I am using React Native. What is the purpose of the Expo? What does Expo do that we can't do at RN?

New to react native, and was curious. Is everyone just using Expo to use react native?

Curious about Expo and how it can level up your React Native development? A colleague of mine recently wrote an article about what it is, its benefits, and how to get started. He compares Expo CLI with React Native CLI, and describes how to build a React Native Expo app. If you're interested to read it, here's the link :)

Currently in the middle of planning out a basic calendar app for my workplace where you can view upcoming events and see what's going on in the museum. I have my development environment up and running on my Intel Macbook Pro but I'm struggling to decide if I should use Expo or a bare React Native project.

What would you use in 2024 and why?

I have created an application with expo before but i faced lots of trouble because some libs dont support expo

I wrote a pretty comprehensive blog post on the topic not so long ago: https://scriptide.tech/blog/should-you-use-expo-for-react-native. I came to the unequivocal conclusion; yes.

Happy to receive any feedback you guys might have, curious about your experiences.

I was helping out a facebook friend with his project and ended up trying Expo for the first time. Man, Expo is ridiculously easy to work with! After spending the past eight months on React Native CLI, constantly dealing with configurations, dependency handling errors, and all that headache, switching to Expo felt like a game-changer. No more stressing over linking dependencies or breaking builds—it just works! With EAS (Expo Application Services), I realized I can even use third-party libraries that don’t have built-in Expo support by making a custom build using EAS Development Clients.

At first, I thought Expo had major limitations, like not supporting certain libraries or having strict build restrictions. But I found out that if a third-party library doesn’t work with Expo Go, I can still use it by creating a custom development client with EAS. I can test and debug locally using expo run:android or expo run:ios, and when it’s ready, I can build it with EAS Hosting. The free EAS tier does have some build limits, but I can still build locally when needed.Did I get this right? Are there any downsides to using Expo long-term compared to React Native CLI?

Hi everyone! Im going start an application for a client, i always made all my applications in React Native, but lately expo is catching my attention. What points make you choose between expo or React Native? Does expo really make work much easier?

I'm about to start a new job and I'll be using React Native to develop mobile apps. Are companies actually using Expo for developing React Native apps? Like has it become a standard? Are there other ways like better alternatives to Expo? I've heard of React Native CLI, is it much better and standardized in the industry?

I have been working in RN for about a good 3 years now, had to switch to Expo for a project, and was blown away by how convenient it was. Especially the Push Notifications that are now introduced and making a production build via EAS.

I came back to RN as I was done with that project and now I absolutely hate it, I hate the fact that I have to separately install pods and manage so many bloody certificates even during development. I also hate the release-building process that takes more time than Dinosaurs roamed the earth. I also hate the fact that Android build develops introduce library compatibility issues.

Xcode is overall sluggish compared to running the app by the expo and you have to sometimes make changes if you're using ARM-based system or X86-based system.

Am I the only one who feels this way?

Last week I released my first app Waveous to the app store (working on finishing Android) for Spotify users to see their entire lifetime streaming stats, see what music your friends are liking and commenting on, and notifications to not miss new releases from your favourite artists.

I spent the last 6-7 months developing this part time and I cannot say enough good things about the developer experience React Native and Expo provided. Coming from using React for web development, I'm so glad I went with React Native over other alternatives. I don't have a Mac so Expo EAS was a saviour and the rest of the Expo suite is some of the most intuitive and well documented developer tools I've used in ages.

For those who have released apps and successfully got traction, any tips around getting users?

FYI, expo supports every library in 2024 with managed workflow + config plugins. I am tired of the constant misconception about this online.

There is no library that works with vanilla react native that doesn't work with expo. It may not work with expo go because expo go doesn't include the libraries native code, but it works with expo.

If you ever find your self wondering "does it work with expo", just remember this: yes it works with expo, stop being a react native noob

I’ve been using React Native for a few years, and I noticed a shift — more official tooling, tutorials, and updates seem to center around Expo (especially with create-expo and EAS).

Is this a conscious direction from the React Native core team? Is the classic CLI approach going away in the future?

Just curious if long-term we’ll all be expected to use Expo for even "bare workflow" apps.

Would love to hear others’ thoughts — especially from devs working on large-scale projects.

Hello everyone,

Back in the day (maybe 2 years ago) I used build react native apps without using expo. However, after a couple of weeks of practice I noticed that expo became quite used in most tutorials and courses. I haven't found any recent post about it and I would like to ask, what are the advantages of using it or not?

Hi, I'm reading the official docs to rebuild the app on React Native after a few months.

It used to be recommended to use expo only when building relatively lightweight projects, but in the official documentation for version 0.74, the setting for CLI builds is gone and only expo is listed.

Even if I searched, I couldn't find anything about clearly, why do you officially recommend expo, so I'm asking this question.

Certainly, is there a trend to recommend building with expo over CLI now?

My new app will require users to verify their identity (by sending a text message). Also, the app will not be lightweight by any means. Do you still recommend starting with expo?

I'm curious to hear your thoughts.