to live on an individual device.

Beta

A beta version of an app is a pre-release build shared with a limited group of testers to catch bugs and gather feedback before a full public launch. Apple’s TestFlight and Google Play’s internal testing tracks are the standard ways to distribute a beta build ahead of a storewide release.

Biometrics

Biometrics use a device’s fingerprint or facial recognition hardware to verify a user’s identity inside an app. Biometric login replaces typing a password with a fingerprint or a glance at the camera, cutting friction at the exact moment users are most likely to abandon a sign-in flow.

Block-Based Programming

Block-based programming is a visual coding method where you build logic by snapping together labeled blocks that represent actions, conditions, and data, instead of typing syntax. Each block is shaped to connect only with blocks that are logically compatible, and that shape constraint prevents most syntax errors, since a block that doesn’t belong simply won’t connect.

Why block-based programming matters, especially for education

Block-based programming, popularized by MIT’s Scratch, is widely used to teach programming concepts because it lets students focus on logic and sequencing without getting stuck on punctuation or syntax. Thunkable’s block editor uses this same model, which is a core reason more than 10,000 educational organizations use Thunkable to teach app development and computer science fundamentals.

Block-based vs. AI prompting

Thunkable creators can mix both approaches in the same project. You can prompt the AI Builder to generate a feature, then open the blocks view to see exactly how it works and adjust the logic by hand, which makes block-based programming a learning tool even for creators who started by vibe coding.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a short-range wireless standard that lets a phone communicate directly with nearby devices without a Wi-Fi network or cellular connection. Apps use Bluetooth to pair with headphones, printers, fitness trackers, and countless other accessories.

Bluetooth as a Thunkable component

Bluetooth is available as a drag-and-drop component in Thunkable, letting your app scan for, connect to, and exchange data with nearby Bluetooth devices without writing native connectivity code.

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) for devices with small batteries

Bluetooth Low Energy is a version of Bluetooth built for devices that need to run for months or years on a small battery, such as fitness trackers, smart locks, and sensors. BLE trades raw data speed for dramatically lower power draw, which is exactly the trade-off most connected hardware accessories need.

Direct BLE communication is one of Thunkable’s key technical differentiators, and it is a capability several competing no-code and AI app builders simply do not offer. If your app connects to a physical device (ex. a smart home gadget, a fitness wearable, a hardware), Thunkable’s native BLE support is often the deciding factor over platforms limited to web-based output.

Bugs

A bug is any unintended behavior in an app, ranging from small issues like visual glitches to huge ones, like a crash that stops the app from working entirely. Catching bugs before publishing matters, since App Store reviewers and users both notice broken functionality quickly, and negative early reviews are hard to recover from.

Testing for bugs in Thunkable

Thunkable’s live testing feature lets you run your app on a real iOS or Android device while you build, which surfaces bugs immediately instead of waiting for a full compile and export cycle to catch them.

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C

Camera

The camera component gives an app access to a device’s built-in camera for taking photos or recording video from inside the app. Camera access enables everything from profile photo uploads and updates to barcode scanning to augmented reality filters.

Adding a camera feature in Thunkable

The camera is a drag-and-drop component in Thunkable, or you can prompt the AI Builder to add a photo capture screen directly, without writing native camera-permission code for iOS and Android separately.

Certification

Certification, in mobile publishing, refers to the code-signing and identity verification process that proves an app comes from a verified developer before it can be installed or distributed. Both Apple and Google require certification steps before allowing an app onto their platforms, as a safeguard against unverified or tampered software.

Citizen Developer

A citizen developer is someone who builds applications using no-code or low-code tools without formal software development training or engineering experience. The term reflects a true shift currently happening in companies: operations managers, marketers, and founders now regularly build, or contribute to the building of, internal tools and customer-facing apps themselves.

Cloud Storage

Cloud storage keeps an app’s data on remote servers rather than on a local device, making it accessible from any device the user logs into. Cloud storage is what makes an account, and the data tied to it, portable between phones, tablets, and web browsers.

Storage in Thunkable

Thunkable’s Local DB stores data on the device itself, while cloud storage that syncs across devices runs through a connected data source, most commonly Airtable, Google Sheets, or Webflow. Choosing between them comes down to whether your app’s data needs to follow a user across devices or only needs to persist on the one they are using.

Cloudinary

Cloudinary is a third-party media management service that stores, optimizes, and delivers images and video for an app, handling resizing and format conversion automatically. Rather than storing every media file at full size and hoping it loads quickly on a slow connection, Cloudinary serves an appropriately-sized version on the fly based on the device requesting it.

Using Cloudinary in Thunkable

Thunkable supports Cloudinary integration for apps with heavy media needs, giving creators a production-grade media pipeline for images and video without building that infrastructure themselves.

Coding for Kids

Coding for kids refers to programming education designed for children and teens, usually built around visual, block-based tools instead of text-based syntax. Block-based coding removes the syntax barrier that trips up beginners, letting younger students focus on logic and creativity from their very first lesson. 

Thunkable’s role in youth coding

Thunkable’s block editor descends directly from MIT App Inventor, a tool built specifically to teach programming to beginners, including kids. That lineage is part of why Thunkable has a legitimate purpose in classrooms.

Compass

The compass component reads a device’s magnetometer to determine which direction the phone is facing relative to magnetic North. Compass data is used in navigation apps, outdoor recreation apps, and any app experience that needs real-world directional orientation.

Component Library

A component library is a collection of pre-built, reusable interface pieces like buttons, forms, cards, navigation bars, that a builder can drag into a project instead of designing them from scratch. A strong component library is what makes drag-and-drop app building fast in the first place, since most apps reuse the same handful of interface patterns.

Thunkable’s component library

Thunkable’s component library covers everything from basic layout elements to device features like the camera and Bluetooth, giving both block-based builders and the AI Builder a shared set of proven, native building blocks to draw from.

Computer Science

Computer science is an education curriculum designed to teach programming concepts and computational thinking. A strong computer science curriculum builds concepts in order (sequencing, conditionals, loops, data) rather than throwing students straight into unfamiliar tools and scenarios.

Thunkable’s education program

Thunkable offers a full computer science curriculum built around its block-based editor, used by more than 10,000 educational organizations and recognized on the GSV 150 list of influential education companies. Students build real, working apps as they learn, rather than abstract exercises disconnected from their end result.

Conversational App Building

Conversational app building means developing an app through an ongoing back-and-forth chat with an AI assistant rather than a single one-time prompt. You build in rounds:

Describe a feature → Review the result → Ask for a change → Repeat

This is how Discuss Mode works inside Thunkable’s AI Builder, turning app building into a running conversation with the tool that built it, which makes revisions and additions faster than ever.

Cross-Platform App Development

Cross-platform app development means building one app project that runs on both iOS and Android, instead of writing and maintaining two separate codebases. The appeal is obvious: One build, two app stores, half the ongoing maintenance. Historically, the tradeoff has been performance quality or feature access, though modern native-compiling platforms have closed most of that gap.

How Thunkable handles cross-platform app development

You build a project once inside Thunkable, and it compiles to a native iOS app and a native Android app from the same source. Both versions get full device access, so each platform gets the same complete, native experience.

D

Dark Mode

Dark mode is a color scheme option that uses dark backgrounds with light text as an alternative to an app’s standard “light” interface. Dark mode reduces eye strain in low light and has become an expected option rather than a novelty, particularly among users who keep their phone’s system setting on dark by default.

Deep Linking

Deep linking is a technique that opens a specific screen inside an app directly from a link, instead of dropping the user on the app’s home screen. A deep link might take someone straight to a product page, a specific profile, or a checkout flow from an email, ad, or text message. It removes friction between the moment someone clicks and the content they actually want.

Design

Design, in app development, refers to an app’s visual layout, color choices, typography, and overall user experience, everything a user sees and interacts with. Good app design balances visual appeal with clarity, since an app that looks polished but confuses users will lose them at the first unclear screen.

Download

A download, in the context of app publishing, refers to a user installing an app from the App Store or Google Play onto their device. In terms of engagement, downloads are one of the most visible success metrics for an app, though they matter most when paired with strong retention, since a download that never gets opened again is not much of a win.

Drag-and-Drop App Builder

A drag-and-drop app builder lets you construct an app’s interface by dragging visual components like buttons, text fields, and images onto a canvas rather than writing layout code. This was the first generation of no-code app building, and it remains the foundation most modern AI-assisted builders, including Thunkable, are built on top of.

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F

Flashlight

The flashlight component lets an app control a device’s built-in flash or LED light, independent of the camera. Flashlight access is common in utility apps, safety apps, and any app that needs a simple, reliable light source without going through the camera interface.

Freemium

Freemium is an app monetization model that offers a free version of an app with core functionality, then charges for premium features, higher usage limits, or an ad-free experience. Freemium works by lowering the barrier to that first download to nearly zero, then converting a percentage of engaged users to paying customers once they hit a limit or want more.

Frontend

The frontend is the part of an app users directly see and interact with: The screens, buttons, layouts, and visual design. Frontend work covers everything on the surface of an app, while the logic and data behind that surface live in the backend.

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G

Google Authentication

Google Authentication is a specific single sign-on method that lets users log into an app using their existing Google account. It is one of the most widely used SSO options because of how many people already have an active Google account on their phone.

Google Play

Google Play, also called the Google Play Store, is the official marketplace for Android apps. Google Play’s review process is generally faster than Apple’s, though it still enforces content and functionality policies before an app goes live.

Gyroscope

The gyroscope is a device sensor that measures rotation and orientation, letting an app detect how a phone is being tilted or turned in three-dimensional space. Gyroscope data is common in games, augmented reality, video streaming apps, and any interface that responds to how the user physically moves their device.

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H

Haptic Feedback

Haptic feedback is the small vibration or tactical response a device produces as a reaction to a user action, like tapping a button. Well-placed haptic feedback makes an app interface feel more responsive and substantial, confirming an action happened without requiring the users to look for a visual change.

Home Screen

In app design, the home screen is the first interactive screen a user lands on after an app finishes loading. The home screen carries the most traffic of any screen in an app, so its layout and navigation choices have an outsized effect on how easily users find what they came for.

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I

Image

Image is the app component that handles displaying, uploading, or manipulating photos and graphics inside an app. Image handling needs to account for different screen sizes and resolutions, so a photo looks sharp on every device rather than stretched or pixelated.

In-App Purchase (IAP)

An in-app purchase is a transaction made from inside an app to unlock additional content, features, or virtual goods. IAPs cover everything from removing ads to buying in-game currency to unlocking a pro feature set, and they route through Apple’s or Google’s payment systems, which take a revenue share on most transactions.

Setting up IAPs in Thunkable

Thunkable’s IAP component connects through RevenueCat, a third-party subscription and purchase management platform, to handle billing on both the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Integrations

 Integrations are connections between an app and outside services, tools, or platforms, letting data and functionality flow between them. Common integrations include payment processors, email tools, analytics platforms, and social logins, each typically connected through an API or SDK.

Internal Tools

Internal tools are apps built for a company’s own employees to use, such as inventory trackers, scheduling apps, or approval workflows, rather than for public customers. Internal tools rarely need  polish for app store attractiveness, but they do need to be reliable, fast to update, and cheap to maintain, which makes them a natural fit for no-code building.

Building internal tools with Thunkable

Thunkable’s Operations and IT solutions are built precisely for this use case: Letting a team build and update its own internal app without opening a ticket with engineering every time a workflow changes. 

iOS 

iOS is Apple’s mobile operating system, running on every iPhone, and one of two platforms, alongside Android, that most mobile apps need to support. Building for iOS means following Apple’s design guidelines and passing Apple’s app review process before an app can appear in the app store.

IoT App Development

IoT app development is building the mobile app that controls, monitors, or receives data from an internet-connected physical device. IoT is an acronym for “Internet of Things”, which is the broad category of internet-connected hardware, from smart thermostats to industrial sensors, that pair with a companion app.

Building IoT apps without code

Thunkable’s combination of native compilation, Bluetooth and BLE support, and sensor access makes it a practical fit for IoT companion apps, letting hardware startups and hobbyists build an app without hiring a mobile developer.

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K

Keys (API Keys)

An API key is a unique credential an app uses to authenticate itself when connecting to a third-party service or backend. Losing control of an API key can allow unauthorized users to make requests and potentially damage–or rack up charges on–your account, so keys are typically stored securely rather than hard-coded into an app’s visible logic.

