Expo Go

Building a native app normally means compiling it with Xcode or Android Studio before you can see it on a device. Expo Go skips that step. It's a prebuilt app that already contains the native libraries in the Expo SDK. You start your project's development server, scan a QR code with your phone, and Expo Go downloads the JavaScript bundle and runs it. Change the code and the app on your phone updates within seconds. Expo describes it as a playground for learning and trying Expo quickly.

Because Expo Go is prebuilt, it can't change after you install it. That sets three hard limits:

• Only bundled native code. You can use libraries in the Expo SDK and libraries with no native code of their own. A package with custom native code won't load.
• No app identity. Your app's name, icon, bundle ID and native configuration don't apply. Push notifications and some permissions behave differently than they will in your real app.
• Not for production. Expo says plainly that Expo Go isn't for building production-grade projects. Expo Go also tracks specific Expo SDK versions, so a project on an older SDK may not open in the current store build.

A development build is your own app, compiled with your native dependencies and configuration plus Expo's developer tools. You build it once, locally or with EAS Build, and rebuild only when native dependencies change. JavaScript changes still reload instantly. Teams usually start in Expo Go and move to a development build the first time they need a native module Expo Go doesn't include.

Every Vibely mobile project has a QR panel. Its Expo Go mode shows a code for the live development bundle, so you can open the app on your phone and watch it change as the agent works. On iPhone, Expo Go only opens the preview once an Expo account is connected, so Vibely asks you to connect one first. When your app uses a native module Expo Go can't load, the same panel offers the finished native build from EAS (an .apk or .ipa) next to the Expo Go code. Once you publish, it also offers the published web build. Mobile apps are on paid plans; Free is web only.