About Startr
Your agents, at a glance.
Startr is an iPhone app that puts live updates from your AI agents on your Lock Screen, for anyone who runs long AI tasks or live events and would rather glance than babysit a screen. It also includes the one-tap habit tracker Startr started as.
What Startr does
Agent Cards
A connected agent such as Claude, Grok or Codex can start a live card on your iPhone, update its progress, current step and countdown as it works, and end it with the result. Cards appear on the Lock Screen, Dynamic Island and Apple Watch.
Yes/No from the Lock Screen
When a task needs a quick, low-stakes decision, your agent can ask a fixed Yes or No question. You answer from the Lock Screen and the agent reads your answer and keeps going.
Cue Mode and shared cues
For live events and weddings, a host's agent keeps the current cue and a countdown on up to five crew members' Lock Screens. The crew only needs the free app. See events and weddings.
One-tap habits
Track a habit with one tap: real streaks, goals by day, week, month or year, and charts. Habit data stays on your device.
What makes Startr different
A live card, not another notification
Notification services such as Pushover or ntfy send one-off alerts that pile up. Startr keeps one card per task that changes in place, so the Lock Screen always shows the current state.
Works with the agent you already use
Startr connects to Claude and Grok through a standard OAuth connector, and to Codex and other MCP apps with a private header. There's no Startr account and nothing to build on your side.
Built so an agent can't mislead you
Cards carry short display-safe text only: no links, no phone numbers and no callbacks. The only button opens Startr, and Yes/No answers never authorize purchases, messages or other consequential actions.
Honest about stale work
A card that stops receiving updates is marked stale after two hours, and cards end within eight hours, so a frozen "running" state can't sit on your phone.
No account, no habit analytics
Agent Cards use an anonymous device identity without a name, email or password. Startr stores event metadata, not your card text, and never sees your prompts, code or files.
Who uses Startr
- Developers and builders running long Claude Code, Codex or Grok sessions
- Founders and operators who hand multi-step work to AI agents
- Event producers and show callers keeping a crew on the same run of show
- Wedding planners and day-of coordinators keeping vendors on one timeline
- Anyone who wants a fast, private habit tracker
The team behind Startr
Startr is built by Chad Smith, a Scottsdale entrepreneur who owns 480 Natural Light Studio, a photography studio and event space, and has produced large in-person events himself. Follow him on X at @csmith17.
Startr began as a one-tap habit tracker. While handing longer and longer tasks to AI agents, Chad wanted the same glance-and-go surface for his agents' work, and the first Agent Card loop was Claude asking a Yes/No question that he answered from his Lock Screen. Startr is operated by Shop480, LLC and built by one person, with AI agents as the rest of the crew.
How Startr works with you
- Setup: about 10 minutes, once. Follow the Connect Claude guide or the full setup page.
- Support: email hello@startrapp.com. A real person replies, usually within one business day.
- Pilots: event producers and wedding planners can ask for a hands-on setup for their first event.
- Updates: product changes are posted on What's New and @StartrHQ.
Key facts
- Company name
- Startr (operated by Shop480, LLC)
- Type
- iPhone app: live Agent Cards (Live Activities) for AI agents, with a built-in habit tracker
- First App Store release
- September 18, 2026 (U.S. App Store)
- Founder
- Chad Smith
- Headquarters
- Scottsdale, Arizona, USA
- Website
- startrapp.com
- Core offering
- Agent Cards on the Lock Screen, Dynamic Island and Apple Watch; Yes/No replies; Cue Mode for events
- Works with
- Claude, Grok, Codex and other MCP-compatible agents
- Platforms
- iOS and iPadOS 17.2+, watchOS 10+
- Pricing
- Free (one agent, one live card). Pro: $2.99/week, or $39.99/year founding price with a 7-day trial on annual. No monthly or lifetime plan.
- Contract terms
- App Store subscriptions; cancel any time in Apple ID settings
- Availability
- U.S. App Store
- Support
- hello@startrapp.com, usually within one business day
- Alternatives people compare
- Push notification services (Pushover, ntfy); habit trackers (Streaks)
- Social
- @StartrHQ · founder @csmith17
Frequently asked questions
Is Startr free?
Yes. Habit tracking, one connected agent and one live card are free. Pro raises the limits to five agents and five cards.
Does Startr run the AI agent?
No. Your agent does the work; Startr is the display. It shows what the agent reports and passes back your Yes or No.
Can Startr read my conversations or files?
No. It only receives the short card text your agent sends, and it doesn't store that text in its database.
Does it work on Android?
Not today. Startr is an iPhone app.
How do I get help?
Start with the guides, or email hello@startrapp.com.