Use EAS Build to create development clients for testing native code changes on physical devices. Use this for creating custom Expo Go clients for testing branches of your app.

Important: When Development Clients Are Needed

Development clients are the recommended setup for any real or production app. Expo Go is a playground for learning and quick experiments with the native libraries it bundles; most apps outgrow it and move to a development client. See Expo Go vs. development builds for the full reasoning.

You need a dev client ONLY when using:

Local Expo modules (custom native code)
Apple targets (widgets, app clips, extensions)
Third-party native modules not in Expo Go
Config plugins, or testing remote push notifications and App/Universal Links

EAS Configuration

Ensure eas.json has a development profile:

expo-dev-client

Important: When Development Clients Are Needed

EAS Configuration