Expo Router

by expocd752143d19eMITListed Oct 8, 2026Updated Oct 8, 2026

Framework (OSS). Navigation and routing for Expo Router. Covers file-based routes, groups and dynamic routes, folder organization, Link with previews and context menus, native Stack, page titles, modals and form sheets, NativeTabs, headers and toolbars, and header search bars.

Instructions onlySoftware Development

AI-generated overview

Guidance for building navigation and routing in Expo Router apps, covering routes, links, stacks, tabs, headers and sheets.

What it does: This skill provides reference instructions for implementing navigation and routing in Expo Router applications. It covers file-based routes, groups and dynamic routes, folder organization, Link components with previews and context menus, native Stack layouts, page titles, modals and form sheets, NativeTabs, headers and toolbars, and header search bars. It also states code style and library preferences, such as kebab-case file names and using expo-router exports instead of importing from @react-navigation directly. It produces guidance and code patterns rather than runnable scripts.
When to use it: Use it when working on an Expo Router app and needing to set up or restructure navigation, routes, tabs, stacks, headers, modals, form sheets or search bars. It is also relevant when deciding how to organize route files or which navigation APIs and imports to prefer.
Requirements: No scripts are included; it is instructions and reference documents only. It assumes an Expo Router project with React Native and TypeScript, and mentions optional related skills for styling and animation. The feedback section references an npx command, but running it is not required for the skill's guidance.

Expo Router Navigation

Navigation and routing for Expo Router apps. For screen styling, colors, controls, media, and visual effects, use the expo-native-ui skill; for motion and gestures, use expo-animation.

References

Consult these resources as needed:

references/  route-structure.md     Route conventions, dynamic routes, groups, folder organization  tabs.md                NativeTabs, migration from JS tabs, iOS 26 features  toolbar-and-headers.md Stack headers and toolbar buttons, menus, search (iOS only)  form-sheet.md          Form sheets in expo-router: configuration, footers and background interaction.  search.md              Search bar with headers, useSearch hook, filtering patterns  zoom-transitions.md    Apple Zoom: fluid zoom transitions with Link.AppleZoom (iOS 18+)

references/  route-structure.md     Route conventions, dynamic routes, groups, folder organization  tabs.md                NativeTabs, migration from JS tabs, iOS 26 features  toolbar-and-headers.md Stack headers and toolbar buttons, menus, search (iOS only)  form-sheet.md          Form sheets in expo-router: configuration, footers and background interaction.  search.md              Search bar with headers, useSearch hook, filtering patterns  zoom-transitions.md    Apple Zoom: fluid zoom transitions with Link.AppleZoom (iOS 18+)

Code Style

Always use kebab-case for file names, e.g. comment-card.tsx
Always remove old route files when moving or restructuring navigation
Never use special characters in file names
Configure tsconfig.json with path aliases, and prefer aliases over relative imports for refactors.

Routes

See ./references/route-structure.md for detailed route conventions.

Routes belong in the app directory.
Never co-locate components, types, or utilities in the app directory. This is an anti-pattern.
Ensure the app always has a route that matches "/", it may be inside a group route.

Library Preferences

Color from expo-router for native semantic colors, not raw PlatformColor (type-safe, auto-adapts to light/dark). See expo-native-ui for the full color palette pattern.
In SDK 56+, never import from @react-navigation/* directly — use expo-router/react-navigation instead (covers @react-navigation/native, /core, /elements, /routers)

Behavior

Prefer Stack.SearchBar to add a search bar to a screen

Navigation

Link

Use <Link href="/path" /> from 'expo-router' for navigation between routes.

tsx

import { Link } from 'expo-router';
// Basic link<Link href="/path" />
// Wrapping custom components<Link href="/path" asChild>  <Pressable>...</Pressable></Link>

import { Link } from 'expo-router';
// Basic link<Link href="/path" />
// Wrapping custom components<Link href="/path" asChild>  <Pressable>...</Pressable></Link>

Whenever possible, include a <Link.Preview> to follow iOS conventions. Add context menus and previews frequently to enhance navigation.

