Announcing React Native Brownfield v3 with Expo Config Plugin
Article Summary
Artur Morys-Magiera and Hur Ali from Callstack just dropped React Native Brownfield v3, and it changes everything about integrating React Native into existing native apps. One line of config, and you're ready to ship.
After 6 years of migrating dozens of large-scale native apps to React Native, Callstack has released React Native Brownfield v3 with full Expo Config Plugin support. The library packages React Native apps into single artifacts (XCFramework or AAR) that native developers can integrate without touching auto-generated files or complex setup.
Key Takeaways
- Single line plugin config gets Expo apps running in native iOS and Android
- New brownfield CLI automates XCFramework and AAR packaging for distribution
- Includes Brownie for type safe shared state between native and React code
- Navigation helpers and async communication API landing in v3.1 release
React Native Brownfield v3 reduces Expo integration into existing native apps from hours of configuration to a single plugin line, with automated packaging and distribution.
About This Article
When you integrate Expo apps into native iOS and Android codebases, you have to manually patch auto-generated files like ExpoModulesProvider. This makes the developer experience worse and adds unnecessary complexity to brownfield integration work.
Callstack built an Expo Config Plugin that automatically generates the correct entry points and applies necessary changes, so you don't have to patch files by hand. The new brownfield CLI handles XCFramework and AAR packaging with configurable module names and compilation options.
Developers can now integrate a complete Expo app into native projects by adding a single line to app.json and running two CLI commands. Setup time drops from hours of configuration to minutes. You keep full control over distribution through git submodules, private Maven repositories, or npm packages.