📱 React Native Android Build & Deployment Guide

🔄 Reset Metro Bundler Cache

Before building the application, it's recommended to clear the Metro Bundler cache to avoid potential issues with stale or corrupted data:

npm start -- --reset-cache

This command:

• Starts the Metro Bundler, which compiles JavaScript code for React Native.
• Clears the cache to remove any outdated files, preventing inconsistencies during development.
• Helps resolve issues related to stale dependencies or incorrect asset loading.

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📱 Building and Distributing React Native Apps for Android

This document outlines the steps to build and distribute a React Native app for Android, including generating an APK (for direct installation) and an AAB (Android App Bundle) (for distribution on the Google Play Store).

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🔧 1. Building the Application

Before generating the APK or AAB, we need to compile the code and prepare the app's assets.

📦 1.1 Build the Android Application

npx react-native build-android --mode=release

This command compiles the application in release mode.

📜 1.2 Generate the JavaScript Bundle

npx react-native bundle --platform android --dev false --entry-file index.js --bundle-output android/app/src/main/assets/index.android.bundle

This command packages the JavaScript code for production.

🧹 1.3 Clean Previous Build (Optional)

cd android/
./gradlew clean

This command removes previous builds to avoid conflicts.

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📦 2. Generating the APK (For Direct Installation)

If you want to generate an APK for testing or manual distribution:

./gradlew assembleRelease

This will create the APK at:

android/app/build/outputs/apk/release/app-release.apk

📲 2.1 Install the APK on a Device

adb install android/app/build/outputs/apk/release/app-release.apk

This command installs the APK on a connected device via ADB.

📂 2.2 Open the APK Location

open android/app/build/outputs/apk/release

This will open the folder where the APK is saved.

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🎁 3. Generating the AAB (For Play Store Publishing)

If you want to upload the app to the Google Play Store, you need to generate an Android App Bundle (AAB):

./gradlew bundleRelease

This will create an AAB file at:

app/build/outputs/bundle/release/app-release.aab

This file should be uploaded to the Google Play Console for distribution.

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🎯 Conclusion

• Use APK for direct installation.
• Use AAB for Play Store publishing.
• Always run ./gradlew clean before building to avoid cache issues.

Your app is now ready for testing or release! 🚀