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Codea

Codea

Creative coding

126 ratings
233 reviews
📚 Education
🛠️ Developer Tools
$29.99 Free
In-App Purchases
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Price history

Details

  • Released
  • Updated
  • October 26, 2011
  • May 5, 2026

Features

Developer

Two Lives Left
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About

Create interactive games and visual ideas using a touch-friendly code editor. Build projects with 2D/3D rendering, physics, and export them to create real apps. Supports Lua and GLSL.

✓2D and 3D renderer
✓Touch-based visual editors
✓Lua programming language
✓Export to Xcode
✓Physics engines
✓GLSL shader editor
✓Import assets from Dropbox
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What users say

Summarized from real user reviews of Codea. Based on 126 reviews and a 4.4/5 average, it highlights the 5 positives and 4 negatives reviewers mention most about this Productivity app.

Positive things

  • 🚀Great for making games
  • 👍Lets me code when I feel the itch
  • 💡Powerful, Playful Development Environment
  • 👍Fantastic prototyping tool
  • 👍One of the best programming apps on iPad

Negative things

  • 🐛Assets don't work
  • 🐛Need Pencil scrolling slider. TOO MUCH ACCIDENTAL WRITING
  • 🐛Crashes frequently
  • 🐛Bugs with keyboard and cursor issues
See all reviews

What's New in Codea

3.17

May 5, 2026

New Autocomplete Style - When using a hardware keyboard, you'll see a more traditional floating menu autocomplete style on iPadOS - This can be configured in editor preferences IMPROVEMENTS - The modern renderer is more capable and compatible with legacy projects. Give it a try on your own projects and let us know how it goes FIXES - Issue where requiring dependencies in iCloud could cause slow project run performance - Xcode export for projects with dependencies - `require` did not always maintain dependent projects buffer ordering - Fixes potential crashes in the runtime

More

Subscription plans

Codea Pro (Yearly)

Access pro features and icons for one year

$29.991 Year
How to cancel Codea subscription ⁉️
1

In-App Purchases

$99.99

Codea Pro Lifetime

Unlock pro features and edit without limits

Events

Read more about Start Coding with Codea
Event EndedMajor Update

Start Coding with Codea

Creative coding with instant visual feedback

May 27, 2025 — Jun 22, 2025

Read More

Read more about Code Notes
Event EndedMajor Update

Code Notes

Draw on your code

Mar 11, 2025 — Apr 1, 2025

Read More

See All

User reviews

Most RecentHighest RatedLowest Rated

This is amazing.

I have learned lua from this app and my skills are better from this app. 10/10
mmmmmmolinmmmmmmolin

Doesn’t work

Doesn’t work on my new iPhone. Just a black screen.
Glenn NissenGlenn Nissen

Amazing!

Good, just don't want to pay for more than 500 lines of code. I am making a Roblox like game and I need rounded corners, modified squares take up LOTS of code and might need to use thousands of lines of code. Still, Amazing if you are looking to build your own games for friends, family, or yourself! Also add a built in rounded corner please!
Show more
Randy_50Randy_50

Great app!

This is great app
Shahab72756Shahab72756

Good for making games.

I’ve owned Codea since at least 2017 and have made a lot of personal projects on it. Back then I spent hours searching for game development done completely on the iPad all by itself. Codea was just the strongest option back then. I’ve enjoyed scripting in lua these past 9 years. The games you can make are not as free as if it was not on an iPad but it’s still free enough for it to matter and make games. One day, the music() player stopped working and nobody what iPad I’m on I’m not able to actually play music from inside the app.
Show more
INFINITE LIGHTINFINITE LIGHT
See 228 more reviews

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User experience

🐞

Reported Bugs

3 issues

App crashes when switching between documents

Bug

Xcode export not working with latest version of Xcode

Bug

Keyboard and cursor issues when using Bluetooth keyboard

Bug
✨

Requested Features

3 requests

Add ability to import sounds and 3D models

Feature

Improve documentation and provide more tutorials

Feature

Add support for more programming languages beyond Lua

Feature

FAQ

What can I create with this app?

You can create games, simulations, and various visual ideas that are interactive. The app leverages iPad features like Multi-Touch and the accelerometer to bring your creations to life. You can also export your finished projects to Xcode to produce standalone applications.

What programming language does it use?

The app is built on the Lua programming language, which is described as simple and elegant. It also supports GLSL Shader Language with a live shader editor for advanced visual effects.

How much does the app cost?

The app is free to use for projects up to 500 lines. For access to advanced features and unlimited project size, you can subscribe to Codea Pro. Monthly, yearly, and a lifetime one-time purchase option are available.

What devices is this app compatible with?

The app is designed for iPad and utilizes its specific features like Multi-Touch and the accelerometer. It also supports Bluetooth keyboard input and can be controlled via WiFi from a PC using Air Code.

Can I import my own assets?

Yes, you can import your own assets such as images and sounds directly from Dropbox. This allows you to easily integrate your custom content into your projects.