#+date: [2026-07-25 Sat 12:00:00]
#+title: Small Wins on the App Store
#+description: My first tips and 5-star ratings on the iOS apps I built for fun and open-sourced.
#+slug: app-store-small-wins
#+filetags: :development:ios:

I wanted to briefly share a couple achievements I've experienced lately from
the apps I've published on the iOS app store.

If you're new to my blog: I'm not a full-time developer and don't do this for a
living. I develop sites, apps, etc. for fun as a hobby. I open-source everything
I create so others can share or fork as they please, and I've never even
included a tip option (until now - that iOS developer subscription is
expensive!).

* My Apps

However, I've launched a few apps on the Apple app store in the last year:
- [[https://apps.apple.com/us/app/domaindig/id6760368004][DomainDig]] ([[https://github.com/zerolabsco/domain-dig][Source]]) - A domain inspection toolkit for DNS, SSL, ports, etc.
- [[https://apps.apple.com/us/app/hutch-for-sourcehut/id6760742299][Hutch for Sourcehut]] ([[https://github.com/zerolabsco/hutch][Source]]) - A mobile client for SourceHut.
- [[https://apps.apple.com/us/app/daybyday-learn/id6760321939][DayByDay]] ([[https://github.com/zerolabsco/daybyday][Source]]) - A children's app to learn various topics through
  voice-enabled learning cards.

I didn't expect anyone to really use these and I don't promote my apps anywhere.

I created DayByDay for my daughter, as a flashcard-style app that would be easy
for her to use and something we could do together in the small moments of the
day.

I created Hutch because I wanted a faster way to use SourceHut on the go,
especially since I use private mode in Safari and am constantly logged out of my
accounts. Hutch lets me read my mailing lists, manage tickets, and run builds
wherever I want.

Finally, I created DomainDig because I was lamenting the updates Njalla made to
their [[https://check.njal.la/dns/][DNS Checker]] - it used to be a plain text page and is now wrapped in
Njalla's branding and lacks some info I want when looking into a domain.

* My Achievements

I'm proud to announce two (baby-sized) achievements I didn't expect to happen:

1. I received my first two tips through the Hutch app! For a few dollars, two
   people have made my whole month. It's extremely satisfying to know someone
   used the app and found it valuable enough to voluntarily send some money my
   way.
2. I received two 5-star ratings on the DomainDig app. Again, such a pleasure to
   know people do appreciate the value that the app brings.

I'm not going to pretend two tips and two ratings will change anything. I'll
keep building these apps in the small moments the same way I always have,
because that's the part I actually enjoy. But it's a nice reminder that "nobody
will use this" isn't always true. Sometimes a stranger finds the thing you made
for yourself and gets something out of it too.

So, to the four of you: thank you. You made my month.