Turn Any Website Into a Standalone App with Nativefier (and Why)

Mobile apps have become a way of life since the dawn of the smartphone era. However, you’ll find far fewer offerings in the way of native applications on your actual computer. Fed up for years, I’ve found peace in using Nativefier to create apps out of my most used sites.

Nativefier Turns Any Website Into Its Own Desktop App

It’s no secret that most major browsers already offer a way to install websites as apps. Chrome has long-featured the “download site as app” button with Safari recently introducing similar functionality.

These methods work fine for many people, but they have a key limitation: the apps are still all but handcuffed to the parent browser. If you close Safari or Chrome, your “app” closes, too. So, even though it may boast its own space on your Mac’s dock or Windows taskbar, it’s still essentially another browser tab.

Nativefier takes a different approach. It uses Electron to wrap web apps into fully independent desktop applications. That means they run separately from your browser, so quitting Chrome won’t kill your web-based to-do list, chat client, or Reddit (pictured above).

This can make certain web apps feel more like native software, giving them their own dock or taskbar icons, notification settings, and independent windows. For me, this has proved invaluable in keeping organized, especially when I’m mobile and have to make do with just my laptop display.

Things to Consider Before Going Wild With Nativefier

Of course, there are trade-offs. Nativefier is built on Electron. Electron apps can be more resource-intensive than a browser tab. This is because each Electron app spins up its own dedicated browser process (among other user/hardware-specific inner working). That’s mostly a concern for older or lower-powered machines—on mid-to-high-end systems, it’s usually not an issue.

You should expect to log in to each site you turn into a Nativefier App, but depending on your use cases, that can be a positive. For instance, it allows me to hold individual applications for my Twitch streamer account as well as any alt or bot accounts that I use for automations. If you work with multiple accounts or roles in your work or personal life, I highly recommend it!

Using Nativefier on Mac

Mac users can install Nativefier easily with Homebrew. If you don’t have Homebrew yet, you’ll need to install it first. Once Homebrew is installed, add Nativefier with:

        brew install nativefier

    

Now you’re ready to turn a website into an app. In Terminal, run:

        nativefier "https://example.com"

    

By default, this creates an app in your home directory, but you can also specify the target install directory, like so:

        nativefier -o ~/Applications "https://example.com"

    

Just replace “~/Applications” with a file path that best suits your organization and workflow. You can always just move it elsewhere later if need be without any trouble.

Launch the new app from Finder, Spotlight, or your Applications folder. If you need a site to behave a certain way, Nativefier has plenty of customization options—things like enabling notifications, tweaking user agents, or setting the app’s name.

Using Nativefier on PC

Windows users can install Nativefier via Node.js. First, install Node.js from the official site.

I opted for the installer, which entailed a lot of clicking through and confirming all the default install options. When Node is through installing, you can use Command Prompt to install Nativefier globally like so

        npm install -g nativefier

    

Creating an app is just as easy. In the terminal, run:

        nativefier "https://example.com"

    

In a matter of seconds, I’ve gained an app that acts discretely and takes me right to my Twitch Dashboard!

The resulting app appears in your user folder. You can specify a different destination if needed:

        nativefier -o "C:\Users\YourName\Desktop" "https://example.com"

    

From there, just double-click the app to run it like any other Windows program. If it doesn’t launch properly, you may need to install additional dependencies, but for most users, it should work out of the box.

Using Nativefier on Linux

Linux users will also need Node.js, which can be installed via their package manager, which can vary between distributions. On Debian-based systems like Ubuntu, run:

        sudo apt install nodejs npm

    

Then, install Nativefier:

        npm install -g nativefier

    

Now you can create apps with:

        nativefier "https://example.com"

    

As in the previous two sections, you can specify an output location:

        nativefier -o ~/Desktop "https://example.com"

    

Depending on your distro, you might need to adjust permissions before launching the app.

Nativefier is a powerful tool for turning websites into standalone apps, freeing them from your browser and making them feel more integrated into your desktop and definitely more visible. While browser-native solutions work fine for some, Nativefier’s independence makes it worth considering—especially if you need always-on access to a web app without worrying about browser crashes or tab clutter.

Just keep in mind that Electron’s overhead may be noticeable on lower-end systems, and that session handling can vary between sites. But if those trade-offs don’t bother you, Nativefier is easily at the top of the list of best tools for a better, more flowing desktop environment, for work and play alike.