Expo App Initialize

Expo App Initialize

Create a production-ready Expo React Native app from the tabs template and configure it with the standard dependencies. Use Bun for every command. Never use npm, yarn, or npx; use bunx for one-off tools.

Project name: $ARGUMENTS. If that value is empty or starts with a dollar sign (Codex does not replace the placeholder), take the name from the invocation message. If no name was passed, ask the user for a project name before running anything.

Versions

Use the latest version of every package that is compatible with the project. Never copy a version number from memory or from this skill.

• Create the project with create-expo@latest, so the app starts on the newest stable Expo SDK.
• Before any install, read the project's Expo SDK and React Native versions from package.json. For each package that Expo does not track (react-native-mmkv, react-native-nitro-modules, expo-iap), check the latest published version, its required peer dependencies, and its documented minimum Expo SDK and React Native versions. Choose the newest version that supports the project's React Native version and architecture, and record it with every required peer dependency. If the chosen version is older than the latest, tell the user why.
• Install every package with bunx expo install <package>. It selects the version that matches the project's Expo SDK for packages Expo tracks, and the latest version for others. Install the versions and peer dependencies that the check chose in the same command.
• After installation, run bunx expo install --check and bunx expo-doctor. Fix every version mismatch they report before prebuild.

Workflow

Run each step in order and wait for it to finish before the next. If a step fails, stop and report the exact error with troubleshooting steps. Never continue after a failed step.

1. Create the project: bunx create-expo@latest <project-name> --template tabs --yes, then work inside the new directory.
2. Confirm expo-router is already in package.json. The tabs template includes it. Install it with bunx expo install expo-router only if it is missing.
3. Check the packages that Expo does not track, as the Versions section describes. Record the chosen version and the required peer dependencies of each package.
4. Install the dependencies: bunx expo install react-native-mmkv react-native-nitro-modules expo-dev-client expo-iap, plus every required peer dependency that step 3 found. Write a package as <package>@<version> when step 3 chose a version older than the latest.
5. Run bunx expo install --check and bunx expo-doctor, and fix every version mismatch they report.
6. Run prebuild as the final setup step: bunx expo prebuild. If the user asked for one platform only, run bunx expo prebuild --platform <android|ios>. On Windows, prebuild skips iOS with a warning; this is expected, so report it and continue.
7. Write the commands section into CLAUDE.md in the project root. Never overwrite or remove template content, and never add a second # Project Commands section.
   • CLAUDE.md exists, as a file or as a symlink to AGENTS.md: append the commands section to it once.
   • CLAUDE.md is missing and AGENTS.md exists: create CLAUDE.md with @AGENTS.md as its first line, then the commands section. Do not change AGENTS.md.
   • Neither file exists: create CLAUDE.md with the commands section.

Ask the user only when they give a non-standard project location, when their requirements conflict with this setup, or when an error cannot be resolved automatically.

Verification

Before reporting completion, confirm:

• The tabs template exists: app/(tabs) and app/_layout.tsx.
• package.json lists every required dependency and peer dependency.
• bunx expo install --check and bunx expo-doctor report no problems.
• Prebuild finished with no errors, and the native directory of each platform that prebuild generated exists: android/ and ios/ by default, only android/ on Windows, or only the platform the user asked for.
• CLAUDE.md contains the commands section exactly once, and AGENTS.md, if the template created it, keeps all of its template content.

Commands section

Read the scripts in package.json after prebuild, and write the bun run lines to match the scripts that exist.

markdownCopy code
# Project Commands

## Development
- `bun start` - Start the Expo development server
- `bun run ios` - Run on iOS simulator
- `bun run android` - Run on Android emulator
- `bun run web` - Run in web browser

### Build and Deployment
- `bunx expo prebuild --clean` - Clean and regenerate native code
- `bunx eas-cli build --platform android` - Build for Android using EAS
- `bunx eas-cli build --platform ios` - Build for iOS using EAS
- `bunx eas-cli build --platform android --auto-submit` - Build and auto-submit to Play Store

Report

Follow the Response Style section of the global guidelines. Include the project directory name, the Expo SDK version, and each installed package with its version and purpose:

• expo-router: file-based routing.
• react-native-mmkv: high-performance key-value storage.
• react-native-nitro-modules: native module runtime that react-native-mmkv requires.
• expo-dev-client: custom development builds and native code.
• expo-iap: in-app purchases. Warn that Apple and Google store configuration is still required.

State any package that is not on its latest version, and why. Suggest bunx expo run:ios or bunx expo run:android as next steps.