Browser Plugin for NativePHP Mobile

Open URLs in system browser, in-app browser (SFSafariViewController/Chrome Custom Tabs), and OAuth authentication sessions.

Overview

The Browser API provides three methods for opening URLs, each designed for specific use cases: in-app browsing, system browser navigation, and web authentication flows.

Installation

composer require nativephp/mobile-browser

Usage

PHP (Livewire/Blade)

use Native\Mobile\Facades\Browser;

// Open in in-app browser
Browser::inApp('https://nativephp.com/mobile');

// Open in system browser
Browser::open('https://nativephp.com/mobile');

// OAuth authentication
Browser::auth('https://provider.com/oauth/authorize?client_id=123&redirect_uri=nativephp://127.0.0.1/auth/callback');

JavaScript (Vue/React/Inertia)

import { Browser } from '#nativephp';

// Open in in-app browser
await Browser.inApp('https://nativephp.com/mobile');

// Open in system browser
await Browser.open('https://nativephp.com/mobile');

// OAuth authentication
await Browser.auth('https://provider.com/oauth/authorize?client_id=123&redirect_uri=nativephp://127.0.0.1/auth/callback');

Methods

inApp()

Opens a URL in an embedded browser within your app using Custom Tabs (Android) or SFSafariViewController (iOS).

open()

Opens a URL in the device's default browser app, leaving your application entirely.

auth()

Opens a URL in a specialized authentication browser designed for OAuth flows with automatic nativephp:// redirect handling.

Use Cases

When to Use Each Method

inApp() - Keep users within your app experience:

• Documentation, help pages, terms of service
• External content that relates to your app
• When you want users to easily return to your app

open() - Full browser experience needed:

• Complex web applications
• Content requiring specific browser features
• When users need bookmarking or sharing capabilities

auth() - OAuth authentication flows:

• Login with WorkOS, Auth0, Google, Facebook, etc.
• Secure authentication with automatic redirects
• Isolated browser session for security

Testing

The plugin extends the NativePHP testing suite with browser-specific helpers, so your app tests can assert what was opened without knowing any bridge internals:

use Native\Mobile\Testing\Native;

it('opens the docs in the in-app browser', function () {
    Native::fakeBridge()->respondTo('Browser.OpenInApp', ['success' => true]);

    Native::test(HelpScreen::class)
        ->tap('View documentation')
        ->assertOpenedInApp('https://nativephp.com/docs');
});

it('starts the oauth flow', function () {
    Native::fakeBridge()->respondTo('Browser.OpenAuth', ['success' => true]);

    Native::test(LoginScreen::class)
        ->tap('Continue with Google')
        ->assertOpenedAuth();
});

it('does nothing until the button is tapped', function () {
    Native::test(LoginScreen::class)
        ->assertNothingBrowsed();
});

Helpers

• assertBrowsed(?string $url = null) — assert a URL was opened, via open(), inApp(), or auth() — any of the three, or exactly $url when given.
• assertOpenedInApp(?string $url = null) — assert a URL was opened in the in-app browser (inApp()), or exactly $url when given.
• assertOpenedAuth(?string $url = null) — assert a URL was opened in an authentication session (auth()), or exactly $url when given.
• assertNothingBrowsed() — assert nothing was opened by any of the three methods.

open(), inApp(), and auth() are fire-and-forget calls with nothing to read back beyond success/failure, so there's no with*() helper to fake a response — script it directly when a test needs open()/inApp()/auth() to return true:

Native::fakeBridge()->respondTo('Browser.Open', ['success' => true]);

The helpers are available on Native::fakeBridge() and chain directly off Native::test(...). They register automatically while running tests (requires a core with a macroable FakeBridge; on older cores they simply don't register).