Quick start

This tutorial will guide you through creating your first React Native app, understanding its structure, and making your first changes with Fast Refresh.

Make sure you’ve completed the environment setup before starting this tutorial.

Create a new project

Use the React Native CLI to create a new project:

npx react-native init MyFirstApp

This command creates a new React Native project with the following structure:

MyFirstApp/
├── android/          # Android native code
├── ios/             # iOS native code
├── node_modules/    # JavaScript dependencies
├── App.tsx          # Main app component
├── index.js         # Application entry point
├── app.json         # App configuration
├── package.json     # Project dependencies
└── tsconfig.json    # TypeScript configuration

Navigate to your project

cd MyFirstApp

Install iOS dependencies (macOS only)

cd ios && pod install && cd ..

This installs CocoaPods dependencies required for iOS.

Start Metro bundler

npx react-native start

Metro is React Native’s JavaScript bundler. Keep this terminal open.

Run your app

iOS
Android

Open a new terminal and run:

npx react-native run-ios

This will:

Build the native iOS app with Xcode
Launch the iOS Simulator
Install and run your app

Specify a device with --simulator="iPhone 15 Pro"

First, start an Android emulator or connect a device.Then run:

npx react-native run-android

This will:

Build the native Android app with Gradle
Install it on your emulator/device
Launch the app

The first build can take 10-15 minutes as native dependencies compile. Subsequent builds are much faster.

Understanding the project structure

Entry point: index.js

This file registers your app with React Native:

index.js

import {AppRegistry} from 'react-native';
import App from './App';
import {name as appName} from './app.json';

// Register the main component
AppRegistry.registerComponent(appName, () => App);

Key concept: AppRegistry is the JavaScript entry point for all React Native apps. It registers your root component so the native code can load and run it.

Main component: App.tsx

Your app’s root component defines the UI:

App.tsx

import React from 'react';
import {
  SafeAreaView,
  ScrollView,
  StatusBar,
  StyleSheet,
  Text,
  View,
  useColorScheme,
} from 'react-native';

function App(): React.JSX.Element {
  const isDarkMode = useColorScheme() === 'dark';

  return (
    <SafeAreaView style={styles.container}>
      <StatusBar barStyle={isDarkMode ? 'light-content' : 'dark-content'} />
      <ScrollView contentInsetAdjustmentBehavior="automatic">
        <View style={styles.content}>
          <Text style={styles.title}>Welcome to React Native</Text>
          <Text style={styles.subtitle}>Edit App.tsx to change this screen</Text>
        </View>
      </ScrollView>
    </SafeAreaView>
  );
}

const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  container: {
    flex: 1,
  },
  content: {
    padding: 24,
  },
  title: {
    fontSize: 24,
    fontWeight: '600',
  },
  subtitle: {
    fontSize: 14,
    marginTop: 8,
  },
});

export default App;

Core components explained

SafeAreaView

Renders content within safe area boundaries, avoiding notches and system UI

View

The fundamental container component - equivalent to div in web development

Text

Displays text - all text must be wrapped in <Text> components

ScrollView

Scrollable container for content that exceeds screen bounds

Make your first changes

Let’s build a simple counter app to learn React Native fundamentals:

Add state with useState

Import useState and add counter state:

App.tsx

import React, {useState} from 'react';
import {View, Text, StyleSheet, Pressable} from 'react-native';

function App(): React.JSX.Element {
  const [count, setCount] = useState(0);
  
  return (
    <View style={styles.container}>
      <Text style={styles.title}>Counter: {count}</Text>
    </View>
  );
}

Add interactive buttons

Use Pressable for touchable buttons:

App.tsx

function App(): React.JSX.Element {
  const [count, setCount] = useState(0);
  
  return (
    <View style={styles.container}>
      <Text style={styles.title}>Counter: {count}</Text>
      
      <View style={styles.buttonRow}>
        <Pressable 
          style={styles.button}
          onPress={() => setCount(count - 1)}
        >
          <Text style={styles.buttonText}>-</Text>
        </Pressable>
        
