expo-deployment

Expo Deployment Skill Guide

Skill Overview

The Expo Deployment skill provides complete guidance for deploying Expo apps to production environments, including publishing to app stores and configuring OTA hot updates.

Applicable Scenarios

App Store Publishing

When you need to officially release an Expo app to the iOS App Store or Google Play, covering the entire workflow from building, configuration, submission, and review.

Hot Update Fixes

After the app goes live, you may need to quickly fix bugs or push small updates without going through the app store review process. Use OTA updates to deliver changes directly to users.

Version Management

Manage multiple app versions and release channels, supporting version control across different environments such as production and pre-release, as well as staged (gradual) rollouts.

Core Features

Production Build Configuration

Provides build setup guidance for the production environment, including environment variable configuration, version number management, app package size optimization, and local build testing.

App Store Release

Guides you through the complete iOS and Android app store release process, including binary builds, app store metadata configuration, submission for review, and handling the review process.

OTA Update Management

Configures and manages hot update release channels, supports defining update strategies, release monitoring, and rollback handling to enable rapid iteration and bug fixes.

Common Questions

How do I publish an Expo app to the iOS App Store?

First, configure production build settings and update the version number, then use EAS Build to build the iOS binary. After the build is complete, upload the file to App Store Connect, configure app store metadata and screenshots, and finally submit for review. Once approved, the app can be officially published.

How do I publish an Expo app to Google Play?

The process is similar to iOS: use EAS Build to build an Android APK/AAB file, then create the app in the Google Play Console, upload the build file, fill in store information, and submit for review. Android reviews are typically faster than iOS.

What is EAS Build, and why use it?

EAS Build (Expo Application Services) is Expo’s official cloud build service that automates building iOS and Android applications. Using EAS Build helps avoid the complexity of setting up build environments locally, provides more reliable build results, and is deeply integrated with the Expo ecosystem, supporting advanced features such as OTA updates.