Shipping to a device and the store

• A development build includes Expo's launcher, fast refresh and dev menu. Use it for native modules or dependency patches absent from Expo Go.
• A preview build compiles in release mode for device testing without store submission.
• A release build is ready for submission: minified, without dev tools or Angular dev-mode assertions. See "What a release build strips" below.

Configure the app

All builds read app.json. The template supports Expo Go; native builds also need reverse-DNS iOS bundle and Android package identifiers. Both become permanent after shipping:

{
  "expo": {
    "name": "My App",
    "slug": "my-app",
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "ios": {
      "bundleIdentifier": "com.example.myapp"
    },
    "android": {
      "package": "com.example.myapp"
    }
  }
}

version is the store's human-readable version. iOS build numbers and Android version codes are separate build-time values. EAS Build increments them when a profile sets autoIncrement.

The template has no android/ or ios/ folder. npx expo run:ios, npx expo run:android and EAS Build generate native projects from app.json using expo prebuild before compiling. Config changes take effect on the next build without manual syncing.

Install expo-dev-client for a development build

Install the package required for development builds, beyond Expo Go:

npx expo install expo-dev-client

Build

Locally

npx expo run:ios
npx expo run:android

These commands require Xcode or Android Studio, compile development builds locally and install on a connected device or simulator. Add --configuration Release (iOS) or --variant release (Android) for a local release build with no dev tools or Metro connection, the closest thing locally to what a store submission runs.

With EAS Build

npm install -g eas-cli
eas login
eas build:configure

eas build:configure writes eas.json, with three profiles:

{
  "build": {
    "development": {
      "developmentClient": true,
      "distribution": "internal"
    },
    "preview": {
      "distribution": "internal"
    },
    "production": {
      "autoIncrement": true
    }
  }
}

distribution: "internal" permits direct-link installation without a store or a paid Apple developer account for testing. developmentClient: true installs expo-dev-client and enables Metro. Omit it for preview and production release builds. autoIncrement increases the build number and version code per build to prevent duplicate submissions.

eas build --platform ios --profile development
eas build --platform android --profile preview

EAS Build uses Expo's machines by default. --local produces the same artefact locally and requires the native toolchain used by expo run. Use it when Expo's build servers are unreachable or policy prohibits sending source off the machine.

Signing

On the first platform build, cloud builds create and store an Apple distribution certificate and provisioning profile or an Android upload keystore, then reuse them. Manage them with eas credentials. Local builds use the machine's Xcode or Android Studio signing configuration.

Installing on a device

Install internal development or preview builds through their device link or Expo Orbit, which also installs from the build page. iOS devices must be registered to the signing Apple developer account; add them with eas device:create. Android APKs install on any device that permits them.

Submit production builds, then use TestFlight or the Play Console's internal testing track to install them before public release.

Submit to a store

eas submit --platform ios
eas submit --platform android

These commands submit the profile's latest build by default; use --path for another binary. iOS requires an App Store Connect API key or Apple ID and uploads to App Store Connect, appearing in TestFlight in ten to fifteen minutes. Android requires a Google Play service account key and uploads to the track selected in eas.json or on the command line.

For screenshots, review information and first submissions, see Expo's guides: Submit to the Apple App Store and Submit to the Google Play Store.

What a release build strips

The Metro preset replaces ngDevMode with false in minified bundles, including release and preview builds. The minifier removes Angular's dev-mode assertions, error strings and setClassMetadata calls as dead code. See Metro for other build-time processing. Development builds remain unminified, larger and slower.