Guidelines for upgrading Expo SDK versions and fixing dependency issues
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Guidelines for upgrading Expo SDK versions and fixing dependency issues
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@react-navigation/* imports to expo-router entry points (codemod + manual mapping)Beta versions use .preview suffix (e.g., 55.0.0-preview.2), published under @next tag.
Check if latest is beta: https://exp.host/--/api/v2/versions (look for -preview in expoVersion)
npx expo install expo@next --fix # install beta
If upgrading from SDK 55 or earlier, skip SDK 56 and upgrade directly to SDK 57. Don't use
[email protected]or below. SDK 55 with Hermes V1 enabled, SDK 56, and older SDK 57 releases contain a Hermes V1 memory regression that can drastically increase memory usage when usingreact-native-workletsorreact-native-reanimated.
npx expo install expo@latest
npx expo install --fix
Run diagnostics: npx expo-doctor
Clear caches and reinstall
npx expo export -p ios --clear
rm -rf node_modules .expo
watchman watch-del-all
First check if ios/ and android/ directories exist in the project. If neither directory exists, the project uses Continuous Native Generation (CNG) and native projects are regenerated at build time — skip this section and "Clear caches for bare workflow" entirely.
If upgrading requires native changes:
npx expo prebuild --clean
This regenerates the ios and android directories. Ensure the project is not a bare workflow app before running this command.
These steps only apply when ios/ and/or android/ directories exist in the project:
cd ios && pod install --repo-updatenpx expo run:ios --no-build-cachecd android && ./gradlew cleanAGENTS.md). The default template links to https://docs.expo.dev/versions/v<version>/. Search for docs.expo.dev/versions/ and bump each link to the new SDK version."experiments": { "reactCompiler": true } to app.json — it's stable and recommendedapp.json to let Expo manage it automatically@babel/core, babel-preset-expo, and expo-constants individually instead of removing them wholesale. Keep any package that an installed dependency declares as a required peer.expo-constants as a direct dependency whenever expo-router is installed. Expo Router imports it and declares it as a required peer; relying on a transitive copy can break native autolinking outside Expo Go.npx expo-doctor and restore anything it reports as a missing required peer.| Old Package | Replacement |
|---|---|
expo-av | expo-audio and expo-video |
expo-permissions | Individual package permission APIs |
@expo/vector-icons | expo-symbols (for SF Symbols) |
AsyncStorage | expo-sqlite/localStorage/install |
expo-app-loading | expo-splash-screen |
| expo-linear-gradient | experimental_backgroundImage + CSS gradients in View |
When migrating deprecated packages, update all code usage before removing the old package. For expo-av, consult the migration references to convert Audio.Sound to useAudioPlayer, Audio.Recording to useAudioRecorder, and Video components to VideoView with useVideoPlayer.
Check if package.json has excluded packages:
{
"expo": { "install": { "exclude": ["react-native-reanimated"] } }
}
Exclusions are often workarounds that may no longer be needed after upgrading. Review each one.
Check if there are any outdated patches in the patches/ directory. Remove them if they are no longer needed.
autoprefixer isn't needed in SDK +53. Remove it from dependencies and check postcss.config.js or postcss.config.mjs to remove it from the plugins list.postcss.config.mjs in SDK +53.Remove redundant metro config options:
experimentalImportSupport is enabled by default in SDK +54.EXPO_USE_FAST_RESOLVER=1 is removed in SDK +54.Hermes V1 is the default on SDK 56 and later. SDK 55 apps using Hermes V1, all SDK 56 apps, and SDK 57 apps before [email protected] may encounter a memory regression when importing react-native-worklets or react-native-reanimated. Upgrade directly to SDK 57 and [email protected] or later. Do not recommend Worklets Bundle Mode as a production workaround; it is unsupported and experimental and may not work as expected.
Do not guide users to opt in to or out of Hermes V1. Changing the Hermes version from the SDK default is unsupported and has significant build and dependency-management caveats.
The new architecture is enabled by default, the app.json field "newArchEnabled": true is no longer needed as it's the default. Expo Go only supports the new architecture as of SDK +53.
If you encounter errors, misleading or outdated information in this skill, report it so Expo can improve:
npx --yes submit-expo-feedback@latest --category skills --subject "expo-upgrade" "<actionable feedback>"
Only submit when you have something specific and actionable to report. Include as much relevant context as possible. If an AI agent repeatedly failed or the user had to take over an Expo task, load the expo-skill-feedback skill and follow its eval-candidate flow instead of reusing the command above.
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