React Native lets you build real iOS and Android apps with React and JavaScript. This workspace comes with Expo already set up, so your app runs in a built-in browser preview the moment it boots, with no Android Studio or Xcode to install.
The project starts with Expo wired up. Run npm run dev and your app opens in a built-in browser preview on port 3000.
The full cloud editor with an integrated terminal, extensions and a debug config that ships in the .vscode folder.
Clone, commit and push from the terminal, or connect a GitHub repo whenever you're ready.
Boots in about a minute on a 2 vCPU machine, with dependencies already installed.
React Native is an open-source framework from Meta for building native iOS and Android apps with React and JavaScript. Instead of rendering to a WebView, it maps your components to real native UI widgets, so the app looks and feels native while most of the code is shared across both platforms. It runs the apps behind Instagram, Discord, Shopify and Microsoft Office, among thousands of others.
This workspace uses Expo, which is the most common way to start a React Native project today. Expo handles the build tooling and native setup for you, so you can write JavaScript and watch your changes update live instead of wrestling with Android Studio or Xcode.
It's an Expo-managed project with the New Architecture turned on by default. The entry point is App.js, and the starter is a small counter example you can edit straight away.
Running npm run dev starts the Expo dev server and the Metro bundler, and Studio opens your app in a built-in browser preview. Edit App.js and the preview reloads as you save. Anything you need, like navigation, native modules or UI libraries, installs from the terminal as a normal npm package.
The workspace previews your app on the web through React Native Web, so you can see it without a phone. To try it on a real device, install Expo Go on your phone and open the project from there. The iOS Simulator and Android Emulator run outside the browser, so those need a local setup.
Cross-platform mobile apps, prototypes you can share with a link, UI experiments, or the front end of a full product — anywhere you want a single React codebase that ships to both iOS and Android.
No. The workspace runs Expo with a built-in web preview, so you can build and see your app entirely in the browser. You only need the native toolchains if you later want to run the iOS Simulator or Android Emulator locally, or produce a store build.
It's an Expo-managed project. Expo sets up the build system and native modules for you, which is the fastest way to start. You can move to a bare workflow later if you need deeper native control.
Yes. Install the Expo Go app on your phone and open the project from there to load it over the network. The built-in browser preview also works without any device.
No, it ships as plain JavaScript with an App.js entry point. If you prefer TypeScript, install it and rename your files to .tsx.
Install what you need from the terminal. For example, React Navigation for screens, or an Expo module for device features like the camera. It's all just npm packages.
Yes. React Native runs on the free tier with no credit card required, so you can launch a workspace and start building right away.
