Marketing
July 4, 2025
This guide provides a comprehensive overview of the Expo ecosystem, detailing its tools, workflows, and real-world use cases for building cross-platform mobile applications. Let our team of experts show you how we can integrate Expo into your product for accelerated growth and a superior user experience.
Chris Fitkin
Founding Partner
In the world of mobile app development, efficiency and reach are paramount. Developers constantly seek tools that can streamline the process of building high-quality applications that run seamlessly on multiple platforms. This is where Expo enters the picture. Expo is not a programming language, but rather a powerful, open-source platform and ecosystem of tools built around React Native. It is designed to help developers create universal native apps for Android, iOS, and the web using a single JavaScript and React codebase.
Expo is the home for developers aiming to build native apps across both major mobile operating systems with the flexibility and power of JavaScript. It functions as a complete ecosystem, providing a suite of tools that assist with every stage of the application lifecycle: from initializing a new project and writing code to building, deploying, updating, and monitoring the final product. Whether you are starting a new project from scratch or want to bring an existing React Native project into a more managed and efficient workflow, Expo provides the necessary tooling.
At its core, Expo is about accelerating development and simplifying complexity. It offers a free plan to get started, making it accessible to individual developers and large teams alike. With services and tools designed to help you ship faster, Expo handles many of the tedious and error-prone aspects of mobile development, allowing you to focus on what matters most: building a great user experience.
To understand Expo, it’s essential to recognize that it’s not a monolithic entity. Instead, it is a collection of powerful tools and services that can be adopted independently or used together for a seamless development experience. An “Expo app” is simply a React Native app that leverages one or more of these tools, whether it’s the Expo CLI, the Expo Router for file-based routing, or the extensive Expo SDK.
The Expo ecosystem is built on two main pillars: its free, open-source tools and its hosted cloud services, known as Expo Application Services (EAS).
Expo Open-Source Tools: These are the foundational components that are free for everyone to use under the permissive MIT license. They give developers the power to build and maintain their React Native apps with greater ease. Key examples include:
Expo Application Services (EAS): EAS is a suite of hosted services designed to work with both Expo and standard React Native projects. While the open-source tools help you write your app, EAS helps you ship it. It solves complex problems that require physical resources, such as managing build servers or content delivery networks (CDNs). EAS can be used to:
While EAS provides a deeply integrated, managed experience, it also offers flexibility. For teams that require it, most EAS services can be run on your own infrastructure, and instructions are provided for self-hosting updates or running builds on your own CI.
One of the most innovative aspects of the Expo workflow is a process called Continuous Native Generation (CNG). When you initialize a new app with the command npx create-expo-app, you’ll notice that the android and ios directories, which contain the native project code, are not created by default.
This is intentional. CNG is a process where the native projects are generated on-demand directly from your project’s configuration, primarily the app.json (or app.config.js) and package.json files. This is conceptually similar to how your project’s node_modules directory is generated from the dependencies listed in package.json. You don’t commit node_modules to your version control; you simply run npm install to generate it.
With CNG, you can treat your native project folders the same way. You can add them to your .gitignore, delete them at any time, and regenerate them perfectly by running npx expo prebuild. This approach has several major advantages:
Of course, developers still have the option to “eject” from this managed workflow. You can run npx expo prebuild once and then begin modifying the android and ios directories directly. However, doing so means you can no longer safely re-generate the projects, as prebuild would overwrite your manual changes.
Expo provides different tools for different stages of development.
Expo Go: For learning, rapid prototyping, and experimentation, Expo Go is an invaluable tool. It’s a client app that you install on your phone or simulator. Paired with Snack, a web-based playground, you can spin up a React Native project and run it on a real device in seconds just by scanning a QR code. However, Expo Go is not intended for building production apps, as it has limitations on which native libraries you can use.
Development Builds: For full-featured development, you will create a development build. This is a debug version of your actual app that contains the expo-dev-client library. A development build provides a more flexible, reliable, and complete environment. It allows you to:
You can create development builds either locally on your machine or in the cloud using EAS Build.
