Apple reportedly blocks vibe-coding apps from publishing updates

Apple is preventing popular vibe-coding apps like Replit and Vibecode from releasing new versions. The company points to existing guidelines, but the move targets potential competition to its own ecosystem.

Apple has reportedly blocked several vibe-coding apps from publishing updates in the App Store until they make changes, The Information reports. Among those affected are Replit, most recently valued at $9 billion, and Vibecode.

Vibe-coding apps let users without programming skills create working applications through natural language input. According to The Information, these tools have also contributed to a flood of new apps in the App Store, partly slowing down the approval process.

Apple is citing guideline 2.5.2, which prohibits apps from downloading, installing, or executing code that changes their own functionality or that of other apps. An Apple spokesperson stressed that the rule doesn't specifically target vibe-coding apps.

App previews at the center of the dispute

The core issue appears to be how these apps display previews of newly created applications. Replit argued that the generated code runs in a separate virtual machine and is simply displayed as a web view within the app - similar to opening a link in a social media app.

Apple's review team initially rejected that argument. After months of escalation, a compromise appears to be taking shape, according to The Information: Replit would open generated apps in a separate browser instead of within its own app. Vibecode was told its updates would likely be approved if it removed the ability to create apps specifically for Apple devices.

Since its last update in January, Replit's app has dropped from first to third place in the developer tools download charts. Replit partly attributes the decline to its inability to push updates.

Vibe coding threatens Apple's app ecosystem on two fronts

The crackdown hits apps that challenge Apple's business model on two levels: they help users build web apps outside the App Store, and they compete with Apple's own development tool Xcode, which now integrates AI features from Anthropic and OpenAI.

Competition attorney Gene Burrus told The Information that Apple has a history of blocking apps or features that create competition on its platform.

Other apps with similar functionality, like Vercel's v0, have been able to continue publishing updates.