uni-app is a cross-platform framework that lets developers build applications with Vue syntax and deploy them to multiple targets: iOS, Android, web (H5), and a range of mini-program ecosystems. It abstracts platform differences through a unified component and API layer, so most business logic and UI code can be shared across outputs. The tooling includes a CLI, IDE support, and a plugin market that provides native integrations, UI kits, and deployment helpers. Developers can choose between rendering engines and build modes to optimize for performance or compatibility per platform. The framework emphasizes rapid development with live preview, strong documentation, and scaffolds for common app patterns. In practice, uni-app is used to ship multi-surface apps quickly in markets where super-app mini-programs and mobile apps must coexist.
Features
- “Write once, compile anywhere” support for iOS, Android, web, mini-programs (WeChat, Alipay, Baidu, etc.), HarmonyOS, Quick Apps, and more
- Component and API system built on Vue.js with extensions like uni-ui for high-performance UI components
- Support for server-side rendering (SSR) using Vue 3 + uniCloud
- Development via CLI (Vue-CLI) or visual editor (HBuilderX), with offline packaging for app deployment
- Extensive ecosystem with APIs, plugins, internationalization, cloud services like unipay for unified payments
- Broad adoption (millions of developers), plugin marketplace, active community support