docs: add building-for-mobile guide by OneEyed1366 · Pull Request #1640 · solidjs/solid-docs

OneEyed1366 · 2026-09-22T15:41:35Z

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This PR references an issue (except for typos, broken links, or other minor problems)

Description(required)

Adds a "Building for mobile" guide under Guides, closing the docs gap in #1636: there was no answer to "can I build a mobile app with Solid?" and solid-js/universal (createRenderer) had no mention anywhere in the docs.

Covers three routes:

Keeping the DOM renderer — Capacitor, Tauri (WebView), NativeScript (DOM shim over native views)
Native views via solid-js/universal — the createRenderer API, with SolidTV and Symbiote Native as production examples

Also notes solid-native is deprecated — flagged maintained: false on solidjs.com's Resources page, per the issue's own data point.

Related issues & labels

Closes [Request]: Cover native/mobile rendering (solid-js/universal) - the docs have no answer to "can I build a mobile app with Solid?" #1636
Suggested label(s) (optional): 'enhancement', 'documentation'

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OneEyed1366 · 2026-09-26T18:16:35Z

@LadyBluenotes ready for review whenever you have bandwidth - all checks are green. ☕

LadyBluenotes

Really good start and thank you for taking this on!

Do you mind expanding a bit on some parts? It still feels like there's only two options for the renderer and I think it would benefit from expanding a bit. We don't need it to explain everything in detail, but providing more context can be helpful for people in helping make decisions.

LadyBluenotes · 2026-09-30T17:17:36Z

+  or Tauri, or by driving real native views with solid-js/universal.
+---
+
+Solid doesn't ship a mobile renderer, but three routes get a Solid app onto iOS and Android: keep rendering through the DOM (a WebView, or a DOM shim over native views), or drive native views directly with Solid's custom-renderer API.


Suggested change

Solid doesn't ship a mobile renderer, but three routes get a Solid app onto iOS and Android: keep rendering through the DOM (a WebView, or a DOM shim over native views), or drive native views directly with Solid's custom-renderer API.

There are three routes get to shipping Solid on iOS and Android: continue rendering through the DOM through a WebView, or a DOM shim over native views; or drive native views directly with Solid's custom-renderer API.

LadyBluenotes · 2026-09-30T17:18:44Z

+---
+
+Solid doesn't ship a mobile renderer, but three routes get a Solid app onto iOS and Android: keep rendering through the DOM (a WebView, or a DOM shim over native views), or drive native views directly with Solid's custom-renderer API.
+[`solid-native`](https://github.com/tjjfvi/solid-native), listed on solidjs.com's [Resources](https://www.solidjs.com/resources) page, is flagged `maintained: false` there; the options below are the current routes.


I'm not entirely sure this is something needed to be said, maybe you can remove it?

LadyBluenotes · 2026-09-30T17:20:36Z

+  or Tauri, or by driving real native views with solid-js/universal.
+---
+
+Solid doesn't ship a mobile renderer, but three routes get a Solid app onto iOS and Android: keep rendering through the DOM (a WebView, or a DOM shim over native views), or drive native views directly with Solid's custom-renderer API.


I did rewrite this, but I feel like expanding a bit on the 3 options (because how it's written right now sounds like you're only mentioning two). Maybe worth mentioning it in a list and briefly saying something like:

Using a webview (via libs like Capacitor / Tauri)

Option 2

Option 3

LadyBluenotes · 2026-09-30T17:22:18Z

+
+## Keeping the DOM renderer
+
+Capacitor and Tauri wrap a regular Solid [SPA](/solid-router/rendering-modes/spa) in a native WebView. NativeScript shims a DOM-like API over its own native views instead.


