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Expo Updates

GitHub

npm

A library that enables your app to manage remote updates to your application code.

Android

iOS

tvOS

expo-updates is a library that enables your app to manage remote updates to your application code. It communicates with the configured remote update service to get information about available updates.

Installation and configuration

The expo-updates library can be automatically configured using EAS Update, which is a hosted service that manages and serves updates to your app. To get started with EAS Update, follow the instructions in the Get started guide.

Alternatively, it is also possible to configure the expo-updates library manually in cases where a different remote update service is required or configuration is only specified in native files.

Manual installation, configuration, and custom remote update services

Terminal

- npx expo install expo-updates

If you're installing this library in a bare React Native app or a generic app with manually configured native code, follow these installation instructions.

If using app config for configuration, this library can be configured by setting at least the following app config properties:

updates.url: a URL of a remote service implementing the Expo Updates protocol
runtimeVersion: a runtime version

The remote service must implement the Expo Updates protocol. EAS Update is one such service, but it is also possible to use this library with a custom server.

Custom Expo Updates Server

Example implementation of a custom server and an app using that server

Additional configuration options

These are build-time configuration options that control the behavior of the library. For most apps, these configuration values can be set in the app config under the updates property.

You can also configure the library in your app's native project files if your project does not use Continuous Native Generation. It is also possible to override the configuration from native code.

Native configuration instructions

On Android, these options are set as meta-data tags in the AndroidManifest.xml file (adjacent to the tags added during installation if auto-setup was used). You can also set or override them at runtime using UpdatesController.overrideConfiguration().

On iOS, these properties are set as keys in the Expo.plist file. You can also set or override them at runtime by calling AppController.overrideConfiguration.

Importing Swift generated headers for use in Objective-C++

If your iOS native code or AppDelegate.mm is written in Objective-C++, you will need to add the following imports to reference methods on EXUpdatesAppController. This is only necessary for overriding configuration at runtime.

#import "ExpoModulesCore-Swift.h"
#import "EXUpdatesInterface-Swift.h"
#import "EXUpdates-Swift.h"

App Config property	Default	iOS plist/dictionary key	Android meta-data name	Android Map key
`updates.enabled`	`true`	`EXUpdatesEnabled`	`expo.modules.updates.ENABLED`	`enabled`
`updates.url`	(none)	`EXUpdatesURL`	`expo.modules.updates.EXPO_UPDATE_URL`	`updateUrl`
`updates.requestHeaders`	(none)	`EXUpdatesRequestHeaders`	`expo.modules.updates.UPDATES_CONFIGURATION_REQUEST_HEADERS_KEY`	`requestHeaders`
`runtimeVersion`	(none)	`EXUpdatesRuntimeVersion`	`expo.modules.updates.EXPO_RUNTIME_VERSION`	`runtimeVersion`
`updates.checkAutomatically`	`ALWAYS`	`EXUpdatesCheckOnLaunch`	`expo.modules.updates.EXPO_UPDATES_CHECK_ON_LAUNCH`	`checkOnLaunch`
`updates.fallbackToCacheTimeout`	`0`	`EXUpdatesLaunchWaitMs`	`expo.modules.updates.EXPO_UPDATES_LAUNCH_WAIT_MS`	`launchWaitMs`
`updates.codeSigningCertificate`	(none)	`EXUpdatesCodeSigningCertificate`	`expo.modules.updates.CODE_SIGNING_CERTIFICATE`	`codeSigningCertificate`
`updates.codeSigningMetadata`	(none)	`EXUpdatesCodeSigningMetadata`	`expo.modules.updates.CODE_SIGNING_METADATA`	`codeSigningMetadata`

Usage

By default, expo-updates checks for updates when the app launches. If an update is available, it downloads the update and applies it the next time the app is restarted. You can tune this startup behavior using the checkAutomatically and fallbackToCacheTimeout configuration options above.

The library also provides a variety of constants to inspect the current update and functions to customize update behavior from your application code (after startup). For example, one common alternative usage pattern is to manually check for updates after the app has started instead of doing the default check on launch.

Example: Check for updates manually

You can configure your app to check for updates manually by doing the following steps:

Set the checkAutomatically configuration value to ON_ERROR_RECOVERY or NEVER to disable the library's default launch behavior.

