Top-level src directory

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Learn how to use a top-level src directory in your Expo Router project.

Projects created with the default template on SDK 55 and later already include a top-level src directory that contains the app, components, constants, and hooks directories. No extra configuration is needed.

If you are using a custom template or an existing project that doesn't include a src directory, follow the steps below to set it up.

Using a top-level src directory

Move your app directory to src/app.

src

app

_layout.tsx

index.tsx

components

button.tsx

package.json

Update TypeScript path aliases in the tsconfig.json file to point to the src directory instead of the root directory. If you use the default @/* alias, set it to ./src/*:

tsconfig.json

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

This keeps @/ imports working after moving your app directory into src.

Restart your development server.

Terminal

- npx expo start

# Or export for production

- npx expo export

Notes

The config files (app.config.ts, app.json, package.json, metro.config.js, tsconfig.json) should remain in the root directory.
The src/app directory takes higher precedence than the root app directory. Only the src/app directory will be used if you have both.
The public directory should remain in the root directory.
Static rendering will automatically use the src/app directory if it exists.
You may consider updating any type aliases to point to the src directory instead of the root directory.

Custom directory

Changing the default root directory is highly discouraged. We will not accept bug reports regarding projects with custom root directories.

You can dangerously customize the root directory using the Expo Router Config Plugin. The following will change the root directory to src/routes, relative to the project root.

app.json

{
  "plugins": [
    [
      "expo-router",
      {
        "root": "./src/routes"
      }
    ]
  ]
}

This may lead to unexpected behavior. Many tools assume the root directory to be either app or src/app. Only tools in the exact version of Expo CLI will respect the config plugin.