Bite-sized lessons
One idea at a time. A lesson is a few minutes: a short explanation, then a question you can answer with a tap. You do not need a laptop, and you do not need to know what a variable is before you start.
Gobblebug · Free on Android
Learn to code from absolute zero.
Short Python lessons, real code on your phone, and a frog that gets rounder as you improve.
Coming soonGoogle Play
Try a sample questionHow it works
Five minutes, then you can put the phone down. The next lesson will still be there.
Open a short lesson
Each one teaches a single idea, in an order that assumes you have never done this. You read a little, then you tap an answer or write a line. Stop whenever you like. The phone remembers the place.
Run real Python
When a lesson asks for code, that code runs on the phone. A mistake is a real Python error, not a red cross with nothing behind it. You read it, you fix the line, you carry on.
Finish the boss
The last thing in a unit is a small project: a program you build and run yourself, rather than another quiz. Clear it, and the next unit opens.
What is in the app
Free at launch, and no ads at launch. The lessons are the product.
Real code on the phone
Some answers are taps. Some are Python you write, and the phone actually runs it. The error you see is Python's own error. The lesson is there so you can make sense of it.
>>> print(2 + 2)
4Lives, streaks, and a small shop
You have five lives. Wrong answers spend them, and they come back over time. Open the app on consecutive days and a streak keeps count. Lessons also pay points, called XP, which you can spend in a small shop. The next lesson is not something you have to buy.
Boss projects
Each unit ends with a boss project: a small program you write and run yourself. A first one might ask for a name and say hello. That is the boss. The frog does not wear a cape.
A frog that grows
Gobblebug is the mascot and the progress you can see. Finish lessons and the frog gets rounder. Miss a day and the streak resets. The waistline does not. Same frog, visibly fuller.
First lesson. A modest size.
A few units in. The bugs are adding up.
Still practising. Visibly rounder.
Try one question
A lot of lessons look like this: a few lines, and one thing to notice. Have a go. It is a taster, not the app, and it will not save your score.
In the app, a wrong answer costs a life. You start with five, and they return over time. On this page the tally lives only until you refresh.
Sample lesson
Which line has the bug?
Tap the line Python would refuse to run.
names.py
Not that one. Line 1 creates the name snacks and sets it to 2. Python is fine with it.
Not that one. Line 2 adds 1 to snacks. The name matches on both sides.
That's the bug. snack was never created. Python stops, because it only knows snacks.
Out of lives. In the app they come back on their own. Here, use Try again.
Python first
Python is the first language, because one language done properly beats three done vaguely. More are planned. They are not in the app yet, and there is no date.
PythonMore languages later
Questions
Is Gobblebug free?
Yes. The lessons are free, and there are no ads at launch. If that ever changes, we will say so on this page and in the app before it happens.
I have never written code. Will I cope?
That is the starting point. You do not need a laptop, and you do not need the vocabulary yet. The first lessons exist to explain words like "variable" before they expect you to use them.
When can I install it?
Not yet. It is coming to Google Play first, and the listing is not open. The badge on this page is not a link until then. There is no public date.
Will you teach other languages?
Python comes first. Other languages are planned and are not available. We would rather ship one language properly than promise a list.
Is there an iPhone app?
Not at launch. Android first.
Do I need an account?
No. In the first version your progress stays on the phone. There is no login. If you delete the app, the progress goes with it. We cannot send it back, because we never had a copy.
Do you collect data?
The app does not collect personal data, and it has no ads and no analytics. This website uses no cookies and no trackers. The privacy policy says this carefully, including what happens if you email us. It is still a draft for us to review.
Is this for children?
No. It is written for adults who are new to code and would rather not be talked down to. It is not a children's product.
Why a frog?
Bugs in code are an old joke. Gobblebug volunteered to eat them. As you finish lessons the frog gets rounder, so progress is obvious without a spreadsheet.
Placeholder
A launch list will go here later
There is no box to type an email into, and this page does not save anything. When we are ready to tell people the app is out, the signup can live here. It does not yet.