Expo SDK Upgrade Assistant
Guides Expo SDK upgrades, dependency fixes, and compatibility cleanup.
The material discloses the upgrade, dependency, native-directory, and cache-clearing workflow and tells the agent to check for ios/android first. However, it includes potentially destructive or costly commands such as `npx expo prebuild --clean` and `rm -rf node_modules .expo` without requiring confirmation, backups, or rollback, and it does not fully explain network and dependency-install data flows. The repository supplies MIT licensing and source links, but the publisher is unverified by FollowSkills.
The procedure, reference files, and openai.yaml target are broadly consistent and cover CNG, bare workflows, deprecated packages, and migration caveats. There is no committed test suite for the key upgrade paths, no pinned environment assumptions, and no consistent failure-handling protocol; several checks are merely commands the user is told to run. Static evidence therefore supports only a score below the 10-point execution ceiling.
The audience and main scenarios are clear: SDK upgrades, dependency fixes, React 19, React Compiler, New Architecture, and deprecated-package migrations. Boundaries are still incomplete: project inputs, unsupported cases, and semantic trigger conditions are not fully defined, and the guidance relies on English Expo documentation and commands without Chinese support or mainland-China reachability information.
The SKILL.md, openai.yaml, and topic-specific references provide clear information architecture. Metadata includes name, version, and MIT license, while repository context shows installation guidance, version-check CI, and maintenance checks. The skill itself lacks a changelog, named maintenance responsibility, update path, explicit dependency/permission notes, comprehensive examples, and systematic troubleshooting; some versioned links and future-SDK claims may also age.
The skill provides copyable commands, migration tables, before/after code, and completion criteria, so it plausibly covers the core upgrade task. It contains no real project input/output, build result, or test evidence; users must still resolve project-specific conflicts, verify native behavior, and handle rollback. Under static calibration, effectiveness cannot exceed 7, so 7 is the conservative maximum.
Specific commands, code examples, reference links, and repository CI checks provide some auditability. The selected skill has no committed tests covering its key paths, no actual CI execution evidence, and no independent corroboration in the supplied material; external reference contents were not cross-verified here. A score of 4 reflects limited static traceability.
- Require confirmation, a recoverable backup, and impact disclosure before running `prebuild --clean` or deleting node_modules/.expo; the skill does not define confirmation or rollback.
- The guidance spans SDK 53–56 and preview releases, so claims and links may drift; recheck against the target SDK release notes and current CLI diagnostics.
- The React 19, Compiler, media, navigation, and native-architecture examples do not cover every API, platform difference, or failure mode and should not be treated as automatically complete or validated.
- Dependency installation, the online version API, and external documentation are key prerequisites; no offline or mainland-China fallback is specified.
What does this skill do, and when should you use it?
This open-source framework skill is part of Expo’s official skills collection and focuses on upgrading Expo SDK versions. It covers dependency updates, diagnostics, cache cleanup, native regeneration, and deprecated-package migrations. It also includes references for React 19, the New Architecture, React Compiler, native tabs, audio and video migration, and navigation migration. It fits developers maintaining Expo applications through SDK releases, rather than users seeking a general-purpose Expo development skill.
Checks whether a project contains ios/ and android/ directories, and reviews or recommends changes to package.json, app.json, Babel, Metro, PostCSS, patches/, and AGENTS.md files. It runs or supplies commands involving npx expo install, npx expo-doctor, npx expo export, npx expo prebuild, Watchman, CocoaPods, Xcode, and Gradle cache cleanup. It checks an Expo versions endpoint for preview releases and provides migration guidance for deprecated packages, install exclusions, Metro settings, and New Architecture changes.
- An Expo developer upgrading an application to the latest SDK needs a staged upgrade and diagnostics workflow.
- A React Native team facing dependency conflicts after an SDK upgrade needs to review package versions, exclusions, and obsolete patches.
- A team migrating from expo-av needs separate guidance for moving audio and video implementations.
- An Expo project with native directories needs to determine when to use prebuild, CocoaPods, Xcode, or Gradle cleanup.
- A team moving to SDK 53 or later needs to address PostCSS, Metro, and New Architecture defaults.
What are this skill's strengths and limitations?
- Covers common maintenance work including SDK upgrades, dependency fixes, deprecated-package migrations, and cache cleanup.
- Clearly distinguishes Continuous Native Generation projects from projects containing ios/ or android/ directories.
- Includes concrete migration guidance for SDK 53, 54, 55, and 56 changes.
- Distributed within an MIT-licensed skills collection maintained by the Expo team.
- The README’s installation commands target the full 23-skill collection and do not explain single-skill installation.
- The SKILL.md provides no test suite, platform matrix, or success-rate evidence.
- Some procedures depend on Watchman, CocoaPods, Xcode, or Gradle and vary by project workflow.
- Several steps require project-specific judgment and do not replace Expo documentation, Expo CLI, or EAS CLI.
How do you install this skill?
The README documents installation for the full Expo Skills collection. In Claude Code, use claude plugin install expo@claude-plugins-official; in Codex, use codex plugin add expo@openai-curated; for other supported agents, use npx skills@latest add expo/skills --skill '*'. The source does not document a CLI command for installing only expo-upgrade.
How do you use this skill?
After installing the skill, submit a specific Expo upgrade request such as “Help me upgrade this app to the latest Expo SDK.” The agent should use the project state to run or recommend npx expo install expo@latest, npx expo install --fix, and npx expo-doctor, then select native-change and cache-cleanup steps based on whether ios/ or android/ directories exist.
How does this skill compare with similar options?
The source identifies Expo documentation, Expo CLI, and EAS CLI as the sources of truth. This skill helps an agent apply that guidance during an upgrade workflow rather than replacing those sources.