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React Native App Release Checklist: How to Launch on iOS and Android

A practical iOS and Android release checklist for React Native apps, from production configuration and signing to beta testing, store submission, and rollout.

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To launch a React Native app, build and test a signed production release, then submit that build—with its store listing and required declarations—to App Store Connect or Google Play Console. A successful build is only one part of launch: each store has its own review, testing, and rollout steps.

1. Decide what you are releasing

Before building, record the target platforms, app identifiers, release version, and intended stores. Also identify how the project is built: directly from its native ios and android folders, or through Expo Application Services (EAS).

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  • List the features that affect store disclosures or review, such as location, camera, health data, user accounts, advertising, in-app purchases, user-generated content, or regulated data.
  • For an Expo Continuous Native Generation project, local native builds may require generating the native folders with prebuild first; follow the project’s workflow rather than assuming those folders already exist. See Expo’s local-build documentation.
  • Assign an owner for the release and for access to the developer accounts and signing credentials.

2. Check the production configuration and current upload requirements

Review the settings that distinguish the production app from development. These are practical engineering checks, not a universal store checklist.

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  • Confirm production API endpoints, environment variables, authentication, push notifications, deep links, analytics, crash reporting, and feature flags.
  • Make sure permissions and entitlements match features that will ship. Remove development-only settings and credentials from the release configuration.
  • Check platform minimums and version identifiers. For an Android update, advance the version code so the new release can be distinguished from the previous one.

Store upload rules change over time. On October 7, 2026, the independently maintained React Native compatibility matrix reported that Google Play required new apps and updates to target Android API 36 or higher from August 31, 2026, and that App Store Connect required Xcode 26 or later with the iOS 26 SDK from April 28, 2026. These dates and floors are a snapshot, not a substitute for checking the current platform-owner rules: consult Google Play’s target API level requirements and Apple’s upcoming requirements before each release. The matrix listed React Native 0.87.1 as current on October 7, 2026; check its live compatibility row for the versions of Node, JDK, Gradle, Xcode, and SDK that match your project: React Native’s iOS publishing guide and React Native’s Android publishing guide.

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3. Build and sign the release artifact

iOS and Android produce different deliverables and use different signing setups. Protect signing credentials, and ensure the release operator can access and recover them without placing secrets in source control.

iOS: archive with the Release scheme

  1. In Xcode, select the Release scheme and archive for a physical iOS device destination. React Native’s Release scheme disables the in-app Dev Menu and bundles JavaScript locally, so the app can run without a development server.
  2. Check that the Xcode Bundle Identifier exactly matches the identifier registered in the Apple Developer account.
  3. Choose automatic or manual signing deliberately and confirm that the distribution credentials are available to the release operator.
  4. Follow React Native’s iOS publishing guide to upload the archive to App Store Connect.

Android: sign and build an app bundle

  1. Configure the release build to use the release or upload signing credentials. Keep the keystore and passwords outside source control, and make credential ownership and recovery clear to the team.
  2. For Google Play, build an Android App Bundle (AAB). React Native documents npx react-native build-android --mode=release; its guide identifies the resulting file as android/app/build/outputs/bundle/release/app-release.aab.
  3. Check that org.gradle.configureondemand=true is not set if it would cause the release build to skip bundling JavaScript and assets. Confirm that Google Play App Signing is configured for AAB distribution.
  4. Follow React Native’s Android publishing guide for signing and build details.

Optional route: build with Expo EAS

EAS can manage parts of the build and signing workflow, but does not remove the need for store accounts, metadata, review, or rollout. Create a production build profile, verify the selected developer accounts and credentials, then run the command for the release you intend to make:

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  • eas build --platform ios for iOS
  • eas build --platform android for Android
  • eas build --platform all for both platforms

Expo’s store distribution workflows require Apple Developer Program membership for iOS and Google Play Developer membership for Android. Account terms can change; consult Expo’s production build documentation for the current workflow.

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4. Test the build users will install

Do not treat a successful debug session as proof that the release is ready. React Native recommends thoroughly testing the Android release build before upload; its JavaScript and assets must be present in the release artifact. For iOS, exercise a release archive through beta distribution before public release.

  • Test first launch and an upgrade from the prior public version.
  • Exercise sign-in and sign-out, offline or poor-network behavior, permissions, notifications, and deep links.
  • Test billing if the app uses it, and check the main device sizes and configurations you support.
  • Verify the production backend and crash reporting. If functionality is gated, provide valid review notes or test credentials when relevant; this depends on the app and is not a universal requirement.
  • If Android shrinking or obfuscation with ProGuard is enabled, test that build thoroughly because native libraries may need additional configuration.

For iOS, use TestFlight or another beta method to test the release build under conditions close to real use. TestFlight availability after upload is not the same as App Store publication. See Apple’s TestFlight overview and React Native’s iOS publishing guide.

5. Complete the store submission—not just the upload

Stage App Store Connect (iOS) Google Play Console (Android)
Artifact Upload an archived iOS build, then select the processed build for the app version. Upload the signed AAB to a release.
Store materials Complete listing information and provide required screenshots. React Native’s guide notes that screenshots for some display sizes can cover other sizes. Complete the store listing and the release setup for the intended app.
Testing or release route Use TestFlight to distribute a beta build, or submit the selected build for App Review. Choose a testing track or production. Expo documents internal, alpha, beta, and production tracks; new apps may initially be placed in internal testing and need console setup before wider distribution.
What makes it public Finish metadata and screenshots, select the build, and explicitly submit it for review. Uploading to TestFlight does not publish the app to the App Store. Complete the release configuration and use the chosen track and rollout controls. Uploading an AAB alone does not complete the release.

For either store, confirm declarations against the actual app and current rules. Depending on the product, this may include privacy disclosures, content ratings, permission explanations, encryption or export answers, and payment configuration. The correct answers cannot be inferred without examining the app. Apple’s upload and review flow is described in React Native’s iOS guide; Expo outlines its submission flow for both platforms in Expo’s store-submission documentation.

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6. Roll out and monitor the release

After approval, release manually or use the store’s rollout controls and testing tracks. Match the initial rollout to the team’s ability to monitor and respond. Assign an owner and agree in advance how the team will decide between continuing rollout, pausing it, or preparing a hotfix.

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  • Watch crashes, sign-in failures, purchase flows, support contacts, and store feedback.
  • Route reports to the person who can investigate the app, backend, or release configuration.
  • Use the findings to determine whether to continue the rollout or take corrective action.

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