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L

License

In app development, a license is the legal agreement governing how software, code, or a component can be used, modified, or distributed. Every third-party library or component your app uses comes with its own license terms, and mixing incompatible licenses can create real legal exposure once an app is published commercially.

Loading Screen

A loading screen appears while an app fetches data or completes a task, giving the user visual confirmation that something is happening rather than the app being frozen. Good loading states, even a simple spinner, reduce the chance a user gives up and closes the app during a brief waiting period.

Local Storage

Local storage keeps data saved directly on the user’s device rather than sending it to a remote server. Local storage is fast and works without an internet connection, which makes it the foundation of any offline-first app.

Location (Geolocation)

The location component, also called geolocation, gives an app access to a device’s GPS coordinates to determine where the user physically is. Location data powers navigation, delivery tracking, nearby search results, and check-in features. 

Low-Code

Low-code refers to development tools that minimize handwritten code through visual tools and pre-built components, while still allowing developers to write custom code where needed. The distinction from no-code matters for hiring and workflow. Low-code tools generally assume there is at least one technical team member who can step in and code when the visual/block-building layer hits its limits.

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M

Maps

The maps component embeds an interactive map inside of an app, typically showing the user’s location, points of interest, or a route between two or more places. Maps are one of the most requested components across nearly every app category, from real estate to food delivery to field service.

Media Storage

Media storage is storage specifically designed to hold larger files like images, video, and audio, as opposed to small pieces of structured data like text or numbers. Media files are much larger than typical database records, so they are usually stored separately from an app’s main database and referenced by a link rather than stored directly inside it.

Modal

A modal is a screen or window that appears on top of an app’s current content, requiring the user to interact with it or dismiss it before continuing. Modals are used for confirmation, quick forms, and alerts where interrupting the main flow briefly is useful for the user.

MVP (Minimum Viable Product)

An MVP is the simplest working version of a product that still delivers enough value to test with real users and validate the underlying idea. The point of an MVP is to learn whether people actually want something before spending months of time and a large budget fully building something, like an app, out.

Building an MVP on Thunkable

Because Thunkable compiles a true native app, your MVP is a real, publishable app from the start. You can put it front of users, gather feedback, and keep building on the same project once you’re ready to scale, with no need to transfer or rebuild in a different tool.

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N

Native App vs. Hybrid App vs. Web App

A native app is built and compiled specifically for iOS or Android and runs directly on the device, while a hybrid app wraps web code in a native shell, and a web app runs directly and entirely inside a browser. The distinction determines what your app will actually be able to do.

‍Native apps get full access to the camera, GPS, Bluetooth, push notifications, and offline storage, and they run at full device speed. 

Hybrid and web apps are limited by what the browser layer allows, and they often move slower and feel less polished.

Why this matters when picking a builder

Some no-code platforms produce web apps dressed up to look native, then require a separate wrapper service to reach the app store of your choice. Thunkable compiles a true native binary for iOS and Android from your project, so what you build is what actually ships, prepared for full functionality on users’ devices.

Natural Language Programming (NLP)

Natural language programming, or NLP, is writing software instructions in ordinary language instead of formal programming syntax. It is the broader, more technical term for what vibe coding and prompt-based development do in practice. Instead of writing code, the AI model you’re working with translates your plain-language requests into working logic to create your apps.

Navigation Bar

A navigation bar is the persistent menu, usually along the bottom or top of the screen, that lets users move between an app’s main sections. A clear navigation bar is one of the simplest ways to make an app feel familiar, since it follows a pattern nearly every mobile app user already recognizes. 

NFC (Near-Field Communication)

NFC is a short-range wireless technology that lets two devices exchange data by being held within a couple of inches of each other, the same technology behind tap-to-pay. Beyond payments, NFC is used for access badges, smart tags, and pairing hardware with a single tap instead of a manual Bluetooth pairing flow. 

No-Code

No-code refers to development tools that let you build a complete, working application without writing any code, using visual components, blocks, or prompts instead. No-code removes the syntax layer entirely, letting you work directly with the aforementioned visual building blocks, layouts, and, on newer platforms, plain-language prompts.

No-code on Thunkable

Thunkable was built to be a no-code solution from the start, well before AI entered the picture, using a visual design canvas paired with a block-based logic editor inspired by MIT’s Scratch. The AI Builder adds a prompt-based layer on top of that same no-code foundation, so you can build entirely by chatting, or with blocks, or a blend of both approaches within the same project.

No-code MVP

A no-code MVP is a minimum viable product (MVP) built entirely with no-code tools, letting a founder test an idea without hiring a developer or writing a line of code. This has become the default starting point for most non-technical founders, since it removes the biggest early cost and delay: Finding and paying a technical co-founder or contractor before you even know if the idea works.

No-code vs. Low-code

No-code tools require zero coding knowledge to build a complete app, while low-code tools reduce the amount of code needed but still expect some technical skill for more advanced logic. The right choice depends on who is building. A solo founder with no technical background needs true no-code. A product team with an engineer on staff would do fine with low-code, perhaps even preferring it for technical flexibility.

No-code and low-code accessibility with Thunkable

Thunkable starts as a true noc-de experience, buildable entirely through prompts or blocks. You or a teammate can also  open the built-in code editor at any point and write directly, pairing the accessibility of no-code with a low-code escape hatch for whenever you want it.

Notification

A notification is any message an app surfaces to alert a user, whether it appears on the lock screen as a push notification or inside the app itself as an in-app alert. Notifications are one of the most effective tools for bringing users back to an app, and also one of the easiest features to overuse until users disable them entirely, so be sure to use them wisely.

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O

Offline-First App

An offline-first app is designed to keep working, saving data locally, when the device has no internet connection, then syncing that data once a connection returns. This matters most for field service, travel, and rural-use apps where a reliable connection cannot be guaranteed. An app that breaks the moment it loses signal will lose users fast in those contexts.

Building offline support in Thunkable 

Thunkable supports local, on-device storage alongside cloud storage, so you can design an app that saves data locally when offline and syncs it back once the device reconnects. This is a significant differentiator against no-code tools limited to browser-based storage, which typically break the moment the connection drops.

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P

Payment and Payment Integration

Payment integration is the component that lets an app accept a payment from users, connecting to a processor like Stripe to handle the transaction securely. Payment handling involves real security and compliance requirements, since an app is processing sensitive card data even if only briefly, before passing it to the processor.

Progressive Web App (PWA)

A progressive web app is a website built to behave like an app, with offline support and a home screen icon, but it runs through a browser engine rather than compiling to native code. PWAs are faster to build than native apps but come with significant limits: No listing in the Apple App Store, restricted access to hardware features, and generally weaker performance overall.

PWA vs. native on Thunkable

Several no-code builders are PWA-only, which means their apps cannot appear in the Apple App Store or Google Play at all. Thunkable builds true native apps, so if your plan includes App Store distribution, that path is available from day one instead of requiring a migration later.

Prompt-Based App Development

Prompt-based app development means building an app by writing instructions in everyday language rather than configuring components or writing syntax. A prompt can create a full screen, add a feature, or restyle an entire app. It is the interaction model underneath vibe coding and the primary way Thunkable creators build their own apps.

Example prompts

• “Add a login screen with email and Google sign-in”
• “Turn this list into a map view”
• “Build a pricing tier screen with a recommended midway price column”

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These are typical examples of prompts, but Thunkable is built to be flexible and can handle as many iterations of your ideas as you need. Thunkable’s AI Builder will interpret the request, build the corresponding screens and logic, and show you the results immediately in a live preview. 

Provisioning Profile

A provisioning profile is an Apple-issued file that links a specific app, developer account, and set of devices, authorizing that app to run on iOS during development and testing. Provisioning profiles are a required, and often confusing, part of iOS development, since Apple uses them to control exactly which apps can install on which devices before formal App Store release.

Push Notification

A push notification is a message sent from an app to a user’s device even when the app is closed, appearing on the lock screen or notification tray. Push notifications require native app capabilities. Web apps and most PWAs cannot send true push notifications the way a native app can, particularly on iOS.

Adding push notifications in Thunkable

Thunkable’s push notification component connected to OneSignal, a third-party notification service, and sending to Android devices also requires linking a Firebase project for credentials. Once that connection is in place, you can prompt the AI Builder to add a push notification trigger, or wire it up directly in the blocks editor for finer control over timing and targeting.

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R

Rapid Application Development (RAD)

Rapid Application Development is a software development approach that prioritizes fast, iterative building and testing over extensive upfront planning and documentation. RAD emerged decades before modern no-code tools, but the philosophy is the same one driving today’s AI app builders:

1. Build something that works, fast
2. Get feedback
3. Iterate based on that feedback

RAD removes months of designing before being able to push the first version out to real people.

Recording

Recording is the component category covering video and screen capture directly from within an app, letting users generate their own content instead of only consuming it. User-generated video is a core feature for social apps, tutorial apps, and any product built around people creating and sharing content with each other.

Reviews

In the context of app development, reviews are the ratings and written feedback users leave developers for their apps on the App Store or Google Play after downloading it. Reviews directly influence both a potential user’s decision to download and an app’s ranking in app store search results, along with determining how a developer updates and improves future iterations of their app. This makes user reviews an integral part of App Store Optimization (ASO) and user retention.

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S

Software Development Kit (SDK)

A Software Development Kit, or SDK, is a bunch of tools, libraries, and documentation that lets developers add a specific service or or feature to an app. Payment processors, analytics tools, and ad networks all typically ship an SDK so developers can integrate their service without building the connection from scratch.

SDKs and no-code app development

Traditional SDK integration requires writing native code for iOS and Android separately. Thunkable’s component library packages many common SDK integrations into ready-to-use, drag-and-drop pieces, so the underlying complexity doesn’t slow you down.

Sensor API (Device Sensors)

A sensor API gives an app programmatic access to the physical sensors built into a phone, including the accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, and proximity sensor. Sensor data powers everything from step counters to augmented reality apps to games that respond to how you tilt and move your phone.

Sensors in Thunkable

Thunkable exposes device sensors as ready-to-use components, including the accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer, so you can read live sensor data with a block or a prompt instead of writing native sensor-handling code for two operating systems separately.

Single Sign-on (SSO)

Single sign-on lets a user log into an app using an existing account, typically from Google, Apple, or a company identity provider, instead of creating a new username and password. SSO reduces signup friction and cuts down on forgotten password-specific support requests, since users are logging in with credentials they already use daily. 

Speech-to-Text

Speech-to-text is technology that converts spoken audio into written text in real time or from a recorded clip. It powers voice commands, dictation features, and accessibility tools that let users interact with an app without typing.

Splash Screen

A splash screen is the branded loading screen an app briefly displays as it starts up, before the main interface appears. A splash screen also covers the small delay every app has while it initializes, and it is often the first visual impression of an app’s brand.

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics) Education Apps

STEM education apps are mobile or web applications designed to teach science, technology, engineering, or mathematics concepts, often through interactive or project-based learning. App building itself has become a popular STEM subject, since it combines logic, design, and problem solving into one hands-on project that produces something a student can actually show off.

Storage

Storage, in the context of an app, refers to where the app’s data lives, whether that is on the device itself or on a remote server. Every app needs a storage strategy, even a simple one, to remember user preferences, save content, or keep someone logged in between sessions.

Subscription

A subscription is a recurring app monetization model where users pay on a regular schedule, usually monthly or annually, for continued access to an app and its premium features. Subscriptions provide predictable, recurring revenue, which is part of why they have become the dominant monetization model for apps with ongoing utility rather than a single use.

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T

Text-to-App

Text-to-app is the shorthand term for turning a written description directly into a functioning application. It describes the same thing as prompt-based development and vibe coding, and it is often used in comparisons of AI app builders because it captures the whole pitch in three words.

Text-to-Speech (TTS)

Text-to-speech (TTS) is technology that converts written text into spoken audio, read aloud by a synthetic voice. It is widely used for accessibility, letting visually impaired users hear content instead of only being able to read it, along with finding main feature-level utility in language learning apps and for hands-free use cases like driving.

Time to Market

Time to market, in the context of an app, is the length of time between an idea and its public launch. Shorter time to market means faster feedback, faster revenue, and less time for a competitor to launch something similar before you.

