Jeff Algera

Firebase is the fastest way to go from zero to a fully working backend. Auth, Firestore, Cloud Functions, hosting, all wired up in minutes. I know the trend is moving toward Supabase and other alternatives, but Firebase is still backed by Google, battle-tested at scale, and for a solo developer shipping a real product, nothing else gets you there faster. I'm running a production app on both app stores and my monthly Firebase bill is under ten cents. Hard to beat that.

Expo let me ship Goals to iOS and Android from a single codebase without ever touching Xcode or Android Studio directly. As a solo developer, that's everything. I considered going pure React Native CLI but the managed workflow, EAS Build, and over-the-air updates made it a no-brainer. I went from zero to both app stores without needing a separate build pipeline or CI setup. If you're a solo founder trying to ship a real mobile product on both platforms, Expo removes an enormous amount of friction.

I used Claude Code to build this entire app as a solo developer. It's not just autocomplete. I was able to architect features, debug complex issues, and ship production code across React Native, Firebase Cloud Functions, and AI integrations with Claude acting as a true development partner. I considered GitHub Copilot and Cursor but kept coming back to Claude Code because it handles full-stack reasoning across files and systems better than anything else I've tried. For a one-person team shipping to both app stores, it was the difference between months of work and weeks.