The Expo ecosystem is designed to be flexible, supporting developers whether they prefer a cloud-based or a local development workflow. Here’s a conceptual overview of the journey from project creation to app store release.
The journey begins with a single command:
npx create-expo-app my-appThis scaffolds a new, universal React Native project. Immediately after creation, you can launch the project in Expo Go on your device or an emulator for initial experimentation. For most real-world projects, the next step is to create a development build by installing the expo-dev-client library.
A key decision in the Expo workflow is whether to compile your app’s native code in the cloud or on your local machine. This is a choice you can make each time you run a build.
Cloud Compilation with EAS Build: By running a single command in your terminal, you can send your project to Expo’s servers, which will compile and sign your app. This approach is powerful because it requires no installation of Android Studio or Xcode on your machine. It also makes sharing builds with teammates or stakeholders for review incredibly easy.
Local Compilation: To compile locally, you need the standard mobile development toolchains installed (Android Studio for Android, Xcode for macOS/iOS). You can then build and run your app using commands like npx expo run:android or npx expo run:ios. This method is particularly useful for debugging issues that require native debugging tools on a physical device or simulator.
Once your development environment is set up, the core loop of building your app involves several key activities:
app.json or app.config.js file.When you’re ready to move beyond development, Expo and EAS streamline the release process.
The lifecycle of an app doesn’t end at launch. Expo provides powerful tools for maintenance and growth.
expo-updates library and EAS Update, you can push JavaScript and asset updates directly to your users’ devices in minutes. This is perfect for shipping critical bug fixes or small feature changes without going through a full app store review process. EAS Update serves these updates from a global CDN for maximum speed and reliability.Expo is not just for small projects or simple apps. It is a production-grade platform trusted by some of the world’s leading companies to build and maintain their flagship mobile applications. Its versatility is demonstrated by its adoption across a wide range of industries. Below is a sample of well-known apps built with Expo, showcasing its capability to handle diverse and complex requirements.
| Category | Example Apps Built with Expo |
|---|---|
| Finance & Banking | Coinbase, DailyPay On-Demand Pay, Chime – Mobile Banking, Mission Lane Card, Bloom – Learn to Invest, Novus World |
| Food & Delivery | BURGER KING® App, Pizza Hut – Delivery & Takeout, sweetgreen, Just Salad, Delicio: AI Chef, Food Recipes |
| Sports | Pikkit: Sports Betting Tracker, GoFan: Buy Tickets to Events, HotStreak Fantasy Sports, GolfPass, Juice Reel: Bet Tracker & Tips |
| Shopping | PUMA, GameStop, Cameo – Personal Celeb Videos, Goody – Easy Gifting, Dupe.com |
| Business | Amazon A to Z, Shipt Shopper: Shop for Pay, Brex, Mystro Driver: Drive & Deliver, NetConnect for Clean Internet |
| Social Networking | Bluesky Social |
| Entertainment | StubHub: Event Tickets, Vivid Seats |
| News | Business Insider, Newsrael, DP+ |
| Lifestyle | Partiful Invites, Testla |
| Medical & Health | MyBSWHealth, Solv: Easy Same-Day Healthcare, Carby Health, Cerebral – Mental Health |
| Education | Brightspace Pulse, Lingvano: Sign Language – ASL, BoldVoice: Accent Training, Prodigy Math Game, British Museum Audio |
As this list demonstrates, Expo is a robust choice for building everything from complex financial trading platforms and high-traffic e-commerce storefronts to engaging social networks and critical healthcare applications. Its ability to provide a consistent user experience across Android and iOS while accelerating development cycles makes it an attractive option for businesses of all sizes.
While Expo provides a comprehensive, all-in-one ecosystem, it’s helpful to understand how it fits within the broader landscape of mobile app development. The tools below are not necessarily direct competitors but are part of the same world and can sometimes be used in conjunction with or as alternatives to parts of the Expo workflow.
