upgrading-react-native

Upgrades React Native apps to newer versions by applying rn-diff-purge template diffs, updating package.json dependencies, migrating native iOS and Android configuration, resolving CocoaPods and Gradle changes, and handling breaking API updates. Use when upgrading React Native, bumping RN version, updating from RN 0.x to 0.y, or migrating Expo SDK alongside a React Native upgrade.

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Jun 16, 2026

Upgrading React Native

Overview

Covers the full React Native upgrade workflow: template diffs via Upgrade Helper, dependency updates, Expo SDK steps, and common pitfalls.

Typical Upgrade Sequence

Route: Choose the right upgrade path via upgrading-react-native.md
Diff: Fetch the canonical template diff using Upgrade Helper via upgrade-helper-core.md
Dependencies: Assess and update third-party packages via upgrading-dependencies.md
React: Align React version if upgraded via react.md
Expo (if applicable): Apply Expo SDK layer via expo-sdk-upgrade.md
Verify: Run post-upgrade checks via upgrade-verification.md

# Quick start: detect current version and fetch diff
npm pkg get dependencies.react-native --prefix "$APP_DIR"
npm view react-native dist-tags.latest

# Example: upgrading from 0.76.9 to 0.78.2
# 1. Fetch the template diff
curl -L -f -o /tmp/rn-diff.diff \
  "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/react-native-community/rn-diff-purge/diffs/diffs/0.76.9..0.78.2.diff" \
  &#x26;&#x26; echo "Diff downloaded OK" || echo "ERROR: diff not found, check versions"
# 2. Review changed files
grep -n "^diff --git" /tmp/rn-diff.diff
# 3. Update package.json, apply native changes, then install + rebuild
npm install --prefix "$APP_DIR"
cd "$APP_DIR/ios" &#x26;&#x26; pod install
# 4. Validate: both platforms must build successfully
npx react-native build-android --mode debug --no-packager
xcodebuild -workspace "$APP_DIR/ios/App.xcworkspace" -scheme App -sdk iphonesimulator build

When to Apply

Reference these guidelines when:

Moving a React Native app to a newer version
Reconciling native config changes from Upgrade Helper
Validating release notes for breaking changes

Quick Reference

File	Description
upgrading-react-native.md	Router: choose the right upgrade path
upgrade-helper-core.md	Core Upgrade Helper workflow and reliability gates
upgrading-dependencies.md	Dependency compatibility checks and migration planning
react.md	React and React 19 upgrade alignment rules
expo-sdk-upgrade.md	Expo SDK-specific upgrade layer (conditional)
upgrade-verification.md	Post-upgrade verification checklist, including agent-device-assisted checks
monorepo-singlerepo-targeting.md	Monorepo and single-repo app targeting and command scoping

Problem → Skill Mapping

Problem	Start With
Need to upgrade React Native	upgrade-helper-core.md
Need dependency risk triage and migration options	upgrading-dependencies.md
Need React/React 19 package alignment	react.md
Need workflow routing first	upgrading-react-native.md
Need Expo SDK-specific steps	expo-sdk-upgrade.md
Need manual or agent-assisted regression validation	upgrade-verification.md
Need repo/app command scoping	monorepo-singlerepo-targeting.md

Typical Upgrade Sequence

Route: Choose the right upgrade path via upgrading-react-native.md

Diff: Fetch the canonical template diff using Upgrade Helper via upgrade-helper-core.md

Dependencies: Assess and update third-party packages via upgrading-dependencies.md

React: Align React version if upgraded via react.md

Expo (if applicable): Apply Expo SDK layer via expo-sdk-upgrade.md

Verify: Run post-upgrade checks via upgrade-verification.md

# Quick start: detect current version and fetch diff npm pkg get dependencies.react-native --prefix "$APP_DIR" npm view react-native dist-tags.latest # Example: upgrading from 0.76.9 to 0.78.2 # 1. Fetch the template diff curl -L -f -o /tmp/rn-diff.diff \ "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/react-native-community/rn-diff-purge/diffs/diffs/0.76.9..0.78.2.diff" \ && echo "Diff downloaded OK" || echo "ERROR: diff not found, check versions" # 2. Review changed files grep -n "^diff --git" /tmp/rn-diff.diff # 3. Update package.json, apply native changes, then install + rebuild npm install --prefix "$APP_DIR" cd "$APP_DIR/ios" && pod install # 4. Validate: both platforms must build successfully npx react-native build-android --mode debug --no-packager xcodebuild -workspace "$APP_DIR/ios/App.xcworkspace" -scheme App -sdk iphonesimulator build

Quick Reference

File

Description

upgrading-react-native.md

Router: choose the right upgrade path

upgrade-helper-core.md

Core Upgrade Helper workflow and reliability gates

upgrading-dependencies.md

Dependency compatibility checks and migration planning

react.md

React and React 19 upgrade alignment rules

expo-sdk-upgrade.md

Expo SDK-specific upgrade layer (conditional)

upgrade-verification.md

Post-upgrade verification checklist, including agent-device-assisted checks

monorepo-singlerepo-targeting.md

Monorepo and single-repo app targeting and command scoping

Problem → Skill Mapping

Problem

Start With

Need to upgrade React Native

upgrade-helper-core.md

Need dependency risk triage and migration options

upgrading-dependencies.md

Need React/React 19 package alignment

react.md

Need workflow routing first

upgrading-react-native.md

Need Expo SDK-specific steps

expo-sdk-upgrade.md

Need manual or agent-assisted regression validation

upgrade-verification.md

Need repo/app command scoping

monorepo-singlerepo-targeting.md

upgrading-react-native

Upgrading React Native

Overview

Typical Upgrade Sequence

When to Apply

Quick Reference

Problem → Skill Mapping

Related Skills

Untitled Skill

Frontend Typescript Linting.mdc

2. Apply Deepthink Protocol (reason about dependencies

Upgrading React Native

Overview

Typical Upgrade Sequence

When to Apply

Quick Reference

Problem → Skill Mapping