Add the following code to check for available updates, download them, and reload:

App.js

import { View, Button } from 'react-native';
import * as Updates from 'expo-updates';

function App() {
  async function onFetchUpdateAsync() {
    try {
      const update = await Updates.checkForUpdateAsync();

      if (update.isAvailable) {
        await Updates.fetchUpdateAsync();
        await Updates.reloadAsync();
      }
    } catch (error) {
      // You can also add an alert() to see the error message in case of an error when fetching updates.
      alert(`Error fetching latest Expo update: ${error}`);
    }
  }

  return (
    <View>
      <Button title="Fetch update" onPress={onFetchUpdateAsync} />
    </View>
  );
}

Testing

Most of the methods and constants in this library can be used or tested only in release builds. In debug builds, the default behavior is to always load the latest JavaScript from a development server. It is possible to build a debug version of your app with the same updates behavior as a release build. Such an app will not open the latest JavaScript from your development server — it will load published updates just as a release build does. This may be useful for debugging the behavior of your app when it is not connected to a development server.

To test the content of an update in a development build, run eas update and then browse to the update in your development build. Note that this only simulates what an update will look like in your app, and most of the Updates API is unavailable when running in a development build.

To test updates in a release build, you can create a .apk or a simulator build, or make a release build locally with npx expo run:android --variant release and npx expo run:ios --configuration Release (you don't need to submit this build to the store to test). The full Updates API is available in a release build.

To test the content of an update in Expo Go, run eas update and then browse to the update in Expo Go. Note that this only simulates what an update will look like in your app, and most of the Updates API is unavailable when running in Expo Go. Also note that only updates using Expo Go-compatible libraries are supported.

API

import * as Updates from 'expo-updates';

Constants

Android

iOS

tvOS

`Updates.channel`

Type: string | null

The channel name of the current build, if configured for use with EAS Update. null otherwise.

Expo Go and development builds are not set to a specific channel and can run any updates compatible with their native runtime. Therefore, this value will always be null when running an update on Expo Go or a development build.

Android

iOS

tvOS

`Updates.checkAutomatically`

Type: UpdatesCheckAutomaticallyValue | null

Determines if and when expo-updates checks for and downloads updates automatically on startup.

Android

iOS

tvOS

`Updates.createdAt`

Type: Date | null

If expo-updates is enabled, this is a Date object representing the creation time of the update that's currently running (whether it was embedded or downloaded at runtime).

In development mode, or any other environment in which expo-updates is disabled, this value is null.

Android

iOS

tvOS

`Updates.emergencyLaunchReason`

Type: null | string

If isEmergencyLaunch is set to true, this will contain a string error message describing what failed during initialization.

Android

iOS

tvOS

`Updates.isEmbeddedLaunch`

Type: boolean

This will be true if the currently running update is the one embedded in the build, and not one downloaded from the updates server.

Android

iOS

tvOS

`Updates.isEmergencyLaunch`

Type: boolean

expo-updates does its very best to always launch monotonically newer versions of your app so you don't need to worry about backwards compatibility when you put out an update. In very rare cases, it's possible that expo-updates may need to fall back to the update that's embedded in the app binary, even after newer updates have been downloaded and run (an "emergency launch"). This boolean will be true if the app is launching under this fallback mechanism and false otherwise. If you are concerned about backwards compatibility of future updates to your app, you can use this constant to provide special behavior for this rare case.

Android

iOS

tvOS

`Updates.isEnabled`

Type: boolean

Whether expo-updates is enabled. This may be false in a variety of cases including:

enabled set to false in configuration
missing or invalid URL in configuration
missing runtime version or SDK version in configuration
error accessing storage on device during initialization

When false, the embedded update is loaded.

Android

iOS

tvOS

`Updates.manifest`

Type: Partial<Manifest>

If expo-updates is enabled, this is the manifest (or classic manifest) object for the update that's currently running.

In development mode, or any other environment in which expo-updates is disabled, this object is empty.

Android

iOS

tvOS

`Updates.runtimeVersion`

Type: string | null

The runtime version of the current build.

