Migrating React Native Libraries to the New Architecture
Article Summary
The React Native team is rolling out comprehensive migration resources as the New Architecture moves toward becoming the default. If you maintain a library, this directly impacts your roadmap.
React Native's New Architecture brings TurboModules and Fabric Components to replace legacy Native Modules and Components. The core team has launched multiple resources to help library maintainers migrate, including example repos, expanded documentation, and a dedicated GitHub Working Group for community support.
Key Takeaways
- Two example repos show step-by-step migrations for apps and libraries
- GitHub Working Group provides direct support from React Native team
- Popular libraries like react-native-gesture-handler and reanimated already migrated
- Each commit in example repos corresponds to one isolated migration step
- Backward compatibility guidance ensures libraries work with both architectures
React Native is providing hands-on migration tools and community support to help library maintainers transition to the New Architecture before it becomes the default.
About This Article
React Native's ecosystem became fragmented when the New Architecture introduced TurboModules and Fabric Components. Many open-source libraries needed to migrate to keep the ecosystem consistent and complete.
React Native set up RNNewArchitectureApp and RNNewArchitectureLibraries repositories with isolated migration steps in each commit. They also expanded their New Architecture guides to cover TurboModule creation, how Codegen works, and backward compatibility patterns.
The GitHub Working Group monitored how popular libraries were migrating. Some libraries like react-native-gesture-handler and react-native-reanimated finished their full migration. Others such as react-native-navigation and react-native-screens are still working through the process.