Setup of react native cli 0.81

This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by devesh kumar singh

1. Install Node.js and Watchman

Make sure you have the latest version of Node.js installed.

brew install node
brew install watchman

2. Install React Native CLI globally

npm install -g react-native-cli

Or use npx without global install (recommended to avoid version conflicts):

You don’t need to install it globally; you can directly run with:

npx react-native init MyNewProject

This will scaffold the new project.

3. Create a new React Native project

npx react-native init MyNewProject

You can specify a template like this if needed:

npx react-native init MyNewProject --template react-native-template-typescript

4. Navigate into the project directory

cd MyNewProject

5. Install dependencies (if needed)

npm install

or

yarn

6. Run on Android

Make sure you have Android Studio installed with SDK setup and emulator running.

npx react-native run-android

7. Run on iOS (Mac only)

Make sure Xcode is installed.

npx react-native run-ios

This will start the simulator.

8. Linking Native Modules (If Needed)

For libraries that require native code changes:

npx react-native link

Though many libraries now use auto-linking and don’t need this step.

9. Debugging and Development

• Use react-native start to start the Metro bundler manually if it’s not auto-running.

npx react-native start

• You can reload, debug, or use React DevTools.

10. Build APK / IPA (Optional for release)

For Android:

cd android
./gradlew assembleRelease

For iOS:

Open ios/MyNewProject.xcworkspace in Xcode → Archive → Export.

Notes:

• Use npx for the latest React Native without globally installing.
• For full native capabilities, CLI is preferable over Expo.
• Keep SDKs updated regularly.
• On Windows, iOS build isn’t supported unless using cloud services.

This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by devesh kumar singh