# Goldie: Agentic App Store Screenshot and Preview Video Generator

> Goldie automates App Store and Google Play screenshot creation by driving a mobile app through an iOS simulator or Android emulator, framing each capture with a device bezel and headline, and assembling the results into a preview video. A companion coding agent skill lets you generate or update store assets by describing what you want in natural language.

**kacperkapusciak/goldie** — ✨ agentic app store previews and screenshots

- Repository: https://github.com/kacperkapusciak/goldie
- Stars: 2,312 · Forks: 194
- Language: TypeScript
- License: NOASSERTION
- Published: 2026-09-16 · Updated: 2026-09-16 · Language: en
- Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/kacperkapusciak-goldie

## What Goldie Does and the Problem It Solves

App Store and Google Play both require polished screenshots and, for the App Store, a 15 to 30 second preview video. Producing these manually means taking device captures, compositing them with frames and marketing copy in a design tool, exporting to exact pixel dimensions, and re-doing everything whenever the app or the design changes. Goldie automates this pipeline.

It drives the app through an iOS simulator or Android emulator using argent (a companion tool by Software Mansion), frames the captures with a device bezel and a per-tile headline, and renders a portrait preview video. The final artifacts match the upload requirements of each store: iPhone screenshots at 1320 by 2868 pixels, an 886 by 1920 H.264 preview, and Google Play phone screenshots at 1080 by 1920 pixels.

The framework-agnostic design means Goldie treats the app as a black box. It works the same for SwiftUI, UIKit, Jetpack Compose, Flutter, React Native and Kotlin Multiplatform apps because it drives the app through the simulator UI rather than through framework-specific test hooks.

## Installation and First Run

Goldie requires Node 20 or newer and ffmpeg on the PATH. App Store screenshots also need macOS with Xcode installed for iOS simulators. Android screenshots need an Android emulator, which runs on macOS, Linux and Windows.

Install the CLI globally:

```
npm i -g goldie
```

Add the skill to a coding agent:

```
npx skills add kacperkapusciak/goldie
```

For Claude Code specifically:

```
/plugin marketplace add kacperkapusciak/goldie
/plugin install goldie@goldie
```

After installation, run `goldie doctor` to verify that all required tools, simulators and flows are in place. Then run `goldie all` to capture frames, apply framing, render the preview video and verify the output against store upload rules in one step. The output lands in `out/screenshots/<device>/<locale>/` and `out/previews/<device>/<locale>/`.

## Using Goldie with a Coding Agent

The agent workflow is the primary path for new projects. From the app repository, ask the agent:

```
create app store screenshots using goldie
```

The agent asks which stores to target, explores the app, writes the argent flows and the goldie config, and opens the studio. Follow-up instructions such as `use a dark background` or `change the headline on the third tile` edit the same config and flow files without requiring manual file editing.

Under the hood, the agent writes `goldie.config.ts` (copied from `goldie.config.example.ts`) and places argent flows in `.argent/flows`. The config points each scene at an argent flow. The studio command opens a browser-based interface where devices, backgrounds, templates, bezels, fonts and per-tile copy can be previewed and tweaked interactively. Choices saved in the studio are written to `goldie.design.json`, so the CLI renders the same result.

Flows fail when the app changes. The README states that the agent can repair flows if asked, or they can be re-recorded with argent directly.

## Google Play Support and Android Configuration

The `pixel-10-pro` device key renders Google Play phone screenshots at 1080 by 1920 pixels from the same scenes used for iOS. The Android emulator's AVD must use either the Pixel 10 Pro or the Pixel 9 Pro hardware profile, both of which have a 1280 by 2856 screen. Goldie reuses a running emulator that matches the profile or boots the AVD itself.

Adding Android to the config requires two entries:

```ts
devices: ["iphone-6.9", "pixel-10-pro"],
android: {
  appPath: "/path/to/app-release.apk",
  applicationId: "com.example.app",
},
```

Goldie frames Android captures with the bundled Pixel 10 Pro bezel. The `android.frame` key allows custom bezel art and geometry for teams that want their own device art. The Play Store promo video is a YouTube link rather than a file upload, so the `preview` and `all` commands record a portrait video that the team posts to YouTube separately. Apple's 15 to 30 second window for the preview video does not apply to the Android version.

On a Linux or Windows machine, only `pixel-10-pro` should be listed in `devices`; `goldie doctor` reports an error when an iOS device is configured on a host that cannot run iOS simulators.

## Design Configuration: Templates, Fonts and Frames

The studio and the config file control the visual presentation. The `frame` key sets the iPhone device art: `17-pro-blue`, `17-pro-silver`, `17-pro-orange`, or a custom bezel image path. Setting `theme.screenOnly: true` removes the device frame and shows only the screen content.