        <Pressable 
          style={styles.button}
          onPress={() => setCount(count + 1)}
        >
          <Text style={styles.buttonText}>+</Text>
        </Pressable>
      </View>
      
      <Pressable 
        style={[styles.button, styles.resetButton]}
        onPress={() => setCount(0)}
      >
        <Text style={styles.buttonText}>Reset</Text>
      </Pressable>
    </View>
  );
}

Style your components

Add styles using StyleSheet.create:

App.tsx

const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  container: {
    flex: 1,
    justifyContent: 'center',
    alignItems: 'center',
    backgroundColor: '#f5f5f5',
  },
  title: {
    fontSize: 48,
    fontWeight: 'bold',
    marginBottom: 40,
    color: '#333',
  },
  buttonRow: {
    flexDirection: 'row',
    gap: 20,
    marginBottom: 20,
  },
  button: {
    backgroundColor: '#007AFF',
    paddingHorizontal: 30,
    paddingVertical: 15,
    borderRadius: 10,
    minWidth: 60,
    alignItems: 'center',
  },
  resetButton: {
    backgroundColor: '#FF3B30',
    minWidth: 120,
  },
  buttonText: {
    color: 'white',
    fontSize: 20,
    fontWeight: '600',
  },
});

See live changes

Save the file and watch Fast Refresh update your app instantly!

Complete counter app

Here’s the full code for reference:

import React, {useState} from 'react';
import {View, Text, StyleSheet, Pressable, StatusBar} from 'react-native';

function App(): React.JSX.Element {
  const [count, setCount] = useState(0);

  return (
    <View style={styles.container}>
      <StatusBar barStyle="dark-content" />
      <Text style={styles.title}>Counter: {count}</Text>
      
      <View style={styles.buttonRow}>
        <Pressable 
          style={({pressed}) => [
            styles.button,
            pressed && styles.buttonPressed,
          ]}
          onPress={() => setCount(count - 1)}
        >
          <Text style={styles.buttonText}>-</Text>
        </Pressable>
        
        <Pressable 
          style={({pressed}) => [
            styles.button,
            pressed && styles.buttonPressed,
          ]}
          onPress={() => setCount(count + 1)}
        >
          <Text style={styles.buttonText}>+</Text>
        </Pressable>
      </View>
      
      <Pressable 
        style={({pressed}) => [
          styles.button,
          styles.resetButton,
          pressed && styles.buttonPressed,
        ]}
        onPress={() => setCount(0)}
      >
        <Text style={styles.buttonText}>Reset</Text>
      </Pressable>
    </View>
  );
}

const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  container: {
    flex: 1,
    justifyContent: 'center',
    alignItems: 'center',
    backgroundColor: '#f5f5f5',
  },
  title: {
    fontSize: 48,
    fontWeight: 'bold',
    marginBottom: 40,
    color: '#333',
  },
  buttonRow: {
    flexDirection: 'row',
    gap: 20,
    marginBottom: 20,
  },
  button: {
    backgroundColor: '#007AFF',
    paddingHorizontal: 30,
    paddingVertical: 15,
    borderRadius: 10,
    minWidth: 60,
    alignItems: 'center',
    elevation: 3,
    shadowColor: '#000',
    shadowOffset: {width: 0, height: 2},
    shadowOpacity: 0.25,
    shadowRadius: 3.84,
  },
  buttonPressed: {
    opacity: 0.7,
    transform: [{scale: 0.98}],
  },
  resetButton: {
    backgroundColor: '#FF3B30',
    minWidth: 120,
  },
  buttonText: {
    color: 'white',
    fontSize: 20,
    fontWeight: '600',
  },
});

export default App;

Key concepts learned

React Native components vs. HTML

React Native
Web (HTML)

<View>
  <Text>Hello World</Text>
</View>

<div>
  <p>Hello World</p>
</div>

In React Native, all text must be inside <Text> components. You cannot render raw strings directly in <View> components.

