Introduction

Enjoy building mobile apps!#

NativePHP for Mobile is the first library of its kind that lets you run full PHP applications natively on mobile devices — no web server required.

By embedding a pre-compiled PHP runtime alongside Laravel, and bridging directly into each platform’s native APIs, NativePHP brings the power of modern PHP to truly native mobile apps. Build performant, offline-capable experiences using the tools you already know.

It's never been this easy to build beautiful, offline-first apps for iOS and Android.

What makes NativePHP for Mobile special?#

📱 Native performance
Your app runs natively through an embedded PHP runtime optimized for each platform.
🔥 True native APIs
Access camera, biometrics, push notifications, and more. Build beautiful UIs with native components. All from one cohesive library that does it all.
⚡ Laravel powered
Leverage the entire Laravel ecosystem and your existing skillset.
🚫 No web server required
Your app runs entirely on-device and can operate completely offline-first.
🔄 Cross platform
Build apps for both iOS and Android from a single codebase.

Old tools, new tricks#

With NativePHP for Mobile, you don’t need to learn Swift, Kotlin, or anything new. No new languages. No unfamiliar build tools. No fighting with Gradle or Xcode.

Just PHP.

Developers around the world are using the skills they already have to build and ship real mobile apps — faster than ever. In just a few minutes, you can go from code to app store submission.

How does it work?#

A pre-compiled version of PHP is bundled with your code into a Swift/Kotlin shell application.
NativePHP's custom Swift/Kotlin bridges manage the PHP environment, running your PHP code directly.
A custom PHP extension is compiled into PHP, that exposes PHP interfaces to native functions.
Build truly native UI with EDGE components — Blade components that render as real native views, so it feels just like building with Livewire. Read more about how it works in the Architecture section.

You simply interact with an easy-to-use set of functions from PHP and everything just works!

Batteries included#

NativePHP for Mobile is way more than just a web view wrapper for your server-based application. Your application lives on device and is shipped with each installation.

It's not a bare-bones package that leaves you assembling an array of third-party dependencies just to build your app — a great deal comes included. At the same time, the shell applications intentionally don't bundle everything you might need: keeping them lean means a smaller app footprint, shorter build times, and minimal permission requirements — all of which smooths app store review and improves adoption.

Thanks to our custom PHP extension, you can interact with many native APIs today, with more coming all the time. Check out the Plugins section to see everything that's available.

You have the full power of PHP and Laravel at your fingertips... literally! And you're not sandboxed into a web view — NativePHP for Mobile renders full native UI by default, going way beyond what's possible with PWAs and WASM without any of the complexity... this is full-fat, full-stack PHP at the ready!

What are you waiting for!? Let's go!