React Native is the foundational technology that Expo is built upon. You can build a React Native app without using any of Expo’s tools, a workflow often referred to as “vanilla” or “bare” React Native. This involves using the standard React Native CLI. In this scenario, you are responsible for managing the android and ios native project files directly from the beginning. While this offers maximum control, it also requires deep knowledge of native development for both platforms and involves significantly more manual configuration for linking libraries, setting up build variants, and managing upgrades. Expo’s tools, especially Continuous Native Generation and config plugins, were created to abstract away much of this complexity.
Before services like EAS Submit existed, Fastlane was the go-to open-source tool for automating the build and release process for mobile apps. It provides a suite of tools to handle tasks like generating screenshots, dealing with code signing, and uploading builds to the app stores. An Expo project can still use Fastlane for these tasks. However, EAS Submit offers a more deeply integrated solution within the Expo ecosystem, managed via the cloud and a simple CLI, which can be simpler for teams that want an all-in-one solution.
As mentioned, local compilation of a React Native app requires the native Integrated Development Environments (IDEs): Android Studio for Android and Xcode for iOS. These powerful tools are the standard for native platform development and offer sophisticated debugging and performance profiling capabilities. Expo doesn’t replace them but offers a workflow (EAS Build) where developers may never need to install or open them. When you choose local compilation with npx expo run, Expo is effectively automating these tools for you. They remain essential for certain deep-level native debugging tasks.
While Expo provides immense power and simplifies many aspects of mobile development, it is a sophisticated ecosystem that comes with its own set of challenges. One of the most prominent is the need for constant updates. Expo is a fast-moving project, and its SDK versions are deprecated on a regular basis. This requires developers to keep their Expo version, dependencies, and native configurations up to date to ensure security and compatibility.
This continuous need for updates can lead to significant overhead, especially for larger projects or applications that rely on custom native modules. An upgrade that seems simple on the surface can sometimes lead to a cascade of breaking changes that require careful navigation. This is where partnering with a specialized mobile app development agency like MetaCTO can be a strategic advantage.
As a team with over 20 years of app development experience and more than 120 successful projects under our belt, we have the expertise to navigate the complexities of the Expo ecosystem. When you work with us, you get access to a full team of experts, including UI/UX designers, front-end and back-end developers, project managers, and QA testers. We handle the technical strategy, design, user flows, and rigorous testing required for a successful app.
Our process ensures we build the right product from day one. We guide our clients through a discovery phase that includes market research, competitor analysis, and user journey mapping. This meticulous planning, managed by a dedicated project manager, ensures timely delivery and budget adherence. More importantly, we provide ongoing support and maintenance. We manage the crucial task of keeping your app aligned with Expo updates, security patches, and platform changes, saving you from costly downtimes and technical debt. Our expertise in mobile app development allows you to harness the speed and power of Expo without shouldering the maintenance burden.
Expo stands as a transformative force in the world of mobile app development. It provides an open-source platform and a rich ecosystem of tools that empower developers to build high-quality, universal native applications for iOS, Android, and the web from a single React codebase. We’ve explored how Expo works, from its foundational open-source tools and powerful EAS cloud services to its innovative Continuous Native Generation workflow. We’ve seen its real-world application in production apps for global brands like Coinbase, PUMA, and Burger King, proving its capability across nearly every industry.
However, leveraging this powerful platform effectively requires expertise. The fast-paced nature of Expo’s development and the complexities of managing a cross-platform project can present significant challenges. By partnering with an experienced agency, you can mitigate these risks and ensure your project’s success. An expert team can handle the technical intricacies of updates and integrations, allowing you to focus on your business goals.
To leverage the full power of Expo without the overhead, talk to one of our Expo experts at MetaCTO. We can help you integrate Expo into your product, whether you’re building a new MVP from scratch or bringing an existing project to the next level.
Last updated: 04 July 2025
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