React Native & Expo Best Practices

Goal: Build "Write Once, Run Everywhere" mobile apps that feel 100% native.

1. Architecture: Expo Router

• File-based Routing: Use app/ directory similar to Next.js.
• Linking: Define schemes in app.json for deep linking.
• Layouts: Use _layout.tsx for shared navigation wrappers (Stack, Tabs).

2. UI & Styling

• NativeWind: Use nativewind (Tailwind for RN) for styling. It's faster and more familiar.
• FlashList: Replace FlatList with Shopify's FlashList for 5x performance on long lists.
• Safe Area: Always wrap screen content in SafeAreaView (or use spacing tokens that account for insets).

3. Performance Optimization

• Image Caching: Use expo-image instead of React Native's <Image />.