Awesome

React NativeScript is A React renderer for NativeScript, allowing you to write a NativeScript app using the familiar React style.

I'm always hanging out in the #react chat of the NativeScript Discord if you'd like to talk about this project.

Setup

# Make sure that you have `tns` (the NativeScript CLI) installed:
#   https://docs.nativescript.org/start/quick-setup

tns create myApp --react

cd myApp
npm install

# The Preview and Playground apps are awaiting an update from
# RNS v0 to v1, so the `tns preview` workflow isn't supported
# yet. We're working on it. – 18th July 2020
#
# tns preview
# or
tns run ios
# or
tns run android

Documentation

• React NativeScript docs
• NativeScript docs

Example real-world app

See the Apps showcase in the docs to see various apps built with React NativeScript.

One example is my rpstrackerrns issue-tracking example app, which demonstrates how you can make fully native, professional-looking UIs with RNS:

Plugins

Although NativeScript lets you write native code inline as JavaScript, you can also write modules purely using native code (e.g. Objective-C and Java), and access the code directly in NativeScript via JavaScript. When a common, cross-platform JavaScript API is provided for such modules, it is called a "plugin", and can be thought of as equivalent to a React Native "native module". NativeScript has a rich ecosystem of these plugins – see the NativeScript Marketplace.

React NativeScript uses the same plugins API as NativeScript Vue and NativeScript Angular, so all those plugins should be compatible (although generally needing to be consumed with any type, as most plugins are only typed for NativeScript Core). Instructions on how to integrate plugins, and provide typings for React, can be found in the React NativeScript plugins documentation.

Why not just use React Native? 🤷‍♂️

React NativeScript shares most of the good parts of React Native, but above all gives a first-class development experience for interacting with native code. Never write another native module again – you can write your native code inline using JavaScript!

FAQ

Is it production-ready?

It's based on React, NativeScript Core, and NativeScript Vue, which are each individually production-ready. Make of that what you will.

Can this consume React Native projects?

No, but it could with a lot of hard work. Allowing React NativeScript to run projects that were written for React Native is a huge project, but it's theoretically very possible – it would be a project on exactly the same scale as React Native Web. See react-nativescript-compat-react-native for work towards this, where I've ported part of RNTester as a proof-of-concept... 👩‍🔬👨‍🔬

Can this consume React Native native modules?

Certainly not UI-based native modules. But all flavours of NativeScript can consume native code, so it can probably consume React Native native modules, though may take a small bit of refactoring 🤔

Stanisław Chmiela (@sjchmiela) produced a proof-of-concept for importing Expo Unimodules into NativeScript that could be used as a basis for this effort. Original discussion here.

Contributing 🙋‍♀️

Ideally get in contact via the Discord channel before starting any PRs!