Could you expand a bit on what a webview is before explaining the options. Might also be worth mentioning the differences in capacitor / tauri / nativescript before expanding them individually

LadyBluenotes · 2026-09-30T17:22:41Z

+## Keeping the DOM renderer
+
+Capacitor and Tauri wrap a regular Solid [SPA](/solid-router/rendering-modes/spa) in a native WebView. NativeScript shims a DOM-like API over its own native views instead.
+Either way, your Solid app, styling, and `solid-js/web` renderer stay unchanged.


Could you add this to the intro? That way we make sure it's not buried?

LadyBluenotes · 2026-09-30T17:24:27Z

+Solid doesn't ship a mobile renderer, but three routes get a Solid app onto iOS and Android: keep rendering through the DOM (a WebView, or a DOM shim over native views), or drive native views directly with Solid's custom-renderer API.
+[`solid-native`](https://github.com/tjjfvi/solid-native), listed on solidjs.com's [Resources](https://www.solidjs.com/resources) page, is flagged `maintained: false` there; the options below are the current routes.
+
+## Keeping the DOM renderer


Would it make sense to add a table comparing the features each have / why you would want one over the other? As it stands, it's difficult to know why you would pick one over another and introducing a scannable table can help people make a decision.

Then the sections themselves can dive a bit more into the benefits of one option vs the others

LadyBluenotes · 2026-09-30T17:24:53Z

+
+[`@nativescript-community/solid-js`](https://github.com/nativescript-community/solid-js) shims a DOM-like API over [NativeScript](https://nativescript.org/)'s native views, so Solid's regular DOM renderer targets real native views with no WebView involved.
+
+:::note


This would be something that would be nice to put in a table (again showing features one lib offers vs others)

LadyBluenotes · 2026-09-30T17:25:51Z

+
+## Native views with `solid-js/universal`
+
+Solid ships a framework-level custom-renderer API in `solid-js/universal`.


Briefly explain why this is necessary

LadyBluenotes · 2026-09-30T17:27:05Z

+});
+```
+
+This lets a renderer drive Solid's fine-grained reactivity against any tree-shaped host, not just the DOM, with no dependency on `solid-js/web`.


Is there a reason there needs to be an explicit callout to not need solid-js/web?

LadyBluenotes · 2026-09-30T17:27:56Z

+This lets a renderer drive Solid's fine-grained reactivity against any tree-shaped host, not just the DOM, with no dependency on `solid-js/web`.
+`createRenderer` only gets you as far as creating and updating nodes on that host. None of a platform's native views, layout engine, or gesture handling comes with it, so building on it directly is a project of its own.
+
+Two projects build on it today. [SolidTV](https://github.com/solid-tv/solid) targets [LightningJS](https://lightningjs.io/), the WebGL renderer used by TV apps at Angel Studios and Bell Fibe TV.


Can we leave out mentioning existing projects, please? Adds a bit of maintenance burden (we should leave this as a guide)

docs: add building-for-mobile guide

2d66aa4

Merge branch 'main' into main

40df174

LadyBluenotes requested changes Sep 30, 2026

View reviewed changes

	Solid doesn't ship a mobile renderer, but three routes get a Solid app onto iOS and Android: keep rendering through the DOM (a WebView, or a DOM shim over native views), or drive native views directly with Solid's custom-renderer API.
	There are three routes get to shipping Solid on iOS and Android: continue rendering through the DOM through a WebView, or a DOM shim over native views; or drive native views directly with Solid's custom-renderer API.


		## Keeping the DOM renderer

		Capacitor and Tauri wrap a regular Solid [SPA](/solid-router/rendering-modes/spa) in a native WebView. NativeScript shims a DOM-like API over its own native views instead.


		[`@nativescript-community/solid-js`](https://github.com/nativescript-community/solid-js) shims a DOM-like API over [NativeScript](https://nativescript.org/)'s native views, so Solid's regular DOM renderer targets real native views with no WebView involved.

		:::note


		## Native views with `solid-js/universal`

		Solid ships a framework-level custom-renderer API in `solid-js/universal`.

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OneEyed1366 commented Sep 22, 2026

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