Expo Examples
expo/examples is Expo's official library of ~70
integration examples — directories named
(e.g.
,
), each built around
one library or service. These are not full apps: they're
managed projects (no
/
dirs — native setup is via config plugins), and the typical one is a
single screen of ~100–200 lines. Mine them for the canonical integration
pattern — the dependency set,
config plugins, and minimal wiring Expo maintains against the current SDK — and adapt that into the user's app. Don't expect to lift an application architecture from them.
Reach for an example before hand-rolling an integration. (Kinds — full-stack, showcases, starters — are noted in
.)
Two modes
- Inspiration / adapt (most common) — the user already has a project. Find the matching example, read its key files, and apply the pattern to their code.
- Scaffold — greenfield. Start a fresh project directly from the example.
Workflow
1. Find the right example
Map the user's need to an example name (e.g. payments →
, auth →
).
is a categorized snapshot for fast triage — but it drifts, so confirm against the live list:
bash
# Live example names:
gh api repos/expo/examples/contents --jq '.[] | select(.type=="dir" and (.name|startswith(".")|not)) | .name'
# Aliases (renamed) + deprecated (dead/moved) examples — check before recommending:
gh api repos/expo/examples/contents/meta.json --jq '.content' | base64 -d
is the source of truth for what's renamed or dead (deprecated examples are removed from the repo tree but still listed here, each with a
). If an example is in its
map, don't recommend it — follow the
to the modern path. If it's in
, use the
.
2a. Inspiration mode — study without touching the user's project
The common case: the user already has an app and wants to see how Expo does something. Read the example as reference and apply the patterns by hand — never scaffold an example on top of their project.
First, list the whole example in one call. Integration code is often nested (e.g. Stripe's server routes live in
), so a one-level listing misses the important files:
bash
gh api 'repos/expo/examples/git/trees/master?recursive=1' \
--jq '.tree[].path | select(startswith("with-stripe/"))'
Then read the high-signal files first: (setup) →
(deps) →
(config plugins / permissions) → the integration code the manifest revealed →
(required secrets). Per file:
bash
gh api repos/expo/examples/contents/with-stripe/utils/stripe-server.ts --jq '.content' | base64 -d
# No gh? Raw URL (branch is master):
curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/expo/examples/master/with-stripe/utils/stripe-server.ts
Reading more than a couple of files? Many integrations are spread across server routes, a client provider, and config (Stripe is). Skip the per-file calls — pull the whole example into a throwaway/gitignored dir (not the user's project) and read it freely with Grep/Read, then apply by hand:
bash
npx degit expo/examples/with-stripe /tmp/expo-ref/with-stripe # clean copy, no git history
# fallback without degit (sparse-checkout, no full ~64 MB clone):
git clone --depth 1 --filter=blob:none --sparse https://github.com/expo/examples.git /tmp/expo-ref/examples \
&& (cd /tmp/expo-ref/examples && git sparse-checkout set with-stripe)
Read from there with Grep/Read; delete the scratch dir when done.
2b. Scaffold mode — new project from an example
bash
npx create-expo --example with-stripe # short form: npx create-expo -e with-stripe
bun create expo --example with-stripe # with bun
3. Adapt into the user's app — non-destructively (critical)
When the user already has an app, add only what the example introduces; never overwrite their setup.
- Version-align — don't copy pinned versions. Examples track the latest SDK, so their pins won't match an older project. Add only the missing deps with (it resolves SDK-correct versions) instead of copying exact versions.
- Merge config, don't replace it. Add only the / plugins and permissions the example introduces that the user lacks — keep their existing config block intact.
- Port the integration code.
- Recreate env vars from the example's shape — it holds placeholders, never working secrets.
Done when the integration code is ported and every dependency, config plugin, permission, and env var it needs is accounted for in the user's app — not when it merely looks wired up.
Gotchas
- Default branch is , not (matters for raw URLs and sparse checkout).
- Single-click deploy. Every example has a launch URL:
https://launch.expo.dev/?github=https://github.com/expo/examples/tree/master/<example>
Related skills
- Tailwind / NativeWind styling →
- Native UI components →
- Authoring a native module →
- Upgrade the SDK before adopting a latest-SDK example →
References
- — categorized snapshot of the example library for fast triage.