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What is flipper?

facebook/flipper — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-06-24

★ 13,473TypeScriptAudience · developerComplexity · 3/5LicenseSetup · moderate

In one sentence

Flipper is Meta's open-source tool for debugging iOS and Android apps from your desktop browser, showing live network requests, screen layouts, and logs while your app runs on a device.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Mobile app debugger
      Live inspection
      Desktop browser UI
    Built-in Tools
      Network inspector
      Layout viewer
      Log viewer
    Platform Support
      iOS SDK
      Android SDK
      JavaScript SDK
      C++ SDK
    Tech Stack
      TypeScript
      React
      Node local server
    Audience
      Mobile developers
      App engineers
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Code map

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filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Inspect every network request your iOS or Android app makes in real time to debug API calls without adding logging code.

USE CASE 2

View the live visual layout tree of a running mobile app to diagnose why a UI element appears in the wrong position.

USE CASE 3

Write a custom Flipper plugin to expose your app's internal state to the desktop for faster debugging during development.

What is it built with?

TypeScriptJavaScriptC++React

How does it compare?

facebook/flipperunleash/unleashangular-ui/ui-router
Stars13,47313,47113,440
LanguageTypeScriptTypeScriptTypeScript
Setup difficultymoderatemoderatemoderate
Complexity3/53/53/5
Audiencedeveloperdeveloperdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 1h+

Requires adding platform SDKs to your iOS or Android project and running a local server process alongside the browser UI.

MIT license: use freely for any purpose, including commercial projects, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

So what is it?

Flipper is a debugging tool built by Meta (Facebook) that helps developers inspect and troubleshoot mobile apps while they are running. It connects your desktop to an iOS or Android app, then shows you what is happening inside: network requests going in and out, the visual layout of screens, log messages, and more. Think of it as a window into a running app's internals, displayed in a clean interface you can interact with. Originally it ran as a standalone desktop application. The project has recently shifted to running inside a regular web browser instead, though the functionality and interface remain the same. A small server process runs locally, and you open Flipper in your browser to use it. A macOS wrapper app is also provided for those who prefer something more app-like on their machine. Flipper is built as a platform rather than just a fixed set of tools. Developers can write their own plugins if the built-in tools do not cover what they need. The plugin system handles the communication between the desktop and the mobile device, so plugin authors focus on what to show rather than how to move data. The repository contains everything: the browser-based desktop interface, native SDKs for iOS and Android, a JavaScript SDK, a cross-platform C++ SDK, and a collection of pre-built plugins. React Native support was dropped after version 0.239.0 due to technical constraints, and Meta is building separate dedicated tooling for React Native going forward. The project is open source under the MIT license and is available on npm via the flipper-server package.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
I want to add Flipper to my Android app to debug network requests. Walk me through adding the Flipper SDK to my Gradle build and launching it in the browser.
Prompt 2
My Flipper server starts but my iOS app is not connecting to it. What are the common reasons for this and how do I fix them?
Prompt 3
I want to build a custom Flipper plugin that shows my app's internal cache contents. What are the minimum files I need and what does the plugin API look like?
Prompt 4
Flipper dropped React Native support after version 0.239. What should I use instead to debug a React Native app?

Frequently asked questions

What is flipper?

Flipper is Meta's open-source tool for debugging iOS and Android apps from your desktop browser, showing live network requests, screen layouts, and logs while your app runs on a device.

What language is flipper written in?

Mainly TypeScript. The stack also includes TypeScript, JavaScript, C++.

What license does flipper use?

MIT license: use freely for any purpose, including commercial projects, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

How hard is flipper to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 1h+ to a first successful run.

Who is flipper for?

Mainly developer.

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