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NativeScript Runtime

The core backbone that powers NativeScript apps and provides powerful, zero-boilerplate interop with native APIs directly from JavaScript.

Key Features

  • Direct Native Interop: Access 100% of the underlying platform APIs (Objective-C/C/C++) directly from JS/TS without writing native plugin wrappers
  • Multiple JS Engines: Engine-agnostic architecture natively supporting V8, Hermes, QuickJS, and JavaScriptCore
  • Node-API Support: Runs on Node.js & Deno as well
  • React Native Ecosystem: Includes JSI-based TurboModule support and seamless React Native compatibility layers

Repository Structure

  • NativeScript/: The core C++ runtime source code handling FFI (Foreign Function Interface) operations and JS engine bindings.
  • metadata-generator/: Clang-based utility that parses C/Obj-C to generate the metadata consumed by the FFI
  • packages/: The NPM packages published from this repo (e.g., @nativescript/ios, @nativescript/macos, @nativescript/visionos, and specific engine combinations).
  • examples/: Sample JS/TS test beds demonstrating platform APIs (AppKit, Metal, SpriteKit, etc.) driven purely over the runtime FFI.
  • scripts/: Shell and Node utilities for building frameworks, packaging runtimes, and driving CI/CD.
  • TKLiveSync/: Provides fast LiveSync capability and Hot Module Replacement (HMR) implementation.

Development & Building

  1. Prerequisites: Ensure you have modern versions of Xcode, CMake, and Node.js installed.
  2. Install Dependencies: 
    npm install
  3. Main Build Commands:
    • npm run build-ios: Builds the iOS runtime frameworks.
    • npm run build-macos: Builds the macOS runtime platforms.
    • npm run build-vision: Builds the visionOS runtime platforms.
    • npm run build-node-api: Compiles the Node-API (N-API) addon.
    • npm run build-rn-turbomodule: Compiles the React Native TurboModules compatibility layer.
  4. Core Dependencies:
    • npm run build-metagen: Builds the Clang metadata generator binary.
    • npm run metagen: Runs the metadata generator against Xcode SDKs to produce type information.
    • npm run build-libffi: Compiles the multi-architecture LibFFI statically linked into the runtime.

Testing

Execute engine-specific and FFI boundary tests via the included test runners:

  • node scripts/run-tests-ios.js — iOS tests across supported runtimes
  • node scripts/run-tests-macos.js — macOS test runner
  • npm run test-rn-turbomodule — React Native TurboModules unit tests
  • npm run check:ffi-boundaries — Validates C/Objective-C boundaries via FFI

Contribute

We welcome community contributions! For major architecture changes or engine integrations, please open an issue first to discuss what you'd like to alter.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.