EAS Build

Turning a React Native project into something a phone can install means compiling native code, signing it with the right certificates, and packaging it as an .ipa for iOS or an .apk/.aab for Android. Doing that yourself needs Xcode on a Mac for iOS, plus careful management of certificates, provisioning profiles and keystores. EAS (Expo Application Services) Build runs those steps on Expo's machines. You run eas build, it uploads the project, builds it in the cloud and returns a download link.

Builds are configured in eas.json as named profiles. A common set is development (a development build with debugging tools), preview (an internal build for testers) and production (a signed build for the stores). EAS can create and store your signing credentials for you, including the iOS distribution certificate and provisioning profile and the Android keystore, or you can supply your own. Internal builds can be shared by URL, and finished store builds hand off to EAS Submit, which uploads them to App Store Connect or Google Play.

EAS Build is available to anyone with an Expo account, including on Expo's free plan. Paid Expo plans add build concurrency, priority in the queue and longer build timeouts, so on the free tier a build may wait behind others before it starts. EAS Build works for any React Native project, not only ones created with Expo.

A related service, EAS Update, sends JavaScript-only changes over the air to builds people already have installed. That's how a text fix can reach users without a new store build. A change to native code or native configuration still needs a fresh EAS Build.

Vibely drives EAS for you. Connect your Expo account once from the project's Ship panel, and the agent can start iOS and Android builds with EAS, follow them to completion and report the result in the chat. The builds use your own Expo account and your own store accounts. The project template's eas.json defines the build profiles. Finished native builds show up in the mobile QR panel, so you can install the real app on a device, including when it uses native modules Expo Go can't load. From there, an iOS build goes to TestFlight and then to App Store review.