What is the hierarchy of Expo app Builds?

Expo Development Tools
1

In short, browsing through the documentation, it seems kind of convoluted.

I understand Expo Go, and Expo Dev Client, but after that, it’s difficult to understand what everything else does.

Is the chain of command like this:

  1. eas build for development build
  2. eas build --platform to build the app that you can use on your phone, and also for when you eventually submit for the app store (if “platform all” builds it for all devices, then why are separate Android and iOS build guides here like this?? Are the builds different, in that one is solely for app stores and one is solely for device/emulator testing?)
  3. eas submit for when it is already built and you want to submit it to an app store?
2

Hello,
I have some write this
It seems like you’re seeking clarification on the workflow and commands in the context of Expo’s EAS Build and EAS Submit for mobile app development. I’ll break down the steps and commands for you:

  1. Expo Go and Expo Dev Client:
  • Expo Go: This is the Expo client app that allows you to test your app while you’re developing it.
  • Expo Dev Client: This is an experimental client that provides access to advanced Expo features. It’s meant for developers to preview their work.
  1. EAS Build:
  • eas build: This command is used to build your Expo project for distribution, whether it’s for testing on devices/emulators or for submission to app stores.
  • eas build --platform: This flag specifies which platform to build for (Android, iOS, or both). The builds for Android and iOS are separate because they have different requirements and configurations.
  • Development Build: Using eas build without specific flags will create a development build that you can use for testing on devices/emulators. TellPopeyes
  • Production Build: To prepare your app for submission to app stores, you need to build the production version using eas build --platform all or specific platforms (e.g., eas build --platform ios or eas build --platform android). This will create optimized builds ready for app store submission.
1 Like