upgrading-react-native

by callstackincubator

Orchestrates React Native version upgrades with template diffs, dependency resolution, and native platform migration. Applies canonical rn-diff-purge template diffs to align native iOS and Android configuration with target React Native versions Handles package.json dependency updates, CocoaPods and Gradle changes, and breaking API migrations across major and minor version bumps Includes Expo SDK upgrade layer for managed Expo projects and post-upgrade verification checklist Provides... npx skills add https://github.com/callstackincubator/agent-skills --skill upgrading-react-native Download ZIPGitHub1.5k

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

• Route: Choose the right upgrade path via upgrading-react-native.md

• Diff: Fetch the canonical template diff using Upgrade Helper via upgrade-helper-core.md

• Dependencies: Assess and update third-party packages via upgrading-dependencies.md

• React: Align React version if upgraded via react.md

• Expo (if applicable): Apply Expo SDK layer via expo-sdk-upgrade.md

• Verify: Run post-upgrade checks via upgrade-verification.md

# Quick start: detect current version and fetch diff
npm 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 diff
curl -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 files
grep -n "^diff --git" /tmp/rn-diff.diff
# 3. Update package.json, apply native changes, then install + rebuild
npm install --prefix "$APP_DIR"
cd "$APP_DIR/ios" && pod install
# 4. Validate: both platforms must build successfully
npx react-native build-android --mode debug --no-packager
xcodebuild -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

File Description upgrading-react-native.md Router: choose the right upgrade path upgrade-helper-core.md Core Upgrade Helper workflow and reliability gates upgrading-dependencies.md Dependency compatibility checks and migration planning react.md React and React 19 upgrade alignment rules expo-sdk-upgrade.md Expo SDK-specific upgrade layer (conditional) upgrade-verification.md Post-upgrade verification checklist, including agent-device-assisted checks monorepo-singlerepo-targeting.md Monorepo and single-repo app targeting and command scoping

Problem → Skill Mapping

Problem Start With Need to upgrade React Native upgrade-helper-core.md Need dependency risk triage and migration options upgrading-dependencies.md Need React/React 19 package alignment react.md Need workflow routing first upgrading-react-native.md Need Expo SDK-specific steps expo-sdk-upgrade.md Need manual or agent-assisted regression validation upgrade-verification.md Need repo/app command scoping monorepo-singlerepo-targeting.md