Why time to market is one of Thunkable’s major benefits

Reducing time to market is the central promise behind vibe coding an app instead of hiring a development team. What used to take weeks of design and development can now happen in a single sitting, with a true native app ready to test the same day the idea takes shape.

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V

Versioning

Versioning is the practice of assigning a version number to each release of an app, tracking updates over time is a consistent, predictable format. Clear versioning helps both users and app stores understand whether they are looking at the latest release, and it is required metadata for every App Store and Google Play submission.

Vibe Coding

Vibe Coding is building software by describing what you want in plain language and letting an AI model generate the working result. Instead of writing lines of code, you describe the app(s), screen(s), and feature(s) you want as a prompt or series of prompts, and AI builds it for you. The term was coined by Andrej Karpathy in 2025 to describe development where you “give in to the vibes” and let AI models handle implementation while you essentially give creative and iterative direction.

On Thunkable, vibe coding is the core way creators start building their own apps: Describe your app idea in the AI builder, and in return, get a true native app. Then, keep chatting to refine it and steer the outcome toward exactly what you want.

How vibe coding works in Thunkable

You open a chat, describe your app idea, and Thunkable’s AI Builder generates screens, logic, and design in response. You can keep prompting to do a bunch of things:

1. Change features
2. Add/change colors
3. Fix/modify/add behaviors

You can also switch between the Block Editor and Code Editor any time you want more control over the output. What you’ll get is a real, native iOS and Android app you can test on a device right away.

Vibe coding vs. traditional no-code

Older no-code tools still require you to place every component and wire up every action by hand. Vibe coding removes that manual assembly step. You direct the outcome in words, and the platform handles the construction, which is why it has become the fastest on-ramp for people with zero coding experience. Not knowing how to code shouldn’t mean not being able to create something awesome to share with the world.

Video

Video is the app component that lets you embed, play, and control video content directly inside an app, from onboarding walkthroughs to social feeds to to product demos. Adding native video used to mean writing separate playback code for iOS and Android and handling formats, buffering, and controls by hand.

Building a video app with AI, no code required

With Thunkable’s AI Builder, adding video only requires a prompt. Ask for a video feed, a looping background video on your splash screen, or an in-app video player with custom controls, and the AI Builder generates the screen and logic for you.

This is what a vibe coded video app actually looks like in practice: Describe the feature in plain language, and Thunkable’s AI handles the native video implementation on both iOS and Android at once.

Visual Programming Language

A visual programming language expresses logic through connected graphical blocks or shapes instead of typed text syntax. Scratch, MIT App Inventor, and Thunkable’s own block editor are all examples. 

Each block is shaped to connect only with blocks that are logically compatible, so the visual structure itself represents the program’s logic.

Thunkable’s block editor

Thunkable’s blocks are directly descended from the visual programming approach pioneered at MIT App Inventor, the project that two of Thunkable’s founders helped build before starting the company. It is one reason Thunkable has a strong, lasting foundation in classrooms in addition to startups.

Voice Recording

Voice recording is the component that captures audio directly from a device’s microphone, storing it for playback, transcription, or sharing. Voice recording powers voice memo apps, voice messaging features, and any app that needs a spoken input alternative to typing.

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W

Widget

A widget is a small, self-contained interface element. Examples of widgets include:

• Buttons
• Weather displays
• Calendars
• Clocks
• To-do lists

Widgets can either be used inside an app’s screens, or placed directly on a device’s home or secondary screens outside of the app itself. Home screen widgets give users a glance at key information without fully opening the app, which can meaningfully increase how often an app gets used.

WYSIWYG Editor

WYSIWYG stands for “what you see is what you get”, describing an editor where the layout you build on screen matches the final result exactly. The term originated in desktop publishing and now applies broadly to no-code design canvases like Thunkable’s editors, where you place and style elements visually instead of describing their position in code.

AI Code Generation

AI code generation is the process of an AI model writing usable source code in response to a prompt or written description. It is the underlying technology that powers AI app builders. Some tools stop at generating code you have to assemble yourself. Others, like Thunkable’s AI Builder, generate the code and assemble it into a running, testable app in the same step.

AI Pair Programmer

An AI pair programmer is an AI assistant that works alongside you during development, suggesting code, catching errors, and implementing changes as you go. The term comes from “pair programming”, where two human developers work at one workstation. 

Tools like Cursor and Claude Code act as an AI pair programmer for traditional coders. Thunkable’s AI Builder plays a similar role for no-code creators: It writes, tests, and adjusts your app’s logic in response to your direction, without requiring you to know how to code in the first place.

Android App Bundle (AAB)

An Android App Bundle is the packaging format Google Play requires for new app submissions, replacing the older APK format for store distribution. Google Play uses the AAB to generate optimized APKs for each specific device configuration, which keeps download sizes smaller than shipping one universal file to every phone.

API (Application Programming Interface)

An API is a defined set of rules that lets one piece of software request data or functionality from another, such as an app pulling weather data from a weather service. APIs are what let apps talk to the outside world: Payment processors, mapping services, social platforms, and countless other tools all expose an API for developers to connect to.

Connecting APIs in Thunkable

Thunkable lets you connect to any REST API to pull in outside data or functionality, whether you build that connection through blocks, code, or a prompt to the AI Builder describing what data you want to bring in.

APK

APK, short for Android Package Kit, is the file format used to install an app directly onto an Android device outside of the Google Play Store. APKs are commonly used for testing, sideloading, or distributing an app outside of official app stores. Google Play submissions now require the AAB format instead, which generates optimized APKs after being passed over to the store.

App Bundle

An app bundle is the packaged collection of an app’s code, assets, and configuration files compiled together into the format a device or app store requires to install and run it. On Android specifically, this packaged format is called an Android App Bundle (AAB).

App Icon

An app icon is the small graphic that represents an app on a device’s home screen and inside the App Store or Google Play listing. PRO TIP: An app icon needs to read and be seen clearly at a tiny size and stand out in a crowded home screen or search results page, which makes it one of the highest-leverage design decisions for an app.

App Monetization Models

App monetization models are the different strategies for generating revenue from an app, including subscriptions, in-app purchases (IAPs), advertising, and “freemium” pricing. The right model (or models, as these can be combined) depends heavily on your app’s use case. For instance:

• A productivity app with daily use often fits a subscription monetization model
• A game often fits in-app purchase and advertising models

There is no universal answer and depends entirely on your app type, as well as what you think will be the best way forward.

App Store Connect

App Store Connect is Apple’s web portal where developers manage app submissions, versions, pricing, and analytics for apps on the App Store. Every app published to the App Store gets set up and managed through App Store Connect, including the metadata, screenshots, and pricing that shape the store listing itself.

App Store Optimization (ASO)

App Store Optimization is the practice of improving your app’s visibility and conversion rate inside the Apple App Store and Google Play by optimizing its name, keywords, screenshots, and description. ASO works alongside, not instead of, a good app. The App Store and Google Play both rank listings using a mix of keyword relevance, install velocity, and ratings, so a strong listing draws organic traffic before you spend a dollar on ads.

ASO basics for a new app

Start with a clear app title that includes your primary keyword, write a description that states the core benefit in the first line, and choose screenshots that show the actual app experience rather than marketing graphics. These fundamentals apply whether your app was hand-coded or vibe coded, since the app stores rank listings the same way regardless of how the app was built.

App Store Submission and App Store Review

App Store submission is the process of packaging your finished app and sending it to Apple or Google for approval, and App Store Review is the evaluation each store performs before your app goes live. Apple’s review tends to be stricter and slower, often checking for functionality, content, and whether the app provides genuine value beyond a wrapped website. Google Play review is typically faster but still enforces its own policy set.

Submitting from Thunkable

Thunkable guides you through both submissions from inside the platform, though the two paths differ. Apple submissions go straight to TestFlight through Thunkable’s publishing wizard, while Android submissions arrive as a downloadable app file you upload to the Google Play Store yourself. Because Thunkable compiles true native apps rather than wrapped web pages, submissions are less likely to run into the functionality objections that trip up wrapper-based apps during review.

Apple App Store

The Apple App Store is the official marketplace for iOS apps, and the only sanctioned way most users install apps on an iPhone. Every app listed on the App Store passes through Apple’s review process first, which checks functionality, content, and compliance with Apple’s guidelines before publishing an app publicly.

Audio

Audio is the app component that handles playing sound, whether that is music, ambient effects, or spoken content, from inside an app. Audio playback needs to keep working reliably in the background and respond correctly to interruptions, like an incoming phone call, without crashing the app.

Audio Player

An audio player is the interface component that lets users play, pause, skip, and otherwise control audio content inside an app. A well-built audio player handles background playback, lockscreen controls, and interruption handling correctly, which is easier to get right in a native app than a browser-based one.

Authentication

Authentication is the process of verifying a user’s identity before granting them access to an app or specific features inside it. Authentication can happen through a password, a one-time code, a biometric scan, or a third-party login like Google or Apple.

Authentication in Thunkable

Thunkable provides pre-built sign-up and sign-in blocks that connect to Firebase Authentication, along with dedicated blocks for Google and Apple sign-in.

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B

Backend

The backend is the server-side part of an app that handles data storage, business logic, and authentication, working behind the scenes to support what users see on the frontend. A weak backend shows up as a slow, unreliable app, even if the frontend design looks great, since the backend is what actually stores and retrieves the data the frontend uses and displays.

Frontend and backend in Thunkable

You design the frontend in Thunkable, visually or by prompt, and connect it to a backend through Thunkable’s data source and authentication blocks. Firebase, Airtable, Google Sheets, and similar connected services handle the actual data storage and logic (see also: Backend-as-a-Service), and the server code itself lives with that connected service rather than something you write or host directly.

Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS)

Backend-as-a-service is a model where the server, database, and authentication infrastructure behind an app are managed by the platform, so you never have to set up or maintain that infrastructure yourself. Traditionally, standing up a backend meant provisioning servers, configuring a database, and writing authentication logic before you could build a single app feature.

How this shows up in Thunkable

Thunkable is primarily a frontend builder, so it connected to outside BaaS and database platforms rather than running its own backend server. 

• Firebase handles authentication
• Airtable, Google Sheets, and Webflow facilitate cloud data storage
• Integrations like Backendless and Xano cover more advanced backend needs

Thunkable also includes a simple Local DB for data that only needs to live on an individual device.

Beta

A beta version of an app is a pre-release build shared with a limited group of testers to catch bugs and gather feedback before a full public launch. Apple’s TestFlight and Google Play’s internal testing tracks are the standard ways to distribute a beta build ahead of a storewide release.

Biometrics

Biometrics use a device’s fingerprint or facial recognition hardware to verify a user’s identity inside an app. Biometric login replaces typing a password with a fingerprint or a glance at the camera, cutting friction at the exact moment users are most likely to abandon a sign-in flow.

Block-Based Programming

Block-based programming is a visual coding method where you build logic by snapping together labeled blocks that represent actions, conditions, and data, instead of typing syntax. Each block is shaped to connect only with blocks that are logically compatible, and that shape constraint prevents most syntax errors, since a block that doesn’t belong simply won’t connect.

Why block-based programming matters, especially for education

Block-based programming, popularized by MIT’s Scratch, is widely used to teach programming concepts because it lets students focus on logic and sequencing without getting stuck on punctuation or syntax. Thunkable’s block editor uses this same model, which is a core reason more than 10,000 educational organizations use Thunkable to teach app development and computer science fundamentals.

Block-based vs. AI prompting

Thunkable creators can mix both approaches in the same project. You can prompt the AI Builder to generate a feature, then open the blocks view to see exactly how it works and adjust the logic by hand, which makes block-based programming a learning tool even for creators who started by vibe coding.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a short-range wireless standard that lets a phone communicate directly with nearby devices without a Wi-Fi network or cellular connection. Apps use Bluetooth to pair with headphones, printers, fitness trackers, and countless other accessories.

Bluetooth as a Thunkable component

Bluetooth is available as a drag-and-drop component in Thunkable, letting your app scan for, connect to, and exchange data with nearby Bluetooth devices without writing native connectivity code.

