Using Expo and Realm React Native with expo-dev-client
Diego Freniche3 min read • Published Mar 04, 2022 • Updated Aug 26, 2022
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In our last post on how to build an offline-first React Native mobile app with Expo and Realm React Native, we talked about a limitation of using Realm React Native and Expo where we stated that Realm React Native is not compatible with Expo-managed workflows. Well, wait no more, because now Expo works with Realm React Native and we have a nice custom development client that will have roughly the same functionality as Expo Go.
Yes, it sounds like clickbait, but it's true. If you want to build a full application that uses TypeScript, just type in your terminal:
If you'd rather do JavaScript, just type:
After either of these two, change to the directory containing the project that has just been created and start the iOS or Android app:
Or
This will create a prebuilt Expo app. That is, you'll see
ios and android folders in your project and this won't be a managed Expo app, where all the native details are hidden and Expo takes care of everything. Having said that, you don't need to go into the ios or android folders unless you need to add some native code in Swift or Kotlin.Once launched, the app will ask to open in
ReactRealmJSTemplateApp, not in Expo Go. This means we're running this nice, custom, dev client that will bring us most of the Expo Go experience while also working with Realm React Native.We can install our app and use it using
yarn ios/android. If we want to start the dev-client to develop, we can also use yarn start.This template is a quick way to start with Realm React Native, so it includes all code you'll need to write your own Realm React Native application:
- It adds the versions of Expo (^44.0.6), React Native (0.64.3), and Realm (^10.13.0) that work together.
- It also adds
expo-dev-clientand@realm/reactpackages, to make the custom development client part work. - Finally, in
app, you'll find sample code to create your own model object, initialize a connection with Atlas Device Sync, save and fetch data, etc.
But I want to reuse the Read it Later - Maybe app I wrote for the last post on Expo and Realm React Native. Well, I just need to delete all JavaScript files inside
app, copy over all my code from that App, and that's all. Now my old app's code will work with this custom dev client!Use the ⌘D keyboard shortcut when your app is running in the iOS Simulator, or ⌘M when running in an Android emulator on macOS, and Ctrl+M on Windows and Linux.
| Android Debug Menu | iOS Debug Menu |
|---|---|
 |  |
As this is an Expo app, we can also show the Expo menu by just pressing
m from terminal while our app is running.
The Realm React Native SDK has a
hermes branch that is indeed compatible with Hermes. So, it'll work with react-native-reanimated v2 but not with Expo, due to the React Native version the Expo SDK is pinned to.So, right now, you have to choose:
- Have Expo + Realm working out of the box.
- Or start your app using Realm React Native+ Hermes (not using Expo).
Both the Expo team and the Realm JavaScript SDK teams are working hard to make everything work together, and we'll update you with a new post in the future on using React Native Reanimated + Expo + Hermes + Realm (when all required dependencies are in place).
In this post, we've shown how simple it is now to create a React Native application that uses Expo + Realm React Native. This still won't work with Hermes, but watch this space as Realm is already compatible with it!
Our community has also started to leverage our new capabilities here. Watch this video from Aaron Saunders explaining how to use Realm React Native + Expo building a React Native app.
And, as always, you can hang out in our Community Forums and ask questions (and get answers) about your React Native development with Expo, Realm React Native and MongoDB.