Android

iOS

tvOS

`Updates.updateId`

Type: string | null

The UUID that uniquely identifies the currently running update. The UUID is represented in its canonical string form and will always use lowercase letters. This value is null when running in a local development environment or any other environment where expo-updates is disabled.

Example

"xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx"

Hooks

Android

iOS

tvOS

`useUpdates()`

Hook that obtains information on available updates and on the currently running update.

Returns:

UseUpdatesReturnType

the structures with information on currently running and available updates.

Example

import { StatusBar } from 'expo-status-bar';
import * as Updates from 'expo-updates';
import { useEffect } from 'react';
import { Button, Text, View } from 'react-native';

export default function UpdatesDemo() {
  const {
    currentlyRunning,
    isUpdateAvailable,
    isUpdatePending
  } = Updates.useUpdates();

  useEffect(() => {
    if (isUpdatePending) {
      // Update has successfully downloaded; apply it now
      Updates.reloadAsync();
    }
  }, [isUpdatePending]);

  // If true, we show the button to download and run the update
  const showDownloadButton = isUpdateAvailable;

  // Show whether or not we are running embedded code or an update
  const runTypeMessage = currentlyRunning.isEmbeddedLaunch
    ? 'This app is running from built-in code'
    : 'This app is running an update';

  return (
    <View style={styles.container}>
      <Text style={styles.headerText}>Updates Demo</Text>
      <Text>{runTypeMessage}</Text>
      <Button onPress={() => Updates.checkForUpdateAsync()} title="Check manually for updates" />
      {showDownloadButton ? (
        <Button onPress={() => Updates.fetchUpdateAsync()} title="Download and run update" />
      ) : null}
      <StatusBar style="auto" />
    </View>
  );
}

Classes

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iOS

tvOS

`ExpoUpdatesModule`

Type: Class extends _default<UpdatesEvents>

ExpoUpdatesModule Properties

Android

iOS

tvOS

`channel`

Type: string

Optional • Type: Record<string, string>

Type: string

Can be empty string

Android

iOS

tvOS

`setExtraParamAsync`

Type: (key: string, value: null | string) => Promise<void>

Android

iOS

tvOS

`shouldDeferToNativeForAPIMethodAvailabilityInDevelopment`

Type: boolean

Android

iOS

tvOS

`updateId`

Optional • Type: string

Methods

Android

iOS

tvOS

`Updates.checkForUpdateAsync()`

Checks the server to see if a newly deployed update to your project is available. Does not actually download the update. This method cannot be used in development mode, and the returned promise will be rejected if you try to do so.

Checking for an update uses a device's bandwidth and battery life like any network call. Additionally, updates served by Expo may be rate limited. A good rule of thumb to check for updates judiciously is to check when the user launches or foregrounds the app. Avoid polling for updates in a frequent loop.

Returns:

Promise<UpdateCheckResult>

A promise that fulfills with an UpdateCheckResult object.

The promise rejects in Expo Go or if the app is in development mode, or if there is an unexpected error or timeout communicating with the server. It also rejects when expo-updates is not enabled.

Android

iOS

tvOS

`Updates.clearLogEntriesAsync()`

Clears existing expo-updates log entries.

For now, this operation does nothing on the client. Once log persistence has been implemented, this operation will actually remove existing logs.

Returns:

Promise<void>

A promise that fulfills if the clear operation was successful.

The promise rejects if there is an unexpected error in clearing the logs.

Android

iOS

tvOS

`Updates.fetchUpdateAsync()`

Downloads the most recently deployed update to your project from server to the device's local storage. This method cannot be used in development mode, and the returned promise will be rejected if you try to do so.

Note: reloadAsync() can be called after promise resolution to reload the app using the most recently downloaded version. Otherwise, the update will be applied on the next app cold start.

Returns:

Promise<UpdateFetchResult>

A promise that fulfills with an UpdateFetchResult object.

The promise rejects in Expo Go or if the app is in development mode, or if there is an unexpected error or timeout communicating with the server. It also rejects when expo-updates is not enabled.

Android

iOS

tvOS

`Updates.getExtraParamsAsync()`

Retrieves the current extra params.

This method cannot be used in Expo Go or development mode. It also rejects when expo-updates is not enabled.

