explaingit

ptmt/react-native-macos

11,198JavaScriptAudience · developerComplexity · 3/5LicenseSetup · hard

TLDR

A deprecated experimental fork that brought React Native to macOS desktop apps, now abandoned in favor of Microsoft's official React Native for Windows and macOS project.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((react-native-macos))
    What it was
      Deprecated macOS fork
      JS-to-Cocoa bridge
    Status
      No longer maintained
      Use Microsoft fork
    Original workflow
      Create project via CLI
      Launch on macOS
      Reuse React Native skills
    Tech stack
      JavaScript
      Objective-C
      Cocoa framework
Click or tap to explore — scroll the page freely

Code map

Detail Auto

An interactive map of this repo's files and how they connect — its source is parsed live in your browser. Click Visualize to build it.

filefunction / class

Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Understand the history of React Native on macOS before adopting the Microsoft-maintained successor.

USE CASE 2

Review how Cocoa native components were bridged into React Native as a reference for the current implementation.

Tech stack

JavaScriptReact NativeObjective-CCocoa

Getting it running

Difficulty · hard Time to first run · 1h+

Project is deprecated and unsupported, use the Microsoft-maintained React Native for macOS instead.

Use freely for any purpose including commercial projects, keep the copyright notice and MIT license text.

In plain English

This repository holds a deprecated experimental fork of React Native designed for building macOS desktop applications. React Native is a framework, originally created by Facebook, that lets developers write user interfaces in JavaScript using a component model similar to what is used for web pages. This project extended that approach to the macOS desktop using Apple's native Cocoa framework rather than a web browser. The project is no longer maintained, and the README points readers to an official Microsoft version of React Native for desktop platforms. That project, called React Native for Windows (which also covers macOS), took over where this fork left off. While it was active, the workflow started with installing a command-line tool and running a couple of commands to create a new project and launch it on macOS. Developers who already had React Native experience for iOS or Android would find the patterns familiar, since the documentation and component APIs largely matched the iOS version. The README includes screenshots of a sample app called RNTesterApp, which demonstrated common UI components running on the Mac desktop. There was also guidance for folding the macOS target into an existing cross-platform project that already had iOS or Android builds set up. The code is released under the MIT license. Because the project is deprecated, it is not suited for new work, the Microsoft-maintained fork is the recommended path forward for anyone wanting to build Mac desktop apps with React Native.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
The ptmt/react-native-macos repo is deprecated. Walk me through migrating an old project that used it to the Microsoft React Native for macOS package.
Prompt 2
What are the key architectural differences between this deprecated macOS fork and the current Microsoft-maintained react-native-macos package?
Open on GitHub → Explain another repo

← ptmt on gitmyhub — every repo by this author, as a profile.

Verify against the repo before relying on details.