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) for devices with small batteries

Bluetooth Low Energy is a version of Bluetooth built for devices that need to run for months or years on a small battery, such as fitness trackers, smart locks, and sensors. BLE trades raw data speed for dramatically lower power draw, which is exactly the trade-off most connected hardware accessories need.

Direct BLE communication is one of Thunkable’s key technical differentiators, and it is a capability several competing no-code and AI app builders simply do not offer. If your app connects to a physical device (ex. a smart home gadget, a fitness wearable, a hardware), Thunkable’s native BLE support is often the deciding factor over platforms limited to web-based output.

Bugs

A bug is any unintended behavior in an app, ranging from small issues like visual glitches to huge ones, like a crash that stops the app from working entirely. Catching bugs before publishing matters, since App Store reviewers and users both notice broken functionality quickly, and negative early reviews are hard to recover from.

Testing for bugs in Thunkable

Thunkable’s live testing feature lets you run your app on a real iOS or Android device while you build, which surfaces bugs immediately instead of waiting for a full compile and export cycle to catch them.

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C

Camera

The camera component gives an app access to a device’s built-in camera for taking photos or recording video from inside the app. Camera access enables everything from profile photo uploads and updates to barcode scanning to augmented reality filters.

Adding a camera feature in Thunkable

The camera is a drag-and-drop component in Thunkable, or you can prompt the AI Builder to add a photo capture screen directly, without writing native camera-permission code for iOS and Android separately.

Certification

Certification, in mobile publishing, refers to the code-signing and identity verification process that proves an app comes from a verified developer before it can be installed or distributed. Both Apple and Google require certification steps before allowing an app onto their platforms, as a safeguard against unverified or tampered software.

Citizen Developer

A citizen developer is someone who builds applications using no-code or low-code tools without formal software development training or engineering experience. The term reflects a true shift currently happening in companies: operations managers, marketers, and founders now regularly build, or contribute to the building of, internal tools and customer-facing apps themselves.

Cloud Storage

Cloud storage keeps an app’s data on remote servers rather than on a local device, making it accessible from any device the user logs into. Cloud storage is what makes an account, and the data tied to it, portable between phones, tablets, and web browsers.

Storage in Thunkable

Thunkable’s Local DB stores data on the device itself, while cloud storage that syncs across devices runs through a connected data source, most commonly Airtable, Google Sheets, or Webflow. Choosing between them comes down to whether your app’s data needs to follow a user across devices or only needs to persist on the one they are using.

Cloudinary

Cloudinary is a third-party media management service that stores, optimizes, and delivers images and video for an app, handling resizing and format conversion automatically. Rather than storing every media file at full size and hoping it loads quickly on a slow connection, Cloudinary serves an appropriately-sized version on the fly based on the device requesting it.

Using Cloudinary in Thunkable

Thunkable supports Cloudinary integration for apps with heavy media needs, giving creators a production-grade media pipeline for images and video without building that infrastructure themselves.

Coding for Kids

Coding for kids refers to programming education designed for children and teens, usually built around visual, block-based tools instead of text-based syntax. Block-based coding removes the syntax barrier that trips up beginners, letting younger students focus on logic and creativity from their very first lesson. 

Thunkable’s role in youth coding

Thunkable’s block editor descends directly from MIT App Inventor, a tool built specifically to teach programming to beginners, including kids. That lineage is part of why Thunkable has a legitimate purpose in classrooms.

Compass

The compass component reads a device’s magnetometer to determine which direction the phone is facing relative to magnetic North. Compass data is used in navigation apps, outdoor recreation apps, and any app experience that needs real-world directional orientation.

Component Library

A component library is a collection of pre-built, reusable interface pieces like buttons, forms, cards, navigation bars, that a builder can drag into a project instead of designing them from scratch. A strong component library is what makes drag-and-drop app building fast in the first place, since most apps reuse the same handful of interface patterns.

Thunkable’s component library

Thunkable’s component library covers everything from basic layout elements to device features like the camera and Bluetooth, giving both block-based builders and the AI Builder a shared set of proven, native building blocks to draw from.

Computer Science

Computer science is an education curriculum designed to teach programming concepts and computational thinking. A strong computer science curriculum builds concepts in order (sequencing, conditionals, loops, data) rather than throwing students straight into unfamiliar tools and scenarios.

Thunkable’s education program

Thunkable offers a full computer science curriculum built around its block-based editor, used by more than 10,000 educational organizations and recognized on the GSV 150 list of influential education companies. Students build real, working apps as they learn, rather than abstract exercises disconnected from their end result.

Conversational App Building

Conversational app building means developing an app through an ongoing back-and-forth chat with an AI assistant rather than a single one-time prompt. You build in rounds:

Describe a feature → Review the result → Ask for a change → Repeat

This is how Discuss Mode works inside Thunkable’s AI Builder, turning app building into a running conversation with the tool that built it, which makes revisions and additions faster than ever.

Cross-Platform App Development

Cross-platform app development means building one app project that runs on both iOS and Android, instead of writing and maintaining two separate codebases. The appeal is obvious: One build, two app stores, half the ongoing maintenance. Historically, the tradeoff has been performance quality or feature access, though modern native-compiling platforms have closed most of that gap.

How Thunkable handles cross-platform app development

You build a project once inside Thunkable, and it compiles to a native iOS app and a native Android app from the same source. Both versions get full device access, so each platform gets the same complete, native experience.

D

Dark Mode

Dark mode is a color scheme option that uses dark backgrounds with light text as an alternative to an app’s standard “light” interface. Dark mode reduces eye strain in low light and has become an expected option rather than a novelty, particularly among users who keep their phone’s system setting on dark by default.

Deep Linking

Deep linking is a technique that opens a specific screen inside an app directly from a link, instead of dropping the user on the app’s home screen. A deep link might take someone straight to a product page, a specific profile, or a checkout flow from an email, ad, or text message. It removes friction between the moment someone clicks and the content they actually want.

Design

Design, in app development, refers to an app’s visual layout, color choices, typography, and overall user experience, everything a user sees and interacts with. Good app design balances visual appeal with clarity, since an app that looks polished but confuses users will lose them at the first unclear screen.

Download

A download, in the context of app publishing, refers to a user installing an app from the App Store or Google Play onto their device. In terms of engagement, downloads are one of the most visible success metrics for an app, though they matter most when paired with strong retention, since a download that never gets opened again is not much of a win.

Drag-and-Drop App Builder

A drag-and-drop app builder lets you construct an app’s interface by dragging visual components like buttons, text fields, and images onto a canvas rather than writing layout code. This was the first generation of no-code app building, and it remains the foundation most modern AI-assisted builders, including Thunkable, are built on top of.

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F

Flashlight

The flashlight component lets an app control a device’s built-in flash or LED light, independent of the camera. Flashlight access is common in utility apps, safety apps, and any app that needs a simple, reliable light source without going through the camera interface.

Freemium

Freemium is an app monetization model that offers a free version of an app with core functionality, then charges for premium features, higher usage limits, or an ad-free experience. Freemium works by lowering the barrier to that first download to nearly zero, then converting a percentage of engaged users to paying customers once they hit a limit or want more.

Frontend

The frontend is the part of an app users directly see and interact with: The screens, buttons, layouts, and visual design. Frontend work covers everything on the surface of an app, while the logic and data behind that surface live in the backend.

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G

Google Authentication

Google Authentication is a specific single sign-on method that lets users log into an app using their existing Google account. It is one of the most widely used SSO options because of how many people already have an active Google account on their phone.

Google Play

Google Play, also called the Google Play Store, is the official marketplace for Android apps. Google Play’s review process is generally faster than Apple’s, though it still enforces content and functionality policies before an app goes live.

Gyroscope

The gyroscope is a device sensor that measures rotation and orientation, letting an app detect how a phone is being tilted or turned in three-dimensional space. Gyroscope data is common in games, augmented reality, video streaming apps, and any interface that responds to how the user physically moves their device.

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H

Haptic Feedback

Haptic feedback is the small vibration or tactical response a device produces as a reaction to a user action, like tapping a button. Well-placed haptic feedback makes an app interface feel more responsive and substantial, confirming an action happened without requiring the users to look for a visual change.

Home Screen

In app design, the home screen is the first interactive screen a user lands on after an app finishes loading. The home screen carries the most traffic of any screen in an app, so its layout and navigation choices have an outsized effect on how easily users find what they came for.

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I

Image

Image is the app component that handles displaying, uploading, or manipulating photos and graphics inside an app. Image handling needs to account for different screen sizes and resolutions, so a photo looks sharp on every device rather than stretched or pixelated.

In-App Purchase (IAP)

An in-app purchase is a transaction made from inside an app to unlock additional content, features, or virtual goods. IAPs cover everything from removing ads to buying in-game currency to unlocking a pro feature set, and they route through Apple’s or Google’s payment systems, which take a revenue share on most transactions.

Setting up IAPs in Thunkable

Thunkable’s IAP component connects through RevenueCat, a third-party subscription and purchase management platform, to handle billing on both the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Integrations

 Integrations are connections between an app and outside services, tools, or platforms, letting data and functionality flow between them. Common integrations include payment processors, email tools, analytics platforms, and social logins, each typically connected through an API or SDK.

Internal Tools

Internal tools are apps built for a company’s own employees to use, such as inventory trackers, scheduling apps, or approval workflows, rather than for public customers. Internal tools rarely need  polish for app store attractiveness, but they do need to be reliable, fast to update, and cheap to maintain, which makes them a natural fit for no-code building.

Building internal tools with Thunkable

Thunkable’s Operations and IT solutions are built precisely for this use case: Letting a team build and update its own internal app without opening a ticket with engineering every time a workflow changes. 

iOS 

iOS is Apple’s mobile operating system, running on every iPhone, and one of two platforms, alongside Android, that most mobile apps need to support. Building for iOS means following Apple’s design guidelines and passing Apple’s app review process before an app can appear in the app store.

IoT App Development

IoT app development is building the mobile app that controls, monitors, or receives data from an internet-connected physical device. IoT is an acronym for “Internet of Things”, which is the broad category of internet-connected hardware, from smart thermostats to industrial sensors, that pair with a companion app.

Building IoT apps without code

Thunkable’s combination of native compilation, Bluetooth and BLE support, and sensor access makes it a practical fit for IoT companion apps, letting hardware startups and hobbyists build an app without hiring a mobile developer.

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K

Keys (API Keys)

An API key is a unique credential an app uses to authenticate itself when connecting to a third-party service or backend. Losing control of an API key can allow unauthorized users to make requests and potentially damage–or rack up charges on–your account, so keys are typically stored securely rather than hard-coded into an app’s visible logic.

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L

License

In app development, a license is the legal agreement governing how software, code, or a component can be used, modified, or distributed. Every third-party library or component your app uses comes with its own license terms, and mixing incompatible licenses can create real legal exposure once an app is published commercially.

Loading Screen

A loading screen appears while an app fetches data or completes a task, giving the user visual confirmation that something is happening rather than the app being frozen. Good loading states, even a simple spinner, reduce the chance a user gives up and closes the app during a brief waiting period.

Local Storage

Local storage keeps data saved directly on the user’s device rather than sending it to a remote server. Local storage is fast and works without an internet connection, which makes it the foundation of any offline-first app.

Location (Geolocation)

The location component, also called geolocation, gives an app access to a device’s GPS coordinates to determine where the user physically is. Location data powers navigation, delivery tracking, nearby search results, and check-in features. 

Low-Code

Low-code refers to development tools that minimize handwritten code through visual tools and pre-built components, while still allowing developers to write custom code where needed. The distinction from no-code matters for hiring and workflow. Low-code tools generally assume there is at least one technical team member who can step in and code when the visual/block-building layer hits its limits.

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M

Maps

The maps component embeds an interactive map inside of an app, typically showing the user’s location, points of interest, or a route between two or more places. Maps are one of the most requested components across nearly every app category, from real estate to food delivery to field service.

Media Storage

Media storage is storage specifically designed to hold larger files like images, video, and audio, as opposed to small pieces of structured data like text or numbers. Media files are much larger than typical database records, so they are usually stored separately from an app’s main database and referenced by a link rather than stored directly inside it.

Modal

A modal is a screen or window that appears on top of an app’s current content, requiring the user to interact with it or dismiss it before continuing. Modals are used for confirmation, quick forms, and alerts where interrupting the main flow briefly is useful for the user.

