Expo Framework Rule Skill

Expo SDK Features and APIs

Core Expo Modules

FileSystem:

import * as FileSystem from 'expo-file-system';

// Read file
const content = await FileSystem.readAsStringAsync(FileSystem.documentDirectory + 'file.txt');

// Download file
const download = await FileSystem.downloadAsync(
  'https://example.com/file.pdf',
  FileSystem.documentDirectory + 'file.pdf'
);

Camera:

import { CameraView, useCameraPermissions } from 'expo-camera';

function CameraScreen() {
  const [permission, requestPermission] = useCameraPermissions();

  if (!permission?.granted) {
    return <Button onPress={requestPermission} title="Grant Permission" />;
  }

  return (
    <CameraView
      style={styles.camera}
      onBarcodeScanned={({ data }) => console.log(data)}
    />
  );
}

Location:

import * as Location from 'expo-location';

const getLocation = async () => {
  const { status } = await Location.requestForegroundPermissionsAsync();

  if (status !== 'granted') {
    return;
  }

  const location = await Location.getCurrentPositionAsync({
    accuracy: Location.Accuracy.High,
  });

  return location.coords;
};

Notifications:

import * as Notifications from 'expo-notifications';

// Configure notification handler
Notifications.setNotificationHandler({
  handleNotification: async () => ({
    shouldShowAlert: true,
    shouldPlaySound: true,
    shouldSetBadge: true,
  }),
});

// Schedule notification
await Notifications.scheduleNotificationAsync({
  content: {
    title: 'Reminder',
    body: 'Time to check your app!',
  },
  trigger: { seconds: 60 },
});

Asset Management

import { Image } from 'expo-image';
import { Asset } from 'expo-asset';

// Preload assets
await Asset.loadAsync([
  require('./assets/logo.png'),
  require('./assets/background.jpg'),
]);

// Optimized image component
<Image
  source={require('./assets/photo.jpg')}
  contentFit="cover"
  transition={200}
  style={styles.image}
/>

SQLite Database

import * as SQLite from 'expo-sqlite';

const db = await SQLite.openDatabaseAsync('mydb.db');

// Create table
await db.execAsync(`
  CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS users (
    id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,
    name TEXT NOT NULL,
    email TEXT UNIQUE
  );
`);

// Insert data
await db.runAsync('INSERT INTO users (name, email) VALUES (?, ?)', 'John', 'john@example.com');

// Query data
const users = await db.getAllAsync('SELECT * FROM users');

EAS Build and Submit

eas.json Configuration

{
  "cli": {
    "version": ">= 5.0.0"
  },
  "build": {
    "development": {
      "developmentClient": true,
      "distribution": "internal",
      "channel": "development",
      "ios": {
        "simulator": true
      }
    },
    "preview": {
      "distribution": "internal",
      "channel": "preview",
      "android": {
        "buildType": "apk"
      }
    },
    "production": {
      "channel": "production",
      "autoIncrement": true,
      "env": {
        "API_URL": "https://api.production.com"
      }
    }
  },
  "submit": {
    "production": {
      "ios": {
        "ascAppId": "1234567890",
        "appleId": "user@example.com"
      },
      "android": {
        "serviceAccountKeyPath": "./google-service-account.json",
        "track": "production"
      }
    }
  }
}

Build Commands

# Development build
eas build --profile development --platform ios

# Preview build (internal testing)
eas build --profile preview --platform android

# Production build
eas build --profile production --platform all

# Build and auto-submit
eas build --profile production --auto-submit

Build Environment Variables

{
  "build": {
    "production": {
      "env": {
        "API_URL": "https://api.prod.com",
        "SENTRY_DSN": "https://..."
      }
    }
  }
}

Access in app:

const apiUrl = process.env.EXPO_PUBLIC_API_URL;

Over-the-Air (OTA) Updates

EAS Update Configuration

{
  "expo": {
    "runtimeVersion": {
      "policy": "appVersion"
    },
    "updates": {
      "url": "https://u.expo.dev/[project-id]"
    }
  }
}

