Try React Native. Do it! Do it now!

Hello, friend.

You’re here, because you’re curious about developing mobile apps with React Native, but you haven’t yet taken the plunge. No matter who you are — a web developer looking to branch out to mobile, a mobile developer looking to bridge the gap between platforms, or an engineering manager who wants to get maintainable mobile products out quicker — hear me out.

I’m here to tell you, that today is the day you should finally try out React Native. (Or, like, this weekend at latest if you’re busy. But no later than that.)

Why today? Because it’s never been easier than today. Whatever has been holding you back in the past, I can almost guarantee no longer will.

In the past few days, the community launched major initiatives to make getting started with React Native development easier than ever.

First, create-react-native-app, a new tool that makes it significantly easier to get started with a React Native project. No need to install Xcode or Android Studio, create-react-native-app works on MacOS, Linux and Windows, and allows you to deploy to real devices on both iOS and Android. Not to mention, it’s simple as:

$ npm i -g create-react-native-app
$ create-react-native-app my-project
$ cd my-project
$ npm start

If even this seems like too much effort, you should try Expo Sketch, a web-based code playground that will have you running React Native code on your own device in less than a minute, with live editing.

Both of these projects are powered by Expo (formerly Exponent), a platform built on React Native, that enables developers to build truly native apps that work across both iOS and Android by writing them once in just JavaScript.

Beneath Expo, the core React Native platform has never been stronger, stabler and more performant. Whether or not you use create-react-native-app or start building from scratch, starting a new project today is a much smoother experience today than it was 6 months ago.

Beyond the React Native core, the community is putting out awesome libraries that make building apps simpler than ever. Read my post about the Formidable React Native App Stack to find out more.

Finally, with these barriers removed, what was always true but hidden, is now easy to see: React Native development is incredibly fun. Shipping apps with it is like a multiple nerd-gasm. Web developers will be dazzled by the performance, the touch interactions and the limitless possibilities of native modules. Mobile developers will love the sub-second feedback cycle, and wonders of code sharing between platforms.

So, go try Sketch. Graduate to create-react-native-app. And, in the wise words of Arnie. Dooo eeet. Dooo eeeet naaauuuu!