PWFabric
PWFabric turns a declarative surface — blocks, bindings, capabilities, appearance — into a live page, in a browser or on a server. It needs no hosted service: what an app needs at runtime is in its bundle or behind a documented protocol any host can implement.
An app built on PWFabric travels. Its source moves as a pwpack, its runnable
form as a pwapp, and either can be served from any static host. That
portability is why this engine is open: a promise that your app is yours cannot
rest on an engine you are not allowed to read.
pwf create my-app --foundation /path/to/foundation.pwpack
cd my-app
pwf dev # serves the app and reloads on every change
pwf build # writes the static app to .pwf/out/pwf is the PWFabric command line: npm install -g @pwfabric/cli. The
packages are at 1.0.0; the
quick start shows where the foundation pack comes from.
The packages
| Package | What it is | Licence |
|---|---|---|
@pwfabric/contracts | The types and schemas everything agrees on | Apache-2.0 |
@pwfabric/authoring | defineBlock, defineFactory — write your own blocks | Apache-2.0 |
@pwfabric/pack | Reads, validates, hashes and writes pwpacks | Apache-2.0 |
@pwfabric/cli | pwf — create, validate, pack, build and run apps | Apache-2.0 |
@pwfabric/core | Primitives the rest is built from | BSL 1.1 |
@pwfabric/runtime | The renderer | BSL 1.1 |
@pwfabric/runner | Runs a pwapp — routing, navigation, sign-in | BSL 1.1 |
@pwfabric/embed | Puts one surface inside a page you already have | BSL 1.1 |
@pwfabric/compiler | Compiles block and capability source into the modules the runtime loads | BSL 1.1 |
Source: github.com/pwfabric/pwfabric.
Where to start
| You want to… | Go to |
|---|---|
| Run a built app on any static host | Quickstart, track A |
| Write your own block | defineBlock |
| Build an app of your own from scratch | Quickstart, track C |
| Run a built app on your own host | Self-hosting |
Look up a pwf command | CLI |
| Read the formats themselves | Specification |
| Understand what you may do with the code | Licensing |
Two licences, on purpose
The contracts are Apache-2.0: an interface that is not free to adopt is not an interface. The engine is under the Business Source License — use it, change it, host what you build with it, including for your own customers. The one thing reserved is offering PWFabric itself as a competing hosted service. Four years after each release, that version becomes Apache-2.0.