Skip Is Now Free and Open Source | Skip
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Since launching Skip in 2023, we’ve pursued one mission: enable developers to create premium mobile apps for iOS and Android from a single Swift and SwiftUI codebase — without any of the compromises that have encumbered cross-platform development tools since, well, forever.
Over the past three years, Skip has evolved significantly. We started with a Swift-to-Kotlin transpiler and Android support for the most common SwiftUI APIs. We then founded the Swift Android Workgroup ↗ and released the Swift Android SDK to compile Swift natively for Android. We now have dozens of popular integration frameworks, interoperate with thousands of cross-platform Swift packages, and feature the most complete independent SwiftUI implementation available.
The Challenge of Paid Developer ToolsSection titled “The Challenge of Paid Developer Tools”
Until today, Skip has required a paid subscription and license key to build apps. While free apps and indie developers below a revenue threshold were exempt, businesses were expected to subscribe. This model helped us bootstrap Skip without outside investment, but we’ve always known that to truly compete with legacy cross-platform tools and achieve widespread adoption, Skip would need to become freely available.
The plain truth is that developers expect to get their tools free of charge. First-party IDEs like Xcode and Android Studio, popular integration frameworks, and essential dev tools are all given away at no (direct) cost. The platform vendors monetize through developer program fees, app store commissions, and cloud services. Framework providers typically monetize through complementary services. But developer tools? Those have historically required the patronage of massive tech companies in order to fund their ongoing development, support, and infrastructure costs.
Beyond pricing, there’s a deeper concern about durability. Developers are understandably wary of building their entire app strategy on a small company’s paid, closed-source tool. What if the company goes under? Gets acquired and shut down? What happens to their apps? We get it. While Skip’s innate ejectability offers some risk mitigation, product teams need absolute confidence that their chosen technologies will be around next week, next year, and beyond. They must remain immune from the dreaded “rug pull” that so often accompanies a “pivot”.
To keep the development community’s trust and achieve mass adoption, Skip needs a completely free and open foundation. Even if the core team disappeared, the community could continue supporting the technology and the apps that depend on it.
What’s ChangingSection titled “What’s Changing”
As of Skip 1.7, all licensing requirements have been removed. No license keys, no end-user license agreements, no trial or evaluation period.

Current Skip developers: Your setup remains completely unchanged, except you will no longer need your license key after upgrading.
New Skip users: You can start building immediately — no evaluation license required.
Open source skipstone: We’ve open-sourced the Skip engine, known as “skipstone”. This is the tool that handles all the critical build-time functionality: Project creation and management, Xcode and SwiftPM plugin logic, iOS-to-Android project transformation, resource and localization bundling, JNI bridge creation, source transpilation, app packaging, and project export. It is now available as a public GitHub repository at https://github.com/skiptools ↗ under a free and open-source license.
Migrate skip.tools to skip.dev: As part of this process, we are launching our new home at https://skip.dev ↗! This new site hosts our documentation, blog, and case studies, and it is also open-source and welcomes contributions at https://github.com/skiptools/skip.dev ↗. We will eventually be migrating the entirety of https://skip.tools ↗ to https://skip.dev ↗.

Supporting Skip’s FutureSection titled “Supporting Skip’s Future”
Since day one, Skip has been bootstrapped. We haven’t taken venture capital or private equity investment, nor are we controlled by big tech. This independence means we control our destiny and can make the best decisions for Skip’s developers and users — a unique position in the cross-platform development space.
But independence requires community support. And that is where you come in.

Current subscribers: Your Small Business or Professional plan will automatically transition to an Individual ↗ or Supporter ↗ tier, respectively. You can cancel any time with no consequences (other than making us sad), but we hope you’ll consider staying on, at least throughout this transition period.
Individual developers: If you believe in Skip’s mission, please consider supporting us through GitHub Sponsors ↗ with a monthly contribution.
Companies and organizations: For businesses that want to see Skip flourish, we offer corporate sponsorship tiers with visibility on our homepage and in our documentation. Your sponsorship directly funds development of the integration frameworks essential to production apps, as well as the ongoing maintenance, support, and infrastructure. Sponsorship comes with some compelling perks! Please visit https://skip.dev/sponsor ↗ to see the sponsorship tiers.

