Native SDK (formerly Zero Native)

Vercel Labs' pre-1.0 native application toolkit: declarative .native markup, TypeScript or Zig state logic, a native renderer, deterministic record/replay, accessibility snapshots, and an agent automation server.

Repo: vercel-labs/native. Site: native-sdk.dev. The old repository URL redirects to the current project; retain “Zero Native” as a historical search alias, not as the current install or architecture authority.

Routing Summary

Current Source Snapshot

At the latest pinned 2026-08-12 review, the canonical GitHub identity is vercel-labs/native at ed84e35975cc58515336843c07b153a54b499d58, release and npm CLI 0.8.4, Apache-2.0, with a non-truncated 1,670-blob tree, 81 detected test files, three workflows, and seven agent-skill files. The project is explicitly pre-1.0. Current source evidence replaces the old zero-native@0.3.0 snapshot for adoption decisions. Source: commit-pinned repository receipt and release/package metadata, 2026-08-12

Architecture

Code and drag surfaces

The saved <code /> announcement maps to a real example and test surface, not only a screenshot. The pinned examples/code-editor implements a bounded filesystem tree, binary/oversize states, typed tree semantics, keyboard navigation, preview versus pinned tabs, async stale-read rejection, line numbers, no-wrap scrolling, and extension-derived syntax highlighting. Its tests build both compiled and interpreted markup, exercise real temporary directories, and verify tree caps and generated-directory exclusions. This is useful evidence for native developer tools; the 25-language marketing count still requires an exact language registry and representative script/font/IME test before becoming a product promise.

The saved drag-and-drop announcement also resolves to an explicit model-owned contract. At the pinned revision, on-drag carries a numeric source identity, phase (change, end, cancel encoded as 0–2), floating view-local geometry, and stable global-key identity. The Kanban example keeps committed order unchanged during motion, uses one reserved insertion slot, commits only on end, cancels on Escape/pointer cancellation, animates displaced keyed neighbors, and snaps under reduced motion. Source tests reject malformed payload shapes and exercise pointer capture and drop targets. A drag demo therefore becomes a candidate only after keyboard/assistive alternatives, touch, cancellation, off-view geometry, reduced motion, model replay, and platform behavior pass in the target app. Source: Native SDK docs, examples, and tests at ed84e359, reviewed 2026-08-12

Launch: @ctatedev (also Browser Testing Skills, JSON Render -- Generative UI Framework author) — 3,889 likes, 3,559 bookmarks. Source: X/@ctatedev, 2026-05-09

vs Electron / Tauri

Guarded Android Workshop: WebToApp

WebToApp is not merely a URL wrapper. It can package remote sites, static frontends, local Node/PHP/Python/Go servers, WordPress, media, and multiple sites; generate and sign APK/AAB files; inject permissions; run user scripts and MV3 extensions; install runtime binaries; and automate the builder through an on-device agent. That makes it a useful Android prototyping and packaging reference when a phone-only build is a real requirement. Source: WebToApp README and source, reviewed 2026-08-10

It is also a high-authority application. The reviewed host manifest requests network, media, package-install, camera, microphone, location, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, biometric, overlay, battery-optimization, notification-policy, foreground service, wake-lock, boot, and alarm permissions. Cleartext traffic is enabled; the product can run a local TLS MITM bridge, bypass CORS, spoof TLS fingerprints, load community modules and Chrome extensions, inject JavaScript, execute local runtimes, clone/re-sign applications, and alter generated permissions. These are capabilities, not proof of maliciousness, but they exclude it from the default developer workstation and production route.

Current snapshot: shiaho777/web-to-app at 87f9510243d0cb188b2d6ac2693b01df649080b9, release v2.4.3, Unlicense, 5,554 stars, and 795 forks; the upstream check job passed on the reviewed revision. Evaluate only on an isolated Android test device and an owned test site. Keep extensions, userscripts, MITM, CORS bypass, runtime downloads, repackaging, and unnecessary permissions off. Inspect the generated manifest, network behavior, signing key custody, third-party content rights, Play policy, Data Safety declaration, and final APK before distribution. Prefer a PWA, mature reviewed webview shell, or Native SDK when one of those narrower routes meets the product need.

Stack fit (Kevin)

• New desktop control surface — evaluate when deterministic native state, accessibility snapshots, replay, and agent-driven UI testing are product requirements. Do not use it merely to wrap an existing website.
• Agent Machines local tray app — candidate only if the current native component/platform surface fits; an existing web dashboard needs a different shell decision.
• Not for kevin-wiki viewer — wiki stays web-first on Vercel.
• No standalone skill yet — use this as a tool reference when a task explicitly needs native rendering, deterministic replay, automation, or TypeScript/Zig state; ordinary frontend work stays on the Next/Vercel route.
• Evaluate mobile maturity before Cathy-style personal apps ship to App Store.

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Timeline

• 2026-08-12 | Refreshed Native SDK to ed84e359 / 0.8.4 and followed the code-editor and drag-and-drop posts into the exact docs, examples, and tests. Added bounded filesystem/editor behavior plus model-owned drag identity/phases, cancellation, insertion, reduced-motion, accessibility, and target-platform proof. Kept the wiki web-first. Source: X/@ctatedev 2083373227674345677 and 2086244792917270924; pinned source
• 2026-08-12 | Corrected the current project identity and architecture: vercel-labs/zero-native now resolves to Native SDK, whose primary route is native .native markup/rendering plus TypeScript or Zig state—not the old webview-shell design. Recorded commit 833e79e, pre-1.0 status, deterministic automation/replay, and desktop-versus-mobile maturity boundary. Source: vercel-labs/native commit-pinned receipt
• 2026-05-09 | Launch thread — Zig native + web UI, 5 platforms. Source: X/@ctatedev, 2026-05-09
• 2026-05-11 | Wiki page from Kevin capture. Source: User, 2026-05-11
• 2026-06-13 | Quality remediation: architecture table, Electron comparison, Agent Machines lens. Source: zero-native.dev, 2026-06-13
• 2026-06-30 | Deep-reviewed the local launch screenshot and current source state; recorded v0.3.0, main HEAD, npm package, license, and the decision to keep this as a tool route rather than a default executable skill. Source: X bookmark artifact audit, 2026-06-30
• 2026-08-10 | Added WebToApp as a guarded Android-only workshop branch, preserving its on-device build value while making its broad permissions, runtimes, injection, MITM/network, extension, signing, and store-review boundaries explicit. Source: X/@DivyanshT91162; WebToApp source at 87f9510