native-web-app
A drop-in replacement for Python's webbrowser.open()
that opens a native browser window without browser controls. Build Electron-style apps without shipping Electron!
import native_web_app
url = "http://localhost:8000/"
try:
native_web_app.open(url)
except Exception:
print(f"No web browser found. Please open a browser and point it to {url}.")Demo
There is an example app in the repository.
API Documentation
This module exposes a single open function:
def open(url: str, try_app_mode: bool = True) -> None:
"""
Open a URL in a modern browser.
In contrast to webbrowser.open, this method gracefully degrades
to a no-op on headless servers, where webbrowser.open would otherwise open lynx.
Args:
url:
The URL to open, e.g. http://localhost:1234.
try_app_mode:
If True, try to open the URL in "app mode", i.e. without browser controls.
This allows for Electron-like apps without having to deal with Electron.
If no suitable browser is found, it gracefully falls back to a regular browser instance.
Raises:
RuntimeError, if no suitable browser is found.
OSError, if the browser executable could not be executed.
For robustness, implementors should catch any Exception and take that as a signal that opening the URL failed.
"""Compatibility
| OS | Browser | Status ( |
|---|---|---|
| Windows 10 (2004) | Google Chrome 84 | |
| Windows 10 (2004) | Microsoft Edge 84 | |
| Windows 10 (2004) | Windows Subsystem for Linux | |
| Windows 10 (2004) | Default Browser | |
| Ubuntu 20.04 | Google Chrome 84 | |
| Ubuntu 20.04 | Default Browser | |
| macOS Catalina | Google Chrome 84 | |
| macOS Catalina | Default Browser |
Firefox implemented app mode ("site-specific browser functionality") in 2020,
but enabled it only for https:// URLs. This means it does not work with http://localhost:1234
or file:// URLs.
This makes it unsuitable for inclusion in native_web_app.
Changelog
This project follows semantic versioning.
native_web_app 1.0.2 (2020-08-12)
- Add support for Python 3.5 and 3.6.
native_web_app 1.0.1 (2020-08-12)
- Enforce browsers to start in background. This fixes compatibility with Microsoft Edge on Windows 10.
- Extend documentation on compatibility.
native_web_app 1.0.0 (2020-08-11)
- Initial Release
FAQ
How do I detect when the browser window is closed?
Monitoring the spawned browser process does not work reliably across platforms. We recommend you use JavaScript to notify your backend:
window.addEventListener('unload', function() {
navigator.sendBeacon("/shutdown");
}, false);
