A new library, React Native Godot, enables developers to embed the open-source Godot Engine for 3D graphics within a React Native application.
Enterprise development teams often have to balance the cross-platform efficiency of frameworks like React Native against rising user demands for the rich and interactive graphics. Standard business apps are fine for data entry and workflows, but they fall flat when faced with complex 3D visualisations, physics simulations, or gamified training modules.
Developed by Migeran, in collaboration with Born, React Native Godot blends standard native UIs with high-performance 2D and 3D content.
The library is already a stable implementation, reportedly “serving millions of users in Born’s applications”. This production use provides a strong case for enterprises weighing the cost of maintaining two separate codebases; one for the business app and one for the graphics engine.
Development teams can continue using React Native for the bulk of their application – managing user authentication, API calls, and navigation – while handing off graphically-intensive tasks to an embedded Godot instance using the React Native Godot library.
In a field service application, for example, a technician could use a standard React Native interface to view a work order, then tap a component that loads an interactive 3D model of a machine rendered by Godot. This embedded view could allow for model rotation, part isolation, and animated repair instructions, offering a far richer experience than static images.
The same logic applies to retail apps needing a “virtual try-on” feature or internal corporate apps, where gamified compliance training could run inside the main employee portal. The library supports this flexibility by allowing the Godot instance to be started, stopped, and even restarted with a new configuration. The app isn’t locked to one scene; it can dynamically “load different Godot app” files as needed.
Integrating the tool requires a specific architectural approach, primarily concerning threading.
A key performance feature is Godot’s dedicated thread, a major benefit as it “does not affect the main thread of the application nor the React Native JavaScript thread”. This design prevents complex 3D rendering from blocking UI updates or causing sluggishness in the main application.
This separation, however, adds a communication hurdle. To interact with the Godot engine from JavaScript, developers must use the react-native-worklets-core library. JavaScript functions intended to run on the Godot thread must be explicitly designated with a ‘worklet’ directive. React Native Godot provides a runOnGodotThread() helper to execute these functions in the correct context.
The documentation is clear that attempting to call the Godot API directly from the main React Native JS thread is “generally not recommended”. Such calls would be seen by Godot as coming from a background thread, limiting access to core functions like the Scene Tree.
With that model in place, the integration is extensive. The entire Godot API is accessible from TypeScript and JavaScript. This allows developers to instantiate Godot objects, call methods, and manage properties directly from their React Native code. The access goes deeper, allowing JS functions to be attached to Godot signals or passed into Godot as Callables.
Installation also isn’t a standard npm package. While the bindings are added via Yarn, the core LibGodot engine binaries are “not distributed on npm”. Developers must run a separate yarn download-prebuilt command to fetch them. This two-part process is intentional; it allows teams to update the React Native library and the Godot engine independently, or even swap in their own custom-built versions of LibGodot.
React Native Godot is a viable tool for merging application functions. It bridges the divide between conventional business logic apps and high-performance graphics, helping to avoid the cost and complexity of building and maintaining two separate applications.
Development teams reviewing their mobile roadmaps can now identify opportunities where static content could be replaced with interactive visualisations. The library offers a practical path for adding 3D product viewers, training simulations, or advanced data visualisations into an existing React Native codebase.
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