From upgrading-expo
Guides Expo SDK upgrades with steps for dependency fixes, breaking changes (React 19, New Architecture), prebuild, cache clearing, and migrations like expo-av to expo-audio/video.
npx claudepluginhub expo/skillsThis skill uses the workspace's default tool permissions.
- ./references/new-architecture.md -- SDK +53: New Architecture migration guide
Provides guidelines for upgrading Expo SDK versions, fixing dependencies, handling breaking changes like React 19 and new architecture migrations, prebuild, and cache clearing.
Guides Expo SDK upgrades: reviews release notes/breaking changes, updates dependencies with expo install --fix and expo-doctor, migrates configs/APIs, tests iOS/Android compatibility.
Guides React Native and Expo SDK version upgrades via 5-step process: pre-assessment, core updates, dependency management, breaking change migrations, and verification.
Share bugs, ideas, or general feedback.
Beta versions use .preview suffix (e.g., 55.0.0-preview.2), published under @next tag.
Check if latest is beta: https://exp.host/--/api/v2/versions (look for -preview in expoVersion)
npx expo install expo@next --fix # install beta
npx expo install expo@latest
npx expo install --fix
Run diagnostics: npx expo-doctor
Clear caches and reinstall
npx expo export -p ios --clear
rm -rf node_modules .expo
watchman watch-del-all
First check if ios/ and android/ directories exist in the project. If neither directory exists, the project uses Continuous Native Generation (CNG) and native projects are regenerated at build time — skip this section and "Clear caches for bare workflow" entirely.
If upgrading requires native changes:
npx expo prebuild --clean
This regenerates the ios and android directories. Ensure the project is not a bare workflow app before running this command.
These steps only apply when ios/ and/or android/ directories exist in the project:
cd ios && pod install --repo-updatenpx expo run:ios --no-build-cachecd android && ./gradlew clean"experiments": { "reactCompiler": true } to app.json — it's stable and recommendedapp.json to let Expo manage it automaticallypackage.json: @babel/core, babel-preset-expo, expo-constants.| Old Package | Replacement |
|---|---|
expo-av | expo-audio and expo-video |
expo-permissions | Individual package permission APIs |
@expo/vector-icons | expo-symbols (for SF Symbols) |
AsyncStorage | expo-sqlite/localStorage/install |
expo-app-loading | expo-splash-screen |
| expo-linear-gradient | experimental_backgroundImage + CSS gradients in View |
When migrating deprecated packages, update all code usage before removing the old package. For expo-av, consult the migration references to convert Audio.Sound to useAudioPlayer, Audio.Recording to useAudioRecorder, and Video components to VideoView with useVideoPlayer.
Check if package.json has excluded packages:
{
"expo": { "install": { "exclude": ["react-native-reanimated"] } }
}
Exclusions are often workarounds that may no longer be needed after upgrading. Review each one.
Check if there are any outdated patches in the patches/ directory. Remove them if they are no longer needed.
autoprefixer isn't needed in SDK +53. Remove it from dependencies and check postcss.config.js or postcss.config.mjs to remove it from the plugins list.postcss.config.mjs in SDK +53.Remove redundant metro config options:
experimentalImportSupport is enabled by default in SDK +54.EXPO_USE_FAST_RESOLVER=1 is removed in SDK +54.Since SDK 55, users can opt-in to use Hermes engine v1 for improved runtime performance. This requires setting useHermesV1: true in the expo-build-properties config plugin, and may require a specific version of the hermes-compiler npm package. Hermes v1 will become a default in some future SDK release.
The new architecture is enabled by default, the app.json field "newArchEnabled": true is no longer needed as it's the default. Expo Go only supports the new architecture as of SDK +53.