Running Three.js/React-Three-Fiber Outside the Browser

Your question about running Three.js with React hooks outside the browser environment is interesting and touches on some fundamental architectural considerations.

Current Options for Desktop Three.js Applications

Based on the available context, there are several approaches to consider:

1. Electron (Browser-Based)

As you mentioned, Electron is the most straightforward option but comes with the overhead of bundling a full Chromium browser and Node.js runtime.

2. Alternative Renderers for Three.js

Three.js has several alternative renderers that could potentially be used outside a browser context:

• SVGRenderer: Renders to SVG format
• CSS2DRenderer/CSS3DRenderer: Renders using DOM elements
• Custom WebGL Context: Theoretically, you could use Three.js with a WebGL context provided by a non-browser environment

Challenges with a Browser-Free Approach

There are several challenges to consider:

1. WebGL Dependency: Three.js is fundamentally built around WebGL, which is typically provided by browsers. Any non-browser solution would need to provide a compatible WebGL context.

2. React Hooks Architecture: React hooks are deeply integrated with React's reconciliation process. Using hooks without React would require reimplementing significant portions of React's internal architecture.

3. React-Three-Fiber Dependencies: React-Three-Fiber is specifically designed to bridge React and Three.js within a browser context, making it challenging to use in a completely different environment.

Potential Approaches

1. Tauri: A lighter alternative to Electron that uses the system's WebView instead of bundling Chromium.

2. Custom WebGL Context with Node.js: You might explore using node-webgl or similar libraries to create a WebGL context in Node.js, then adapt Three.js to work with it.

3. React Reconciler with Custom Renderer: Theoretically, you could create a custom React reconciler that targets a non-DOM environment, similar to how React Native works.

Conclusion

Currently, there isn't a straightforward way to run Three.js/React-Three-Fiber directly on the GPU without some form of browser or WebGL context provider. The most practical approach for desktop applications remains Electron or similar frameworks that provide a browser environment.

If you're concerned about performance, you might consider optimizing your Three.js application within Electron or exploring lighter alternatives like Tauri that still provide the necessary WebGL context but with less overhead.

For a truly browser-free approach, you would likely need to build a custom solution that provides a WebGL context to Three.js and potentially reimplements parts of React's hook system, which would be a significant undertaking.