build in public app: what it has to do that a social account can't

a build in public app is whatever keeps the record of your build going while you build it. underway is the one that asks: you pick what an episode is about, it asks you out loud, and it cuts your answers into a numbered video or podcast episode, in the order you said them, with captions, Shorts and the posts for each network. it is for founders at any stage who want that record without becoming an editor.

it is not the only kind. some apps keep a timeline you post to yourself, some keep a streak of shipped tasks, some turn your commits into posts. this page names them, says what each is good at and who should pick it instead, then shows how underway works, what it costs and what stays private.

the first 14 days are free, with a card added at the start and nothing charged until day 15. after that it is $29 a month.

What is the best build in public app?

there isn't one best build in public app. it depends what you are trying to keep. Alongly is a free timeline of updates you post yourself. WIP is a community where makers log what they ship and keep a streak. BuildCast and Build in Public turn GitHub activity into social posts. Recon puts a ship log, revenue and status on pages. underway is the one that asks you out loud and cuts a numbered video or podcast, in the order you said it, with nothing added.

if you already write the posts and only need them sent, you do not need underway. if the hard part is getting the day out of you when you are busy, that is what it is for.

how to choose a build in public app

most people looking for one have tried posting by hand and stopped. before you pick, ask what stopped you, because each kind of app fixes a different thing.

• do you run out of things to say? then you want something that asks, not something that schedules.
• do you have plenty to say and no time to write it up? then a tool that drafts posts from your commits may be enough.
• do you want people to see your face and hear how you think? then it has to make video, and someone or something has to cut it.
• do you want a record that still makes sense at entry 200? then it needs numbering, order and a home that is yours, not only a feed.
• do you need to keep it private for now? then publishing has to be a separate choice from recording.

the build in public apps people name

Alongly is a free app on iPhone and Android. you open a Journey and post photos, short video or notes as you go, and people follow it. a Journey can be public, or kept to a close crew while it is in progress. it is good at being simple and free. you still decide what to post and when, and it does not interview you or edit anything.

WIP describes itself as a group of makers shipping together. you post your todos and what you completed, keep a streak, and talk to other makers. it is good for accountability with people who do the same thing. it is written, and it is a community rather than a record you take with you.

BuildCast's site says it turns commits, pull requests, issues and releases into social posts with AI captions, and can send them to thirteen networks. Build in Public, at buildinpublic.so, says it turns your commits into content: posts, threads and scripts. both are good if your work lives in GitHub and your problem is writing about it. neither records you.

Recon, at recon44.com, lists a ship log, a revenue page and a status page. it is a public board for the work. it does not ask you anything, and a number is not a story.

schedulers such as Typefully, which drafts, schedules and publishes posts to X, LinkedIn, Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon and Instagram, send what you have already written. clip tools such as Opus Clip and Descript cut footage you have already recorded. both are useful once that material exists. neither gets the day out of you.

how underway works as a build in public app, step by step

the prompt arrives every day at a time you pick, and you film whenever suits you. you can film more than one episode in a day: episodes are counted, not days, so a missed week leaves no hole in the number.

• episode zero first: what you're building, who it's for, where it stands and what you're setting out to do. it is the start of the series and the context for every interview after it.
• pick the kind of episode: a video interview, the same by voice, just chat, a walk-through of your screen, watch me work, a conversation with the AI co-host, or a guest.
• pick what it's about. topics come from your season and from what it read of your day, if you connected GitHub, a calendar or forward email, or you type your own. each pick is one question.
• answer. each question is asked out loud, in the order you picked, and you answer for as long as it takes. there are no follow-ups and no countdown; it ends after the last one. the co-host is the separate kind that talks back and digs in.
• minutes later the episode is cut on full sentences, in the order you said things, with filler out, captions on and your number on the front. nothing is reordered for a better opening and no words are added.
• then it is yours to post or keep: the words for YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram, X and a blog are written from what you said, and Find clips cuts Shorts from it.

it keeps a private memory of the series, so each interview starts where the last one stopped. you can read it, fix it or delete any of it, and nobody else sees it. the honest test of an app like this is whether its maker uses it: Rich Lovatt's own series about building underway is filmed in it, in order.

watch the series building underway.

what it costs

a new account is a 14-day free trial of Founder, with a card, and nothing charged until day 15. cancel before then and you pay nothing. Founder is $29 a month or $290 a year: the interview by camera, voice or screen, an episode minutes after you finish, Shorts, the posts written for each network, your page, your marketing brief and every connection. Series is $79 a month or $790 a year and adds one tap to post to YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram and X with the audience numbers that come back, the weekly round-up, the month in one film, the podcast feed, Pro YouTube thumbnails with your face in them, and the series deck for an investor or a hire. raw footage is downloadable on every plan. accounts made before 12 Oct 2026 keep the five free episodes they were promised.

what stays private

every series starts private, and every episode stays in the vault until you publish it, on every plan. going public is a switch you press, and on the day you do, the whole vault can go up at once, oldest first, with every filming date kept. any single episode can be held back for good.

the tools you connect are read, never written to. meeting notes are context for the questions and never footage. when you share your screen you choose what people may see before any of it is shown, and every screen in a file is checked for keys and passwords before it can go anywhere. one episode, or the whole account, can be deleted from the app.

questions people ask about a build in public app

where to go next

the plans, side by side, are on the pricing page.

the wider landscape, from schedulers to clip tools: build in public tools, honestly compared.