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README
node-webkit is renamed NW.js
Official site: https://nwjs.io
Introduction
NW.js is an app runtime based on Chromium and node.js. You can
write native apps in HTML and JavaScript with NW.js. It also lets you
call Node.js modules directly from the DOM and enables a new way of writing
native applications with all Web technologies.
It was created in the Intel Open Source Technology Center.
Building a Cross-platform Desktop App with NW.js
Creating Desktop Applications With node-webkit
WebApp to DesktopApp with node-webkit (slides)
Essay on the history and internals of the project
Features
Apps written in modern HTML5, CSS3, JS and WebGL.
Complete support for Node.js APIs and all its third party modules.
Good performance: Node and WebKit run in the same thread: Function calls are made straightforward; objects are in the same heap and can just reference each other.
Easy to package and distribute apps.
Available on Linux, Mac OS X and Windows.
Downloads
v0.119.2: (October 22nd, 2026, based off of Node.js v26.12.1, Chromium 156) : release notes
NOTE You might want the SDK build. Please read the release notes.
Linux: 64bit / arm64
Windows: 32bit / 64bit
Mac 10.10+: 64bit
Use Legacy build for Win XP and early OSX.
latest nightly build from git tip: https://dl.nwjs.io/live-build/
Previous versions; See the mapping file for the version info in previous releases.
Demos and real apps
You may also be interested in our demos repository and the List of apps and companies using nw.js.
Quick Start
Create index.html:
html
Hello World!
Hello World!
We are using node.js document.write(process.version).
Create package.json:
json
{
"name": "nw-demo",
"version": "0.0.1",
"main": "index.html"
}
Run:
bash
$ /path/to/nw . (suppose the current directory contains 'package.json')
Note: on Windows, you can drag the folder containing package.json to nw.exe to open it.
Note: on OSX, the executable binary is in a hidden directory within the .app file. To run node-webkit on OSX, type:
/path/to/nwjs.app/Contents/MacOS/nwjs . (suppose the current directory contains 'package.json')
Documents
Official documentation: http://docs.nwjs.io/
For more information on how to write/package/run apps, see:
How to run apps
How to package and distribute your apps
How to use Node.js modules in node-webkit
And our Wiki for much more.
Community
We use the google group as
our mailing list (use English only). Subscribe via [email protected].
NOTE: Links to the old google group (e.g. https://groups.google.com/forum/!msg/node-webkit/doRWZ07LgWQ/4fheV8FF8zsJ) that are no longer working can be fixed by replacing node-webkit with nwjs-general (e.g https://groups.google.com/forum/!msg/nwjs-general/doRWZ07LgWQ/4fheV8FF8zsJ).
Issues are being tracked here on GitHub.
The source code for NW.js and the daily development spans multiple repositories in this organization. This repoTop issues
#1151prebuilt for ARM devices... [$65]178 comments · 2013-09-26#151Startup Image / Animation support would be nice143 comments · 2012-11-07#94Add Android Support [$50]114 comments · 2012-10-17#149Api suggestion: API.App.restart69 comments · 2012-11-05#6303Cannot compile es6 module source65 comments · 2017-11-23#951Feature request: API for registering node-webkit applications as protocol handlers [$50]58 comments · 2013-08-06#5865NWJS phones home to Google - once again...44 comments · 2017-04-21#7117Notarize OSX / Hardened Runtime42 comments · 2019-07-17