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This documentation is available as Markdown for AI agents and LLMs. See the full Markdown index or append .md to any documentation URL.

Create a project

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Learn how to create a new Expo project.

Expo is a React Native framework that makes developing Android and iOS apps easier. Our framework provides file-based routing, a standard library of native modules, and much more. Expo is open source with an active community on GitHub and Discord.

We also make Expo Application Services (EAS), a set of services that complement the Expo framework in each step of the development process.

New to programming? You can build your first Expo app by prompting an AI coding agent instead of writing code. Follow the Build with AI tutorial. It covers setup from scratch.

System requirements

Start with a default project

We recommend starting with the default project created by create-expo-app. The default project includes example code to help you get started.

To create a new project, run the following command:

Terminal
- npx create-expo-app@latest --template default@sdk-57
- yarn create expo-app --template default@sdk-57
- pnpm create expo-app --template default@sdk-57
- bun create expo --template default@sdk-57

Note: Without --template, create-expo-app prompts which Expo SDK version to use. Select Latest (SDK 57) for most projects, or for learning with Expo Go (SDK 54), which matches the Google Play Store and Apple App Store versions of Expo Go. You can also choose a different template by adding the --template option.

Start from an example

Instead of the default project, you can start from one of the Expo examples. These are small apps that each demonstrate a specific feature or integration, such as Expo Router, Expo Widgets, or a camera screen.

To browse the full list and pick one interactively, run create-expo-app with the --example option and no name:

Terminal
- npx create-expo-app@latest --example
- yarn create expo-app --example
- pnpm create expo-app --example
- bun create expo --example

To create a known example directly, pass its name:

Terminal
- npx create-expo-app@latest --example with-widgets
- yarn create expo-app --example with-widgets
- pnpm create expo-app --example with-widgets
- bun create expo --example with-widgets
The rest of the guides in this "Get started" section follows the default project. An example app may be organized differently but the concepts are the same.

Set up an AI agent

A new project includes the project context files that AI agents read: AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, and .claude/settings.json. Claude Code and Codex also have an official Expo plugin. Using one command, you can install Expo Skills and register the Expo Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server:

Terminal
- claude plugin install expo@claude-plugins-official

Then run /mcp inside your Claude Code session to sign in to your Expo account.

The plugin also installs the skill that teaches an agent where files live in a new Expo project:

expo-project-structure

Folder structure for a new Expo app.

For Cursor and other agents, install Expo Skills and the Expo MCP Server separately. The AI agents and Expo overview covers setup for each agent.

Next step

You have a project. Now it's time to set up your development environment so that you can start developing.