A better way to send money.
Free
- The price is right. We love developers and will always have a generous free tier so there is one less thing to get in the way of you building awesome things.
Easy
- The barrier to entry is almost non-existent to get started. Install the mobile app and jump into StackBlitz and have fun! If you have ever tried to develop mobile apps locally, this is party worthy news.
Powerful
- What are we giving up for this ultra-streamlined developer experience? Nothing! You still have access to all of the native APIs thanks to the power of NativeScript.
Empower your Development
Get familiar with NativeScript with no strings attached. Happy with your results? Dive in and set up your local environment to unlock the full potential.
Run on StackBlitz
Work in your browser and preview changes directly on your device using the companion Preview app. Using StackBlitz you can install npm packages, plugins and bundle them via Webpack all within the browser.
Run in your local environment
Already have a local node development environment you are familiar with?
npm install -g nativescript 2. (Optional) Create a new project or use an existing one ns create 3. Preview away! ns preview
How it works
NativeScript Preview 2.0 is a complete top to bottom revamp of the classic NativeScript Playground which had been available for several years. With support for modern NativeScript v8 and beyond we are excited about the StackBlitz integration to help learn, explore and experiment with native platform APIs.
Step One: Start a new StackBlitz project
- Choose from one of our starter templates for TypeScript, JavaScript, Angular, Vue, React or Svelte.
Pro Tip! Start a new project quickly by visitinghttps://nativescript.new/{flavor}where {flavor} is: typescript, javascript, angular, vue, react or svelte Step Two: Scan the QR Code
- Once the StackBlitz project boots, scan the QR code with your phone to connect to it.
Step Three: Build something!
- Once you have scanned the QR, your source will begin building and the Preview app will restart once the build completes. Further updates will show up automatically.
The Cost
There is an engineering cost for every decision we make and NativeScript Preview was created to help you avoid some of the costliest elements of mobile development.
Tedious Setup
- It can be tedious to set up a local mobile development environment. You have to download tooling and SDKs for each environment which can take forever. If you are on a PC and you want to develop an iOS mobile app, forget about it! With NativeScript Preview, there is ZERO setup to get running.
High Engineering Costs
- Learning different languages (outside of your primary JavaScript skills) can be overwhelming and lead to delivery delays. This leads a lot of large companies to have one team for iOS and one team for Android. The indirect costs of team language mixtures can be high. NativeScript Preview puts the power in front of the largest working force in the industry, JavaScript developers, which saves time and money.
Slow Feedback Cycles
- An organization's ability to quickly release features that their customers love is their ultimate competitive advantage. Being able to get feedback from a user to then implement and deliver a change in a matter of minutes means that you can get more work done in an afternoon than large companies can accomplish in months. NativeScript Preview pushes your updates to the Preview app as soon as you hit the save button. This changes everything!
Frequently asked questions
Have a question? See the most commonly asked questions below, and if you can't find an answer to yours send us an email with your inquiry.
- Is Preview replacing the NativeScript Playground?
- Yes, Preview is meant to replace the classic Playground by providing more flexibility and up-to-date NativeScript versions.
- What happens to my classic playground projects?
- We are working on a migration tool that will allow opening your existing classic Playground projects on StackBlitz, or directly download them as-is in a zip file.
- Can I use any plugins in Preview?
- Plugins that have native dependencies have to be pre-installed into the Preview app which comes pre-loaded with a range of plugins. We'll be shipping the most popular plugins pre-installed in future updates.
- Will plugin "X" ever be added to Preview?
- If there's enough demand for a specific plugin we will absolutely be pre-installing and including some of them in a future update.
- Can I use any plugin that does not have a native dependency?
- Yes! Any plugin which doesn't require additional native libraries (gradle dependency, cocoapod, pre-build xcframework etc.) should work.
- Can I use NPM packages?
- Yes! You can install and use npm packages as long as they are compatible with NativeScript, and don't require additional native libraries.
- How do I go back to the initial app once I've connected to a session?
- To reset the Preview app to it's initial state, long press on the launch icon and select the "Reset" option.
- My Preview app crashes as soon as it boots after connecting to a session.
- Sometimes a preview session can contain code errors that we can't recover from. Try clearing the application data, or reinstalling the Preview app.
Resetting the Preview app
If you want to reset the Preview app to it's initial state where you can manage your account and explore examples, press and hold the Preview app launch icon and once the menu opens, select the "Reset" option.
The steps are the same for Android and iOS.
Need help?
Have you ever had a really awesome side conversation at a conference or meetup with someone who really knew their stuff and was surprisingly super helpful? So have we and we love them! This is why we want to offer you a free micro-roadmapping session to talk about your mobile app project and whatever challenge you are currently working through.
This is a zero-pressure invitation to hang out and discover how you can deliver better software faster.