2020

Started development of iOS API testing app called Restor in 2019. Published initial version in July 2020 under my org account. Not soon after I discontinued my org due to various reasons. So the app was unpublished from the app store.

Restor app icon:

2023

Rebranded the app to API Tester Pro and published under my individual account. Apple rejected the app twice citing design spam. I created an appeal stating it's my own app and I previously published it under my org account. I did not copy any code or design from other apps and I had spent more than a year of free time developing this app and would like to continue the development work. I mentioned similar to this in response to the rejection as comment the first time and resubmitted it but they rejected it. So I created the appeal. Somehow the appeal went through and got the app approved. Should have transferred the app instead which would have saved this trouble.

Using the App Store design from Restor is very time consuming for updates because of the background design. Also I didn't know if Apple will ever approve the app. So I didn't want to spend too much time when things were uncertain. So I went with a plain background. All the app screenshots were different this time. There has been only slight changes in design on the app front. No major UI rework. Dark mode is supported in the previous app also. I did not add that in the 5.5 inch version of the App Store design. It's shown in the 6.4 inches version of the App Store design.

API Tester Pro app icon:

2025

Renamed the app to API Zen. API Tester Pro is very generic. No much UI design changes. Mostly code level enhancements. It was a paid app with upfront payment and not through In-App purchase. I later made it free with optional donations. Not the best move in my opinion.

Made some progress with the macOS version of API Zen with SwiftUI.

Wireframes of the macOS app.

I don't do iOS/macOS development for work. Working on this app means I am not able to spend my free time on any other programming languages nor projects. Feels like I am stuck with Swift forever. Would have been great if my career aligns with this.

Hence, I am releasing the source code of the app for reference which is available at GitHub. It was all fun while it lasted.

The repo at GitHub is a monorepo. In my local I have all the modules as separate git repos. I used the below code to generate the monorepo.

git clone git@github.com:jsloop42/api-zen.git
cd api-zen

cp ../API\ Zen\ Workspace/APIZen.xcworkspace .
git add .
git commit -m "Xcode workspace file"

git remote add APIZenIOS ../API\ Zen\ Workspace/APIZenIOS
git fetch APIZenIOS
git subtree add --prefix=APIZenIOS APIZenIOS main
git remote remove APIZenIOS

git remote add AZCommon ../API\ Zen\ Workspace/AZCommon
git fetch AZCommon
git subtree add --prefix=AZCommon AZCommon main
git remote remove AZCommon

git remote add AZData ../API\ Zen\ Workspace/AZData
git fetch AZData
git subtree add --prefix=AZData AZData main
git remote remove AZData

git remote add AZPhone ../API\ Zen\ Workspace/AZPhone
git fetch AZPhone
git subtree add --prefix=AZPhone AZPhone main
git remote remove AZPhone

git remote add APIZenMac ../API\ Zen\ Workspace/APIZenMac
git fetch APIZenMac
git subtree add --prefix=APIZenMac APIZenMac main
git remote remove APIZenMac

git push -u origin main