FRAMEWORKExperimental — not for production
Status and limitations
Platform support, feature restrictions, and distribution limits.
Spark is experimental and not ready for production use. APIs, configuration, and native implementations can change. macOS 14+ on Apple Silicon is the primary target.
What works where
| Target | Available workflow | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| macOS 14+, Apple Silicon | Spark Runner, custom development builds, standalone apps, signing/notarization, and whole-app updates | Experimental; check each feature's availability and test it in your app |
| macOS 14+, Intel x64 | Source tooling targets builds, Runner registration/downloads, and packaging | Native compilation, runtime behavior, and signed distribution still need validation; the published Runner is ARM64 only |
| Windows 11, x64/ARM64 | Local source Runner and custom development builds | Native compilation and runtime behavior still need validation; no hosted Runner or production packaging workflow |
| iOS / Android / web | Expo workflows and selected shared API/UI adapters | Desktop windows, files, menus, and processes are not universal capabilities |
| Linux / Mac App Store | No supported workflow | Unsupported |
Feature restrictions
- Common UI controls use different platform implementations. Windows
SegmentedControlis unsupported. - Search, sidebar, split-view, settings-window composition, and SF Symbols are macOS capabilities.
GlassView's native effect requires macOS 26. - Command routing and low-level keyboard APIs require macOS. The native Codex supervisor is also macOS-only.
- Standalone media sessions for an external playback engine are unsupported on mobile.
- Secure storage is unavailable on web.
Check feature-specific availability and permissions before offering a capability. See native UI, integrations, and known Windows issues for details.
Standalone apps and updates
macOS build, Developer ID signing, notarization, and whole-app update tooling are available. Distribution and updates remain experimental: test installation, startup, update/relaunch, and rejection of older builds with your signed app and update feed. See packaging and updates.
Windows production builds, signing, and MSIX packaging are unsupported.
Architecture limits
- Application JavaScript runs in Hermes. Node built-ins and Electron main-process APIs are unavailable.
- Helpers are app-supplied, target-specific executables requiring a custom binary. They are not persistent OS services.
- Spark SQLite/WebView/audio/UI contracts expose supported subsets, not complete backend APIs.
- Expo Router integration, declarative route-based window navigation, and a broad universal UI catalog are not supported.
createWindowsNavigatorprovides named-window component coordination. - Frame → Spark migration requires rebuilding matching native runtimes. Old prototype data, credentials, and OS registrations are not automatically migrated. See migration.