Skip to main content

Platform Check

The checkPlatform node helps you customize your app's behavior based on the platform it's currently running on.

Why it’s useful​

You can build your app once and deploy it across all platforms—Web, Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, Linux, and Desktop. But sometimes, you want your app to behave differently depending on where it’s running. For example:

  • On Web, open a browser-specific dialog
  • On Android, access native storage
  • On Desktop, use keyboard shortcuts

That’s exactly what checkPlatform helps you do.

Sure! Here's the polished version with your addition included at the end of the How to use the node section:

How to use the node​

  1. Open the Circuit in your project.
  2. From the nodes menu, go to Globals.
  3. Choose the checkPlatform node.
  4. It will drop with isWeb selected by default.
  5. Click on it to select a different platform check from the list.

Each option is a boolean (either true or false) depending on the current platform.

Use it inside an if statement to run specific logic only for a certain platform.

In the video below, we show how to add checkPlatform inside an if statement, and then use a custom expression to check if the platform is both Web and Android at the same time.
This is a great example of combining platform checks—more on that in the next section.

Available platform checks​

When you use checkPlatform, you can choose from the following booleans:

isAndroid   // true if the app is running on Android
isDesktop   // true if on any desktop platform
isIOS       // true if the app is on iOS
isLinux     // true if running on Linux
isMacOS     // true if on macOS
isWeb       // true if it's a Web app
isWindows   // true if on Windows

Combining platform checks​

Sometimes, you want to check for more than one platform. You can combine conditions using logical operators like and (&&) or or (||).

There are two ways to do this:

1. Using Custom Expression​

  • Click on the condition field of an if node.
  • Then choose Custom Expression.
  • Write your expression directly, e.g.: 
    NPlatform.isWeb && NPlatform.isAndroid
    This returns true only if the app is both Web and Android (which rarely happens, but it's just an example!).

2. Using Expression Builder​

  • Click on the condition field of an if node.
  • Choose Expression Builder.
  • From the menu, go to Operators, then select logicalAnd, logicalOr, or others.
  • Set the left side and right side values:
    • For each side, choose the checkPlatform node.
    • Click on the default isWeb and change it to the desired platform check.
View the resulted expression

After using Expression Builder, you can click the same field again and switch to Custom Expression. This shows the resulting code, and you can even edit it manually for more advanced use.

With checkPlatform, your app can respond intelligently to the device it's on—making it feel native and tailored on every platform.