Use TypeScript

An in-depth guide on configuring an Expo project with TypeScript.

Expo has first-class support for TypeScript. The JavaScript interface of the Expo SDK is completely written in TypeScript.

Get started

Quick start with a template

The easiest way to get started is to initialize your new project using a TypeScript template:

For npm, add the following script to the package.json:

{
  "scripts": {
    "ts:check": "tsc"
    %%placeholder-start%%... %%placeholder-end%%
  }
}

Then, to type-check the project, run the following command:

When you create new source files in your project you should use the .ts extension or the .tsx if the file includes React components.

In an existing project

Rename files to convert them to TypeScript. For example, rename App.js to App.tsx. Use the .tsx extension if the file includes React components (JSX). If the file does not include any JSX, you can use the .ts file extension.

For SDK 48 and higher, running npx expo start prompts you to install the required dependencies, such as typescript and @types/react. For SDK 47 and below, the command also prompts you to install @types/react-native as an additional dependency.

For npm, add the following script to the package.json:

{
  "scripts": {
    "ts:check": "tsc"
    %%placeholder-start%%... %%placeholder-end%%
  }
}

You can now run npm run ts:check or yarn tsc to type-check the project.

Base configuration

You can disable the TypeScript setup in Expo CLI with the environment variable EXPO_NO_TYPESCRIPT_SETUP=1

A project's tsconfig.json should extend the expo/tsconfig.base by default. This sets the following default compiler options (which can be overwritten in your project's tsconfig.json):

You can automatically generate a tsconfig.json file by running the command:

Project configuration

Expo CLI will automatically modify your tsconfig.json to the preferred default which is optimized for universal React development:

{
  "extends": "expo/tsconfig.base",
  "compilerOptions": {},
  "include": ["**/*.ts", "**/*.tsx", ".expo/types/**/*.ts", "expo-env.d.ts"]
}

The default configuration for TypeScript is user-friendly and encourages adoption. However, if you prefer strict type checking, you can enable it by adding "strict": true to the compilerOptions. We recommend enabling this to minimize the chance of introducing runtime errors.

Some language features may require additional configuration. For example, if want to use decorators you'll need to add the experimentalDecorators option. For more information on the available properties see the TypeScript compiler options documentation.

Path aliases

Expo CLI supports path aliases in your project's tsconfig.json automatically. This enables you to import modules using a custom alias instead of a relative path.

For example, if you have a file at src/components/Button.tsx and wish to import it using the alias @/components/Button as follows:

import Button from '@/components/Button';

Then simply add the alias @/* in the project's tsconfig.json and set it to the src directory:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "baseUrl": ".",
    "paths": {
      "@/*": ["src/*"]
    }
  }
}

Consider the following when using path aliases:

• Restart Expo CLI after changing tsconfig.json to update path aliases. You don't need to clear the Metro cache when the aliases change.
• If not using TypeScript, jsconfig.json can serve as an alternative to tsconfig.json.
• Path aliases add additional resolution time when defined.
• Path aliases are only supported by Metro (including Metro web) and not by @expo/webpack-config.
• Bare projects require additional setup for this feature. See the versioned Metro setup guide for more information.

{
  "expo": {
    "experiments": {
      "tsconfigPaths": false
    }
  }
}

{
  "expo": {
    "experiments": {
      "tsconfigPaths": true
    }
  }
}

Absolute imports

Available in SDK 49 and higher.

In SDK 49 projects, you'll need to enable absolute imports in the project's app config:

{
  "expo": {
    "experiments": {
      "tsconfigPaths": true
    }
  }
}

Absolute imports from the project root directory are enabled automatically when the project contains a tsconfig.json or jsconfig.json file. For example:

import Button from 'src/components/Button';
// Imports `<project root>/src/components/Button`

You can modify the base directory in the tsconfig.json (or jsconfig.json) using the baseUrl option:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "baseUrl": "src"
  }
}

Consider the following when using absolute imports:

• compilerOptions.baseUrl is automatically set to . when the tsconfig.json or jsconfig.json file exists.
• Absolute imports in Node modules cannot be overwritten by absolute imports, as they take precedence.
• Restarting Expo CLI is necessary to update compilerOptions.baseUrl after modifying the tsconfig.json.
• If not using TypeScript, jsconfig.json can serve as an alternative to tsconfig.json.
• Absolute imports are only supported by Metro (including Metro web) and not by @expo/webpack-config.
• Bare projects require additional setup for this feature. See the versioned Metro setup guide for more information.

Type generation

Some Expo libraries provide both static types and type generation capabilities. These types are automatically generated when the project builds or by running the npx expo customize tsconfig.json command.

TypeScript for config files

If you want to use TypeScript for configuration files such as webpack.config.js, metro.config.js, or app.config.js, additional setup is needed. You can utilize the ts-node require hook to import TypeScript files within your JS config file, allowing TypeScript imports while keeping the root file as JavaScript.

webpack.config.js

Install the @expo/webpack-config package.

require('ts-node/register');
module.exports = require('./webpack.config.ts');

import createExpoWebpackConfigAsync from '@expo/webpack-config/webpack';
import { Arguments, Environment } from '@expo/webpack-config/webpack/types';

module.exports = async function (env: Environment, argv: Arguments) {
  const config = await createExpoWebpackConfigAsync(env, argv);
  // Customize the config before returning it.
  return config;
};

metro.config.js

require('ts-node/register');
module.exports = require('./metro.config.ts');

import { getDefaultConfig } from 'expo/metro-config';

const config = getDefaultConfig(__dirname);

module.exports = config;

app.config.js

app.config.ts is supported by default. However, it doesn't support external TypeScript modules, or tsconfig.json customization. You can use the following approach to get a more comprehensive TypeScript setup:

require('ts-node/register');
module.exports = require('./app.config.ts');

import { ExpoConfig } from 'expo/config';

// In SDK 46 and lower, use the following import instead:
// import { ExpoConfig } from '@expo/config-types';

const config: ExpoConfig = {
  name: 'my-app',
  slug: 'my-app',
};

export default config;

Learn how to use TypeScript

A good place to start learning TypeScript is the official TypeScript Handbook.

For TypeScript and React components, we recommend referring to the React TypeScript CheatSheet to learn how to type your React components in a variety of common situations.