Build an APK for your React Native project using Expo

.By default, EAS builds an .aab file for the Play Store, so you must explicitly configure it to generate an .apk file for direct installation.

1. Install EAS CLI

First, ensure you have the EAS CLI installed and that you are logged into your Expo account. Open your terminal and run:

npm install -g eas-cli
eas login

2. Configure the Project

If you haven’t already, initialize the EAS configuration in your project root. This creates an eas.json file.

eas build:configure

3. Modify eas.json for APK

Open the eas.json file in your editor. Under the build section, you need to set the buildType to apk. You can add this to a new profile (like preview) or modify the existing production profile.

{
  "build": {
    "preview": {
      "android": {
        "buildType": "apk"
      }
    },
    "production": {
      "android": {
        "buildType": "app-bundle"
      }
    }
  }
}

4. Run the Build

Run the build command using the profile you just configured. This will upload your project to the Expo build servers and generate the APK.

eas build -p android --profile preview

5. Download and Install

Once the build is finished, the terminal will provide a URL.

• Download: Open the link on your computer or directly on your Android device.
• Install: If you downloaded it to your computer, you can install it via Android Debug Bridge (adb):

adb install path/to/your-app.apk

Alternative: Local Build (No Cloud)

If you prefer to build locally (requires Android Studio and Java installed), you can use the --local flag:

eas build --platform android --profile preview --local

Note: Local builds are often more complex due to local environment dependencies like the Android SDK.