Make an app
Make a gratitude journal app for iPhone
A gratitude journal asks one small thing: write down three good things today. Describe the ritual you want and Borel builds it as a native iPhone app in SwiftUI, with three short lines a day, an optional photo, an evening nudge and an On this day screen that brings back what you wrote a year ago.
Updated
“A gratitude journal: each evening I write three good things from today, one line each, and can add one photo. A home screen shows today's three lines or the empty boxes, a history lists past days, and On this day shows what I wrote a year and a month ago.”
Screens
What a gratitude journal app needs
The screens Borel builds from the prompt above. Ask for more, fewer or different ones.
Tonight's three
Three short boxes, filled one by one, with a photo button underneath.
History
Past days as cards, newest first, each with its three lines and photo.
On this day
What you were thankful for on this date last month and last year.
Prompts
A small idea when you're stuck, like someone who helped you today.
Data
What it keeps
Borel writes these as Swift models. On the phone they work with no connection; in Borel's cloud they follow a signed-in person.
| What | Holds | Kept |
|---|---|---|
| Day | Date and up to three lines of text | On the phone, with SwiftData |
| Photo | One picture chosen for the day | On the phone, with the day |
| Prompt | Starter questions you can edit or delete | On the phone |
Native iPhone features
What it can use on your iPhone
Written in Swift with Apple's own frameworks, so they work the way iPhone owners expect.
- Photo libraryPick a photo from your library for the day, without giving the app every picture.How Borel builds it
- Reminders and notificationsA quiet reminder at the time you usually wind down.How Borel builds it
- Voice and speechSay your three things out loud and the app writes them down.How Borel builds it
Make it yours
What to ask for next
Once the first version runs, ask for changes in the chat, in words like these.
- “Count how many days in a row I've written, but don't show it if it's zero.”
- “Let me write more than three things on a good day.”
- “Show a random past entry on the home screen when I open the app.”
How to make it
From a prompt to your iPhone and the App Store
- 1
Describe it
Paste the prompt on this page into Borel, or write your own in plain words. Borel plans the screens with you before it builds.
- 2
Try it in your browser
Borel writes the app in Swift and SwiftUI, builds it with Xcode on its own Mac and opens it in a live iPhone simulator in your browser, free.
- 3
Put it on your iPhone
With Pro, Borel Companion for Windows or Mac installs it on your own iPhone with your Apple ID: a cable the first time, then Wi-Fi.
- 4
Publish it when it's ready
Pro publishes to the App Store from the same project. Apple's Developer Program, $99 a year, is the one thing you pay Apple.
Write a real entry on your iPhone the first evening. Speech to text works only on the phone, so try saying your three things instead of typing, and check the photo picker shows your own library. If the reminder feels like a chore, ask for a softer line or a later time.
This is the kind of app people tend to keep for themselves, and Companion keeps it opening week after week while it runs. Publishing is there if you want to give it to others through the App Store.
Building starts free, with 5 free credits a day, up to 30 a month, and the simulator in your browser costs nothing. Pro, from $20 a month, adds installs on your own iPhone through Borel Companion and publishing to the App Store.
Before you start
Good to know
- Entries don't sync through iCloud; ask for accounts if you want them on more than one device.
- Photos are copied into the journal, so a large collection takes space on the phone.
Frequently asked questions
Three short entries a day, a gentle reminder, and a way to look back. Borel builds those first, and you add photos, prompts or streaks if you want them.
Yes. Borel can add speech to text with Apple's Speech framework, so you speak and the app writes. It needs your permission the first time.
No. Entries and photos are saved on your iPhone, so the journal works anywhere.
It's shaped around one short ritual instead of a blank page. If you want long entries, the journal app page shows a different build.
Make your gratitude journal app
Start from the prompt on this page, change it to fit your idea, and Borel builds it while you watch.