How do I prepare my mobile app’s source code and build process for a buyer?

Start with where the code lives. If it sits on a personal machine or an account in your own name, move it to a repository that can be handed over cleanly. Remove anything unrelated, such as old experiments or credentials you no longer use.

Next, write the build guide. List the tools, versions and settings needed to produce a release. Note the services the app talks to, which keys it uses and where each is stored. Keep secrets out of the code itself, and list who can reach them.

Document the parts that surprise newcomers: workarounds, fragile areas, tasks done by hand on release day. A short, honest list is more useful than a polished one. Then check the pieces you rely on that you did not write. Libraries and design assets carry their own terms, and a buyer’s developer will ask about them. Make sure you can show you own, or may transfer, the code and the artwork. Ask your lawyer how ownership of the code is recorded and what a transfer needs. Finally, run a trial. Ask an outside developer to build from your notes alone. Mention any parts of the app that still depend on you personally.

Key takeaways

• Move code out of personal accounts into something transferable.
• Write the build steps down and test them with an outsider.
• List third-party components and their terms.
• Hand a trial build to an outside developer before any buyer asks to see it.