Returns:

Promise<Record<string, string>>

Android

iOS

tvOS

`Updates.readLogEntriesAsync(maxAge)`

Name	Type	Description
maxAge (optional)	`number`	Sets the max age of retrieved log entries in milliseconds. Default to `3600000` ms (1 hour). Default: `3600000`

Retrieves the most recent expo-updates log entries.

Returns:

Promise<UpdatesLogEntry[]>

A promise that fulfills with an array of UpdatesLogEntry objects;

The promise rejects if there is an unexpected error in retrieving the logs.

Android

iOS

tvOS

`Updates.reloadAsync()`

Instructs the app to reload using the most recently downloaded version. This is useful for triggering a newly downloaded update to launch without the user needing to manually restart the app. Unlike Expo.reloadAppAsync() provided by the expo package, this function not only reloads the app but also changes the loaded JavaScript bundle to that of the most recently downloaded update.

It is not recommended to place any meaningful logic after a call to await Updates.reloadAsync(). This is because the promise is resolved after verifying that the app can be reloaded, and immediately before posting an asynchronous task to the main thread to actually reload the app. It is unsafe to make any assumptions about whether any more JS code will be executed after the Updates.reloadAsync method call resolves, since that depends on the OS and the state of the native module and main threads.

This method cannot be used in Expo Go or development mode, and the returned promise will be rejected if you try to do so. It also rejects when expo-updates is not enabled.

Returns:

Promise<void>

A promise that fulfills right before the reload instruction is sent to the JS runtime, or rejects if it cannot find a reference to the JS runtime. If the promise is rejected in production mode, it most likely means you have installed the module incorrectly. Double check you've followed the installation instructions. In particular, on iOS ensure that you set the bridge property on EXUpdatesAppController with a pointer to the RCTBridge you want to reload, and on Android ensure you either call UpdatesController.initialize with the instance of ReactApplication you want to reload, or call UpdatesController.setReactNativeHost with the proper instance of ReactNativeHost.

Android

iOS

tvOS

`Updates.setExtraParamAsync(key, value)`

Name	Type
key	`string`
value	`undefined \| null \| string`

Sets an extra param if value is non-null, otherwise unsets the param. Extra params are sent as an Expo Structured Field Value Dictionary in the Expo-Extra-Params header of update requests. A compliant update server may use these params when selecting an update to serve.

This method cannot be used in Expo Go or development mode. It also rejects when expo-updates is not enabled.

Returns:

Literal Type: multiple types

The result of checking for a new update.

Acceptable values are: UpdateCheckResultRollBack | UpdateCheckResultAvailable | UpdateCheckResultNotAvailable

Android

iOS

tvOS

`UpdateCheckResultAvailable`

The update check result when a new update is found on the server.

Name	Type	Description
isAvailable	`true`	Whether an update is available. This property is false for a roll back update.
isRollBackToEmbedded	`false`	Whether a roll back to embedded update is available.
manifest	`Manifest`	The manifest of the update when available.
reason	`undefined`	If no new update is found, this contains one of several enum values indicating the reason.

Deprecated

Android

iOS

tvOS

`UpdateCheckResultFailure`

Type: UpdateCheckResultNotAvailable

Android

iOS

tvOS

`UpdateCheckResultNotAvailable`

The update check result if no new update was found.

Name	Type	Description
isAvailable	`false`	Whether an update is available. This property is false for a roll back update.
isRollBackToEmbedded	`false`	Whether a roll back to embedded update is available.
manifest	`undefined`	The manifest of the update when available.
reason	`UpdateCheckResultNotAvailableReason`	If no new update is found, this contains one of several enum values indicating the reason.

Android

iOS

tvOS

`UpdateCheckResultRollBack`

The update check result when a rollback directive is received.

Name	Type	Description
isAvailable	`false`	Whether an update is available. This property is false for a roll back update.
isRollBackToEmbedded	`true`	Whether a roll back to embedded update is available.
manifest	`undefined`	The manifest of the update when available.
reason	`undefined`	If no new update is found, this contains one of several enum values indicating the reason.

Deprecated

Android

iOS

tvOS

`UpdateCheckResultSuccess`

Type: UpdateCheckResultAvailable

Android

iOS

tvOS

`UpdateFetchResult`

Literal Type: multiple types

The result of fetching a new update.