MVP (Minimum Viable Product)

An MVP is the simplest working version of a product that still delivers enough value to test with real users and validate the underlying idea. The point of an MVP is to learn whether people actually want something before spending months of time and a large budget fully building something, like an app, out.

Building an MVP on Thunkable

Because Thunkable compiles a true native app, your MVP is a real, publishable app from the start. You can put it front of users, gather feedback, and keep building on the same project once you’re ready to scale, with no need to transfer or rebuild in a different tool.

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N

Native App vs. Hybrid App vs. Web App

A native app is built and compiled specifically for iOS or Android and runs directly on the device, while a hybrid app wraps web code in a native shell, and a web app runs directly and entirely inside a browser. The distinction determines what your app will actually be able to do.

‍Native apps get full access to the camera, GPS, Bluetooth, push notifications, and offline storage, and they run at full device speed. 

Hybrid and web apps are limited by what the browser layer allows, and they often move slower and feel less polished.

Why this matters when picking a builder

Some no-code platforms produce web apps dressed up to look native, then require a separate wrapper service to reach the app store of your choice. Thunkable compiles a true native binary for iOS and Android from your project, so what you build is what actually ships, prepared for full functionality on users’ devices.

Natural Language Programming (NLP)

Natural language programming, or NLP, is writing software instructions in ordinary language instead of formal programming syntax. It is the broader, more technical term for what vibe coding and prompt-based development do in practice. Instead of writing code, the AI model you’re working with translates your plain-language requests into working logic to create your apps.

Navigation Bar

A navigation bar is the persistent menu, usually along the bottom or top of the screen, that lets users move between an app’s main sections. A clear navigation bar is one of the simplest ways to make an app feel familiar, since it follows a pattern nearly every mobile app user already recognizes. 

NFC (Near-Field Communication)

NFC is a short-range wireless technology that lets two devices exchange data by being held within a couple of inches of each other, the same technology behind tap-to-pay. Beyond payments, NFC is used for access badges, smart tags, and pairing hardware with a single tap instead of a manual Bluetooth pairing flow. 

No-Code

No-code refers to development tools that let you build a complete, working application without writing any code, using visual components, blocks, or prompts instead. No-code removes the syntax layer entirely, letting you work directly with the aforementioned visual building blocks, layouts, and, on newer platforms, plain-language prompts.

No-code on Thunkable

Thunkable was built to be a no-code solution from the start, well before AI entered the picture, using a visual design canvas paired with a block-based logic editor inspired by MIT’s Scratch. The AI Builder adds a prompt-based layer on top of that same no-code foundation, so you can build entirely by chatting, or with blocks, or a blend of both approaches within the same project.

No-code MVP

A no-code MVP is a minimum viable product (MVP) built entirely with no-code tools, letting a founder test an idea without hiring a developer or writing a line of code. This has become the default starting point for most non-technical founders, since it removes the biggest early cost and delay: Finding and paying a technical co-founder or contractor before you even know if the idea works.

No-code vs. Low-code

No-code tools require zero coding knowledge to build a complete app, while low-code tools reduce the amount of code needed but still expect some technical skill for more advanced logic. The right choice depends on who is building. A solo founder with no technical background needs true no-code. A product team with an engineer on staff would do fine with low-code, perhaps even preferring it for technical flexibility.

No-code and low-code accessibility with Thunkable

Thunkable starts as a true noc-de experience, buildable entirely through prompts or blocks. You or a teammate can also  open the built-in code editor at any point and write directly, pairing the accessibility of no-code with a low-code escape hatch for whenever you want it.

Notification

A notification is any message an app surfaces to alert a user, whether it appears on the lock screen as a push notification or inside the app itself as an in-app alert. Notifications are one of the most effective tools for bringing users back to an app, and also one of the easiest features to overuse until users disable them entirely, so be sure to use them wisely.

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O

Offline-First App

An offline-first app is designed to keep working, saving data locally, when the device has no internet connection, then syncing that data once a connection returns. This matters most for field service, travel, and rural-use apps where a reliable connection cannot be guaranteed. An app that breaks the moment it loses signal will lose users fast in those contexts.

Building offline support in Thunkable 

Thunkable supports local, on-device storage alongside cloud storage, so you can design an app that saves data locally when offline and syncs it back once the device reconnects. This is a significant differentiator against no-code tools limited to browser-based storage, which typically break the moment the connection drops.

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P

Payment and Payment Integration

Payment integration is the component that lets an app accept a payment from users, connecting to a processor like Stripe to handle the transaction securely. Payment handling involves real security and compliance requirements, since an app is processing sensitive card data even if only briefly, before passing it to the processor.

Progressive Web App (PWA)

A progressive web app is a website built to behave like an app, with offline support and a home screen icon, but it runs through a browser engine rather than compiling to native code. PWAs are faster to build than native apps but come with significant limits: No listing in the Apple App Store, restricted access to hardware features, and generally weaker performance overall.

PWA vs. native on Thunkable

Several no-code builders are PWA-only, which means their apps cannot appear in the Apple App Store or Google Play at all. Thunkable builds true native apps, so if your plan includes App Store distribution, that path is available from day one instead of requiring a migration later.

Prompt-Based App Development

Prompt-based app development means building an app by writing instructions in everyday language rather than configuring components or writing syntax. A prompt can create a full screen, add a feature, or restyle an entire app. It is the interaction model underneath vibe coding and the primary way Thunkable creators build their own apps.

Example prompts

• “Add a login screen with email and Google sign-in”
• “Turn this list into a map view”
• “Build a pricing tier screen with a recommended midway price column”

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These are typical examples of prompts, but Thunkable is built to be flexible and can handle as many iterations of your ideas as you need. Thunkable’s AI Builder will interpret the request, build the corresponding screens and logic, and show you the results immediately in a live preview. 

Provisioning Profile

A provisioning profile is an Apple-issued file that links a specific app, developer account, and set of devices, authorizing that app to run on iOS during development and testing. Provisioning profiles are a required, and often confusing, part of iOS development, since Apple uses them to control exactly which apps can install on which devices before formal App Store release.

Push Notification

A push notification is a message sent from an app to a user’s device even when the app is closed, appearing on the lock screen or notification tray. Push notifications require native app capabilities. Web apps and most PWAs cannot send true push notifications the way a native app can, particularly on iOS.

Adding push notifications in Thunkable

Thunkable’s push notification component connected to OneSignal, a third-party notification service, and sending to Android devices also requires linking a Firebase project for credentials. Once that connection is in place, you can prompt the AI Builder to add a push notification trigger, or wire it up directly in the blocks editor for finer control over timing and targeting.

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R

Rapid Application Development (RAD)

Rapid Application Development is a software development approach that prioritizes fast, iterative building and testing over extensive upfront planning and documentation. RAD emerged decades before modern no-code tools, but the philosophy is the same one driving today’s AI app builders:

1. Build something that works, fast
2. Get feedback
3. Iterate based on that feedback

RAD removes months of designing before being able to push the first version out to real people.

Recording

Recording is the component category covering video and screen capture directly from within an app, letting users generate their own content instead of only consuming it. User-generated video is a core feature for social apps, tutorial apps, and any product built around people creating and sharing content with each other.

Reviews

In the context of app development, reviews are the ratings and written feedback users leave developers for their apps on the App Store or Google Play after downloading it. Reviews directly influence both a potential user’s decision to download and an app’s ranking in app store search results, along with determining how a developer updates and improves future iterations of their app. This makes user reviews an integral part of App Store Optimization (ASO) and user retention.

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S

Software Development Kit (SDK)

A Software Development Kit, or SDK, is a bunch of tools, libraries, and documentation that lets developers add a specific service or or feature to an app. Payment processors, analytics tools, and ad networks all typically ship an SDK so developers can integrate their service without building the connection from scratch.

SDKs and no-code app development

Traditional SDK integration requires writing native code for iOS and Android separately. Thunkable’s component library packages many common SDK integrations into ready-to-use, drag-and-drop pieces, so the underlying complexity doesn’t slow you down.

Sensor API (Device Sensors)

A sensor API gives an app programmatic access to the physical sensors built into a phone, including the accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, and proximity sensor. Sensor data powers everything from step counters to augmented reality apps to games that respond to how you tilt and move your phone.

Sensors in Thunkable

Thunkable exposes device sensors as ready-to-use components, including the accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer, so you can read live sensor data with a block or a prompt instead of writing native sensor-handling code for two operating systems separately.

Single Sign-on (SSO)

Single sign-on lets a user log into an app using an existing account, typically from Google, Apple, or a company identity provider, instead of creating a new username and password. SSO reduces signup friction and cuts down on forgotten password-specific support requests, since users are logging in with credentials they already use daily. 

Speech-to-Text

Speech-to-text is technology that converts spoken audio into written text in real time or from a recorded clip. It powers voice commands, dictation features, and accessibility tools that let users interact with an app without typing.

Splash Screen

A splash screen is the branded loading screen an app briefly displays as it starts up, before the main interface appears. A splash screen also covers the small delay every app has while it initializes, and it is often the first visual impression of an app’s brand.

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics) Education Apps

STEM education apps are mobile or web applications designed to teach science, technology, engineering, or mathematics concepts, often through interactive or project-based learning. App building itself has become a popular STEM subject, since it combines logic, design, and problem solving into one hands-on project that produces something a student can actually show off.

Storage

Storage, in the context of an app, refers to where the app’s data lives, whether that is on the device itself or on a remote server. Every app needs a storage strategy, even a simple one, to remember user preferences, save content, or keep someone logged in between sessions.

Subscription

A subscription is a recurring app monetization model where users pay on a regular schedule, usually monthly or annually, for continued access to an app and its premium features. Subscriptions provide predictable, recurring revenue, which is part of why they have become the dominant monetization model for apps with ongoing utility rather than a single use.

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T

Text-to-App

Text-to-app is the shorthand term for turning a written description directly into a functioning application. It describes the same thing as prompt-based development and vibe coding, and it is often used in comparisons of AI app builders because it captures the whole pitch in three words.

Text-to-Speech (TTS)

Text-to-speech (TTS) is technology that converts written text into spoken audio, read aloud by a synthetic voice. It is widely used for accessibility, letting visually impaired users hear content instead of only being able to read it, along with finding main feature-level utility in language learning apps and for hands-free use cases like driving.

Time to Market

Time to market, in the context of an app, is the length of time between an idea and its public launch. Shorter time to market means faster feedback, faster revenue, and less time for a competitor to launch something similar before you.

Why time to market is one of Thunkable’s major benefits

Reducing time to market is the central promise behind vibe coding an app instead of hiring a development team. What used to take weeks of design and development can now happen in a single sitting, with a true native app ready to test the same day the idea takes shape.

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V

Versioning

Versioning is the practice of assigning a version number to each release of an app, tracking updates over time is a consistent, predictable format. Clear versioning helps both users and app stores understand whether they are looking at the latest release, and it is required metadata for every App Store and Google Play submission.

Vibe Coding

Vibe Coding is building software by describing what you want in plain language and letting an AI model generate the working result. Instead of writing lines of code, you describe the app(s), screen(s), and feature(s) you want as a prompt or series of prompts, and AI builds it for you. The term was coined by Andrej Karpathy in 2025 to describe development where you “give in to the vibes” and let AI models handle implementation while you essentially give creative and iterative direction.

On Thunkable, vibe coding is the core way creators start building their own apps: Describe your app idea in the AI builder, and in return, get a true native app. Then, keep chatting to refine it and steer the outcome toward exactly what you want.

How vibe coding works in Thunkable

You open a chat, describe your app idea, and Thunkable’s AI Builder generates screens, logic, and design in response. You can keep prompting to do a bunch of things:

1. Change features
2. Add/change colors
3. Fix/modify/add behaviors

You can also switch between the Block Editor and Code Editor any time you want more control over the output. What you’ll get is a real, native iOS and Android app you can test on a device right away.

Vibe coding vs. traditional no-code

Older no-code tools still require you to place every component and wire up every action by hand. Vibe coding removes that manual assembly step. You direct the outcome in words, and the platform handles the construction, which is why it has become the fastest on-ramp for people with zero coding experience. Not knowing how to code shouldn’t mean not being able to create something awesome to share with the world.