Publishing Updates

# Publish to production channel
eas update --channel production --message "Fix login bug"

# Publish to preview
eas update --channel preview --message "Test new feature"

# View update history
eas update:list --channel production

Update Channels Strategy

// Different channels for different environments
production -> main branch
staging -> develop branch
preview -> feature branches

Checking for Updates in App

import * as Updates from 'expo-updates';

async function checkForUpdates() {
  if (!__DEV__) {
    const update = await Updates.checkForUpdateAsync();

    if (update.isAvailable) {
      await Updates.fetchUpdateAsync();
      await Updates.reloadAsync();
    }
  }
}

// Check on app focus
useEffect(() => {
  const subscription = AppState.addEventListener('change', state => {
    if (state === 'active') {
      checkForUpdates();
    }
  });

  return () => subscription.remove();
}, []);

Runtime Version Management

{
  "expo": {
    "runtimeVersion": "1.0.0"
  }
}

Only compatible OTA updates will be delivered to builds with matching runtime versions.

Native Module Integration

Custom Native Modules with Expo Modules API

// ios/MyModule.swift
import ExpoModulesCore

public class MyModule: Module {
  public func definition() -> ModuleDefinition {
    Name("MyModule")

    Function("hello") { (name: String) -> String in
      return "Hello \(name)!"
    }

    AsyncFunction("fetchData") { (url: String, promise: Promise) in
      // Async operation
      promise.resolve(["data": "value"])
    }
  }
}

// Usage in JavaScript
import { NativeModules } from 'react-native';

const { MyModule } = NativeModules;
const greeting = MyModule.hello('World');

Config Plugins

Create custom config plugin for native configuration:

// app-plugin.js
const { withAndroidManifest } = require('@expo/config-plugins');

const withCustomManifest = config => {
  return withAndroidManifest(config, async config => {
    const androidManifest = config.modResults;

    // Modify manifest
    androidManifest.manifest.application[0].$['android:usesCleartextTraffic'] = 'true';

    return config;
  });
};

module.exports = withCustomManifest;

Apply in app.json:

{
  "expo": {
    "plugins": ["./app-plugin.js"]
  }
}

Using Third-Party Native Libraries

Without Custom Native Code (Recommended):

npx expo install react-native-reanimated

With Custom Native Code:

npx expo install react-native-camera
npx expo prebuild

App Configuration (app.json / app.config.js)

Static Configuration (app.json)

{
  "expo": {
    "name": "My App",
    "slug": "my-app",
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "orientation": "portrait",
    "icon": "./assets/icon.png",
    "userInterfaceStyle": "automatic",
    "splash": {
      "image": "./assets/splash.png",
      "resizeMode": "contain",
      "backgroundColor": "#ffffff"
    },
    "assetBundlePatterns": ["**/*"],
    "ios": {
      "supportsTablet": true,
      "bundleIdentifier": "com.company.myapp",
      "buildNumber": "1.0.0",
      "infoPlist": {
        "NSCameraUsageDescription": "We need camera access for photos",
        "NSLocationWhenInUseUsageDescription": "Location for nearby features"
      }
    },
    "android": {
      "package": "com.company.myapp",
      "versionCode": 1,
      "adaptiveIcon": {
        "foregroundImage": "./assets/adaptive-icon.png",
        "backgroundColor": "#ffffff"
      },
      "permissions": ["CAMERA", "ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION"]
    },
    "web": {
      "favicon": "./assets/favicon.png",
      "bundler": "metro"
    },
    "plugins": [
      "expo-router",
      [
        "expo-camera",
        {
          "cameraPermission": "Allow $(PRODUCT_NAME) to access camera"
        }
      ]
    ],
    "extra": {
      "apiUrl": "https://api.example.com"
    }
  }
}

