OpenWebF

Bring JavaScript and Web Dev to Flutter

Learn WebF | Developer Guide | Add WebF to Flutter

What is WebF?

WebF is a W3C/WHATWG-compliant web runtime for Flutter that implements HTML, CSS, and the DOM, running JavaScript in a browser-like environment. It's not a browser—it's an application runtime optimized for building native apps using web technologies.

Unlike traditional WebViews, WebF features:

• A custom Flutter-based rendering engine rather than relying on system browsers
• Direct JavaScript-to-native communication without traditional bridge limitations
• Ability to embed Flutter widgets as HTML elements within the app UI
• An application-first design with a persistent JavaScript context

Why WebF?

Build Fast. Ship Fast. Run Fast.

WebF seamlessly glues Web, Flutter, and Native platforms together, enabling you to:

• 🚀 Build Fast: Develop with React, Vue, Svelte, Solid + TailwindCSS, build with Vite or Webpack, and leverage the entire npm ecosystem - it all just works in WebF
• 📦 Ship Fast: Deploy once across all Flutter-supported platforms (iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux) from a single codebase
• ⚡ Run Fast: Experience native-like performance with sub-100ms cold starts and 60fps animations that outpaces traditional WebView solutions

Key Features

Web Standards Compliance

• 🔷 Modern JavaScript (ES6+) - QuickJS runtime with async/await, Promises, modules, optional chaining, and template literals
• 🔷 Essential DOM APIs - Element creation/manipulation, event listeners (capture/bubble), query selectors, classList, custom elements, MutationObserver
• 🔷 Comprehensive CSS Support - Flexbox layouts, positioned layouts (absolute/relative/fixed/sticky), flow layouts, colors, gradients, transforms (2D/3D), transitions, animations, CSS variables, media queries, pseudo-classes
• 🔷 Web APIs - fetch, XMLHttpRequest, WebSockets, localStorage, sessionStorage, Canvas 2D, SVG, URL parsing, timers

Framework & Tooling Compatibility

• ⚛️ Frameworks: React, Vue, Svelte, Preact, Solid, Qwik - your existing components and hooks work without modification
• 🛠️ Build Tools: Vite (recommended), Webpack, esbuild, Rollup, Parcel - HMR, tree-shaking, code splitting all supported
• 🎨 Styling: Tailwind CSS v3, Sass/SCSS, PostCSS, CSS Modules, Styled Components, Emotion
• 📦 npm Ecosystem: Access to thousands of npm packages and the entire JavaScript ecosystem

Flutter Integration

• 🔗 Hybrid UI - Embed Flutter widgets as HTML custom elements with native performance and platform-appropriate appearance
• 🎯 Advanced Gestures - Handle complex touch interactions with native precision via FlutterGestureDetector
• 📱 Native Plugins - Access Flutter plugins (Share, Deep linking, and more) as npm packages
• 🏗️ Cupertino Components - iOS-style native components without CSS emulation

Developer Experience

• 🔍 Chrome DevTools - Console, DOM inspection, and network monitoring
• 📊 In-App DevTools - FPS, frame timing, and memory monitoring
• 🔥 Hot Module Replacement - Full HMR support that preserves state across updates
• ⚡ Async Rendering - Batched DOM updates that are 20x cheaper than browser implementations

Deployment & Performance

• 🚀 Over-the-Air Updates - Deploy instantly via CDN without app store reviews (compliant with Apple App Store and Google Play Store policies)
• ⚡ Fast Startup - Production cold start < 100ms, development 200-300ms
• 🎮 Smooth Animations - 60fps/120fps CSS transform animations with hardware acceleration
• 💾 Optimized Memory - Typical 10-30MB JavaScript heap with shared rendering context
• 🔒 Security - Application sandbox, keychain/keystore encrypted storage with biometric protection, HTTPS enforcement

How It Works

Architecture Overview

WebF combines two complementary layers to deliver a complete web runtime:

1. Web Standards Layer

• QuickJS JavaScript Runtime - Lightweight engine supporting ES6+ with a single, persistent context per instance
• W3C/WHATWG DOM Implementation - Essential DOM APIs with event handling (capture/bubble phases)
• CSSOM Implementation - CSS parsing and rule calculation following web standards

2. Custom Rendering Engine

• Flutter-Based Layout Engine - Supports Flexbox (recommended), positioned layouts, and flow layouts
• Hardware-Accelerated Rendering - Direct integration with Flutter's rendering pipeline
• No System Dependencies - Independent of system WebViews or browser engines

Rendering Pipeline

1. JavaScript Execution → Modifies the DOM
2. CSS Calculation → Rules are calculated and applied
3. Layout → Element positions and sizes determined
4. Paint → Visual representation created
5. Composite → Flutter widgets composite the final output

Key Optimization: WebF tracks "dirty" nodes to recalculate only affected subtrees (similar to React's reconciliation), and batches DOM updates to process them in the next frame, preventing layout thrashing.

Performance Benefits

• Native-Like Speed - No WebView overhead, runs directly on Flutter's rendering pipeline
• Fast Startup - Sub-100ms cold starts with lightweight runtime
• Optimized Memory - Efficient resource usage with shared rendering context
• Smooth Animations - 60fps/120fps performance across all platforms
• Dedicated Thread - JavaScript runs in a dedicated thread without blocking UI

Getting Started

For Web Developers

Get started quickly using WebF Go - a preview app that lets you test WebF applications on real devices without building a custom Flutter app.

