React Native Basics Skill

Learn production-ready React Native fundamentals including core components, StyleSheet, Flexbox, and Expo SDK.

Prerequisites

• JavaScript/TypeScript fundamentals
• React basics (components, props, state, hooks)
• Node.js and npm/yarn installed
• Xcode (iOS) or Android Studio (Android)

Learning Objectives

After completing this skill, you will be able to:

• Create and compose React Native components
• Apply styles using StyleSheet API
• Build responsive layouts with Flexbox
• Use platform-specific code (iOS/Android)
• Set up and use Expo for development

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Topics Covered

1. Core Components

View          - Container component (like div)
Text          - Text display (required for strings)
Image         - Image rendering
ScrollView    - Scrollable container
FlatList      - Optimized list rendering
TextInput     - User input
Pressable     - Touch handling

2. Styling System

// StyleSheet.create for performance
const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  container: {
    flex: 1,
    backgroundColor: '#fff',
    padding: 16,
  },
  title: {
    fontSize: 24,
    fontWeight: 'bold',
    color: '#1a1a1a',
  },
});

3. Flexbox Layout

// Common patterns
flexDirection: 'row' | 'column'     // Main axis
justifyContent: 'center' | 'space-between'  // Main axis alignment
alignItems: 'center' | 'stretch'    // Cross axis alignment
flex: 1                              // Grow to fill

4. Platform-Specific Code

import { Platform } from 'react-native';

// Method 1: Platform.select
const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  shadow: Platform.select({
    ios: { shadowColor: '#000', shadowOpacity: 0.1 },
    android: { elevation: 4 },
  }),
});

// Method 2: Platform.OS
if (Platform.OS === 'ios') {
  // iOS specific code
}

5. Expo Setup

# Create new project
npx create-expo-app MyApp
cd MyApp

# Start development
npx expo start

# Build for production
eas build --platform all

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Quick Start Example

import React from 'react';
import { View, Text, StyleSheet, FlatList, Pressable } from 'react-native';

interface Item {
  id: string;
  title: string;
}

export default function App() {
  const [items, setItems] = React.useState<Item[]>([
    { id: '1', title: 'Learn React Native' },
    { id: '2', title: 'Build first app' },
  ]);

  return (
    <View style={styles.container}>
      <Text style={styles.title}>My Tasks</Text>
      <FlatList
        data={items}
        keyExtractor={(item) => item.id}
        renderItem={({ item }) => (
          <Pressable style={styles.item}>
            <Text>{item.title}</Text>
          </Pressable>
        )}
      />
    </View>
  );
}

const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  container: { flex: 1, padding: 16, backgroundColor: '#f5f5f5' },
  title: { fontSize: 24, fontWeight: 'bold', marginBottom: 16 },
  item: { backgroundColor: '#fff', padding: 16, marginBottom: 8, borderRadius: 8 },
});

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Common Errors & Solutions

Error	Cause	Solution
"Text strings must be wrapped"	Raw text outside <Text>	Wrap all text in <Text>
Styles not applying	Plain object vs StyleSheet	Use StyleSheet.create()
FlatList not scrolling	No height/flex	Add flex: 1 to parent
Image not showing	Invalid source	Check URI or require path

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Validation Checklist

• Components render without errors
• Styles apply correctly on both platforms
• FlatList handles large lists efficiently
• Platform-specific code works correctly
• Expo build succeeds

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Related Resources

• React Native Docs
• Expo Docs

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Usage

Skill("react-native-basics")

Bonded Agent: 01-react-native-fundamentals