Video

Video is the app component that lets you embed, play, and control video content directly inside an app, from onboarding walkthroughs to social feeds to to product demos. Adding native video used to mean writing separate playback code for iOS and Android and handling formats, buffering, and controls by hand.

Building a video app with AI, no code required

With Thunkable’s AI Builder, adding video only requires a prompt. Ask for a video feed, a looping background video on your splash screen, or an in-app video player with custom controls, and the AI Builder generates the screen and logic for you.

This is what a vibe coded video app actually looks like in practice: Describe the feature in plain language, and Thunkable’s AI handles the native video implementation on both iOS and Android at once.

Visual Programming Language

A visual programming language expresses logic through connected graphical blocks or shapes instead of typed text syntax. Scratch, MIT App Inventor, and Thunkable’s own block editor are all examples. 

Each block is shaped to connect only with blocks that are logically compatible, so the visual structure itself represents the program’s logic.

Thunkable’s block editor

Thunkable’s blocks are directly descended from the visual programming approach pioneered at MIT App Inventor, the project that two of Thunkable’s founders helped build before starting the company. It is one reason Thunkable has a strong, lasting foundation in classrooms in addition to startups.

Voice Recording

Voice recording is the component that captures audio directly from a device’s microphone, storing it for playback, transcription, or sharing. Voice recording powers voice memo apps, voice messaging features, and any app that needs a spoken input alternative to typing.

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W

Widget

A widget is a small, self-contained interface element. Examples of widgets include:

• Buttons
• Weather displays
• Calendars
• Clocks
• To-do lists

Widgets can either be used inside an app’s screens, or placed directly on a device’s home or secondary screens outside of the app itself. Home screen widgets give users a glance at key information without fully opening the app, which can meaningfully increase how often an app gets used.

WYSIWYG Editor

WYSIWYG stands for “what you see is what you get”, describing an editor where the layout you build on screen matches the final result exactly. The term originated in desktop publishing and now applies broadly to no-code design canvases like Thunkable’s editors, where you place and style elements visually instead of describing their position in code.

AI Code Generation

AI code generation is the process of an AI model writing usable source code in response to a prompt or written description. It is the underlying technology that powers AI app builders. Some tools stop at generating code you have to assemble yourself. Others, like Thunkable’s AI Builder, generate the code and assemble it into a running, testable app in the same step.

AI Pair Programmer

An AI pair programmer is an AI assistant that works alongside you during development, suggesting code, catching errors, and implementing changes as you go. The term comes from “pair programming”, where two human developers work at one workstation. 

Tools like Cursor and Claude Code act as an AI pair programmer for traditional coders. Thunkable’s AI Builder plays a similar role for no-code creators: It writes, tests, and adjusts your app’s logic in response to your direction, without requiring you to know how to code in the first place.

Android App Bundle (AAB)

An Android App Bundle is the packaging format Google Play requires for new app submissions, replacing the older APK format for store distribution. Google Play uses the AAB to generate optimized APKs for each specific device configuration, which keeps download sizes smaller than shipping one universal file to every phone.

API (Application Programming Interface)

An API is a defined set of rules that lets one piece of software request data or functionality from another, such as an app pulling weather data from a weather service. APIs are what let apps talk to the outside world: Payment processors, mapping services, social platforms, and countless other tools all expose an API for developers to connect to.

Connecting APIs in Thunkable

Thunkable lets you connect to any REST API to pull in outside data or functionality, whether you build that connection through blocks, code, or a prompt to the AI Builder describing what data you want to bring in.

APK

APK, short for Android Package Kit, is the file format used to install an app directly onto an Android device outside of the Google Play Store. APKs are commonly used for testing, sideloading, or distributing an app outside of official app stores. Google Play submissions now require the AAB format instead, which generates optimized APKs after being passed over to the store.

App Bundle

An app bundle is the packaged collection of an app’s code, assets, and configuration files compiled together into the format a device or app store requires to install and run it. On Android specifically, this packaged format is called an Android App Bundle (AAB).

App Icon

An app icon is the small graphic that represents an app on a device’s home screen and inside the App Store or Google Play listing. PRO TIP: An app icon needs to read and be seen clearly at a tiny size and stand out in a crowded home screen or search results page, which makes it one of the highest-leverage design decisions for an app.

App Monetization Models

App monetization models are the different strategies for generating revenue from an app, including subscriptions, in-app purchases (IAPs), advertising, and “freemium” pricing. The right model (or models, as these can be combined) depends heavily on your app’s use case. For instance:

• A productivity app with daily use often fits a subscription monetization model
• A game often fits in-app purchase and advertising models

There is no universal answer and depends entirely on your app type, as well as what you think will be the best way forward.

App Store Connect

App Store Connect is Apple’s web portal where developers manage app submissions, versions, pricing, and analytics for apps on the App Store. Every app published to the App Store gets set up and managed through App Store Connect, including the metadata, screenshots, and pricing that shape the store listing itself.

App Store Optimization (ASO)

App Store Optimization is the practice of improving your app’s visibility and conversion rate inside the Apple App Store and Google Play by optimizing its name, keywords, screenshots, and description. ASO works alongside, not instead of, a good app. The App Store and Google Play both rank listings using a mix of keyword relevance, install velocity, and ratings, so a strong listing draws organic traffic before you spend a dollar on ads.

ASO basics for a new app

Start with a clear app title that includes your primary keyword, write a description that states the core benefit in the first line, and choose screenshots that show the actual app experience rather than marketing graphics. These fundamentals apply whether your app was hand-coded or vibe coded, since the app stores rank listings the same way regardless of how the app was built.

App Store Submission and App Store Review

App Store submission is the process of packaging your finished app and sending it to Apple or Google for approval, and App Store Review is the evaluation each store performs before your app goes live. Apple’s review tends to be stricter and slower, often checking for functionality, content, and whether the app provides genuine value beyond a wrapped website. Google Play review is typically faster but still enforces its own policy set.

Submitting from Thunkable

Thunkable guides you through both submissions from inside the platform, though the two paths differ. Apple submissions go straight to TestFlight through Thunkable’s publishing wizard, while Android submissions arrive as a downloadable app file you upload to the Google Play Store yourself. Because Thunkable compiles true native apps rather than wrapped web pages, submissions are less likely to run into the functionality objections that trip up wrapper-based apps during review.

Apple App Store

The Apple App Store is the official marketplace for iOS apps, and the only sanctioned way most users install apps on an iPhone. Every app listed on the App Store passes through Apple’s review process first, which checks functionality, content, and compliance with Apple’s guidelines before publishing an app publicly.

Audio

Audio is the app component that handles playing sound, whether that is music, ambient effects, or spoken content, from inside an app. Audio playback needs to keep working reliably in the background and respond correctly to interruptions, like an incoming phone call, without crashing the app.

Audio Player

An audio player is the interface component that lets users play, pause, skip, and otherwise control audio content inside an app. A well-built audio player handles background playback, lockscreen controls, and interruption handling correctly, which is easier to get right in a native app than a browser-based one.

Authentication

Authentication is the process of verifying a user’s identity before granting them access to an app or specific features inside it. Authentication can happen through a password, a one-time code, a biometric scan, or a third-party login like Google or Apple.

Authentication in Thunkable

Thunkable provides pre-built sign-up and sign-in blocks that connect to Firebase Authentication, along with dedicated blocks for Google and Apple sign-in.

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B

Backend

The backend is the server-side part of an app that handles data storage, business logic, and authentication, working behind the scenes to support what users see on the frontend. A weak backend shows up as a slow, unreliable app, even if the frontend design looks great, since the backend is what actually stores and retrieves the data the frontend uses and displays.

Frontend and backend in Thunkable

You design the frontend in Thunkable, visually or by prompt, and connect it to a backend through Thunkable’s data source and authentication blocks. Firebase, Airtable, Google Sheets, and similar connected services handle the actual data storage and logic (see also: Backend-as-a-Service), and the server code itself lives with that connected service rather than something you write or host directly.

Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS)

Backend-as-a-service is a model where the server, database, and authentication infrastructure behind an app are managed by the platform, so you never have to set up or maintain that infrastructure yourself. Traditionally, standing up a backend meant provisioning servers, configuring a database, and writing authentication logic before you could build a single app feature.

How this shows up in Thunkable

Thunkable is primarily a frontend builder, so it connected to outside BaaS and database platforms rather than running its own backend server. 

• Firebase handles authentication
• Airtable, Google Sheets, and Webflow facilitate cloud data storage
• Integrations like Backendless and Xano cover more advanced backend needs

Thunkable also includes a simple Local DB for data that only needs to live on an individual device.

Beta

A beta version of an app is a pre-release build shared with a limited group of testers to catch bugs and gather feedback before a full public launch. Apple’s TestFlight and Google Play’s internal testing tracks are the standard ways to distribute a beta build ahead of a storewide release.

Biometrics

Biometrics use a device’s fingerprint or facial recognition hardware to verify a user’s identity inside an app. Biometric login replaces typing a password with a fingerprint or a glance at the camera, cutting friction at the exact moment users are most likely to abandon a sign-in flow.

Block-Based Programming

Block-based programming is a visual coding method where you build logic by snapping together labeled blocks that represent actions, conditions, and data, instead of typing syntax. Each block is shaped to connect only with blocks that are logically compatible, and that shape constraint prevents most syntax errors, since a block that doesn’t belong simply won’t connect.

Why block-based programming matters, especially for education

Block-based programming, popularized by MIT’s Scratch, is widely used to teach programming concepts because it lets students focus on logic and sequencing without getting stuck on punctuation or syntax. Thunkable’s block editor uses this same model, which is a core reason more than 10,000 educational organizations use Thunkable to teach app development and computer science fundamentals.

Block-based vs. AI prompting

Thunkable creators can mix both approaches in the same project. You can prompt the AI Builder to generate a feature, then open the blocks view to see exactly how it works and adjust the logic by hand, which makes block-based programming a learning tool even for creators who started by vibe coding.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a short-range wireless standard that lets a phone communicate directly with nearby devices without a Wi-Fi network or cellular connection. Apps use Bluetooth to pair with headphones, printers, fitness trackers, and countless other accessories.

Bluetooth as a Thunkable component

Bluetooth is available as a drag-and-drop component in Thunkable, letting your app scan for, connect to, and exchange data with nearby Bluetooth devices without writing native connectivity code.

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) for devices with small batteries

Bluetooth Low Energy is a version of Bluetooth built for devices that need to run for months or years on a small battery, such as fitness trackers, smart locks, and sensors. BLE trades raw data speed for dramatically lower power draw, which is exactly the trade-off most connected hardware accessories need.

Direct BLE communication is one of Thunkable’s key technical differentiators, and it is a capability several competing no-code and AI app builders simply do not offer. If your app connects to a physical device (ex. a smart home gadget, a fitness wearable, a hardware), Thunkable’s native BLE support is often the deciding factor over platforms limited to web-based output.

Bugs

A bug is any unintended behavior in an app, ranging from small issues like visual glitches to huge ones, like a crash that stops the app from working entirely. Catching bugs before publishing matters, since App Store reviewers and users both notice broken functionality quickly, and negative early reviews are hard to recover from.

Testing for bugs in Thunkable

Thunkable’s live testing feature lets you run your app on a real iOS or Android device while you build, which surfaces bugs immediately instead of waiting for a full compile and export cycle to catch them.

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C

Camera

The camera component gives an app access to a device’s built-in camera for taking photos or recording video from inside the app. Camera access enables everything from profile photo uploads and updates to barcode scanning to augmented reality filters.

Adding a camera feature in Thunkable

The camera is a drag-and-drop component in Thunkable, or you can prompt the AI Builder to add a photo capture screen directly, without writing native camera-permission code for iOS and Android separately.

Certification

Certification, in mobile publishing, refers to the code-signing and identity verification process that proves an app comes from a verified developer before it can be installed or distributed. Both Apple and Google require certification steps before allowing an app onto their platforms, as a safeguard against unverified or tampered software.

Citizen Developer

A citizen developer is someone who builds applications using no-code or low-code tools without formal software development training or engineering experience. The term reflects a true shift currently happening in companies: operations managers, marketers, and founders now regularly build, or contribute to the building of, internal tools and customer-facing apps themselves.

Cloud Storage

Cloud storage keeps an app’s data on remote servers rather than on a local device, making it accessible from any device the user logs into. Cloud storage is what makes an account, and the data tied to it, portable between phones, tablets, and web browsers.