Prerequisites

• Node.js (latest LTS recommended)

Quick Start

1. Download WebF Go

• Desktop: Download from https://openwebf.com/en/go (macOS, Windows, or Linux)
• Mobile: Download from App Store (iOS) or Google Play (Android)

2. Create Your Project

npm create vite@latest

Select your preferred framework (React, Vue, Svelte, etc.) when prompted.

3. Start Development Server

cd <your-project-name>
npm install
npm run dev

4. Load in WebF Go

• Copy the Network URL from your terminal (typically http://localhost:5173)
• Paste it into the WebF Go app's input field
• Tap "Go"

Your application will render in the native WebF environment with hot-reload support for instant code changes!

For Flutter Developers

Add WebF to your existing Flutter app to enable web content rendering.

Installation

1. Add WebF dependency to your pubspec.yaml:

   dependencies:
     webf: ^0.23.10  # Check pub.dev for latest version

2. Run flutter pub get

Basic Setup

import 'package:webf/webf.dart';

void main() {
  // Initialize WebF controller manager
  WebFControllerManager.instance.initialize(
    WebFControllerManagerConfig(
      maxAliveInstances: 5,
      maxAttachedInstances: 3,
    ),
  );

  // Add a controller with prerendering
  WebFControllerManager.instance.addWithPrerendering(
    name: 'home',
    createController: () => WebFController(),
    bundle: WebFBundle.fromUrl('https://example.com/'),
  );

  runApp(MyApp());
}

class MyApp extends StatelessWidget {
  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return MaterialApp(
      home: Scaffold(
        body: WebF.fromControllerName(
          controllerName: 'home',
          loadingWidget: CircularProgressIndicator(),
        ),
      ),
    );
  }
}

Loading Content

WebF supports multiple content sources:

• Remote URLs: WebFBundle.fromUrl('https://example.com/')
• Local assets: WebFBundle.fromUrl('assets:///assets/web/index.html')
• Development servers: WebFBundle.fromUrl('http://localhost:3000/')
• Inline HTML: WebFBundle.fromContent('<!DOCTYPE html>...')

Documentation

📚 Complete Documentation - Learn WebF architecture, developer guides, and Flutter integration

• Learn WebF - Overview, architecture, and key features
• Developer Guide - Getting started, frameworks, CSS, debugging, deployment
• Add WebF To Flutter - Integration guide for Flutter engineers

Use Cases

WebF is ideal for:

• ✅ Content-Heavy Applications - Apps with dynamic, frequently-updated content
• ✅ Rapid Prototyping - Leverage web development speed for fast iteration
• ✅ Cross-Platform Apps - Single codebase for iOS, Android, and desktop
• ✅ Hybrid Native-Web UIs - Mix Flutter widgets with web content seamlessly
• ✅ Over-the-Air Updates - Deploy features and fixes without app store review delays

Sponsors

Browser testing via

License

WebF is dual-licensed to provide flexibility for different use cases:

Open Source License (GPL-3.0)

WebF is licensed under the GNU General Public License version 3 (GPL-3.0) with the OpenWebF Enterprise Exception.

What this means:

• ✅ Free for open-source projects - Use WebF freely in open-source applications under GPL-3.0 terms
• ✅ Source code available - Full access to the source code on GitHub
• ✅ Community contributions welcome - Join the community and contribute to the project
• ✅ Package developers exemption - Published open-source packages (npm/Flutter packages) that depend on WebF can use any license
• ⚠️ GPL requirements apply to applications - Applications using WebF must comply with GPL-3.0 terms (open source your application code)

Enterprise License

For commercial applications that cannot comply with GPL-3.0 requirements, we offer the OpenWebF Enterprise License:

• ✅ Commercial use - Use WebF in closed-source commercial applications
• ✅ No GPL restrictions - Freedom from GPL copyleft requirements
• ✅ Enterprise support - Priority technical support and assistance
• ✅ Additional features - Access to enterprise-only features and early releases

Enterprise Installation:

dependencies:
  webf: ^0.23.10  # Enterprise version available on pub.dev

Choosing the Right License

Use Case	Recommended License	Notes
Open-source applications	GPL-3.0 (Open Source)	Your app must be GPL-3.0 compatible
Published npm/Flutter packages	Apache-2.0 or MIT	Your package can use permissive licenses
Internal/non-distributed apps	GPL-3.0 (Open Source)	No distribution = no GPL obligations
Commercial closed-source apps	Enterprise License	Required for proprietary applications
Apps distributed via app stores	Enterprise License	Required unless app is open source
Educational/research projects	GPL-3.0 (Open Source)	Free for academic use

Contact

For licensing questions or to obtain an Enterprise License:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://openwebf.com
• Software Agreement: https://openwebf.com/en/software-agreement

See the LICENSE file for the full GPL-3.0 license text and OpenWebF Enterprise Exception.

Community & Support

• Discord: Join our community
• Twitter/X: @openwebf
• GitHub: github.com/openwebf/webf
• Email: [email protected]