My First Expo Experience as a React Native CLI Developer: What Impressed Me Most

#reactnative #mobile #typescript #javascript

Having built apps with the React Native CLI, I finally decided to try Expo on a new project. I’d always heard mixed opinions: some praised its simplicity, others warned of limitations. But after diving in, I found myself genuinely impressed, especially by file-based routing, automatic native module handling, the quality of Expo’s documentation, and the Expo Application Services (EAS). Here’s what stood out from a seasoned React Native CLI developer’s perspective.

📄 File-Based Routing:

One of the first things that caught my attention was Expo Router’s file-based routing. Coming from the traditional navigation setup, where you manually configure stacks and screens, Expo’s approach felt refreshingly simple. You create files and folders in the app directory, and each file becomes a route, mirroring the way modern web frameworks like Next.js work.

For example, adding a app/settings/index.tsx file instantly creates a /settings route. No more tedious route registration or navigation boilerplate. This not only speeds up development but also keeps your project structure clear and maintainable.

“Expo Router is a routing framework for React Native and web applications. It allows you to manage navigation between screens in your app and use the same components on multiple platforms (Android, iOS and web). It uses a file-based method to determine routes inside your app.”

📦 Automatic Native Module Handling:

If you’ve ever spent hours fiddling with Podfile, build.gradle, or troubleshooting native dependency issues, Expo’s autolinking feels like magic. With Expo, you install a package, and the platform takes care of the native linking behind the scenes. No more manual edits to native configuration files, just install and go.

This is a huge relief, especially when working with third-party libraries that require native modules. The Expo autolinking system ensures your dependencies are correctly integrated, dramatically reducing setup time and potential errors.

“Expo Autolinking is a mechanism that automates this process and reduces the library installation process to the minimum — usually just installing the package from npm and re-running pod install.”

📚 Expo Documentation:

As a developer, I live and die by documentation. Expo’s docs are some of the best I’ve used in the mobile ecosystem. Whether you’re looking up how to use a specific API, troubleshoot a build, or implement advanced features, the guides are detailed, well-organized, and regularly updated.

I found answers to nearly every question I had, often with clear examples and explanations. Compared to piecing together information from scattered blog posts or outdated Stack Overflow threads, Expo’s documentation is a breath of fresh air.

⚙ Expo Application Services (EAS):

Building and deploying mobile apps can be a headache, especially when dealing with certificates, provisioning profiles, and different build environments. Expo Application Services (EAS) takes care of all this in the cloud. With a few commands, you can build your app for iOS and Android, manage credentials, and even submit directly to the app stores.

For someone used to wrestling with Xcode and Android Studio, this was a game-changer. EAS abstracts away the complexity, letting you focus on your app instead of the build process.

“The new EAS Build service will let you make pretty much any app you want for iOS and Android by writing just React JS/TS code. Expo can build your app in the cloud for you, including any native libraries you need.”

👉 Thoughts:

I started this project skeptically, but Expo quickly won me over with its developer experience and thoughtful tooling. File-based routing, autolinking, stellar documentation, and EAS have made mobile development smoother and more enjoyable than I expected.

If you’re a React Native CLI developer on the fence about Expo, give it a try. You might be as pleasantly surprised as I was.

📌 Let’s connect and collaborate!
🔗 Haider Mukhtar on LinkedIn
🔗 Haider Mukhtar on GitHub

Happy coding with React Native! 🚀