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Learn which files EAS CLI uploads to EAS Build and how the version control workflow changes them.

When you run eas build, EAS CLI creates a project archive on your computer. It uploads the project archive to a private cloud storage bucket. EAS Build then downloads the project archive and unpacks it on the build server.

The files in the project archive depend on your version control workflow and on your ignore files.

Version control workflows

EAS CLI supports three version control system (VCS) workflows:

Default workflow

EAS CLI uses Git to find the root of your repository and to read metadata, such as the current branch and the commit hash. You do not need to commit your changes before a build.

EAS CLI creates a shallow Git clone of your repository. Then it copies your working directory into the clone. The project archive includes uncommitted and untracked files, except the files that your ignore files exclude.

This workflow requires a Git repository. If your project does not have one, EAS CLI offers to run git init and create an initial commit.

Full Git workflow

To require a commit before each build, set cli.requireCommit to true in eas.json:

{
  "cli": {
    "requireCommit": true
  }
}

Before a build, EAS CLI checks for uncommitted changes. If it finds any, EAS CLI asks whether to commit them. In non-interactive mode, the build stops instead.

The project archive is a shallow Git clone of your last commit. EAS CLI still applies .easignore in this workflow, so the project archive can differ from the commit. For details, see How EAS CLI applies .easignore.

No VCS workflow

Use this workflow if you use a different version control system or no version control system. To use it, set the EAS_NO_VCS environment variable to 1:

EAS CLI copies your project directory into the project archive without Git. It shows a warning that this workflow is not recommended. The project archive does not include a .git directory.

EAS CLI uses the absolute path in the EAS_PROJECT_ROOT environment variable as your project directory. If it is not set, EAS CLI uses the root of your Git repository, or the current directory if there is no repository.

What the project archive includes

EAS CLI follows these rules when it creates the project archive:

• In the default and No VCS workflows, EAS CLI excludes the files that your .gitignore files list, including files that Git tracks. If a .easignore file exists, EAS CLI uses it instead of all .gitignore files. For more information, see Ignore files via .easignore.
• In the default and No VCS workflows, EAS CLI does not copy node_modules, even if no ignore file lists it. EAS Build installs your dependencies on the build server.
• In the default and full Git workflows, the project archive includes a shallow .git directory.
• In the default and No VCS workflows, EAS CLI reads each .gitignore file separately. A negation rule in a subdirectory, such as !keep.log, does not override a rule in a parent directory, such as *.log. Git keeps such a file, but EAS CLI excludes it. To include it, use .easignore.
• In the default workflow, the project archive includes your Git submodules as they are in your working directory. For the full Git workflow and CI, see Using Git submodules.
• In the default and No VCS workflows, EAS CLI copies files as they are on disk. If you use git-crypt and your files are unlocked, EAS CLI uploads them unencrypted.

EAS CLI shows a warning when the project archive is larger than 150 MiB. It stops with an error when the project archive is larger than 2 GiB. The error message is "Project archive is too big. Maximum allowed size is 2.0 GB." To make the project archive smaller, exclude files with .easignore.

To see the files that EAS CLI uploads for your project, follow the steps in Check which files EAS uploads.