Upgrading React Native

Upgrading React Native

Overview

Covers the full React Native upgrade workflow: template diffs via Upgrade Helper, dependency updates, Expo SDK steps, and common pitfalls.

Typical Upgrade Sequence

1. Route: Choose the right upgrade path via upgrading-react-native.md [blocked]
2. Diff: Fetch the canonical template diff using Upgrade Helper via upgrade-helper-core.md [blocked]
3. Dependencies: Assess and update third-party packages via upgrading-dependencies.md [blocked]
4. React: Align React version if upgraded via react.md [blocked]
5. Expo (if applicable): Apply Expo SDK layer via expo-sdk-upgrade.md [blocked]
6. Verify: Run post-upgrade checks via upgrade-verification.md [blocked]

# Quick start: detect current version and fetch diffnpm pkg get dependencies.react-native --prefix "$APP_DIR"npm view react-native dist-tags.latest
# Example: upgrading from 0.76.9 to 0.78.2# 1. Fetch the template diffcurl -L -f -o /tmp/rn-diff.diff \  "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/react-native-community/rn-diff-purge/diffs/diffs/0.76.9..0.78.2.diff" \  && echo "Diff downloaded OK" || echo "ERROR: diff not found, check versions"# 2. Review changed filesgrep -n "^diff --git" /tmp/rn-diff.diff# 3. Update package.json, apply native changes, then install + rebuildnpm install --prefix "$APP_DIR"cd "$APP_DIR/ios" && pod install# 4. Validate: both platforms must build successfullynpx react-native build-android --mode debug --no-packagerxcodebuild -workspace "$APP_DIR/ios/App.xcworkspace" -scheme App -sdk iphonesimulator build

When to Apply

Reference these guidelines when:

• Moving a React Native app to a newer version
• Reconciling native config changes from Upgrade Helper
• Validating release notes for breaking changes

Quick Reference

Problem → Skill Mapping