App Maker

App Maker is a powerful and flexible mobile application framework designed to help partners and customers build feature-rich, user-focused e-commerce apps. Built with React Native, it offers reliability, cross-platform compatibility, and a robust development ecosystem. App Maker delivers smooth shopping experiences for users and efficient workflows for developers.

Integrated with the Akinon ecosystem via Commerce, App Maker enables seamless collaboration with other Akinon products. It allows partners to easily create, customize, and deploy e-commerce apps. This introduction gives you a clear overview of App Maker’s capabilities, technology stack, and the value it brings to businesses, developers, and technology providers.

Technologies Used

• React

• React Native

• JavaScript

• Node.js

App Maker Capabilities

Reusable Components

App Maker includes a library of pre-built components to speed up development and maintain consistency across your app. These cover essential ecommerce functionalities like:

• Add to basket

• Checkout

• Order tracking

All components are fully integrated with Akinon Commerce endpoints to ensure reliable performance.

Customizable Configurations

Manage native app settings—such as splash screens, logos, app name, notifications, and versioning—using the akinon.json file. This JSON-based configuration acts as a single source of truth, allowing you to declaratively define how your app behaves on both iOS and Android. These settings are applied during the build, runtime, and deployment phases for consistent app behavior across environments.

Plugin Ecosystem

App Maker supports a stable mobile development environment where you can integrate custom modules or third-party services like:

• Analytics

• Push notifications

• Product recommendations etc.

This is where plugins come in. They enable you to incorporate necessary modules and write integrations.

Plugins follow a two-step process:

1. Installation – Scripts (written in Node.js) modify platform files (e.g., AndroidManifest.xml, Info.plist).

2. Integration – Components and services used in the app are developed and connected.

Organization Management

With the App Maker platform, easily manage your organization by:

• Creating user accounts

• Assigning roles (e.g., developer, release manager)

• Controlling access permissions

This ensures secure and streamlined collaboration across your teams.

App Maker CLI

The App Maker CLI simplifies development with tools for:

• Project setup

• Plugin management

• Local deployment

It supports multiple platforms including iOS, Android, and Huawei. You can initialize new projects from default templates and integrate third-party services like analytics and notifications.

Additional features include:

• Seamless Git integration

• Efficient build and release management

Deployment Workflow

App Maker’s deployment process includes:

• Preparing credentials

• Building app binaries (IPA, APK, AAB)

• Testing builds

• Submitting to the App Store and Google Play

It also supports over-the-air (OTA) updates, which allow you to instantly deliver new features, bug fixes, and content changes directly to users—without requiring a new version to be submitted to the App Store or Google Play.

You can enforce critical updates by redirecting users to the latest app version, ensuring a consistent, secure, and up-to-date user experience.