Reference.md

React Native WebView API Reference

This document lays out the current public properties and methods for the React Native WebView.

Props Index

• source
• automaticallyAdjustContentInsets
• injectedJavaScript
• mediaPlaybackRequiresUserAction
• nativeConfig
• onError
• onLoad
• onLoadEnd
• onLoadStart
• onLoadProgress
• onMessage
• onNavigationStateChange
• originWhitelist
• renderError
• renderLoading
• scalesPageToFit
• onShouldStartLoadWithRequest
• startInLoadingState
• style
• decelerationRate
• domStorageEnabled
• javaScriptEnabled
• androidHardwareAccelerationDisabled
• mixedContentMode
• thirdPartyCookiesEnabled
• userAgent
• allowsInlineMediaPlayback
• bounces
• overScrollMode
• contentInset
• dataDetectorTypes
• scrollEnabled
• directionalLockEnabled
• geolocationEnabled
• allowUniversalAccessFromFileURLs
• useWebKit
• url
• html
• hideKeyboardAccessoryView
• allowsBackForwardNavigationGestures
• incognito
• allowFileAccess
• saveFormDataDisabled
• cacheEnabled
• pagingEnabled
• allowsLinkPreview

Methods Index

• extraNativeComponentConfig
• goForward
• goBack
• reload
• stopLoading
• injectJavaScript

---

Reference

Props

source

Loads static HTML or a URI (with optional headers) in the WebView. Note that static HTML will require setting originWhitelist to ["*"].

The object passed to source can have either of the following shapes:

Load uri

• uri (string) - The URI to load in the WebView. Can be a local or remote file.
• method (string) - The HTTP Method to use. Defaults to GET if not specified. On Android, the only supported methods are GET and POST.
• headers (object) - Additional HTTP headers to send with the request. On Android, this can only be used with GET requests.
• body (string) - The HTTP body to send with the request. This must be a valid UTF-8 string, and will be sent exactly as specified, with no additional encoding (e.g. URL-escaping or base64) applied. On Android, this can only be used with POST requests.

Static HTML

Note that using static HTML requires the WebView property originWhiteList to ['*'].

• html (string) - A static HTML page to display in the WebView.
• baseUrl (string) - The base URL to be used for any relative links in the HTML.

Type	Required
object	No

---

automaticallyAdjustContentInsets

Controls whether to adjust the content inset for web views that are placed behind a navigation bar, tab bar, or toolbar. The default value is true.

Type	Required	Platform
bool	No	iOS

---

injectedJavaScript

Set this to provide JavaScript that will be injected into the web page when the view loads. Make sure the string evaluates to a valid type (true works) and doesn't otherwise throw an exception.

Type	Required
string	No

To learn more, read the Communicating between JS and Native guide.

---

mediaPlaybackRequiresUserAction

Boolean that determines whether HTML5 audio and video requires the user to tap them before they start playing. The default value is true. (Android API minimum version 17).

NOTE: the default true value might cause some videos to hang loading on iOS. Setting it to false could fix this issue.

Type	Required
bool	No

---

nativeConfig

Override the native component used to render the WebView. Enables a custom native WebView which uses the same JavaScript as the original WebView.

The nativeConfig prop expects an object with the following keys:

• component (any)
• props (object)
• viewManager (object)

Type	Required
object	No

---

onError

Function that is invoked when the WebView load fails.

Type	Required
function	No

Example:

<WebView
  source={{ uri: 'https://facebook.github.io/react-native' }}
  onError={syntheticEvent => {
    const { nativeEvent } = syntheticEvent;
    console.warn('WebView error: ', nativeEvent);
  }}
/>

Function passed to onError is called with a SyntheticEvent wrapping a nativeEvent with these properties:

canGoBack
canGoForward
code
description
didFailProvisionalNavigation
domain
loading
target
title
url

Note Domain is only used on iOS

---

onLoad

Function that is invoked when the WebView has finished loading.

