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# Project Fugu: Extending the web

You no longer need resource-intensive wrappers like Electron to build cross-platform applications. Project Fugu brings secure, native-level OS and hardware capabilities directly to the web platform.

- **Speakers:** Lucien Immink
- **Event:** WeAreDevelopers LIVE
- **Published:** December 1, 2023
- **Duration:** 58:12
- **URL:** https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/832-project-fugu-extending-the-web

## Summary

Building cross-platform applications traditionally requires resource-intensive frameworks like Electron, React Native, or Capacitor that bridge JavaScript to native code, often introducing massive application bloat. Project Fugu represents a collaborative initiative by tech ecosystem giants like Google, Microsoft, and Intel to render these workarounds obsolete by bringing native-like capabilities directly to the web platform. By enabling Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) to securely access the underlying operating system natively, developers can write code once and run it on any browser-equipped device without forcing users to tolerate heavy install sizes.

Fugu acts as a seamless abstraction layer between the browser engine and native APIs, strictly enforcing the web’s core tenants: trust, privacy, and security. Instead of blind background access, it mandates HTTPS connections and contextual user approvals. Developers can utilize low-level functionality like Web USB, Web Bluetooth, and the File System Access API—which notably powers the web version of Photoshop by manipulating files locally without relying on cloud server uploads. Additional capabilities like the Async Clipboard API, Web OTP for seamless SMS code extraction, and programmatic application badging finally equip web applications with exact parity to their native counterparts.

Adopting these bleeding-edge capabilities in enterprise environments often faces friction due to fragmented browser support, heavily impacted by Apple's reluctance tied to App Store revenue models. However, the standard heavily encourages developers to progressively enhance applications where supported. A crucial design pattern to maintain user trust is to "ask when you need to do it," requesting sensitive hardware or clipboard permissions only when contextually relevant to prevent notification fatigue. Ultimately, the initiative's open-source standardization process empowers developers to actively shape the future of capabilities, advocating for an open, un-siloed, and highly capable web ecosystem.

**Keywords:** project fugu, cross-platform web development, progressive web apps, electron alternatives, native web apis, web usb api, web bluetooth integration, async clipboard api, file system access api, web otp authentication, browser privacy permissions, pwa capabilities, application badging, javascript native bridging, app store payment support

## Chapters

1. **Exploring web capabilities for comprehensive cross-platform applications** (00:02) — How modern web tooling approaches universal application usage beyond legacy cross-platform limitations.
1. **Bundle sizes and version conflicts in modern frameworks** (04:07) — Why frameworks like Electron and Tauri face significant trade-offs with binary size and web view versions.
1. **Core capabilities of progressive web applications** (09:58) — How removing plugins like Flash led to offline support and asynchronous background notifications directly in the browser.
1. **Project Fugu and the core tenants of the web** (16:11) — Why advanced browser APIs must strictly adhere to trust, privacy, and secure connection policies.
1. **Bridging native capabilities via native browser implementations** (19:21) — How browser vendors abstract OS functionalities so developers only need standard web APIs.
1. **How new API proposals advance into browser specifications** (21:14) — The lifecycle of turning developer feature requests into formal specifications governed by core internet security rules.
1. **Connecting external hardware with web USB and Bluetooth** (24:06) — Reading and interacting with low-level byte streams from hardware devices using navigator promises.
1. **Asynchronous clipboards alongside OTP and local fonts** (28:02) — Using non-blocking APIs to securely handle clipboard data, one-time passwords, and application badging.
1. **Interacting directly with local file systems and contacts** (34:30) — Opening and modifying files directly in memory without traditional server upload mechanisms.
1. **Upcoming Fugu capabilities and hardware integrations** (36:35) — Exploring ongoing proposals for features like ambient light awareness, transparent borderless modes, and native app store payments.
1. **Checking Fugu API compatibility across browsers** (40:00) — Where to track feature support and evaluate whether upcoming Fugu technologies run safely in target browsers.
1. **Developer adoption constraints and user privacy challenges** (42:23) — Balancing the excitement of new web APIs with the realities of inconsistent browser support and privacy fatigue.

## Related Moments

- [Bridging web and native apps with Project Fugu](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1575-possibilities-with-web-capabilities) (from "Possibilities with Web Capabilities")
- [Expanding browser capabilities through Project Fugu and hardware APIs](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1299-new-browser-apis-end-of-react-create-app-smuggling-data-in-emoji-and-more-with-rowdy-rabouw) (from "New Browser APIs, End of React Create App, Smuggling Data in Emoji and more with Rowdy Rabouw")
- [Closing the web capability gap with Project Fugu](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/290-project-fugu-progressive-web-apps-superpowered) (from " Project Fugu: Progressive Web Apps, Superpowered")
- [Bridging native capability gaps using the Project Fugu APIs](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/438-making-of-paint-js-org-a-web-component-based-productivity-pwa) (from "Making of paint.js.org—a Web Component-based Productivity PWA")
- [Expanding browser capabilities with modern web APIs](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/289-pwas-in-2021) (from "PWAs in 2021")
- [Bridging the gap between native and web apps](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/289-pwas-in-2021) (from "PWAs in 2021")

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