Overview

Buoy's web build is the React Native one. Every package ships a /web entry that uses the same tool panels, stores, filters, actions, snapshots and sync protocol, with React Native Web drawing the UI. A small set of browser modules replaces what differs: storage, routing, DOM inspection, the clipboard, images and performance timing. A fix to a shared tool reaches both platforms.

Web support is in beta. Browser builds first shipped in 7.0.41.

Three ways to reach your running web app:

• In the page — the same floating menu and dial as on a phone.
• On your desktop — Buoy Desktop lists the browser tab in the device switcher next to your phones.
• Through your AI — the MCP server lets Claude Code, Cursor or another MCP client read and drive the tab (Pro).

What you need

• React and React DOM, plus react-native-web 0.21. You don't need React Native or Expo.
• The state libraries your tools inspect, such as Zustand, Jotai, Redux or TanStack Query.
• A Free or Pro Buoy account key.

What works in the browser

The tools in the web sidebar all have browser builds. Their docs are shared with React Native, and each page has a note on what changes on the web. The largest differences:

Tool	In the browser
Network	The page's fetch and XHR calls from the moment the early hook loads, including overrides and network conditions.
Storage	localStorage and sessionStorage.
Routes	History API and hash navigation, plus any router you connect.
Perf Monitor	Frame rate, JS heap where available, long tasks.
Highlight Updates	React renders, through an import that loads before React DOM.

Installation has the setup for every tool.

Known limits

• Only the current page is captured. Workers, other frames, WebSockets and browser-internal traffic need separate collectors.
• CORS still applies. Buoy can only read the headers and bodies the page itself can read, and cross-origin timings may need Timing-Allow-Origin.
• Browser APIs differ from native ones. IndexedDB, cookies and secure storage don't show up in Storage, and CPU, memory and thermal readings have no browser equivalent.
• Not every tool has a browser build. Simulator Camera works with the iOS Simulator only, and TV Remote and Focus Inspector only observe keyboard and DOM focus events in a browser.
• Development builds by default. Release connections need a Pro license and an explicit opt-in, the same as on native.

Next: Quick Start. For Next.js, React Router or TanStack Start, see Frameworks for where each piece goes.