Type	Required
function	No

Example:

<WebView
  source={{ uri: 'https://facebook.github.io/react-native' }}
  onLoad={syntheticEvent => {
    const { nativeEvent } = syntheticEvent;
    this.url = nativeEvent.url;
  }}
/>

Function passed to onLoad is called with a SyntheticEvent wrapping a nativeEvent with these properties:

canGoBack
canGoForward
loading
target
title
url

---

onLoadEnd

Function that is invoked when the WebView load succeeds or fails.

Type	Required
function	No

Example:

<WebView
  source={{ uri: 'https://facebook.github.io/react-native' }}
  onLoadEnd={syntheticEvent => {
    // update component to be aware of loading status
    const { nativeEvent } = syntheticEvent;
    this.isLoading = nativeEvent.loading;
  }}
/>

Function passed to onLoadEnd is called with a SyntheticEvent wrapping a nativeEvent with these properties:

canGoBack
canGoForward
loading
target
title
url

---

onLoadStart

Function that is invoked when the WebView starts loading.

Type	Required
function	No

Example:

<WebView
  source={{ uri: 'https://facebook.github.io/react-native/=' }}
  onLoadStart={syntheticEvent => {
    // update component to be aware of loading status
    const { nativeEvent } = syntheticEvent;
    this.isLoading = nativeEvent.loading;
  }}
/>

Function passed to onLoadStart is called with a SyntheticEvent wrapping a nativeEvent with these properties:

canGoBack
canGoForward
loading
target
title
url

---

onLoadProgress

Function that is invoked when the WebView is loading.

Note

On iOS, when useWebKit=false, this prop will not work. On android, You can't get the url property, meaning that event.nativeEvent.url will be null.

Type	Required
function	No

Example:

<WebView
  source={{ uri: 'https://facebook.github.io/react-native' }}
  onLoadProgress={({ nativeEvent }) => {
    this.loadingProgress = nativeEvent.progress;
  }}
/>

Function passed to onLoadProgress is called with a SyntheticEvent wrapping a nativeEvent with these properties:

canGoBack
canGoForward
loading
progress
target
title
url

---

onMessage

Function that is invoked when the webview calls window.ReactNativeWebView.postMessage. Setting this property will inject this global into your webview.

window.ReactNativeWebView.postMessage accepts one argument, data, which will be available on the event object, event.nativeEvent.data. data must be a string.

Type	Required
function	No

To learn more, read the Communicating between JS and Native guide.

---

onNavigationStateChange

Function that is invoked when the WebView loading starts or ends.

Type	Required
function	No

Example:

<WebView
  source={{ uri: 'https://facebook.github.io/react-native' }}
  onNavigationStateChange={navState => {
    // Keep track of going back navigation within component
    this.canGoBack = navState.canGoBack;
  }}
/>

The navState object includes these properties:

canGoBack
canGoForward
loading
navigationType
target
title
url

---

originWhitelist

List of origin strings to allow being navigated to. The strings allow wildcards and get matched against just the origin (not the full URL). If the user taps to navigate to a new page but the new page is not in this whitelist, the URL will be handled by the OS. The default whitelisted origins are "http://" and "https://".

Type	Required
array of strings	No

Example:

//only allow URIs that begin with https:// or git://
<WebView
  source={{ uri: 'https://facebook.github.io/react-native' }}
  originWhitelist={['https://*', 'git://*']}
/>

---

renderError

Function that returns a view to show if there's an error.

Type	Required
function	No

Example:

<WebView
  source={{ uri: 'https://facebook.github.io/react-native' }}
  renderError={errorName => <Error name={errorName} />}
/>

The function passed to renderError will be called with the name of the error

---

renderLoading

Function that returns a loading indicator. The startInLoadingState prop must be set to true in order to use this prop.

Type	Required
function	No

Example:

<WebView
  source={{ uri: 'https://facebook.github.io/react-native' }}
  startInLoadingState={true}
  renderLoading={() => <Loading />}
/>

---

scalesPageToFit

Boolean that controls whether the web content is scaled to fit the view and enables the user to change the scale. The default value is true.

On iOS, when useWebKit=true, this prop will not work.

Type	Required
bool	No

---

onShouldStartLoadWithRequest

Function that allows custom handling of any web view requests. Return true from the function to continue loading the request and false to stop loading.

