Expo Native UI

Expo Native UI Guidelines

For routes, links, stacks, tabs, modals, sheets, and headers, use the expo-router skill.

References

Consult these resources as needed:

references/
  animations.md          Reanimated: entering, exiting, layout, scroll-driven, gestures
  controls.md            Native iOS: Switch, Slider, SegmentedControl, DateTimePicker, Picker
  gradients.md           CSS gradients via experimental_backgroundImage (New Arch only)
  icons.md               SF Symbols via expo-image (sf: source), names, animations, weights
  media.md               Camera, audio, video, and file saving
  storage.md             SQLite, AsyncStorage, SecureStore
  visual-effects.md      Blur (expo-blur) and liquid glass (expo-glass-effect)
  webgpu-three.md        3D graphics, games, GPU visualizations with WebGPU and Three.js

Running the App

CRITICAL: Always try Expo Go first before creating custom builds.

Most Expo apps work in Expo Go without any custom native code. Before running npx expo run:ios or npx expo run:android:

1. Start with Expo Go: Run npx expo start and scan the QR code with Expo Go
2. Check if features work: Test your app thoroughly in Expo Go
3. Only create custom builds when required - see below

When Custom Builds Are Required

You need npx expo run:ios/android or eas build ONLY when using:

• Local Expo modules (custom native code in modules/)
• Apple targets (widgets, app clips, extensions via @bacons/apple-targets)
• Third-party native modules not included in Expo Go
• Custom native configuration that can’t be expressed in app.json

When Expo Go Works

Expo Go supports a huge range of features out of the box:

• All expo-* packages (camera, location, notifications, etc.)
• Expo Router navigation
• Most UI libraries (reanimated, gesture handler, etc.)
• Push notifications, deep links, and more

If you’re unsure, try Expo Go first. Creating custom builds adds complexity, slower iteration, and requires Xcode/Android Studio setup.

Code Style

• Be cautious of unterminated strings. Ensure nested backticks are escaped; never forget to escape quotes correctly.
• Always use import statements at the top of the file.
• Always use kebab-case for file names, e.g. comment-card.tsx
• Never use special characters in file names
• Configure tsconfig.json with path aliases, and prefer aliases over relative imports for refactors.

Library Preferences

• Never use modules removed from React Native such as Picker, WebView, SafeAreaView, or AsyncStorage
• Never use legacy expo-permissions
• expo-audio not expo-av
• expo-video not expo-av
• expo-image with source="sf:name" for SF Symbols, not expo-symbols or @expo/vector-icons
• react-native-safe-area-context not react-native SafeAreaView
• process.env.EXPO_OS not Platform.OS
• React.use not React.useContext
• expo-image Image component instead of intrinsic element img
• expo-glass-effect for liquid glass backdrops
• Color from expo-router for native semantic colors, not raw PlatformColor (type-safe, auto-adapts to light/dark)
• In SDK 56+, never import from @react-navigation/* directly — use expo-router/react-navigation instead (covers @react-navigation/native, /core, /elements, /routers)

Responsiveness

• Always wrap root component in a scroll view for responsiveness
• Use <ScrollView contentInsetAdjustmentBehavior="automatic" /> instead of <SafeAreaView> for smarter safe area insets
• contentInsetAdjustmentBehavior="automatic" should be applied to FlatList and SectionList as well
• Use flexbox instead of Dimensions API
• ALWAYS prefer useWindowDimensions over Dimensions.get() to measure screen size

Behavior

• Use expo-haptics conditionally on iOS to make more delightful experiences
• Use views with built-in haptics like <Switch /> from React Native and @react-native-community/datetimepicker
• When a route belongs to a Stack, its first child should almost always be a ScrollView with contentInsetAdjustmentBehavior="automatic" set
• When adding a ScrollView to the page it should almost always be the first component inside the route component
• Use the <Text selectable /> prop on text containing data that could be copied
• Consider formatting large numbers like 1.4M or 38k
• Never use intrinsic elements like ‘img’ or ‘div’ unless in a webview or Expo DOM component

Styling

Follow Apple Human Interface Guidelines.

