References ./references/new-architecture.md -- SDK +53: New Architecture migration guide ./references/react-19.md -- SDK +54: React 19 changes (useContext → use, Context.Provider → Context, forwardRef removal) ./references/react-compiler.md -- SDK +54: React Compiler setup and migration guide ./references/native-tabs.md -- SDK +55: Native tabs changes (Icon/Label/Badge now accessed via NativeTabs.Trigger.*) ./references/expo-av-to-audio.md -- Migrate audio playback and recording from expo-av to expo-audio ./references/expo-av-to-video.md -- Migrate video playback from expo-av to expo-video Beta/Preview Releases Beta versions use .preview suffix (e.g., 55.0.0-preview.2 ), published under @next tag. Check if latest is beta: https://exp.host/--/api/v2/versions (look for -preview in expoVersion ) npx expo install expo@next --fix

install beta

Step-by-Step Upgrade Process Upgrade Expo and dependencies npx expo install expo@latest npx expo install --fix Run diagnostics: npx expo-doctor Clear caches and reinstall npx expo export -p ios --clear rm -rf node_modules .expo watchman watch-del-all Breaking Changes Checklist Check for removed APIs in release notes Update import paths for moved modules Review native module changes requiring prebuild Test all camera, audio, and video features Verify navigation still works correctly Prebuild for Native Changes First check if ios/ and android/ directories exist in the project. If neither directory exists, the project uses Continuous Native Generation (CNG) and native projects are regenerated at build time — skip this section and "Clear caches for bare workflow" entirely. If upgrading requires native changes: npx expo prebuild --clean This regenerates the ios and android directories. Ensure the project is not a bare workflow app before running this command. Clear caches for bare workflow These steps only apply when ios/ and/or android/ directories exist in the project: Clear the cocoapods cache for iOS: cd ios && pod install --repo-update Clear derived data for Xcode: npx expo run:ios --no-build-cache Clear the Gradle cache for Android: cd android && ./gradlew clean Housekeeping Review release notes for the target SDK version at https://expo.dev/changelog If using Expo SDK 54 or later, ensure react-native-worklets is installed — this is required for react-native-reanimated to work. Enable React Compiler in SDK 54+ by adding "experiments": { "reactCompiler": true } to app.json — it's stable and recommended Delete sdkVersion from app.json to let Expo manage it automatically Remove implicit packages from package.json : @babel/core , babel-preset-expo , expo-constants . If the babel.config.js only contains 'babel-preset-expo', delete the file If the metro.config.js only contains expo defaults, delete the file Deprecated Packages Old Package Replacement expo-av expo-audio and expo-video expo-permissions Individual package permission APIs @expo/vector-icons expo-symbols (for SF Symbols) AsyncStorage expo-sqlite/localStorage/install expo-app-loading expo-splash-screen expo-linear-gradient experimental_backgroundImage + CSS gradients in View When migrating deprecated packages, update all code usage before removing the old package. For expo-av, consult the migration references to convert Audio.Sound to useAudioPlayer, Audio.Recording to useAudioRecorder, and Video components to VideoView with useVideoPlayer. expo.install.exclude Check if package.json has excluded packages: { "expo" : { "install" : { "exclude" : [ "react-native-reanimated" ] } } } Exclusions are often workarounds that may no longer be needed after upgrading. Review each one. Removing patches Check if there are any outdated patches in the patches/ directory. Remove them if they are no longer needed. Postcss autoprefixer isn't needed in SDK +53. Remove it from dependencies and check postcss.config.js or postcss.config.mjs to remove it from the plugins list. Use postcss.config.mjs in SDK +53. Metro Remove redundant metro config options: resolver.unstable_enablePackageExports is enabled by default in SDK +53. experimentalImportSupport is enabled by default in SDK +54. EXPO_USE_FAST_RESOLVER=1 is removed in SDK +54. cjs and mjs extensions are supported by default in SDK +50. Expo webpack is deprecated, migrate to Expo Router and Metro web . Hermes engine v1 Since SDK 55, users can opt-in to use Hermes engine v1 for improved runtime performance. This requires setting useHermesV1: true in the expo-build-properties config plugin, and may require a specific version of the hermes-compiler npm package. Hermes v1 will become a default in some future SDK release. New Architecture The new architecture is enabled by default, the app.json field "newArchEnabled": true is no longer needed as it's the default. Expo Go only supports the new architecture as of SDK +53.