On Android, is not called on the first load.

Type	Required
function	No

Example:

<WebView
  source={{ uri: 'https://facebook.github.io/react-native' }}
  onShouldStartLoadWithRequest={request => {
    // Only allow navigating within this website
    return request.url.startsWith('https://facebook.github.io/react-native');
  }}
/>

The request object includes these properties:

title
url
loading
target
canGoBack
canGoForward
lockIdentifier
navigationType

Example:

<WebView
  source={{ uri: 'https://facebook.github.io/react-native' }}
  onShouldStartLoadWithRequest={request => {
    // Only allow navigating within this website
    return request.url.startsWith('https://facebook.github.io/react-native');
  }}
/>

The request object includes these properties:

title
url
loading
target
canGoBack
canGoForward
lockIdentifier
navigationType

---

startInLoadingState

Boolean value that forces the WebView to show the loading view on the first load. This prop must be set to true in order for the renderLoading prop to work.

Type	Required
bool	No

---

style

A style object that allow you to customize the WebView style. Please note that there are default styles (example: you need to add flex: 0 to the style if you want to use height property).

Type	Required
style	No

Example:

<WebView
  source={{ uri: 'https://facebook.github.io/react-native' }}
  style={{ marginTop: 20 }}
/>

---

decelerationRate

A floating-point number that determines how quickly the scroll view decelerates after the user lifts their finger. You may also use the string shortcuts "normal" and "fast" which match the underlying iOS settings for UIScrollViewDecelerationRateNormal and UIScrollViewDecelerationRateFast respectively:

• normal: 0.998
• fast: 0.99 (the default for iOS web view)

Type	Required	Platform
number	No	iOS

---

domStorageEnabled

Boolean value to control whether DOM Storage is enabled. Used only in Android.

Type	Required	Platform
bool	No	Android

---

javaScriptEnabled

Boolean value to enable JavaScript in the WebView. Used on Android only as JavaScript is enabled by default on iOS. The default value is true.

Type	Required	Platform
bool	No	Android

---

androidHardwareAccelerationDisabled

Boolean value to disable Hardware Acceleration in the WebView. Used on Android only as Hardware Acceleration is a feature only for Android. The default value is false.

Type	Required	Platform
bool	No	Android

---

mixedContentMode

Specifies the mixed content mode. i.e WebView will allow a secure origin to load content from any other origin.

Possible values for mixedContentMode are:

• never (default) - WebView will not allow a secure origin to load content from an insecure origin.
• always - WebView will allow a secure origin to load content from any other origin, even if that origin is insecure.
• compatibility - WebView will attempt to be compatible with the approach of a modern web browser with regard to mixed content.

Type	Required	Platform
string	No	Android

---

thirdPartyCookiesEnabled

Boolean value to enable third party cookies in the WebView. Used on Android Lollipop and above only as third party cookies are enabled by default on Android Kitkat and below and on iOS. The default value is true.

Type	Required	Platform
bool	No	Android

---

userAgent

Sets the user-agent for the WebView. This will only work for iOS if you are using WKWebView, not UIWebView (see https://developer.apple.com/documentation/webkit/wkwebview/1414950-customuseragent).

Type	Required	Platform
string	No	Android, iOS WKWebView

---

allowsInlineMediaPlayback

Boolean that determines whether HTML5 videos play inline or use the native full-screen controller. The default value is false.

NOTE

In order for video to play inline, not only does this property need to be set to true, but the video element in the HTML document must also include the webkit-playsinline attribute.

Type	Required	Platform
bool	No	iOS

---

bounces

Boolean value that determines whether the web view bounces when it reaches the edge of the content. The default value is true.

Type	Required	Platform
bool	No	iOS

---

overScrollMode

Specifies the over scroll mode.

Possible values for overScrollMode are:

• always (default) - Always allow a user to over-scroll this view, provided it is a view that can scroll.
• content - Allow a user to over-scroll this view only if the content is large enough to meaningfully scroll, provided it is a view that can scroll.
• never - Never allow a user to over-scroll this view.

