webnative

Build web. Ship anywhere.

Build desktop and mobile applications using web technologies you already know. No cross-compilation or config hell. No manual dependencies. Just you and your beautiful app.

Watch the showcase on YouTube

Why webnative?

Most cross-platform frameworks make you choose — either great DX or great results. Electron ships Chromium (150MB+). Tauri requires Rust. Capacitor mostly targets mobile.

webnative is different:

• JavaScript everywhere — TypeScript/JavaScript for both frontend and backend
• Native WebView — uses the system's WebView, not a bundled browser
• One codebase — same code for Linux, Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS
• Smart API abstraction — backend runs locally on desktop, seamlessly switches on mobile
• Zero friction — the framework pushes really hard to give you 'works like magic' dx while you can focus on your app

Getting started

npm install -g @mindw1n/webnative
webnative init my-app && cd my-app
webnative build linux

How it works

On desktop, your frontend communicates with a local Node.js backend via IPC. On mobile, the same frontend code talks to a remote API or on-device apis. webnative handles the switching — you just write your app.

Targets

| Platform | Status | |----------|--------| | Linux (self-contained) | ✅ v1 | | Windows (self-contained) | ✅ v2 | | Android | ✅ v3 | | Windows (setup) | 🔜 v4 | | Linux (flatpak) | 🔜 v5 | | iOS | 🔜 v6 | | macOS | 🔜 v7 |

Requirements

• Node.js 22+
• Docker (sometimes needed for cross-compilation)

Contributing to webnative

webnative is actively looking for contributors! If you're interested in helping out, you can:

• Pick up an open issue or suggest a new one
• Help bring a new platform to life
• Improve docs or examples

To get started, fork the repo, make your changes, and open a PR. For bigger changes, open an issue first so we can discuss the direction.

All skill levels welcome — if you're curious about how it works, just reach out.