Investing in Skip is also investing in your own team’s capabilities and competitive advantage. Your support accelerates Skip’s development and ensures its long-term success, enabling your developers to build exceptional native experiences efficiently, today and into the future.
What Comes NextSection titled “What Comes Next”
We’re at a pivotal moment in the app development field. Legacy cross‑platform frameworks are struggling to keep pace with the rapid evolution of modern UI systems like Liquid Glass on iOS and Material Expressive on Android. The compromises that once felt acceptable in exchange for a unified codebase now result in dated interfaces, weaker user experiences, and real competitive disadvantages. Teams ready to move beyond those trade‑offs can count on Skip to champion what matters most: delivering truly native, uncompromised experiences on both major mobile platforms.
Opening Skip to the community marks the next step in its evolution. Software is never finished — especially a tool that supports modern Swift and Kotlin, SwiftPM and Gradle, Xcode and Android Studio, iOS and Android, and the ongoing growth of SwiftUI and Jetpack Compose. It’s a demanding pursuit, and we’re committed to it. But sustaining and expanding this work depends on the support of developers who believe in Skip’s mission.
Together, we will continue building toward Skip’s vision: a genuinely no‑compromise, cross‑platform foundation for universal mobile apps.
Thank you for your support, and as always, Happy Skipping!

Ready to get started? Get started with Skip 1.7 today and join the community building the future of native cross-platform development. Tags:skipopen-sourcelicensingannouncementsustainabilitycross-platform Skip 2025 Retrospective and 2026 Roadmap Edit page

Skip is now free and open source, marking a significant shift in the company’s approach and signaling a renewed commitment to the broader development community. This move isn’t simply about removing a price tag; it’s a fundamental change rooted in the recognition that long-term sustainability and widespread adoption of Skip depend on a vibrant, open ecosystem.

Since its inception in 2023, Skip’s primary goal—to enable developers to create premium mobile applications for both iOS and Android from a single Swift and SwiftUI codebase—has remained constant. Initially, Skip evolved from a Swift-to-Kotlin transpiler, incorporating Android support for common SwiftUI APIs. The company swiftly established the Swift Android Workgroup ↗ and released the Swift Android SDK to compile Swift natively on Android. Today, Skip boasts a growing collection of popular integration frameworks that interoperate with thousands of cross-platform Swift packages, all powered by the most complete independent SwiftUI implementation currently available.

**The Challenge of Paid Developer Tools**

Prior to this announcement, Skip operated under a paid subscription and license key model, with free access available to developers and indie contributors below a defined revenue threshold. This approach served as the initial funding mechanism, allowing Skip to bootstrap its development without external investment. Recognizing that widespread adoption would necessitate a shift away from this model, the company acknowledges the expectation among developers for tools to be available at no cost.

The parallels between Skip’s situation and that of first-party development tools like Xcode and Android Studio is notable – these are given away as open-source despite heavy investment—a model supported by the platform vendors (Apple and Google, respectively) who, in turn, monetize through developer program fees, app store commissions, and cloud services, and complementary services offered by integration framework providers. The core concern underscored by Skip’s leadership is durability – the recognition that developers need to feel confident that their entire app strategy rests on a tool that will be around in the future. The risk of a company disappearing, being acquired, or simply abandoning a closed-source tool is a major deterrent, and the company seeks to eliminate this risk by establishing an open-source foundation.

**What’s Changing - A Community-Driven Approach**

Effective with Skip 1.7, all licensing requirements have been eliminated. There are no more license keys, end-user license agreements, or evaluation periods. This signifies a clear move towards empowering the community to take ownership and contribute to Skip’s ongoing development.

Current Skip developers experience no changes aside from the removal of the license key. New users can immediately begin building applications without needing to navigate a trial or evaluation license. This foundational change is coupled with the opening of the Skip engine—referred to as “skipstone”—as a public GitHub repository under a free-and-open-source license. This engine underpins all of Skip’s core build-time functionality, including project creation and management, Xcode and SwiftPM plugin logic, iOS-to-Android project transformation, resource and localization bundling, JNI bridge creation, source transpilation, app packaging, and project export.

A concurrent launch of ‘skip.dev’ – a new website hosting documentation, a blog, and case studies—further expands accessibility and encourages contributions. This site, now open-source, is at https://github.com/skiptools/skip.dev ↗. The transition to https://skip.dev ↗ is planned for the future.

**Supporting Skip’s Future – A Collective Investment**

Skip’s independent structure—without venture capital or private equity—has been critical to its design, now that it is shifting to a community-driven model. Currently, the team seeks support through GitHub Sponsors ↗, corporate sponsorship tiers with visibility on the homepage and within documentation, and is seeking ongoing investment from the community. Supporting Skip isn't just about funding development; it's an investment in the future of cross-platform mobile development and demonstrates confidence in the core team’s vision.

**Looking Ahead: A Community-Led Vision**

Skip’s evolution is at a pivotal moment. Legacy cross-platform frameworks are struggling to keep pace with the speed of modern UI systems like Liquid Glass on iOS and Material Expressive on Android, making trade-offs around unified codebases increasingly problematic. Skip is committed to fostering a truly native, uncompromised experience on both platforms.

Opening Skip to the community marks the next step. This relies on the ongoing support, contributions, and refinements from developers who share the company’s vision. Together, Skip aims to continue building toward a universally accessible, cross-platform foundation for mobile apps.

Thank you for your support, and Happy Skipping!