The functionalities of porous materials could be significantly enhanced if the materials themselves were in single-crystal form, which, owing to structural coherence, would reduce electronic and optical scattering effects. However, growing macroporous single crystals remains a fundamental challenge, let alone manufacturing crystals large enough to be of practical use. Here we demonstrate a straightforward, inexpensive, versatile method for creating macroporous gallium nitride single crystals on a centimetre scale. The synthetic strategy is built upon a disruptive crystal growth mechanism that utilises direct nitridation of a parent LiGaO2 single crystal rendering an inward epitaxial growth process. Strikingly, the resulting single crystals exhibit electron mobility comparable to that for bulk crystals grown by the conventional sodium flux method. This approach not only affords control of both crystal and pore size through synthetic modification, but proves generic, thus opening up the possibility of designing macroporous crystals in a wealth of other materials.