xref: /expo/docs/pages/bare/using-expo-cli.mdx (revision 5c6c77b2) 
1---
2title: Using Expo CLI
3description: Learn how and why you can use Expo CLI instead of @react-native-community/cli in any React Native project.
4---
5
6import { Terminal } from '~/ui/components/Snippet';
7import { Collapsible } from '~/ui/components/Collapsible';
8import { BoxLink } from '~/ui/components/BoxLink';
9
10To use Expo CLI in a project created with `npx react-native init`, you will first need to install the `expo` package. This package includes the Expo Modules API and Expo CLI. For a complete explanation of how to install this, see the ["Install Expo modules" guide](/bare/installing-expo-modules.mdx). For most apps, it's as simple as running the following command in your project directory:
11
12<Terminal cmd={['npx install-expo-modules@latest']} />
13
14## Why Expo CLI instead of `npx react-native`
15
16Expo CLI commands provide a number of benefits over the similar commands in `@react-native-community/cli`, including:
17
18- You can open up the Hermes debugger in one keystroke: <kbd>j</kbd>.
19- The debugger ships with React Developer Tools (`react-devtools`) already installed.
20- Support for [Continuous Native Generation](/workflow/prebuild.mdx) (CNG) with `npx expo prebuild` for easy upgrades, white-labeling, simple third-party package setup, and improved maintainibility of your codebase (by reducing the surface area).
21- Support for file-based routing with [`expo-router`](https://expo.github.io/router/docs).
22- View native logs directly in the terminal alongside your JavaScript logs.
23- Improved native build log formatting by using Expo CLI's own `xcpretty`-style tool that is built specifically for React Native apps. For example, when compiling a Pod you can see which Node module included it.
24- [Automatic TypeScript support](/guides/typescript.mdx).
25- [Automatic web support](/guides/customizing-metro.mdx/#adding-web-support-to-metro) with Metro.
26- Out of the box [support for monorepos](/guides/monorepos.mdx).
27- Support for Expo tooling such as [expo-dev-client](/develop/development-builds/introduction.mdx), the [Expo Updates protocol](/technical-specs/expo-updates-1.mdx) and [EAS Update](/eas-update/introduction.mdx).
28- `npx expo run:ios` will invoke `pod install` automatically when needed.
29- `npx expo install` picks known compatible versions of dependencies for well-known packages.
30- `npx expo run:[android|ios]` and `npx expo start` automatically detect if an app is running on the default port and suggests another.
31- Select an Android or iOS device to launch into using <kbd>shift+i</kbd> or <kbd>shift+a</kbd> from the interactive prompt.
32- Built-in support for serving your app over an [ngrok tunnel](/develop/development-builds/development-workflows.mdx/#tunnel-urls), which is useful for testing on physical devices on restricted networks.
33
34We recommend Expo CLI for most React Native projects that target Android, iOS, and/or web. It does not yet have built-in support for the most popular out-of-tree platforms, Windows and macOS — if you are building for those platforms, you can use Expo CLI for the supported platforms and `@react-native-community/cli` for the others.
35
36## Compiling and running your app
37
38Once you have the `expo` package installed, you can use the `npx expo run:android` and `npx expo run:ios` commands as alternatives to `npx react-native run-android` and `npx react-native run-ios`. You can pass in the `--device` flag to select a device/simulator to build for — this also works for any connected iOS device.
39
40## Starting the bundler
41
42`npx expo run:[android|ios]` will start the bundler/development server. You can skip that by passing in `--no-bundler` flag. Start the development server independently with `npx expo start --dev-client`.
43
44## Common questions
45
46<Collapsible summary="Can I use Expo CLI without installing the Expo Modules API?">
47
48When you install the `expo` package with `npx install-expo-modules`, you will also install the Expo Modules API. If you just want to try out Expo CLI for now, you can install the `expo` package with `npm install` and then configure your **react-native.config.js** to exclude the package from autolinking:
49
50```js
51module.exports = {
52  dependencies: {
53    expo: {
54      platforms: {
55        android: null,
56        ios: null,
57        macos: null,
58      },
59    },
60  },
61};
62```
63
64Note that not all features will work without the Expo Modules API installed. For example, you will not be able to use the `expo-dev-client` package or `expo-router`.
65
66</Collapsible>
67
68<Collapsible summary="Can I use prebuild for out-of-tree platforms, such as Windows or macOS?">
69
70Yes! Refer to the ["Customized Prebuild Example" repository](https://github.com/byCedric/custom-prebuild-example) for more information.
71
72</Collapsible>
73
74## Learn more
75
76With the `expo` package installed and configured in your project, you can start using all features from Expo CLI and SDK.
77
78<BoxLink
79  title="Expo CLI Reference"
80  description="Learn more about the commands and flags available in Expo CLI."
81  href="/more/expo-cli"
82/>
83<BoxLink
84  title="Adopting Prebuild"
85  description="Automate your native directories using the app.json."
86  href="/guides/adopting-prebuild"
87/>
88<BoxLink
89  title="Using the Expo SDK"
90  description="Try out modules from the Expo SDK in your app"
91  href="/versions/"
92/>
93<BoxLink
94  title="Try Expo Router"
95  description="Expo Router brings the best routing concepts from the web to native iOS and Android apps."
96  href="https://expo.github.io/router/docs/"
97/>
98