1---
2title: Use expo-dev-client with EAS Update
3sidebar_title: Use expo-dev-client
4description: Learn how to use the expo-dev-client library to preview a published EAS Update inside a development build.
5---
6
7import { Step } from '~/ui/components/Step';
8import { BoxLink } from '~/ui/components/BoxLink';
9import { GithubIcon } from '@expo/styleguide-icons';
10import ImageSpotlight from '~/components/plugins/ImageSpotlight';
11
12> **warning** This guide is likely to change as we continue to work on EAS Update.
13
14The [`expo-dev-client`](/develop/development-builds/introduction/) library allows launching different versions of a project. One of the most popular use cases is to preview a published update inside a development build using the `expo-dev-client` library.
15
16It supports loading published EAS Updates through channels. In this guide, you'll learn how to load a specific channel to preview an update in a development build.
17
18## How to load a published EAS Update inside a development build
19
20<Step label="1">
21
22Create a [development build](/develop/development-builds/create-a-build) of the project.
23
24</Step>
25
26<Step label="2">
27
28Make non-native changes locally, then publish them using `eas update --branch ...`. The branch specified should correspond to a channel. You can see how channels are linked to branches with `eas channel:list`.
29
30</Step>
31
32<Step label="3">
33
34After publishing an update, it's time to load the update in the development build. All development builds that have the `expo-updates` package installed include an Extensions tab where you can select an update:
35
36<ImageSpotlight
37  alt="Extensions tab in the Expo dev client."
38  src="/static/images/dev-client/extensions-panel.png"
39  style={{ maxWidth: 300 }}
40/>
41
42Alternatively, you can construct a specific URL to open your EAS Update. The URL will look like this:
43
44```bash
45exp+[project-slug]://expo-development-client/?url=[https://u.expo.dev/project-id]?channel-name=[channel]
46
47# Example
48exp+form-duo://expo-development-client/?url=https://u.expo.dev/675cb1f0-fa3c-11e8-ac99-6374d9643cb2?channel-name=preview
49```
50
51Let's break down the parts of this URL:
52
53- `exp+`: The beginning of the URL.
54- `form-duo`: This is the project slug found in **app.json**/**app.config.js**.
55- `://expo-development-client/`: necessary for the deep link to work with the `expo-dev-client` library.
56- `?url=`: Defines a `url` query parameter.
57- `https://u.expo.dev/675cb1f0-fa3c-11e8-ac99-6374d9643cb2`: This is the updates URL, which is inside the project's app config (**app.json**/**app.config.js**) under `updates.url`.
58- `?channel-name=`: Defines a channel query parameter.
59- `preview`: The name of the channel to request.
60
61</Step>
62
63<Step label="4">
64
65Once we've constructed the URL, we can either copy/paste it directly into the `expo-dev-client`'s launcher screen. Alternatively, we could create a QR code of the URL, then scan it. Scanning this URL should open up the development build to the specified channel.
66
67</Step>
68
69## More
70
71<BoxLink
72  title="Working example"
73  description="See a working example on using expo-dev-client with EAS Update."
74  Icon={GithubIcon}
75  href="https://github.com/jonsamp/test-expo-dev-client-eas-update"
76/>
77