Expo Native UI Guide
Helps Expo developers build responsive screens with Apple-informed styling and a native-feeling experience.
The files show no malware, credential theft, covert exfiltration, destructive defaults, or disproportionate permissions. Camera, microphone, and media-library permissions are partly disclosed, and the README says telemetry is off by default. Points are deducted because confirmation, data-flow boundaries, rollback, failure recovery, and dependency-security guidance are incomplete; media examples also use remote resources.
The coverage is broad and most examples are readable, but there are material contradictions: the main document forbids Picker and expo-symbols while controls.md demonstrates Picker and icons.md imports expo-symbols. Expo Go, SDK, and New Architecture compatibility is also incomplete. Static review provides no key-path tests or abnormal-input feedback, so the score remains below the 10-point static ceiling.
The audience and main scenarios are clear, and routing is explicitly delegated to expo-router. References are organized by animation, controls, media, storage, and related topics. Points are deducted for missing explicit inputs, outputs, non-fit boundaries, and trigger conditions; platform and SDK constraints are scattered, with no Chinese-language support or mainland-China reachability guidance.
The skill has front matter, a version, MIT licensing, topic-based reference files, and many examples. Points are deducted for the absence of a changelog, explicit maintenance owner, or update path; installation notes, troubleshooting, known limitations, and compatibility matrices are thin, and internal naming and policy conflicts remain.
The material supplies directly adaptable snippets for native-feeling Expo colors, controls, animation, media, storage, and visual effects, so the core use case has clear value. Points are deducted because some recommendations or examples may be outdated, contradictory, or SDK/platform-specific, and there is no static evidence of representative output validation; users still need substantial manual checking.
Evidence consists mainly of revisioned skill files, references, README, license, and limited CI checks; the README identifies Expo documentation, CLI, and EAS CLI as the source of truth. Points are deducted because CI checks description/version limits rather than the skill’s technical guidance, and there is no committed test suite, third-party corroboration, or independently reproducible key-path evidence, keeping the score at or below the static 5-point ceiling.
- Resolve the conflicts among the Picker, expo-symbols, expo-image, and expo-router guidance, and label Expo SDK/platform compatibility.
- Add permission confirmation, data-flow, error-handling, and recovery guidance for camera, microphone, media-library, remote-media, and sensitive-storage use cases.
- Add dependency installation, troubleshooting, known limitations, maintenance ownership, update path, and Chinese/mainland-China environment guidance.
What does this skill do, and when should you use it?
Expo Native UI is an open-source Agent Skill that guides an AI agent in building native-feeling Expo screens. It covers Apple HIG styling, semantic colors, native controls, SF Symbols, media, animations, visual effects, gradients, storage, and responsive layout. Routing and navigation are explicitly delegated to the separate expo-router skill. It also directs developers to try Expo Go first and create custom builds only when native code or configuration requires them.
Instructs the agent to consult references for animations, controls, gradients, icons, media, storage, visual effects, and WebGPU/Three.js; write Expo and React Native UI code; start the app with npx expo start and test it first in Expo Go; and use npx expo run:ios, npx expo run:android, or eas build when local Expo modules, Apple targets, unsupported third-party native modules, or native configuration beyond app.json are required.
- An Expo developer building a mobile screen that should feel closer to a native iOS interface.
- A React Native team needing semantic colors, dark-mode behavior, native controls, or SF Symbols.
- An Expo project adding animations, gestures, media, blur, or liquid-glass effects.
- A developer who wants to validate UI quickly in Expo Go before creating a custom build.
What are this skill's strengths and limitations?
- Covers common Expo UI work across styling, colors, controls, icons, animations, media, storage, and visual effects.
- Provides a clear Expo Go-first workflow that can avoid unnecessary custom builds.
- Gives concrete library preferences and guidance for avoiding removed or legacy modules.
- MIT-licensed and included in a skill collection maintained by the official Expo team.
- Its scope is limited to expo-native-ui; routing and navigation belong to another skill.
- The SKILL.md provides no test suite, automated validation workflow, or platform compatibility matrix.
- Some capabilities depend on specific SDK or native conditions; for example, CSS gradients require the New Architecture.
- The README's installation and update instructions target the full 23-skill collection, not this skill alone.
How do you install this skill?
The README documents installation for the entire expo/skills collection. With Skills CLI, run: npx skills@latest add expo/skills --skill '*'. In Codex, install the collection plugin with: codex plugin add expo@openai-curated. The README does not document a dedicated single-skill installation command for expo-native-ui.
How do you use this skill?
After installing the skill for your agent, give it a concrete Expo UI task, such as: "Build a native-feeling Expo screen with semantic colors, native controls, SF Symbols, and responsive layout." For routes, links, stacks, tabs, modals, sheets, or headers, use the expo-router skill as well.
How does this skill compare with similar options?
Its boundary with the expo-router skill is explicit: expo-native-ui covers styling and native UI capabilities, while expo-router covers routing and navigation. Compared with immediately running custom iOS or Android builds, it recommends trying Expo Go first and building only when native code or configuration is required.