Acceptable values are: UpdateFetchResultSuccess | UpdateFetchResultFailure | UpdateFetchResultRollBackToEmbedded

Android

iOS

tvOS

`UpdateFetchResultFailure`

The failed result of fetching a new update.

Name	Type	Description
isNew	`false`	Whether the fetched update is new (that is, a different version than what's currently running). Always `false` when `isRollBackToEmbedded` is `true`.
isRollBackToEmbedded	`false`	Whether the fetched update is a roll back to the embedded update.
manifest	`undefined`	The manifest of the fetched update.

Android

iOS

tvOS

`UpdateFetchResultRollBackToEmbedded`

The roll back to embedded result of fetching a new update.

Name	Type	Description
isNew	`false`	Whether the fetched update is new (that is, a different version than what's currently running). Always `false` when `isRollBackToEmbedded` is `true`.
isRollBackToEmbedded	`true`	Whether the fetched update is a roll back to the embedded update.
manifest	`undefined`	The manifest of the fetched update.

Android

iOS

tvOS

`UpdateFetchResultSuccess`

The successful result of fetching a new update.

Name	Type	Description
isNew	`true`	Whether the fetched update is new (that is, a different version than what's currently running). Always `true` when `isRollBackToEmbedded` is `false`.
isRollBackToEmbedded	`false`	Whether the fetched update is a roll back to the embedded update.
manifest	`Manifest`	The manifest of the fetched update.

Android

iOS

tvOS

`UpdateInfo`

Literal Type: multiple types

Combined structure representing any type of update.

Acceptable values are: UpdateInfoNew | UpdateInfoRollback

Android

iOS

tvOS

`UpdateInfoNew`

Structure representing a new update.

Name	Type	Description
createdAt	`Date`	For all types of updates, this is a `Date` object representing the creation time or commit time of the update.
manifest	`Manifest`	For updates of type `UpdateInfoType.NEW`, this is the manifest for the update.
type	`UpdateInfoType.NEW`	The type of update.
updateId	`string`	For updates of type `UpdateInfoType.NEW`, this is a string that uniquely identifies the update. For the manifests used in the current Expo Updates protocol (including EAS Update), this represents the update's UUID in its canonical string form and will always use lowercase letters. Example `"xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx"`

Android

iOS

tvOS

`UpdateInfoRollback`

Structure representing a rollback directive.

Name	Type	Description
createdAt	`Date`	For all types of updates, this is a `Date` object representing the creation time or commit time of the update.
manifest	`undefined`	For updates of type `UpdateInfoType.ROLLBACK`, this is always set to `undefined`.
type	`UpdateInfoType.ROLLBACK`	The type of update.
updateId	`undefined`	For updates of type `UpdateInfoType.ROLLBACK`, this is always set to `undefined`.

Android

iOS

tvOS

`UpdatesLogEntry`

An object representing a single log entry from expo-updates logging on the client.

Name	Type	Description
assetId (optional)	`string`	If present, the unique ID or hash of an asset associated with this log entry.
code	`UpdatesLogEntryCode`	One of the defined code values for `expo-updates` log entries.
level	`UpdatesLogEntryLevel`	One of the defined log level or severity values.
message	`string`	The log entry message.
stacktrace (optional)	`string[]`	If present, an Android or iOS native stack trace associated with this log entry.
timestamp	`number`	The time the log was written, in milliseconds since Jan 1 1970 UTC.
updateId (optional)	`string`	If present, the unique ID of an update associated with this log entry.

Android

iOS

tvOS

`UseUpdatesReturnType`

The structures and methods returned by useUpdates().

