Feature Request: Native Home Screen App Shortcuts

[jb363]

Use case

The goal is to implement native home screen shortcuts (iOS Quick Actions and Android App Shortcuts) that allow users to long-press the app icon and jump directly into specific deep links or routes within the wrapped web application. This drastically reduces friction for high-intent actions and provides a premium, native-feeling user experience.

Here is the detailed breakdown of the proposed technical implementation, data structure, and routing bridge needed for the BuildNatively platform.

Idea

Core Functionality
BuildNatively developers need the ability to define a list of quick actions via a simple configuration file or UI dashboard. The BuildNatively compiler should then translate this configuration into the respective native OS requirements and handle the routing when the app is launched via a shortcut.

The Platform Translation
The BuildNatively engine will map the developer's configuration to the following native APIs:

iOS: Generates static UIApplicationShortcutItem entries in the Info.plist.

Android: Generates <shortcut> tags in the shortcuts.xml file and registers them via the ShortcutManager.

Proposed Configuration Structure
Developers should be able to pass a JSON array during the build process. Below is an example configuration using actions like planning a trip or creating a shopping list to demonstrate the routing intent:

JSON
{
  "appShortcuts": [
    {
      "id": "new_shopping_list",
      "title": "New Shopping List",
      "subtitle": "Create a new list",
      "icon": "icon_list", 
      "route": "/lists/new"
    },
    {
      "id": "plan_travel",
      "title": "Plan Travel",
      "icon": "icon_plane",
      "route": "/travel/plan"
    },
    {
      "id": "new_diy_project",
      "title": "Start DIY Project",
      "icon": "icon_hammer",
      "route": "/projects/new"
    }
  ]
}
The Web-To-Native Bridge (Routing)
The most critical component is how the native shell communicates the user's selection to the embedded web view.

Launch Interception: When the app is launched or resumed via a shortcut tap, the native shell identifies the specific id or route tied to that action.

Navigation Execution: The native wrapper forces the internal WebView to navigate to the specified route (e.g., https://app.domain.com/travel/plan).

Alternative JS Injection: Alternatively, if the app is a Single Page Application (SPA) that does not rely on traditional URL routing, BuildNatively could expose a JavaScript window event (e.g., window.BuildNatively.onShortcutTapped(payload)). The web app can listen for this event and handle the internal state change accordingly.

Requirements For The Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
Support for 3-4 static shortcuts per app.

Ability to define a Title and a URL Route for each shortcut.

Support for basic system icons (e.g., "plus", "search", "compose") mapped to both Apple SF Symbols and Android Material Icons.

Reliable deep linking into the web view when the app is cold-started (fully closed) or warm-started (running in the background).