Styling with StyleSheet

React Native uses JavaScript objects for styling, similar to CSS-in-JS:

// StyleSheet.create() provides optimization and validation
const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  container: {
    flex: 1,              // Flexbox: take all available space
    justifyContent: 'center',  // Vertical centering
    alignItems: 'center',      // Horizontal centering
  },
});

Key differences from CSS:

Property names use camelCase (backgroundColor not background-color)
No units for numeric values (they’re in density-independent pixels)
Flexbox is the default layout system
Limited subset of CSS properties

Platform-specific code

Write code that adapts to iOS and Android:

import {Platform} from 'react-native';

const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  container: {
    paddingTop: Platform.OS === 'ios' ? 20 : 0,
  },
});

// Or use Platform.select()
const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  container: {
    ...Platform.select({
      ios: {paddingTop: 20},
      android: {paddingTop: 0},
    }),
  },
});

Fast Refresh in action

Fast Refresh automatically reloads your app when you save changes:

Component state is preserved

Your counter value stays the same when you edit styling or add new components

Full reload when needed

Fast Refresh triggers a full reload if you edit exported components or make syntax errors

Manual reload

Press R twice in the terminal running Metro, or shake the device and select “Reload”

To disable Fast Refresh: shake the device → Dev Menu → “Disable Fast Refresh”

Debugging your app

Chrome DevTools

Open the developer menu and select “Debug”:

iOS Simulator
Android Emulator

Press Cmd + D or Device → Shake

Press Cmd + M (macOS) or Ctrl + M (Windows/Linux), or adb shell input keyevent 82

Then select “Open Debugger” to use Chrome DevTools.

Console logs

Use standard console methods:

console.log('Current count:', count);
console.warn('This is a warning');
console.error('This is an error');

Logs appear in:

Metro bundler terminal
Chrome DevTools console
Xcode console (iOS)
Android Logcat (Android)

Next steps

Run on device

Test your app on a physical iPhone or Android device

Core components

Learn about built-in components like FlatList, Image, and TextInput

Navigation

Add multi-screen navigation with React Navigation

Networking

Fetch data from APIs with fetch() and handle responses

Common issues

Red screen errors

Red screens indicate JavaScript errors. Read the error message carefully - it usually points to the exact line causing the issue.Common causes:

Syntax errors
Undefined variables
Incorrect imports

Yellow box warnings

Yellow boxes show warnings that don’t crash the app but should be addressed:

Deprecated API usage
Performance warnings
Accessibility issues

Metro bundler issues

If Metro isn’t connecting:

# Reset Metro cache
npx react-native start --reset-cache

Build failures

iOS: Clean build folder in Xcode (Shift + Cmd + K)Android: Clean Gradle cache

cd android && ./gradlew clean && cd ..

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Architecture

Native Modules

Platform Guides

Performance

Developer Tools

Advanced Guides

Create a new project

Run your app

Understanding the project structure

Entry point: index.js

Main component: App.tsx

Core components explained

SafeAreaView

View

Text

ScrollView

Make your first changes

Complete counter app

Key concepts learned

React Native components vs. HTML

Styling with StyleSheet

Platform-specific code

Fast Refresh in action

Debugging your app

Chrome DevTools

Console logs

Next steps

Run on device

Core components

Navigation

Networking

Common issues

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Architecture

Native Modules

Platform Guides

Performance

Developer Tools

Advanced Guides

​Create a new project

​Run your app

​Understanding the project structure

​Entry point: index.js

​Main component: App.tsx

​Core components explained

SafeAreaView

View

Text

ScrollView

​Make your first changes

​Complete counter app

​Key concepts learned

​React Native components vs. HTML

​Styling with StyleSheet

​Platform-specific code

​Fast Refresh in action

​Debugging your app

​Chrome DevTools

​Console logs

​Next steps

Run on device

Core components

Navigation

Networking

​Common issues

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Create a new project

Run your app

Understanding the project structure

Entry point: index.js

Main component: App.tsx

Core components explained

Make your first changes

Complete counter app

Key concepts learned

React Native components vs. HTML

Styling with StyleSheet

Platform-specific code

Fast Refresh in action

Debugging your app

Chrome DevTools

Console logs

Next steps

Common issues