StackBlitz announces a significant advancement with the arrival of WebContainers on Safari, iOS, and iPadOS. Now, thanks to this innovative technology, developers can enjoy interactive code examples and playgrounds directly on their iPhone or iPad. Since iOS 16.4, Safari integrates this revolutionary capability in beta, allowing the launch of Node.js applications within the browser environment. This is the perfect opportunity to explore new possibilities and share your impressions of this technological advancement.
WebContainers, these revolutionary development environments that allow you to run Node.js applications directly in your browser, are now available on Safari, iOS, and iPadOS. From iOS 16.4 onwards, users can explore interactive code examples and dynamic playgrounds directly from an iPhone or iPad. Although Safari support is currently in beta, this advancement allows developers to test and optimize Node.js projects across various Apple devices. Furthermore, StackBlitz is focused on continuously improving the developer experience by optimizing these modern tools for a sustainable digital future.
WebContainers expand their reach on Safari
WebContainers are now compatible with Safari, thereby expanding their reach on iPhone and iPad devices. This innovation allows developers to enjoy running WebContainer projects directly on iOS and iPadOS. Since the iOS 16.4 version, users can access interactive code examples and dynamic workspaces directly from their mobile devices. Users are encouraged to test these new features and share their feedback, thereby contributing to the improvement and stabilization of the beta version of WebContainers on Safari.
The journey towards the compatibility of WebContainers with Safari required overcoming many technical challenges. Among them, the integration of the
SharedArrayBuffer
was crucial. Although this modern technology offers the possibility of sharing memory between multiple JavaScript engines, it was initially not supported by Safari. Today, thanks to this advancement, running Node.js applications in WebContainers on an iPhone or iPad is now possible.
Improvements for a stable future
StackBlitz’s mission is to build the web with the web, relying on the use of futuristic tools to achieve this. This approach has allowed for exceptional performance optimization, using emerging technologies such as Wasm threads that lay the groundwork for WebContainers. Focusing on the future, StackBlitz joins the Bytecode alliance to build an innovative web environment, inspiring developers to push the boundaries of what can be achieved with browsers. This strategy proves effective, with millions of developers using WebContainers each month.
Current compatibility of WebContainers
WebContainers are supported on all recent devices and major desktop browsers. They are fully compatible with Chrome and its derivatives, as well as on Firefox in beta. As for Safari, compatibility has been in beta since version 16.4. Tests conducted across various mobile platforms, including Android and iOS, sometimes reveal memory-related limitations, particularly for large-scale projects on less powerful devices. In such cases, using a desktop browser with more resources is recommended.