Dynamic Configuration (app.config.js)

export default ({ config }) => {
  const isProduction = process.env.APP_ENV === 'production';

  return {
    ...config,
    name: isProduction ? 'My App' : 'My App (Dev)',
    slug: 'my-app',
    extra: {
      apiUrl: isProduction ? 'https://api.production.com' : 'https://api.staging.com',
      ...config.extra,
    },
    ios: {
      ...config.ios,
      bundleIdentifier: isProduction ? 'com.company.myapp' : 'com.company.myapp.dev',
    },
    android: {
      ...config.android,
      package: isProduction ? 'com.company.myapp' : 'com.company.myapp.dev',
    },
  };
};

Environment-Specific Configuration

// app.config.js
const getEnvironment = () => {
  if (process.env.APP_ENV === 'production') {
    return {
      apiUrl: 'https://api.prod.com',
      sentryDsn: 'https://prod-sentry-dsn',
    };
  }

  return {
    apiUrl: 'https://api.dev.com',
    sentryDsn: 'https://dev-sentry-dsn',
  };
};

export default {
  expo: {
    extra: getEnvironment(),
  },
};

Access in app:

import Constants from 'expo-constants';

const apiUrl = Constants.expoConfig?.extra?.apiUrl;

Best Practices

Performance Optimization

• Use expo-image instead of React Native Image for better performance
• Enable Hermes for Android: "jsEngine": "hermes"
• Use react-native-reanimated for smooth animations
• Lazy load screens with React.lazy()

Code Splitting

import { lazy, Suspense } from 'react';

const ProfileScreen = lazy(() => import('./screens/Profile'));

function App() {
  return (
    <Suspense fallback={<LoadingScreen />}>
      <ProfileScreen />
    </Suspense>
  );
}

Error Boundaries

import * as Sentry from '@sentry/react-native';

Sentry.init({
  dsn: 'your-sentry-dsn',
  environment: __DEV__ ? 'development' : 'production',
});

export default Sentry.wrap(App);

Expo Doctor

Run before building:

npx expo-doctor

This checks for common issues with dependencies and configuration.

Iron Laws

1. ALWAYS use Expo Router for navigation — never use React Navigation directly in new Expo projects; Expo Router provides file-based routing that integrates with native navigation and deep linking.
2. NEVER eject to bare workflow unless the required native module is genuinely unavailable through Expo SDK, config plugins, or EAS Build — ejecting increases maintenance burden by orders of magnitude.
3. ALWAYS use EAS Build for production builds — never use local expo build (deprecated) or react-native run-ios/android for release builds; EAS ensures consistent reproducible builds.
4. NEVER use expo-av for camera in new projects — use expo-camera directly; expo-av is audio/video focused and the camera integration is deprecated.
5. ALWAYS use expo-image instead of React Native's built-in <Image> — expo-image provides lazy loading, caching, and blurhash placeholder support out of the box.

Anti-Patterns

Anti-Pattern	Why It Fails	Correct Approach
Using React Navigation instead of Expo Router	Misses file-based routing, native tab/stack integration, and automatic deep linking	Use Expo Router; it wraps React Navigation with file-system conventions
Ejecting early "just in case"	Loses OTA updates, managed builds, and Expo SDK updates forever	Exhaust all Expo SDK/config plugin options first; eject only as last resort
Using deprecated expo build command	Removed in SDK 46+; fails silently or produces broken artifacts	Use eas build with a properly configured eas.json
Direct require() for images in performance-critical code	Large bundles; no lazy loading; no progressive blur placeholder	Use expo-image with contentFit and blurhash for optimized loading
Using expo-constants for secrets	Constants are bundled into the app binary and visible in source maps	Use EAS secrets or server-side environment variables; never bundle secrets

Memory Protocol (MANDATORY)

Before starting:

cat .claude/context/memory/learnings.md

After completing: Record any new patterns or exceptions discovered.

ASSUME INTERRUPTION: Your context may reset. If it's not in memory, it didn't happen.