Companion apps link mobile and desktop clients to a local MacFullStack site without turning them into full stack projects.
They live outside ~/MacFullStack/www — for example under ~/companion-apps/… — and are stored as metadata in the site’s .macstack.json. MacFullStack never edits the companion code; it only remembers the path and gives you quick open actions.
What a companion app is
- An external iOS/Android/desktop project folder, not a PHP site
- A link from one MacFullStack project to that folder
- Safe metadata: removing the link does not delete the folder on disk
Use companions for native mobile apps, React Native, Flutter, desktop frontends, design prototypes, or admin tools that belong to a site.
In the app
- Open Projects, pick a card and click Companions…
- The sheet lists existing apps with buttons Folder · Editor · Terminal
- To add a new app:
- Enter a Name and pick a Platform
- Choose an absolute Path to the app folder (ideally outside
~/MacFullStack/www) - Click Add companion
- To stop using an app, click Remove link — the association is removed from
.macstack.json, but the folder on disk stays where it is.
Licensing
- Free: can view existing companions if they were set up under Pro/Teams, but cannot add or remove them
- Pro / Teams: can add, remove, and open companions from the UI and CLI
CLI
Use the CLI to script and inspect companion apps:
macstack projects companions list --name blog --json
macstack projects companions add --name blog --app-name "Shop iOS" --kind ios --path /Users/me/companion-apps/shop-ios --json
macstack projects companions remove --name blog --id <uuid> --json
macstack projects companions open --name blog --id <uuid> --target folder --json
listreturns all companions bound to the projectaddvalidates the path (must be absolute and unique per project) and writes metadataremovedrops the link but leaves the folder untouchedopenreuses the same helpers as project Folder / Editor / Terminal actions