General Styling Rules

• Prefer flex gap over margin and padding styles
• Prefer padding over margin where possible
• Always account for safe area, either with stack headers, tabs, or ScrollView/FlatList contentInsetAdjustmentBehavior="automatic"
• Ensure both top and bottom safe area insets are accounted for
• Inline styles not StyleSheet.create unless reusing styles is faster
• Add entering and exiting animations for state changes
• Use { borderCurve: 'continuous' } for rounded corners unless creating a capsule shape
• ALWAYS use a navigation stack title instead of a custom text element on the page
• When padding a ScrollView, use contentContainerStyle padding and gap instead of padding on the ScrollView itself (reduces clipping)
• CSS and Tailwind are not supported - use inline styles

Colors

Use the Color API from expo-router for native semantic colors. It is a type-safe wrapper over PlatformColor that exposes iOS UIKit colors through Color.ios.* and Android Material 3 colors through Color.android.material.* (static) or Color.android.dynamic.* (adapts to the user’s wallpaper on Android 12+). These resolve on-device and automatically adapt to light/dark mode and accessibility settings, so you no longer maintain separate light/dark hex tables or a colors.web.ts file.

Color is platform-specific, so wrap each value in Platform.select with a default hex fallback for web. Centralize the palette in theme/colors.ts and import colors everywhere:

// theme/colors.ts
import { Platform } from "react-native";
import { Color } from "expo-router";

export const colors = {
  label: Platform.select({
    ios: Color.ios.label,
    android: Color.android.dynamic.onSurface,
    default: "#000000",
  })!,
  secondaryLabel: Platform.select({
    ios: Color.ios.secondaryLabel,
    android: Color.android.dynamic.onSurfaceVariant,
    default: "#3c3c43",
  })!,
  separator: Platform.select({
    ios: Color.ios.separator,
    android: Color.android.dynamic.outlineVariant,
    default: "#c6c6c8",
  })!,
  systemBackground: Platform.select({
    ios: Color.ios.systemBackground,
    android: Color.android.dynamic.surface,
    default: "#ffffff",
  })!,
  systemBlue: Platform.select({
    ios: Color.ios.systemBlue,
    android: Color.android.dynamic.primary,
    default: "#007aff",
  })!,
};

import { colors } from "@/theme/colors";

<View style={{ backgroundColor: colors.systemBackground }}>
  <Text style={{ color: colors.label }}>Title</Text>
</View>;

• iOS re-resolves these colors automatically when the system theme changes. On Android, call useColorScheme() inside any component that renders them so it re-renders when the theme flips (required when React Compiler memoizes the component).
• Don’t pass Color / PlatformColor values into Reanimated styles — use static colors there (see references/animations.md).
• Platform.select({...})! returns string | OpaqueColorValue. Most React Native style props accept ColorValue (string | OpaqueColorValue) so this works fine. But some third-party props only accept string (e.g. tintColor on expo-image). Cast when needed: colors.label as string.

Text Styling

• Add the selectable prop to every <Text/> element displaying important data or error messages
• Counters should use { fontVariant: 'tabular-nums' } for alignment

Shadows

Use CSS boxShadow style prop. NEVER use legacy React Native shadow or elevation styles.

<View style={{ boxShadow: "0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.05)" }} />

‘inset’ shadows are supported.

Submitting Feedback

If you encounter errors, misleading or outdated information in this skill, report it so Expo can improve:

npx --yes submit-expo-feedback@latest --category skills --subject "expo-native-ui" "<actionable feedback>"

Only submit when you have something specific and actionable to report. Include as much relevant context as possible. If an AI agent repeatedly failed or the user had to take over an Expo task, load the expo-skill-feedback skill and follow its eval-candidate flow instead of reusing the command above.