I am curious if expo development build supports web also ?

I am new to expo environment and I don’t have much info about what the expo go builds and development builds. I want to build a project in which all the three platforms are supported and i also can install any 3rd party package outside of expo sdk, also i want to get hands on native modules as well

Long story short, my client and I used both used the word "app" very differently. He thought I was building a web app, I thought he wanted me to make a mobile app. Now I have a fully built React Native Expo app and he wants a website. Around how much time will it take to convert this to a fully-functional website? From what I could find on the Internet, most of the logic can remain the same and only my visual designs (which are fairly simplistic) have to change. If that's true, how do I go about it? Any help is extremely appreciated as I'm 16 and potentially in some deep shit.

Hi, I'm having a hard time getting a clear answer to this in the expo docs.

I've migrated an expo project that used to use React Navigation into one that uses expo router. I used the quickstart to scaffold out the basic expo-router application.

npx create-expo-app -t with-router

Then I migrated over the old project, replacing the router.tsx file with the new app directory.

The problem I'm having is that when I run the command:

npx expo export:web

I get the error:

CommandError: expo export:web can only be used with Webpack. Use expo export for other bundlers.

So then I tried running just `npx expo export`, and it didn't work either.

Has anyone here figured this out yet?

Edit: I Figured it out.

npx expo export --platform web

I'm trying to follow what I thought would be a straightforward local workflow:

1. Start the Expo dev server with expo start

2. Develop the app on the iOS simulator

3. Once ready, open the Xcode project, build, and run it on the simulator

Unfortunately, step 3 fails because the app expects the Expo dev server (Metro) to be running to fetch the JS bundle. This seems like a hard requirement.

I suppose you could manually tweak the Xcode project to load the bundle as a local resource, but that feels counterintuitive and messy.

Also, eas build --local still requires both Expo build tools and an Apple developer account, so it's not a pure local solution either.

Am I missing something obvious here, or is this just how it works with Expo right now? Any tips or clarification would be appreciated — thanks!

EDIT:

When I say step 3 fails, I meant that is running the expo dashboard which requires the dev server to run. I just want to run it without the server i.e. as the production build.

I'm developing a React Native app using Expo (managed workflow) targeting both Android and iOS. However, I'm not allowed to use EAS Build because it requires pushing code to their cloud.

I know that eas build --local exists and have read the Expo local builds documentation, but it doesn’t clearly explain how to:

• Run builds in an automated CI/CD pipeline

• Integrate the build process into a CI/CD pipeline

• Support multiple environments like dev, tst, etc.

• Distribute the latest builds to QA engineers and other team members (e.g., via a download link or installable builds)

• Do this all without ejecting to the bare workflow, if possible

Is there a way to replicate what EAS Build does, but without actually using EAS? If so, what tools or setup do you recommend? Has anyone had success setting this up with Expo while staying in the managed workflow?

Long story short, my client and I used both used the word "app" very differently. He thought I was building a web app, I thought he wanted me to make a mobile app. Now I have a fully built React Native Expo app and he wants a website. Around how much time will it take to convert this to a fully-functional website? From what I could find on the Internet, most of the logic can remain the same and only my visual designs (which are fairly simplistic) have to change. If that's true, how do I go about it? Any help is extremely appreciated as I'm 16 and potentially in some deep shit.

One of my clients is looking for a cross platform app and I suggested react native but later on I got to know that he expected web platform as well in the same codebase.

I researched a bit on expo and it seems it has an option to build app on web as well. Just curious how mature it is and should I move forward with it given major component I’m going to use is google maps.

I’ve been building a journaling tool where people can write with history’s greatest thinkers to become wiser and calmer every day. After a bunch of users asked for a mobile version, I chose React Native + Expo.

No regrets — but it wasn’t all roses. Here’s what went well, and what to watch out for:

✅ What worked well

• Expo + Windsurf + Monorepo = cheat code Sharing a codebase between web and mobile is so powerful. With AI code editors now, I can ask it to align endpoints or sync logic across platforms in seconds.

• Over-the-air (OTA) updates feel like web dev This is a game changer. Push updates without going through the app store — totally worth using Expo just for this.

⚠️ What to watch out for

• OAuth (Apple + Google login) is nuanced. Expect some setup pain. With Expo, there are lots of config variables (builds, environment, physical devices). It takes trial and error to get it stable.

• Build confusion is real Understanding app.json, eas.json, dev builds vs simulator builds, and how they impact your workflow takes some learning. As a beginner, I spent ~$96 for the first few builds before figuring out how to stay within the free tier.

• App review times can vary a lot Apple took ~2 weeks. Google took almost a month! If you're on a timeline, definitely account for that.

• iOS vs Android still behave differently Layout, spacing, interactions — they don’t always match. Always double check both platforms before you ship.

At last, give Life Note a try! I've built this for myself and as an entrepreneur I've been journaling with Steve Jobs and it helps a lot with my journey. Love to hear your feedback!