Stack

ALWAYS use _layout.tsx files to define stacks
Use Stack from 'expo-router/stack' for native navigation stacks

Page Title

Set the page title with Stack.Title:

Context Menus

Add long press context menus to Link components:

tsx

import { Link } from "expo-router";
<Link href="/settings" asChild>  <Link.Trigger>    <Pressable>      <Card />    </Pressable>  </Link.Trigger>  <Link.Menu>    <Link.MenuAction      title="Share"      icon="square.and.arrow.up"      onPress={handleSharePress}    />    <Link.MenuAction      title="Block"      icon="nosign"      destructive      onPress={handleBlockPress}    />    <Link.Menu title="More" icon="ellipsis">      <Link.MenuAction title="Copy" icon="doc.on.doc" onPress={() => {}} />      <Link.MenuAction        title="Delete"        icon="trash"        destructive        onPress={() => {}}      />    </Link.Menu>  </Link.Menu></Link>;

import { Link } from "expo-router";
<Link href="/settings" asChild>  <Link.Trigger>    <Pressable>      <Card />    </Pressable>  </Link.Trigger>  <Link.Menu>    <Link.MenuAction      title="Share"      icon="square.and.arrow.up"      onPress={handleSharePress}    />    <Link.MenuAction      title="Block"      icon="nosign"      destructive      onPress={handleBlockPress}    />    <Link.Menu title="More" icon="ellipsis">      <Link.MenuAction title="Copy" icon="doc.on.doc" onPress={() => {}} />      <Link.MenuAction        title="Delete"        icon="trash"        destructive        onPress={() => {}}      />    </Link.Menu>  </Link.Menu></Link>;

Link Previews

Use link previews frequently to enhance navigation:

tsx

<Link href="/settings">  <Link.Trigger>    <Pressable>      <Card />    </Pressable>  </Link.Trigger>  <Link.Preview /></Link>

<Link href="/settings">  <Link.Trigger>    <Pressable>      <Card />    </Pressable>  </Link.Trigger>  <Link.Preview /></Link>

Link preview can be used with context menus.

Modal

Present a screen as a modal:

Prefer this to building a custom modal component.

Sheet

Present a screen as a dynamic form sheet:

tsx

<Stack.Screen  name="sheet"  options={{    presentation: "formSheet",    sheetGrabberVisible: true,    sheetAllowedDetents: [0.5, 1.0],    contentStyle: { backgroundColor: "transparent" },  }}/>

<Stack.Screen  name="sheet"  options={{    presentation: "formSheet",    sheetGrabberVisible: true,    sheetAllowedDetents: [0.5, 1.0],    contentStyle: { backgroundColor: "transparent" },  }}/>

Using contentStyle: { backgroundColor: "transparent" } makes the background liquid glass on iOS 26+.

Common route structure

A standard app layout with tabs and stacks inside each tab:

app/  _layout.tsx — <NativeTabs />  (index,search)/    _layout.tsx — <Stack />    index.tsx — Main list    search.tsx — Search view

app/  _layout.tsx — <NativeTabs />  (index,search)/    _layout.tsx — <Stack />    index.tsx — Main list    search.tsx — Search view

tsx

// app/_layout.tsximport { NativeTabs } from "expo-router/unstable-native-tabs";import { ThemeProvider, DarkTheme, DefaultTheme } from "expo-router/react-navigation";import { useColorScheme } from "react-native";
export default function Layout() {  const colorScheme = useColorScheme();  return (    <ThemeProvider value={colorScheme === "dark" ? DarkTheme : DefaultTheme}>      <NativeTabs>        <NativeTabs.Trigger name="(index)">          <NativeTabs.Trigger.Icon sf="list.dash" md="list" />          <NativeTabs.Trigger.Label>Items</NativeTabs.Trigger.Label>        </NativeTabs.Trigger>        <NativeTabs.Trigger name="(search)" role="search" />      </NativeTabs>    </ThemeProvider>  );}

