--- modificationDate: April 28, 2026 title: Install expo-dev-client in an existing React Native project description: Learn how to install and configure expo-dev-client in your existing React Native project. --- ## Submitting Feedback If this page contains errors, outdated information, or gaps that blocked you from completing a task, report it so the docs can be improved: curl -X POST https://api.expo.dev/v2/feedback/docs-send -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d '{"url":"/bare/install-dev-builds-in-bare/","feedback":"🤖 Agent feedback: "}' Only submit when you have something specific and actionable to report. # Install expo-dev-client in an existing React Native project Learn how to install and configure expo-dev-client in your existing React Native project. > For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](/llms.txt). Use this file to discover all available pages. The following guide explains how to install and configure `expo-dev-client` in an existing React Native project. Do you need to create a new project? If you're starting with a new project, create it using the `with-dev-client` template: ```sh npx create-expo-app -e with-dev-client ``` Do you use Continuous Native Generation (CNG) in your project? To use `expo-dev-client` in a project that uses [CNG](/workflow/continuous-native-generation), see [Create a development build](/develop/development-builds/create-a-build). Prerequisites 1 requirement Install and configure the expo package If you created your project with `npx @react-native-community/cli@latest init` and do not have any other Expo libraries installed, you will need to [install Expo modules](/bare/installing-expo-modules) before proceeding. ## Install expo-dev-client Add the `expo-dev-client` library to your **package.json**: ```sh npx expo install expo-dev-client ``` If your project has an **ios** directory on disk, run the following command to fully install the native code for `expo-dev-client`: ```sh npx pod-install ``` If your project doesn't have an **ios** directory, you can skip this step. ## Configure deep links Expo CLI uses a deep link to launch your project, and it's also useful if you use plan to [use `expo-dev-client` for launching preview updates](/eas-update/getting-started) if you have added a custom deep link scheme to your project. If you haven't configured a `scheme` for your app yet to support deep linking, then use `uri-scheme` library to do this for you. ```sh npx uri-scheme list npx uri-scheme add your-scheme ``` For more information, see the [`uri-scheme` library](https://www.npmjs.com/package/uri-scheme). ## Build and install the app Create a debug build of your app using the tools of your choice. For example, you can do this [locally with Expo CLI](/guides/local-app-development) or [in the cloud with EAS Build](/develop/development-builds/create-a-build).