The `theme.template` key selects the layout. Built-in named templates are `editorial`, `showcase`, `magazine`, `storyboard` and `dynamic`. Custom layouts can be assembled from individual components: `classic`, `copy-below`, `hero`, `offset`, `tilt`, `tilt-right`, `duo`, `duo-tilt`, `panorama`, `panorama-duo` and `minimal`. This gives control over whether the headline appears above or below the device, how multiple devices are laid out side by side, and whether tiles are tilted.

For fonts, `theme.fontFamily` takes a CSS font stack. Bundled typefaces include Merriweather, DM Mono, Lato, DM Sans, Montserrat and Noto Sans SC for Simplified Chinese app names and copy. Custom fonts can be specified in the stack. The `decorations` key adds badges or images layered behind the device on each tile.

## Limitations and Cases Where Goldie Does Not Fit

Goldie requires argent flows that drive the app through actual UI interactions. Writing these flows takes time upfront, and they must be maintained as the app changes. The README notes explicitly: use a release build, because debug builds paint LogBox banners into the captures. This means the screenshot pipeline cannot run on a development build in the usual sense; a release or release-like build is required.

The output dimensions are fixed by store requirements. Goldie does not produce screenshots for arbitrary sizes, aspect ratios or custom marketing materials outside the App Store and Google Play formats. Teams that need custom marketing assets would use a design tool instead.

For teams that do not use a coding agent, all the manual CLI steps work, but the flow and config files must be written by hand. The agent path reduces this work significantly, so teams without a compatible agent lose a significant part of the setup automation.

A comparable tool is Fastlane's snapshot (for iOS) and screengrab (for Android), which use XCUITest and Espresso respectively to drive the app and capture screens. The difference is that Fastlane's tools are framework-specific and use the native test runners, while Goldie uses argent to drive the app through the simulator UI in a way that works across frameworks from a single configuration.

## Sponsorship, Licence and Maintenance

Goldie is sponsored by Software Mansion, the agency that created argent. The README links directly to the Software Mansion contact page for hire inquiries. The current version is 0.3.1, as shown in `package.json`. The last push to the repository was on 2026-09-17, and the repository is not archived.

The licence field in `package.json` is MIT. The README does not specify a licence separately; the `package.json` is the definitive source. There are no GitHub releases in the repository; version tracking is through npm.

The package targets Node 20.12.0 or newer and runs on darwin, linux and win32. The build system uses bun internally, but the CLI is distributed as a standard npm package and does not require bun to be installed by end users.

## Conclusion

Goldie is the right tool for mobile developers who release to the App Store or Google Play and want to automate the screenshot and preview video production step, particularly when they already use a coding agent. It works best when the app has stable argent flows; flows break when the UI changes and must be re-recorded or repaired. Teams without macOS cannot produce iOS screenshots at all, because iOS simulators require Xcode. Google Play screenshots work on macOS, Linux and Windows with Android emulators. The output dimensions are fixed by the store requirements, so Goldie is not a flexible screenshot tool for arbitrary sizes. The 0.3.1 release on npm is the versioned entry point; check `goldie doctor` to confirm that tools and simulators are configured before investing time in writing flows.

## FAQ

### How do I use Goldie to create App Store screenshots?

Install the CLI with `npm i -g goldie`, add the skill to your coding agent, then ask the agent to create App Store screenshots from your app repository. Alternatively, copy `goldie.config.example.ts` to `goldie.config.ts`, point scenes at argent flows in `.argent/flows`, and run `goldie all` to capture, frame, render and verify in one step.

### Does Goldie support Google Play screenshots?

Yes. The `pixel-10-pro` device key renders Google Play phone screenshots at 1080 by 1920 pixels. The Android emulator's AVD must use the Pixel 10 Pro or Pixel 9 Pro hardware profile. Add the device key and an `android` block with `appPath` and `applicationId` to the config.

### Can Goldie be used on Linux or Windows?

Yes, for Google Play screenshots only. App Store screenshots require macOS with Xcode for iOS simulators. On Linux or Windows, only the `pixel-10-pro` device should be listed in the config; `goldie doctor` will report an error if an iOS device is configured on those platforms.

## Sources

- [Issues](https://github.com/kacperkapusciak/goldie/issues)
- [kacperkapusciak/goldie on GitHub](https://github.com/kacperkapusciak/goldie)
- [README](https://github.com/kacperkapusciak/goldie/blob/main/README.md)

---

Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/kacperkapusciak-goldie