Last updated: 26 Aug 2024
Setting up a cross-platform mobile environment, especially for React Native, is . I try to update this as frequently as possible, but as always your mileage may vary.
This guide assumes you are on a Mac. If you’re on Windows, that’s a personal problem. To get a deeper sense of what I’m working with, you can check out my machine config as a whole.
This guide is written as project-agnostic as possible and there will be notes that project-specific configurations will be needed.
If you’ve installed Homebrew already and have downloaded packages using it, you’ve probably already done this step.
Before anything else, you must install the Xcode Command Line Tools. To check if you have them installed already, run:
xcode-select --print-path
If this returns empty, you need to install the tools.
xcode-select --install
Using Homebrew (or whatever your preferred package manager), you’ll need the following packages:
brew install gnupg applesimutils git node watchman fastlane aria2
I also recommend dotenvx for handling environment variables. It can be installed globally as well.
brew install dotenvx
If you don’t need iOS development, you can skip this step. I wouldn’t.
I prefer the xcodes library for Xcode version management.
brew install xcodes
Once installed, you can install the latest version of Xcode.
xcodes install --latest --no-superuser
After it installs, you’ll need to accept the license agreement.
sudo xcode-select -switch /Applications/Xcode.app
sudo xcodebuild -license accept
For this step, you will need to have the following:
Part of project initialization is generating certificates for developing your app. These certificates are project specific and need to be added to your keychain. 2 of these certificates need to be added to your keychain: 1 should have the .cer extension, the other .p12.
You can add these certificates to your keychain by double-clicking on them. You will be prompted to enter your password.
You can also add them from the command line:
# run from the directory where the certs are located
sudo security add-trusted-cert -d -r trustRoot -k /Library/Keychains/System.keychain <certname>.cer
sudo security import <cert>.p12 -P <password> -A -t cert -f pkcs12 -k /Library/Keychains/System.keychain
If you have a project with many developers, I recommend using dotenvx to manage certificates.
Cocoapods is a dependency manager for iOS. It requires Ruby to be installed, so be sure your Ruby installation is not screwed up as it usually is on a Mac.
sudo gem install cocoapods
Using xcodes, we can install the latest versions of iOS and create simulators for them.
I also recommend installing the oldest version of iOS that’s currently supported by Apple, here’s a handy little script to do that:
const { execSync } = require("child_process");
function getIosVersions() {
const runtimesList = execSync("xcodes runtimes").toString();
const runtimes = runtimesList
.split("\n")
.filter((runtime) => runtime.startsWith("iOS"))
.map((runtime) =>
runtime.includes("(") ? runtime.split("(")[0].trim() : runtime.trim()
);
return {
latest: runtimes[runtimes.length] - 1,
oldest: runtimes[0],
};
}
Once you have the versions, you can install them with xcodes:
xcodes runtimes install <version> # e.g. 18.1
You can then create simulators with xcrun. When creating simulators, be sure the device version is cased properly.
xcrun simctl create "<name>" <version>
# e.g.
# xcrun simctl create "iPhone 15 Pro" 18.1
Your machine should now be (mostly) ready for iOS development, sans any project-specific needs.
Zulu 17 is the recommended JDK for Android development for React Native.
brew install --cask zulu@17
For many years I tried to run headless Android Studio, but it’s just not worth the headache. You can install the CLI tools separately, which I recommend but in addition to Android Studio itself.
brew install --cask android-studio android-commandlinetools
First, accept the license agreement
yes | sdkmanager --licenses
Then install the tools. Note that some versions may need to be changed depending on your projects needs.
sdkmanager "cmdline-tools;latest" "patcher;v4" "build-tools;30.0.2" "platforms;android-32" "emulator" "tools" "platform-tools" "ndk-bundle"
You can create emulators using the AVD Manager in Android Studio, but I prefer to do it from the command line.
You’ll need to know the version of Android you’re targeting, as well as the device you want to emulate.
avdmanager create avd -n <name> -k "system-images;android-<version>;google_apis;x86_64" --device <device>
# e.g.
# avdmanager create avd -n "Pixel 6" -k "system-images;android-32;google_apis;x86_64" --device "pixel_6"
At this point, your machine should be setup for native development. If you’re using Expo, I highly recommend installing Expo Orbit
brew install --cask expo-orbit
From here, consult your project to take care of any specific needs.