Storage in Thunkable

Thunkable’s Local DB stores data on the device itself, while cloud storage that syncs across devices runs through a connected data source, most commonly Airtable, Google Sheets, or Webflow. Choosing between them comes down to whether your app’s data needs to follow a user across devices or only needs to persist on the one they are using.

Cloudinary

Cloudinary is a third-party media management service that stores, optimizes, and delivers images and video for an app, handling resizing and format conversion automatically. Rather than storing every media file at full size and hoping it loads quickly on a slow connection, Cloudinary serves an appropriately-sized version on the fly based on the device requesting it.

Using Cloudinary in Thunkable

Thunkable supports Cloudinary integration for apps with heavy media needs, giving creators a production-grade media pipeline for images and video without building that infrastructure themselves.

Coding for Kids

Coding for kids refers to programming education designed for children and teens, usually built around visual, block-based tools instead of text-based syntax. Block-based coding removes the syntax barrier that trips up beginners, letting younger students focus on logic and creativity from their very first lesson. 

Thunkable’s role in youth coding

Thunkable’s block editor descends directly from MIT App Inventor, a tool built specifically to teach programming to beginners, including kids. That lineage is part of why Thunkable has a legitimate purpose in classrooms.

Compass

The compass component reads a device’s magnetometer to determine which direction the phone is facing relative to magnetic North. Compass data is used in navigation apps, outdoor recreation apps, and any app experience that needs real-world directional orientation.

Component Library

A component library is a collection of pre-built, reusable interface pieces like buttons, forms, cards, navigation bars, that a builder can drag into a project instead of designing them from scratch. A strong component library is what makes drag-and-drop app building fast in the first place, since most apps reuse the same handful of interface patterns.

Thunkable’s component library

Thunkable’s component library covers everything from basic layout elements to device features like the camera and Bluetooth, giving both block-based builders and the AI Builder a shared set of proven, native building blocks to draw from.

Computer Science

Computer science is an education curriculum designed to teach programming concepts and computational thinking. A strong computer science curriculum builds concepts in order (sequencing, conditionals, loops, data) rather than throwing students straight into unfamiliar tools and scenarios.

Thunkable’s education program

Thunkable offers a full computer science curriculum built around its block-based editor, used by more than 10,000 educational organizations and recognized on the GSV 150 list of influential education companies. Students build real, working apps as they learn, rather than abstract exercises disconnected from their end result.

Conversational App Building

Conversational app building means developing an app through an ongoing back-and-forth chat with an AI assistant rather than a single one-time prompt. You build in rounds:

Describe a feature → Review the result → Ask for a change → Repeat

This is how Discuss Mode works inside Thunkable’s AI Builder, turning app building into a running conversation with the tool that built it, which makes revisions and additions faster than ever.

Cross-Platform App Development

Cross-platform app development means building one app project that runs on both iOS and Android, instead of writing and maintaining two separate codebases. The appeal is obvious: One build, two app stores, half the ongoing maintenance. Historically, the tradeoff has been performance quality or feature access, though modern native-compiling platforms have closed most of that gap.

How Thunkable handles cross-platform app development

You build a project once inside Thunkable, and it compiles to a native iOS app and a native Android app from the same source. Both versions get full device access, so each platform gets the same complete, native experience.

D

Dark Mode

Dark mode is a color scheme option that uses dark backgrounds with light text as an alternative to an app’s standard “light” interface. Dark mode reduces eye strain in low light and has become an expected option rather than a novelty, particularly among users who keep their phone’s system setting on dark by default.

Deep Linking

Deep linking is a technique that opens a specific screen inside an app directly from a link, instead of dropping the user on the app’s home screen. A deep link might take someone straight to a product page, a specific profile, or a checkout flow from an email, ad, or text message. It removes friction between the moment someone clicks and the content they actually want.

Design

Design, in app development, refers to an app’s visual layout, color choices, typography, and overall user experience, everything a user sees and interacts with. Good app design balances visual appeal with clarity, since an app that looks polished but confuses users will lose them at the first unclear screen.

Download

A download, in the context of app publishing, refers to a user installing an app from the App Store or Google Play onto their device. In terms of engagement, downloads are one of the most visible success metrics for an app, though they matter most when paired with strong retention, since a download that never gets opened again is not much of a win.

Drag-and-Drop App Builder

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A drag-and-drop app builder lets you construct an app’s interface by dragging visual components like buttons, text fields, and images onto a canvas rather than writing layout code. This was the first generation of no-code app building, and it remains the foundation most modern AI-assisted builders, including Thunkable, are built on top of.

F

Flashlight

The flashlight component lets an app control a device’s built-in flash or LED light, independent of the camera. Flashlight access is common in utility apps, safety apps, and any app that needs a simple, reliable light source without going through the camera interface.

Freemium

Freemium is an app monetization model that offers a free version of an app with core functionality, then charges for premium features, higher usage limits, or an ad-free experience. Freemium works by lowering the barrier to that first download to nearly zero, then converting a percentage of engaged users to paying customers once they hit a limit or want more.

Frontend

The frontend is the part of an app users directly see and interact with: The screens, buttons, layouts, and visual design. Frontend work covers everything on the surface of an app, while the logic and data behind that surface live in the backend.

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G

Google Authentication

Google Authentication is a specific single sign-on method that lets users log into an app using their existing Google account. It is one of the most widely used SSO options because of how many people already have an active Google account on their phone.

Google Play

Google Play, also called the Google Play Store, is the official marketplace for Android apps. Google Play’s review process is generally faster than Apple’s, though it still enforces content and functionality policies before an app goes live.

Gyroscope

The gyroscope is a device sensor that measures rotation and orientation, letting an app detect how a phone is being tilted or turned in three-dimensional space. Gyroscope data is common in games, augmented reality, video streaming apps, and any interface that responds to how the user physically moves their device.

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H

Haptic Feedback

Haptic feedback is the small vibration or tactical response a device produces as a reaction to a user action, like tapping a button. Well-placed haptic feedback makes an app interface feel more responsive and substantial, confirming an action happened without requiring the users to look for a visual change.

Home Screen

In app design, the home screen is the first interactive screen a user lands on after an app finishes loading. The home screen carries the most traffic of any screen in an app, so its layout and navigation choices have an outsized effect on how easily users find what they came for.

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I

Image

Image is the app component that handles displaying, uploading, or manipulating photos and graphics inside an app. Image handling needs to account for different screen sizes and resolutions, so a photo looks sharp on every device rather than stretched or pixelated.

In-App Purchase (IAP)

An in-app purchase is a transaction made from inside an app to unlock additional content, features, or virtual goods. IAPs cover everything from removing ads to buying in-game currency to unlocking a pro feature set, and they route through Apple’s or Google’s payment systems, which take a revenue share on most transactions.

Setting up IAPs in Thunkable

Thunkable’s IAP component connects through RevenueCat, a third-party subscription and purchase management platform, to handle billing on both the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Integrations

 Integrations are connections between an app and outside services, tools, or platforms, letting data and functionality flow between them. Common integrations include payment processors, email tools, analytics platforms, and social logins, each typically connected through an API or SDK.

Internal Tools

Internal tools are apps built for a company’s own employees to use, such as inventory trackers, scheduling apps, or approval workflows, rather than for public customers. Internal tools rarely need  polish for app store attractiveness, but they do need to be reliable, fast to update, and cheap to maintain, which makes them a natural fit for no-code building.

Building internal tools with Thunkable

Thunkable’s Operations and IT solutions are built precisely for this use case: Letting a team build and update its own internal app without opening a ticket with engineering every time a workflow changes. 

iOS 

iOS is Apple’s mobile operating system, running on every iPhone, and one of two platforms, alongside Android, that most mobile apps need to support. Building for iOS means following Apple’s design guidelines and passing Apple’s app review process before an app can appear in the app store.

IoT App Development

IoT app development is building the mobile app that controls, monitors, or receives data from an internet-connected physical device. IoT is an acronym for “Internet of Things”, which is the broad category of internet-connected hardware, from smart thermostats to industrial sensors, that pair with a companion app.

Building IoT apps without code

Thunkable’s combination of native compilation, Bluetooth and BLE support, and sensor access makes it a practical fit for IoT companion apps, letting hardware startups and hobbyists build an app without hiring a mobile developer.

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K

Keys (API Keys)

An API key is a unique credential an app uses to authenticate itself when connecting to a third-party service or backend. Losing control of an API key can allow unauthorized users to make requests and potentially damage–or rack up charges on–your account, so keys are typically stored securely rather than hard-coded into an app’s visible logic.

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L

License

In app development, a license is the legal agreement governing how software, code, or a component can be used, modified, or distributed. Every third-party library or component your app uses comes with its own license terms, and mixing incompatible licenses can create real legal exposure once an app is published commercially.

Loading Screen

A loading screen appears while an app fetches data or completes a task, giving the user visual confirmation that something is happening rather than the app being frozen. Good loading states, even a simple spinner, reduce the chance a user gives up and closes the app during a brief waiting period.

Local Storage

Local storage keeps data saved directly on the user’s device rather than sending it to a remote server. Local storage is fast and works without an internet connection, which makes it the foundation of any offline-first app.

Location (Geolocation)

The location component, also called geolocation, gives an app access to a device’s GPS coordinates to determine where the user physically is. Location data powers navigation, delivery tracking, nearby search results, and check-in features. 

Low-Code

Low-code refers to development tools that minimize handwritten code through visual tools and pre-built components, while still allowing developers to write custom code where needed. The distinction from no-code matters for hiring and workflow. Low-code tools generally assume there is at least one technical team member who can step in and code when the visual/block-building layer hits its limits.

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M

Maps

The maps component embeds an interactive map inside of an app, typically showing the user’s location, points of interest, or a route between two or more places. Maps are one of the most requested components across nearly every app category, from real estate to food delivery to field service.

Media Storage

Media storage is storage specifically designed to hold larger files like images, video, and audio, as opposed to small pieces of structured data like text or numbers. Media files are much larger than typical database records, so they are usually stored separately from an app’s main database and referenced by a link rather than stored directly inside it.

Modal

A modal is a screen or window that appears on top of an app’s current content, requiring the user to interact with it or dismiss it before continuing. Modals are used for confirmation, quick forms, and alerts where interrupting the main flow briefly is useful for the user.

MVP (Minimum Viable Product)

An MVP is the simplest working version of a product that still delivers enough value to test with real users and validate the underlying idea. The point of an MVP is to learn whether people actually want something before spending months of time and a large budget fully building something, like an app, out.

Building an MVP on Thunkable

Because Thunkable compiles a true native app, your MVP is a real, publishable app from the start. You can put it front of users, gather feedback, and keep building on the same project once you’re ready to scale, with no need to transfer or rebuild in a different tool.

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N

Native App vs. Hybrid App vs. Web App

A native app is built and compiled specifically for iOS or Android and runs directly on the device, while a hybrid app wraps web code in a native shell, and a web app runs directly and entirely inside a browser. The distinction determines what your app will actually be able to do.

‍Native apps get full access to the camera, GPS, Bluetooth, push notifications, and offline storage, and they run at full device speed. 

Hybrid and web apps are limited by what the browser layer allows, and they often move slower and feel less polished.

Why this matters when picking a builder

Some no-code platforms produce web apps dressed up to look native, then require a separate wrapper service to reach the app store of your choice. Thunkable compiles a true native binary for iOS and Android from your project, so what you build is what actually ships, prepared for full functionality on users’ devices.

Natural Language Programming (NLP)

Natural language programming, or NLP, is writing software instructions in ordinary language instead of formal programming syntax. It is the broader, more technical term for what vibe coding and prompt-based development do in practice. Instead of writing code, the AI model you’re working with translates your plain-language requests into working logic to create your apps.

Navigation Bar

A navigation bar is the persistent menu, usually along the bottom or top of the screen, that lets users move between an app’s main sections. A clear navigation bar is one of the simplest ways to make an app feel familiar, since it follows a pattern nearly every mobile app user already recognizes. 

NFC (Near-Field Communication)

NFC is a short-range wireless technology that lets two devices exchange data by being held within a couple of inches of each other, the same technology behind tap-to-pay. Beyond payments, NFC is used for access badges, smart tags, and pairing hardware with a single tap instead of a manual Bluetooth pairing flow. 

