App clip / instant app
A tiny, link-invoked slice of an app that handles one immediate task without a full install. Apple's current version is App Clips.
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What it is
An App Clip is a small, task-shaped slice of an iOS app that opens without the full install. A link, QR code, NFC tag, or App Clip Code can take someone straight to a narrow job such as paying for parking, renting a scooter, or ordering at a cafe. The full app can be offered after the job, but it cannot be a prerequisite.
Android had the parallel idea under Instant Apps and Google Play Instant. Google has since retired Google Play Instant, so a new cross-platform flow now needs an App Clip on iOS and a fast web experience or full-app link on Android rather than a newly published Play Instant module.
Gotcha: the no-install promise forces a ruthless scope. An App Clip has its own target, invocation URLs, entitlements, assets, and size budget, and it must share only the code needed for the immediate task. Test the invocation after a cold start and keep the website fallback useful for devices that cannot run the clip.
Ask AI for it
Build an iOS App Clip for the single task [TASK] using an App Clip target in Xcode. Configure the parent app's Associated Domains entitlement, the appclips section of the apple-app-site-association file, and invocation URLs under [DOMAIN]/clip. Parse the invocation URL with NSUserActivity, load only the record named by its validated identifier, complete the task without requiring the full app, and offer installation only after success. Share networking and model code with the parent through a small package, keep clip-only assets separate, and test QR, NFC, cold-start, offline, expired-link, and full-app-installed paths. For Android, ship the same task as a fast HTTPS page because Google Play Instant is no longer available.