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Ajmal Hasan
Ajmal Hasan

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Stop Fighting React Native Dependency Hell — Use This Microsoft Tool

#mobile #reactnative

The Problem Every React Native Dev Knows

You've been there. You run yarn install, everything looks fine, then boom — runtime crashes, red screens, or mysterious build failures. The culprit? Incompatible package versions.

React Native's ecosystem moves fast. Package A needs React Native 0.81, but Package B was last tested on 0.79. Figuring out which versions play nice together? A nightmare.

Enter @rnx-kit/align-deps

Microsoft built a tool that solves this: align-deps. It automatically checks and fixes your dependencies to ensure they're compatible with your React Native version.

Quick Setup (2 minutes)

1. Install it:

yarn add @rnx-kit/align-deps --dev
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2. Add these scripts to package.json:

{
  "scripts": {
    "check-dependencies": "rnx-align-deps",
    "fix-dependencies": "rnx-align-deps --write"
  }
}
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3. Initialize for your RN version:

npx rnx-align-deps --init app
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4. Fix any issues:

yarn fix-dependencies
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That's it. The tool scans your dependencies and adjusts versions to ones known to work together.

Upgrading React Native? Here's Your Toolkit

Upgrading React Native involves two things: dependencies and native files. You need different tools for each.

Step 1: Align Your Dependencies

Use align-deps to update all your JS dependencies to compatible versions:

npx @rnx-kit/align-deps --requirements react-native@0.81 --write
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This updates all your React Native-related packages to versions known to work with RN 0.81. No more guessing which version of react-native-screens or react-native-reanimated, etc you need.

Step 2: Update Native Files (iOS/Android)

Dependencies are only half the battle. React Native upgrades often require changes to native files like AppDelegate.swift, build.gradle, Podfile, etc.

👉 Use the React Native Upgrade Helper

This tool shows you a visual diff of all native file changes between your current version and your target version.

How to use it:

  1. Go to react-native-community.github.io/upgrade-helper
  2. Select your current RN version (e.g., 0.79.0)
  3. Select your target RN version (e.g., 0.81.0)
  4. Review the diff and apply changes to your ios/ and android/ folders

Pro Tip: Use Both Together

Task Tool
Update JS dependencies @rnx-kit/align-deps
Update native files Upgrade Helper

This combo makes React Native upgrades dramatically less painful.

What align-deps Actually Does

When I ran fix-dependencies on my project, it:

  • ⬇️ Downgraded some packages to stable, compatible versions
  • 🔓 Added flexibility (^) to some pinned versions
  • 📋 Generated config tracking which "capabilities" my app uses

For example, it changed:

  • react-native-modal: ^14.0.0-rc.1 → ^13.0.0 (stable over RC)
  • react-native-screens: 4.16.0 → ^4.11.1 (known compatible)

Should You Use It?

Yes, if:

  • You maintain a production React Native app
  • You've wasted time debugging version conflicts
  • You want safer React Native upgrades
  • You work in a team and need consistent dependencies

Maybe not if:

  • You need bleeding-edge package versions
  • You have a simple app with few dependencies

⚠️ Important: Always Review Changes

The tool modifies your package.json automatically. Always:

  1. Review the diff (git diff package.json)
  2. Test your app thoroughly
  3. Check if any downgraded packages break features you need

Resources

Have you tried these tools? Did they help or cause issues? Drop a comment below! 👇

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