No-Code

No-code refers to development tools that let you build a complete, working application without writing any code, using visual components, blocks, or prompts instead. No-code removes the syntax layer entirely, letting you work directly with the aforementioned visual building blocks, layouts, and, on newer platforms, plain-language prompts.

No-code on Thunkable

Thunkable was built to be a no-code solution from the start, well before AI entered the picture, using a visual design canvas paired with a block-based logic editor inspired by MIT’s Scratch. The AI Builder adds a prompt-based layer on top of that same no-code foundation, so you can build entirely by chatting, or with blocks, or a blend of both approaches within the same project.

No-code MVP

A no-code MVP is a minimum viable product (MVP) built entirely with no-code tools, letting a founder test an idea without hiring a developer or writing a line of code. This has become the default starting point for most non-technical founders, since it removes the biggest early cost and delay: Finding and paying a technical co-founder or contractor before you even know if the idea works.

No-code vs. Low-code

No-code tools require zero coding knowledge to build a complete app, while low-code tools reduce the amount of code needed but still expect some technical skill for more advanced logic. The right choice depends on who is building. A solo founder with no technical background needs true no-code. A product team with an engineer on staff would do fine with low-code, perhaps even preferring it for technical flexibility.

No-code and low-code accessibility with Thunkable

Thunkable starts as a true noc-de experience, buildable entirely through prompts or blocks. You or a teammate can also  open the built-in code editor at any point and write directly, pairing the accessibility of no-code with a low-code escape hatch for whenever you want it.

Notification

A notification is any message an app surfaces to alert a user, whether it appears on the lock screen as a push notification or inside the app itself as an in-app alert. Notifications are one of the most effective tools for bringing users back to an app, and also one of the easiest features to overuse until users disable them entirely, so be sure to use them wisely.

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O

Offline-First App

An offline-first app is designed to keep working, saving data locally, when the device has no internet connection, then syncing that data once a connection returns. This matters most for field service, travel, and rural-use apps where a reliable connection cannot be guaranteed. An app that breaks the moment it loses signal will lose users fast in those contexts.

Building offline support in Thunkable 

Thunkable supports local, on-device storage alongside cloud storage, so you can design an app that saves data locally when offline and syncs it back once the device reconnects. This is a significant differentiator against no-code tools limited to browser-based storage, which typically break the moment the connection drops.

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P

Payment and Payment Integration

Payment integration is the component that lets an app accept a payment from users, connecting to a processor like Stripe to handle the transaction securely. Payment handling involves real security and compliance requirements, since an app is processing sensitive card data even if only briefly, before passing it to the processor.

Progressive Web App (PWA)

A progressive web app is a website built to behave like an app, with offline support and a home screen icon, but it runs through a browser engine rather than compiling to native code. PWAs are faster to build than native apps but come with significant limits: No listing in the Apple App Store, restricted access to hardware features, and generally weaker performance overall.

PWA vs. native on Thunkable

Several no-code builders are PWA-only, which means their apps cannot appear in the Apple App Store or Google Play at all. Thunkable builds true native apps, so if your plan includes App Store distribution, that path is available from day one instead of requiring a migration later.

Prompt-Based App Development

Prompt-based app development means building an app by writing instructions in everyday language rather than configuring components or writing syntax. A prompt can create a full screen, add a feature, or restyle an entire app. It is the interaction model underneath vibe coding and the primary way Thunkable creators build their own apps.

Example prompts

• “Add a login screen with email and Google sign-in”
• “Turn this list into a map view”
• “Build a pricing tier screen with a recommended midway price column”

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These are typical examples of prompts, but Thunkable is built to be flexible and can handle as many iterations of your ideas as you need. Thunkable’s AI Builder will interpret the request, build the corresponding screens and logic, and show you the results immediately in a live preview. 

Provisioning Profile

A provisioning profile is an Apple-issued file that links a specific app, developer account, and set of devices, authorizing that app to run on iOS during development and testing. Provisioning profiles are a required, and often confusing, part of iOS development, since Apple uses them to control exactly which apps can install on which devices before formal App Store release.

Push Notification

A push notification is a message sent from an app to a user’s device even when the app is closed, appearing on the lock screen or notification tray. Push notifications require native app capabilities. Web apps and most PWAs cannot send true push notifications the way a native app can, particularly on iOS.

Adding push notifications in Thunkable

Thunkable’s push notification component connected to OneSignal, a third-party notification service, and sending to Android devices also requires linking a Firebase project for credentials. Once that connection is in place, you can prompt the AI Builder to add a push notification trigger, or wire it up directly in the blocks editor for finer control over timing and targeting.

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R

Rapid Application Development (RAD)

Rapid Application Development is a software development approach that prioritizes fast, iterative building and testing over extensive upfront planning and documentation. RAD emerged decades before modern no-code tools, but the philosophy is the same one driving today’s AI app builders:

1. Build something that works, fast
2. Get feedback
3. Iterate based on that feedback

RAD removes months of designing before being able to push the first version out to real people.

Recording

Recording is the component category covering video and screen capture directly from within an app, letting users generate their own content instead of only consuming it. User-generated video is a core feature for social apps, tutorial apps, and any product built around people creating and sharing content with each other.

Reviews

In the context of app development, reviews are the ratings and written feedback users leave developers for their apps on the App Store or Google Play after downloading it. Reviews directly influence both a potential user’s decision to download and an app’s ranking in app store search results, along with determining how a developer updates and improves future iterations of their app. This makes user reviews an integral part of App Store Optimization (ASO) and user retention.

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S

Software Development Kit (SDK)

A Software Development Kit, or SDK, is a bunch of tools, libraries, and documentation that lets developers add a specific service or or feature to an app. Payment processors, analytics tools, and ad networks all typically ship an SDK so developers can integrate their service without building the connection from scratch.

SDKs and no-code app development

Traditional SDK integration requires writing native code for iOS and Android separately. Thunkable’s component library packages many common SDK integrations into ready-to-use, drag-and-drop pieces, so the underlying complexity doesn’t slow you down.

Sensor API (Device Sensors)

A sensor API gives an app programmatic access to the physical sensors built into a phone, including the accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, and proximity sensor. Sensor data powers everything from step counters to augmented reality apps to games that respond to how you tilt and move your phone.

Sensors in Thunkable

Thunkable exposes device sensors as ready-to-use components, including the accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer, so you can read live sensor data with a block or a prompt instead of writing native sensor-handling code for two operating systems separately.

Single Sign-on (SSO)

Single sign-on lets a user log into an app using an existing account, typically from Google, Apple, or a company identity provider, instead of creating a new username and password. SSO reduces signup friction and cuts down on forgotten password-specific support requests, since users are logging in with credentials they already use daily. 

Speech-to-Text

Speech-to-text is technology that converts spoken audio into written text in real time or from a recorded clip. It powers voice commands, dictation features, and accessibility tools that let users interact with an app without typing.

Splash Screen

A splash screen is the branded loading screen an app briefly displays as it starts up, before the main interface appears. A splash screen also covers the small delay every app has while it initializes, and it is often the first visual impression of an app’s brand.

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics) Education Apps

STEM education apps are mobile or web applications designed to teach science, technology, engineering, or mathematics concepts, often through interactive or project-based learning. App building itself has become a popular STEM subject, since it combines logic, design, and problem solving into one hands-on project that produces something a student can actually show off.

Storage

Storage, in the context of an app, refers to where the app’s data lives, whether that is on the device itself or on a remote server. Every app needs a storage strategy, even a simple one, to remember user preferences, save content, or keep someone logged in between sessions.

Subscription

A subscription is a recurring app monetization model where users pay on a regular schedule, usually monthly or annually, for continued access to an app and its premium features. Subscriptions provide predictable, recurring revenue, which is part of why they have become the dominant monetization model for apps with ongoing utility rather than a single use.

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T

Text-to-App

Text-to-app is the shorthand term for turning a written description directly into a functioning application. It describes the same thing as prompt-based development and vibe coding, and it is often used in comparisons of AI app builders because it captures the whole pitch in three words.

Text-to-Speech (TTS)

Text-to-speech (TTS) is technology that converts written text into spoken audio, read aloud by a synthetic voice. It is widely used for accessibility, letting visually impaired users hear content instead of only being able to read it, along with finding main feature-level utility in language learning apps and for hands-free use cases like driving.

Time to Market

Time to market, in the context of an app, is the length of time between an idea and its public launch. Shorter time to market means faster feedback, faster revenue, and less time for a competitor to launch something similar before you.

Why time to market is one of Thunkable’s major benefits

Reducing time to market is the central promise behind vibe coding an app instead of hiring a development team. What used to take weeks of design and development can now happen in a single sitting, with a true native app ready to test the same day the idea takes shape.

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V

Versioning

Versioning is the practice of assigning a version number to each release of an app, tracking updates over time is a consistent, predictable format. Clear versioning helps both users and app stores understand whether they are looking at the latest release, and it is required metadata for every App Store and Google Play submission.

Vibe Coding

Vibe Coding is building software by describing what you want in plain language and letting an AI model generate the working result. Instead of writing lines of code, you describe the app(s), screen(s), and feature(s) you want as a prompt or series of prompts, and AI builds it for you. The term was coined by Andrej Karpathy in 2025 to describe development where you “give in to the vibes” and let AI models handle implementation while you essentially give creative and iterative direction.

On Thunkable, vibe coding is the core way creators start building their own apps: Describe your app idea in the AI builder, and in return, get a true native app. Then, keep chatting to refine it and steer the outcome toward exactly what you want.

How vibe coding works in Thunkable

You open a chat, describe your app idea, and Thunkable’s AI Builder generates screens, logic, and design in response. You can keep prompting to do a bunch of things:

1. Change features
2. Add/change colors
3. Fix/modify/add behaviors

You can also switch between the Block Editor and Code Editor any time you want more control over the output. What you’ll get is a real, native iOS and Android app you can test on a device right away.

Vibe coding vs. traditional no-code

Older no-code tools still require you to place every component and wire up every action by hand. Vibe coding removes that manual assembly step. You direct the outcome in words, and the platform handles the construction, which is why it has become the fastest on-ramp for people with zero coding experience. Not knowing how to code shouldn’t mean not being able to create something awesome to share with the world.

Video

Video is the app component that lets you embed, play, and control video content directly inside an app, from onboarding walkthroughs to social feeds to to product demos. Adding native video used to mean writing separate playback code for iOS and Android and handling formats, buffering, and controls by hand.

Building a video app with AI, no code required

With Thunkable’s AI Builder, adding video only requires a prompt. Ask for a video feed, a looping background video on your splash screen, or an in-app video player with custom controls, and the AI Builder generates the screen and logic for you.

This is what a vibe coded video app actually looks like in practice: Describe the feature in plain language, and Thunkable’s AI handles the native video implementation on both iOS and Android at once.

Visual Programming Language

A visual programming language expresses logic through connected graphical blocks or shapes instead of typed text syntax. Scratch, MIT App Inventor, and Thunkable’s own block editor are all examples. 

Each block is shaped to connect only with blocks that are logically compatible, so the visual structure itself represents the program’s logic.

Thunkable’s block editor

Thunkable’s blocks are directly descended from the visual programming approach pioneered at MIT App Inventor, the project that two of Thunkable’s founders helped build before starting the company. It is one reason Thunkable has a strong, lasting foundation in classrooms in addition to startups.

Voice Recording

Voice recording is the component that captures audio directly from a device’s microphone, storing it for playback, transcription, or sharing. Voice recording powers voice memo apps, voice messaging features, and any app that needs a spoken input alternative to typing.

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W

Widget

A widget is a small, self-contained interface element. Examples of widgets include:

• Buttons
• Weather displays
• Calendars
• Clocks
• To-do lists

Widgets can either be used inside an app’s screens, or placed directly on a device’s home or secondary screens outside of the app itself. Home screen widgets give users a glance at key information without fully opening the app, which can meaningfully increase how often an app gets used.

WYSIWYG Editor

WYSIWYG stands for “what you see is what you get”, describing an editor where the layout you build on screen matches the final result exactly. The term originated in desktop publishing and now applies broadly to no-code design canvases like Thunkable’s editors, where you place and style elements visually instead of describing their position in code.