Type	Required	Platform
string	No	Android

---

contentInset

The amount by which the web view content is inset from the edges of the scroll view. Defaults to {top: 0, left: 0, bottom: 0, right: 0}.

Type	Required	Platform
object: {top: number, left: number, bottom: number, right: number}	No	iOS

---

dataDetectorTypes

Determines the types of data converted to clickable URLs in the web view's content. By default only phone numbers are detected.

You can provide one type or an array of many types.

Possible values for dataDetectorTypes are:

• phoneNumber
• link
• address
• calendarEvent
• none
• all

With the new WebKit implementation, we have three new values:

• trackingNumber
• flightNumber
• lookupSuggestion

Type	Required	Platform
string, or array	No	iOS

---

scrollEnabled

Boolean value that determines whether scrolling is enabled in the WebView. The default value is true. Setting this to false will prevent the webview from moving the document body when the keyboard appears over an input.

Type	Required	Platform
bool	No	iOS

---

directionalLockEnabled

A Boolean value that determines whether scrolling is disabled in a particular direction. The default value is true.

Type	Required	Platform
bool	No	iOS

---

showsHorizontalScrollIndicator

Boolean value that determines whether a horizontal scroll indicator is shown in the WebView. The default value is true.

Type	Required
bool	No

---

showsVerticalScrollIndicator

Boolean value that determines whether a vertical scroll indicator is shown in the WebView. The default value is true.

Type	Required
bool	No

---

geolocationEnabled

Set whether Geolocation is enabled in the WebView. The default value is false. Used only in Android.

Type	Required	Platform
bool	No	Android

---

allowUniversalAccessFromFileURLs

Boolean that sets whether JavaScript running in the context of a file scheme URL should be allowed to access content from any origin. Including accessing content from other file scheme URLs. The default value is false.

Type	Required	Platform
bool	No	Android

---

useWebKit

If true, use WKWebView instead of UIWebView.

Type	Required	Platform
boolean	No	iOS

---

url

Deprecated. Use the source prop instead.

Type	Required
string	No

---

html

Deprecated. Use the source prop instead.

Type	Required
string	No

---

hideKeyboardAccessoryView

If true, this will hide the keyboard accessory view (< > and Done) when using the WKWebView.

Type	Required	Platform
boolean	No	iOS

---

allowsBackForwardNavigationGestures

If true, this will be able horizontal swipe gestures when using the WKWebView. The default value is false.

Type	Required	Platform
boolean	No	iOS

---

incognito

Does not store any data within the lifetime of the WebView.

Type	Required	Platform
boolean	No	iOS WKWebView

---

allowFileAccess

If true, this will allow access to the file system via file:// URI's. The default value is false.

Type	Required	Platform
boolean	No	Android

---

saveFormDataDisabled

Sets whether the WebView should disable saving form data. The default value is false. This function does not have any effect from Android API level 26 onwards as there is an Autofill feature which stores form data.

Type	Required	Platform
boolean	No	Android

---

cacheEnabled

Sets whether WebView & WKWebView should use browser caching.

Type	Required	Default
boolean	No	true

---

pagingEnabled

If the value of this property is true, the scroll view stops on multiples of the scroll view’s bounds when the user scrolls. The default value is false.

Type	Required	Platform
boolean	No	iOS

---

allowsLinkPreview

A Boolean value that determines whether pressing on a link displays a preview of the destination for the link. In iOS this property is available on devices that support 3D Touch. In iOS 10 and later, the default value is true; before that, the default value is false.

Type	Required	Platform
boolean	No	iOS

Methods

extraNativeComponentConfig()

static extraNativeComponentConfig()

goForward()

goForward();

Go forward one page in the web view's history.

goBack()

goBack();

Go back one page in the web view's history.

reload()

reload();

Reloads the current page.

stopLoading()

stopLoading();

Stop loading the current page.

injectJavaScript(str)

injectJavaScript('... javascript string ...');

Executes the JavaScript string.

To learn more, read the Communicating between JS and Native guide.

Other Docs

Also check out our Getting Started Guide and In-Depth Guide.