Headless JS is very useful for running background jobs and it would be nice if it worked for iOS as well.
It is already supported for Android: https://facebook.github.io/react-native/releases/next/docs/headless-js-android.html
this is a must
I really need this feature in my iOS app
same requirement in ios
We also need the headless JS execution for iOS. I implemented a proof of concept for iOS which worked quite ok. Initial spin-up-time was ~1sec but after that the tasks were executed in ~10ms. Memory consumption was ~25mb extra.
There seems to be no issue for headless JS at the github repo. And this feature request here is not 'In Progress' so i guess the core team is not working on this right now?
@Noil: Can share the work you had done? I'm interested in implement the feature.
@Breno Rodrigues: Sure, have a look at my fork at https://github.com/NoilPaw/react-native/tree/headless-ios
To use headless execution you just have to initialize the Libraries/Headless/RCTHeadlessTaskController.m and then use executeTask to perform the RCTHeadlessTask. There are some TODOs in the code that needs love. First of all there should be tests. I am happy for any help implementing the lasts steps needed to make it a solid headless JS.
@Noil: Great work! Did you get any response from the core team on if this PR would be merged?
@Viktor Eriksson: I forwarded your question to a core developer of RN. But there has to be done some stuff, before it could get merged. Please contact me, if you want to contribute to this feature.
@Noil: 👍
@Noil: This is a critical feature for me and my team and I'd love to help implementing it! Could you get in touch with me through Github?
@Niclas Nilsson: Your contribution is very welcome, Niclas. I just sent you an email.
@Noil: Thank you! Will be working in some features to an upcoming and such feature is a must since simplify lots of things
Will be glad to help implement instead do a specialized code (that works only in the company's app)
@Noil: Great job! How I can help with this feature?
+1, Would be helpful. Looking forward
This is necessary for designing Enterprise applications on IOS
Apple won't allow this. Use iOS background-fetch instead.
@Rob Moorman 🚀: I think Headless JS will be as legit to run in background as native code. Of course it won't magically allow us to execute stuff in background without termination. But i think if you have a valid UIBackgroundMode you can execute headless JS within its borders.
Oh yes! Please!
What does the "headless" mean in "headless js"?
@Michael Leung: headless means it does not require a foreground view to run
@Bhaskar Murthy: Ok, so is it like running "node script.js" in your terminal? Not sure what you mean by foreground.
@Michael Leung: it means the app is running, but not visible and in focus
@Michael Leung: running tasks without the UI showing
@Michael Leung: node script.js &
It would be a very useful feature!
Please add support iOS
This feature would be very useful,necessary for enterprise apps
Must have.
We need this guys!!
+1 would be awesome!!
Almost every IOS developer wants it who uses react-native
It will definitely be very useful! What are the steps to make it possible?
This is a Must!
For periodic tasks (e.g. background data sync every ~15 mins), I've put together a library that works with what's possible in iOS's Background Fetch and RN Android's Headless JS. It supports scheduling a task across both with a single API: https://github.com/jamesisaac/react-native-background-task
Background Fetch is a lot more restrictive than Headless JS, so the functionality is mostly limited to what the former allows.
Can this be implemented on iOS? If I remember correctly apple imposes restrictions on background tasks and there isn't a "true" background process. That is, you can't do something like continually report data back to a server at specific times. iOS's background fetch will decide when that is. Point being you won't have true headless JS. https://www.objc.io/issues/5-ios7/multitasking/
We need this
It's very useful and a must
It's very useful and a must
This is a must have feature, I wonder why RN doesn't have it yet!
👍
I really need this feature, please implement it!
Please please implement it, I really need it.
I need this too
Please, please implement this feature. It is necessary for so many apps!
+100500
@Noil
What is the status of this work?
(Need help?)
@Martmax: I ceased development of this feature, because we don't need it anymore for our project. Feel free to use the version from April as a base for further implementation. I'm happy to answer any questions you have.
@Noil: Well I'm just looking for an equivalent of Headless JS on iOS. Did you use another solution or just didn't need it anymore?
The use case I have is to handle some calls to a server without interrupting them when the app is closed.
@Martmax: Even with Headless JS for iOS you need a valid background mode to be able to make server calls after your app is closed for some time and of course you can still not be sure that the user or the system terminates the app. In our case we used it in conjunction with bluetooth, but not anymore.
Wow, I just realized that this feature request gained some popularity and is top 3.
please :D
please !!!
Please add support iOS
I hope the feature will be completed promptly
Please add it
Headless JS makes no sense for iOS since iOS has no concept of "Headless" or background services.
@Chris Scott: there's no way to emulate a background services with on iOS then?
@Wellinton Monge: There's no such thing as "background services" in iOS. Well, there is but they're not exposed to the developer. For example, if your app is monitoring a Geofence with the native API, this geofence will continue to be monitored by the OS in spite of app termination / device reboot. If that geofence triggers an ENTER/EXIT event, iOS will reboot your *entire* app in the background to service that event.
Essentially, iOS is running a hidden background-service to continue monitoring the geofences.
This is how my react-native-background-geolocation module works:
https://github.com/transistorsoft/react-native-background-geolocation
If you're looking for a periodic event to occur, my react-native-background-fetch module will fire a callback about every 15 minutes:
https://github.com/transistorsoft/react-native-background-fetch
@Chris Scott: thanks
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I need this feature for iOS too.
headless ja is very important for ios make it happen asap
Headless JS for iOS is a very important feature for us
We need this for iOS at our company
really need this
for God sake guys why this feature is in the wish list for around 2 years? it is a must.
@Vahid Mousavi: what to do, what not to do !?
Hi all, Yes it would be very helpful for mee too,
what are you currently as an alternative on iOS then? are you implementing a pure xCode/native code to run a background on iOS, by ejecting to native? or something else?
It would be a very useful feature!