Web: https://www.mylifenote.ai/

Apple: https://apps.apple.com/tw/app/life-note-journal-with-greats/id6740916037?l=en-GB

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lifenote.app

Expo's Development Build Pricing Is Mind-Blowing, and the Free Plan Is a Huge Disappointment

The Free Tier Queue for Development Builds is Just Too Slow

Expo's pricing for development builds is mind-blowing, and the free plan makes you wait hours in the Free Tier Queue before you can even start building. I'm so disappointed; this should be reserved for production builds only.

Prebuild-Development for Easy Development Is a Paid Service

They promote using prebuild-development for easier development, but of course, that’s a paid service.

Tips to Avoid the Long Waits

Make sure to add all the possible native dependencies your app might need well before adding a feature, so you don’t have to wait hours to simply test a new, simple feature every time.

Also, don’t forget to ensure that all the necessary permissions are already in the JSON, so you won’t have to wait hours just to add a basic permission to the development build.

At Least They Provide Great Documentation and Support

On the bright side, Expo offers great documentation and excellent support. The EAS CLI is also very user-friendly, which makes the development process smoother, despite the long waits for development builds.

My mobile and web app has identical functionalities and UI. There is obvious that some SDK will not be available for desktop.

I got three options

1. Android and IOS with react native and expo

2. Next.js or any web framework for web apps or

3. RN Expo for both web and mobile

#1 and #2 what I always preferred but I have to duplicate or redo same things twice.

How was your experience to build both mobile and web apps with single code base with Expo?
Would you mind sharing your experiences?

I had some React (web) experience, and jumped directly into building the app with Expo React Native with Cursor. In two months, I managed to build in my free time an app with authentication (Supabase), notifications (Expo Notifications), subscriptions (RevenueCat), and connection to APIs (built with NodeJS on my server).

It is called Trend To Grow, and it focuses on giving content ideas to influencers, marketing teams, and content creators.

If you already know how to code, building React Native apps with Cursor is super straightforward. However, I feel you still need coding knowledge to be able to create a production-ready app. The biggest pain for me was handling the RevenueCat integration, and testing the local notifications.

Other parts like building the UI and Sign In With Apple were way easier to build than I anticipated.

Let me know if you have any questions! 😊

You can check it out here: https://apps.apple.com/es/app/trend-to-grow-ai-post-ideas/id6741577892?l=en-GB

I’m building a basic booking app with Expo targeting both Android and iOS. How far does the 30 builds/month free tier usually get you? Do dev builds count toward the limit, and any tips to conserve builds? I am actually noob when it comes to app dev coming from web.

TLDR; Drop Expo Go, Creat full build with expo-dev-client

If you are building a new app with Expo, the first step after initial setup should be to to create a dev client build. You can search the EAS docs for how to do that but it is a single command. I see many posts stating “x isn’t working with Expo Go”. With the modern Expo / EAS cli you shouldn’t really even need Expo Go at all if you if you are doing anything more than prototyping. Use the EAS cli to create a full build of your application with expo-dev-client which gives you all of the benefits of Expo Go (hot reload) with no downsides (package constraints etc…) for a “pro tip” use the —local option to build the application locally without needing to wait for the expo servers.

Sorry for the question, I am a beginner, but how am I supposed to? I want to load fonts and *boom* wait 50min for build. Building an Expo app without premium is frustrating...

I've spent the last 2 days trying to get my Expo React Native project to publish correctly on web hosting platforms like Netlify, Vercel, Railway and Render. After a lot of trial and error, here’s what I found:

1- Publish Directory should be set to dist. Using web-build as the publish directory no longer works, as Expo doesn't output to that folder anymore.

2- Build Command should be npx expo export --platform web. Don't use npx expo export:web or expo build:web, as they’re no longer valid for the latest Expo versions.

The frustrating part is that there’s almost no documentation online mentioning these changes, and even when an error occurs during the build, the terminal suggests the outdated commands (npx expo export:web and web-build) – which are incorrect!

I hope this saves someone else from spending days trying to get this to work. If anyone has insights on why this change hasn’t been documented or if there’s something I missed, please share!

So we’re building an expo app (compatible with IOS/Android). It has chat and a media player with complex features. Some of the libraries used doesn’t work on web, as well as the library used for the cache. We want to have a working web version obviously. It has a different design in few pages, also we need to replace some libraries. So we’re debating whether to do the web in a different codebase using react, or continue using expo web. A different codebase will be cleaner and more optimised but means double the effort for maintaining.

Expo's Development Build Pricing Is Mind-Blowing, and the Free Plan Is a Huge Disappointment

The Free Tier Queue for Development Builds is Just Too Slow

Expo's pricing for development builds is mind-blowing, and the free plan makes you wait hours in the Free Tier Queue before you can even start building. I'm so disappointed; this should be reserved for production builds only.

Prebuild-Development for Easy Development Is a Paid Service

They promote using prebuild-development for easier development, but of course, that’s a paid service.

Tips to Avoid the Long Waits

Make sure to add all the possible native dependencies your app might need well before adding a feature, so you don’t have to wait hours to simply test a new, simple feature every time.

Also, don’t forget to ensure that all the necessary permissions are already in the JSON, so you won’t have to wait hours just to add a basic permission to the development build.

At Least They Provide Great Documentation and Support

On the bright side, Expo offers great documentation and excellent support. The EAS CLI is also very user-friendly, which makes the development process smoother, despite the long waits for development builds.