Name	Type	Description
availableUpdate (optional)	`UpdateInfo`	If a new available update has been found, either by using `checkForUpdateAsync()`, or by the `UpdateEvent` listener in `useUpdates()`, this will contain the information for that update.
checkError (optional)	`Error`	If an error is returned from either the startup check for updates, or a call to `checkForUpdateAsync()`, the error description will appear here.
currentlyRunning	`CurrentlyRunningInfo`	Information on the currently running app.
downloadError (optional)	`Error`	If an error is returned from either a startup update download, or a call to `fetchUpdateAsync()`, the error description will appear here.
downloadedUpdate (optional)	`UpdateInfo`	If an available update has been downloaded, this will contain the information for that update.
initializationError (optional)	`Error`	If an error occurs during initialization of `useUpdates()`, the error description will appear here.
isChecking	`boolean`	True if the app is currently checking for a new available update from the server.
isDownloading	`boolean`	True if the app is currently downloading an update from the server.
isUpdateAvailable	`boolean`	True if a new available update has been found, false otherwise.
isUpdatePending	`boolean`	True if a new available update is available and has been downloaded.
lastCheckForUpdateTimeSinceRestart (optional)	`Date`	A `Date` object representing the last time this client checked for an available update, or `undefined` if no check has yet occurred since the app started. Does not persist across app reloads or restarts.

Enums

Android

iOS

tvOS

`UpdateCheckResultNotAvailableReason`

UpdateCheckResultNotAvailableReason Values

`NO_UPDATE_AVAILABLE_ON_SERVER`

UpdateCheckResultNotAvailableReason.NO_UPDATE_AVAILABLE_ON_SERVER ＝ "noUpdateAvailableOnServer"

No update manifest or rollback directive received from the update server.

`ROLLBACK_NO_EMBEDDED`

UpdateCheckResultNotAvailableReason.ROLLBACK_NO_EMBEDDED ＝ "rollbackNoEmbeddedConfiguration"

A rollback directive was received from the update server, but this app has no embedded update.

`ROLLBACK_REJECTED_BY_SELECTION_POLICY`

UpdateCheckResultNotAvailableReason.ROLLBACK_REJECTED_BY_SELECTION_POLICY ＝ "rollbackRejectedBySelectionPolicy"

A rollback directive was received from the update server, but the directive does not pass the configured selection policy.

`UPDATE_PREVIOUSLY_FAILED`

UpdateCheckResultNotAvailableReason.UPDATE_PREVIOUSLY_FAILED ＝ "updatePreviouslyFailed"

An update manifest was received from the update server, but the update has been previously launched on this device and never successfully launched.

`UPDATE_REJECTED_BY_SELECTION_POLICY`

UpdateCheckResultNotAvailableReason.UPDATE_REJECTED_BY_SELECTION_POLICY ＝ "updateRejectedBySelectionPolicy"

An update manifest was received from the update server, but the update is not launchable, or does not pass the configured selection policy.

Android

iOS

tvOS

`UpdateInfoType`

The different possible types of updates. Currently, the only supported type is UpdateInfoType.NEW, indicating a new update that can be downloaded and launched on the device. In the future, other types of updates may be added to this list.

UpdateInfoType Values

`NEW`

UpdateInfoType.NEW ＝ "new"

This is the type for new updates found on or downloaded from the update server, that are launchable on the device.

`ROLLBACK`

UpdateInfoType.ROLLBACK ＝ "rollback"

This type is used when an update is a directive to roll back to the embedded bundle.

Android

iOS

tvOS

`UpdatesCheckAutomaticallyValue`

The possible settings that determine if expo-updates will check for updates on app startup. By default, Expo will check for updates every time the app is loaded. Set this to ON_ERROR_RECOVERY to disable automatic checking unless recovering from an error. Set this to NEVER to completely disable automatic checking.

UpdatesCheckAutomaticallyValue Values

Android

iOS

tvOS

iOS

tvOS

Code	Description
`ERR_UPDATES_DISABLED`	A method call was attempted when the Updates library was disabled, or the application was running in development mode
`ERR_UPDATES_RELOAD`	An error occurred when trying to reload the application and it could not be reloaded. For bare workflow apps, double check the setup steps for this library to ensure it has been installed correctly and the proper native initialization methods are called.
`ERR_UPDATES_CHECK`	An unexpected error occurred when trying to check for new updates. Check the error message for more information.
`ERR_UPDATES_FETCH`	An unexpected error occurred when trying to fetch a new update. Check the error message for more information.
`ERR_UPDATES_READ_LOGS`	An unexpected error occurred when trying to read log entries. Check the error message for more information.
`ERR_NOT_AVAILABLE_IN_DEV_CLIENT`	A method is not available when running in a development build. A release build should be used to test this method.