// app/_layout.tsximport { NativeTabs } from "expo-router/unstable-native-tabs";import { ThemeProvider, DarkTheme, DefaultTheme } from "expo-router/react-navigation";import { useColorScheme } from "react-native";
export default function Layout() {  const colorScheme = useColorScheme();  return (    <ThemeProvider value={colorScheme === "dark" ? DarkTheme : DefaultTheme}>      <NativeTabs>        <NativeTabs.Trigger name="(index)">          <NativeTabs.Trigger.Icon sf="list.dash" md="list" />          <NativeTabs.Trigger.Label>Items</NativeTabs.Trigger.Label>        </NativeTabs.Trigger>        <NativeTabs.Trigger name="(search)" role="search" />      </NativeTabs>    </ThemeProvider>  );}

Create a shared group route so both tabs can push common screens:

tsx

// app/(index,search)/_layout.tsximport { Stack } from "expo-router/stack";import { colors } from "@/theme/colors";
export default function Layout({ segment }) {  const screen = segment.match(/\((.*)\)/)?.[1]!;  const titles: Record<string, string> = { index: "Items", search: "Search" };
  return (    <Stack      screenOptions={{        headerTransparent: true,        headerShadowVisible: false,        headerLargeTitleShadowVisible: false,        headerLargeStyle: { backgroundColor: "transparent" },        headerTitleStyle: { color: colors.label },        headerLargeTitleEnabled: true,        headerBlurEffect: "none",        headerBackButtonDisplayMode: "minimal",      }}    >      <Stack.Screen name={screen} options={{ title: titles[screen] }} />      <Stack.Screen name="i/[id]" options={{ headerLargeTitleEnabled: false }} />    </Stack>  );}

// app/(index,search)/_layout.tsximport { Stack } from "expo-router/stack";import { colors } from "@/theme/colors";
export default function Layout({ segment }) {  const screen = segment.match(/\((.*)\)/)?.[1]!;  const titles: Record<string, string> = { index: "Items", search: "Search" };
  return (    <Stack      screenOptions={{        headerTransparent: true,        headerShadowVisible: false,        headerLargeTitleShadowVisible: false,        headerLargeStyle: { backgroundColor: "transparent" },        headerTitleStyle: { color: colors.label },        headerLargeTitleEnabled: true,        headerBlurEffect: "none",        headerBackButtonDisplayMode: "minimal",      }}    >      <Stack.Screen name={screen} options={{ title: titles[screen] }} />      <Stack.Screen name="i/[id]" options={{ headerLargeTitleEnabled: false }} />    </Stack>  );}

headerLargeTitleEnabled is the SDK 56+ option name; older SDKs use headerLargeTitle, which is deprecated upstream.

Submitting Feedback

If you encounter errors, misleading or outdated information in this skill, report it so Expo can improve:

bash

npx --yes submit-expo-feedback@latest --category skills --subject "expo-router" "<actionable feedback>"

npx --yes submit-expo-feedback@latest --category skills --subject "expo-router" "<actionable feedback>"

Only submit when you have something specific and actionable to report. Include as much relevant context as possible. If an AI agent repeatedly failed or the user had to take over an Expo task, load the expo-skill-feedback skill and follow its eval-candidate flow instead of reusing the command above.

Source and attribution

Source:expo/skillsinplugins/expo/skills/expo-routerat commitcd75214

License: MIT

Content belongs to its original authors. SourceWeft indexes it from a public repository.

Report or request removal

Expo Router

Expo Router Navigation

References

Code Style

Routes

Library Preferences

Behavior

Navigation

Link

Stack

Page Title

Context Menus

Link Previews

Modal

Sheet

Common route structure

Submitting Feedback

Source and attribution

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