Skip to content
Get packs

Flipper

Desktop tool for inspecting and debugging iOS, Android and JS apps; now archived.

GitHub Download v0.273.1
Stars
13.4k
Forks
984
Licence
MIT
Language
TypeScript
Last update
10 days ago
Type
Dev tool

This repository is archived and no longer maintained.

What it is

Flipper is a debugging platform that runs on a desktop and connects to mobile apps on iOS and Android, as well as JavaScript apps in a browser or Node.js. It includes tools such as a log viewer, a layout inspector and a network inspector, and developers can write their own plugins to view and control app data. The project is archived, and the README says it is moving from an Electron desktop app to running in the browser.

  • View app logs from an iOS or Android app while it runs
  • Inspect the view hierarchy of a mobile app's screen layout
  • Watch network requests made by a mobile app
  • Build a custom plugin to visualize data from your own app

Great for

  • Mobile developers who want a log viewer, layout inspector and network inspector in one place
  • Teams that already have Flipper set up in their iOS or Android projects
  • Developers who want to build custom debugging plugins for their own apps

Not ideal for

  • React Native developers, since the README says v0.239.0 is the last release with React Native support and dedicated tooling is still in development at Meta
  • Anyone needing active maintenance or new features, because the repository is archived
  • Users who need a standalone Electron app going forward, since the README says future releases will not include Electron artifacts

How to get it

  1. 1

    Clone and build from source

    You'll need: node >= 18 · yarn >= 1.16 · Android SDK and adb (for Android work) · iOS developer tools (for iOS plugins)

    Clone the repository

    git clone https://github.com/facebook/flipper.git

    Install desktop dependencies

    cd flipper/desktop && yarn

    Run Flipper from source

    yarn start
  2. 2

    Run it

    • Install Node.js 18 or newer and yarn 1.16 or newer
    • Clone the repository and run yarn inside the desktop folder
    • Run yarn start to launch Flipper
    • Start an iOS or Android sample app to connect to Flipper
  3. 3

    Get the most out of it

    • Use the sample apps in the repo (iOS/Sample, android sample) to test the connection before using your own app
    • Run npx flipper-server to use Flipper in a browser, as the README describes
    • Explore the included plugins in desktop/plugins/public/
    • Write your own plugin using the plugin API described in the README

Downloads

Source code (.zip)main branch · straight from GitHubRelease v0.273.13 files incl. Flipper-server-mac-aarch64.dmgOfficial website & docsfbflipper.com/

Strengths

  • Bundles several mobile debugging tools in one interface
  • Open source under the MIT license
  • Extensible through a plugin API

Trade-offs

  • The repository is archived and the README describes a move away from the Electron app
  • React Native support stops at v0.239.0 according to the README
  • Setup requires native developer tools such as Xcode or the Android SDK for mobile work

How it compares

ProjectStarsTypeLevelUpdatedBest for
flipper (this)13.4kDev toolintermediate10 days agoMobile developers who want a log viewer, layout inspector and network inspector in one place
react-native-debugger10.4kAppbeginner3.0 years agoReact Native developers who use Redux and want its DevTools in one place
reactotron15.6kDev toolintermediate3 months agoReact Native developers who want to see app state and network calls while debugging

Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.