How to trace an update ID back to the EAS dashboard

Learn how to trace an update ID back to the EAS dashboard when using EAS Update and expo-updates library.

When working with EAS Updates, you might encounter a scenario where you need to trace an updateId back to the EAS dashboard. This can be challenging because Updates.updateId always returns an ID, regardless of whether Updates.isEmbeddedLaunch is true or false. However, if the app is running an embedded update, attempting to look up the updateId in the EAS dashboard will result in an error. This happens because embedded updates are not tracked in the dashboard.

Determine if the update is embedded or downloaded

To avoid this issue, you can use the Updates.isEmbeddedLaunch property to determine whether the app is running an embedded update or one downloaded from the server. If Updates.isEmbeddedLaunch is true, the currently running update is embedded in the build, which means it won't be available in the EAS dashboard.

Here's an example of how you can display whether the update is embedded or downloaded:

import * as Updates from 'expo-updates';
import { Text } from 'react-native';

export default function UpdateStatus() {
  return (
    <Text>
      {Updates.isEmbeddedLaunch
        ? '(Embedded) ❌ You cannot trace this update in the EAS dashboard.'
        : '(Downloaded) ✅ You can trace this update in the EAS dashboard.'}
    </Text>
  );
}

When you navigate to an update group in the EAS dashboard (open your project, select Over-the-air updates, and click a specific update), the URL displays as:

https://expo.dev/accounts/[accountName]/projects/[projectName]/updates/[updateGroupId]

You can replace updateGroupId with the Updates.updateId to navigate directly to a specific platform update:

https://expo.dev/accounts/[accountName]/projects/[projectName]/updates/[updateId]

This opens the corresponding update group for the platform-specific update.