Architecture NotesA solo developer's decision log
A trail becomes someone's map.
Where one product-building journey crosses your path.
Building a product isn't just making an app. It means delivering it to the people it can help, improving it, and keeping on delivering. This is a record of doing it with nothing but a phone.
Dots join into a line, and the line reaches someone.
The line curves into a circle,
and the trail it leaves becomes someone's signpost.
01About this siteAbout
LycoApp Notes is the working record of the solo product development behind Lyco App. I've tried organizing that process as ADRs (Architecture Decision Records).
Why ADRs? Because in an era where AI takes over the doing and human work shifts toward deciding, I believe the document worth keeping in product development is no longer the design spec but the record of why each decision was made.
02Who this is forFor You
This site is for you if, for instance, you want to:
- Start solo development
- Build apps with nothing but a smartphone
- Set up a CI/CD pipeline
- Grow something into a real service
- Write ADRs
- Put up a website
- Think marketing and monetization all the way through
- Figure out what comes after shipping an app
There's no need to read everything at once. Take only the parts you need, when you need them. Think of it as a collection of feasibility-study results — things actually tried, with the outcomes attached. (Brief steps are included too.)
03What this site hopes forGoal
A comprehensive record of practiced results.
By leaving the road I walked exactly as it was — may it spare someone a failure, and inform a decision.
A signpost, if it can be one.
04Architecture Decision RecordsMap
Numbers mark the chapters. Colors are categories. Linked rows are published articles.
05Frequently asked questionsFAQ
What is this site?
A development log of the decisions made while building the lycoapp.com apps single-handedly, kept as ADRs (Architecture Decision Records). It records why each choice was made — it is not a step-by-step tutorial.
Who writes it?
The developer of Lyco App — working full-time, developing in the gaps of parenting, entirely on a smartphone. Profile on the About page.
Are detailed instructions included?
No. These are ADRs, so the focus is reasoning and architecture. To reproduce a setup, hand an article to an AI assistant and ask for the steps. Every setup documented here actually ran.
How does this relate to lycoapp.com?
Same developer, same domain. The main site is a world of habit-building apps for kids; this is the engineering behind it. The designs are intentionally separate because the audiences differ.
Why ADRs instead of tutorials?
In an era where AI can teach you the steps, the work left to humans is deciding. Which option, and why — that record stays useful far longer than any how-to.
In what order should I read?
The chapters connect vertically: PoC → dev platform → brand foundation → marketing → monetization. But every article stands on its own, so start wherever your interest lands.
How much does the development cost?
Fixed costs are Claude Pro at $20/month and the Apple Developer Program at $99/year; everything else runs on free tiers. The breakdown is in 1 AI-driven development with only an iPhone.
Do you really develop with only a phone?
I used a PC browser once, during certificate creation. Everything else — the website, the DNS settings — is all done on the phone.
Can I do this too?
Yes. You can. When I got stuck, asking the AI got me every step of the way.