Expo SDK 56

What's new in SDK 56#

# Pinned by Expo SDK 56 (expo@56.0.3, released 2026-05-21)
expo                            ~56.0.3
react                           19.2.3
react-native                    0.85.3
react-native-reanimated         ~4.3.1
react-native-worklets           ~0.8.3   # new required peer
react-native-safe-area-context  ~5.7.0
react-native-gesture-handler    ~2.31.1
react-native-screens            4.25.2
react-native-svg                15.15.4

The main breaking change for AniUI users is the new react-native-worklets peer dependency. Reanimated 4.3 split the worklets runtime into its own package — projects that don't install it will fail to bundle. aniui init installs it automatically on SDK 56, and aniui doctor warns if it's missing.

Choose your NativeWind track#

Fresh install#

On Expo SDK 55+ projects without an existing nativewind dependency, aniui init asks which NativeWind track to use. Pass --nw v4 or --nw v5 to skip the prompt in scripted runs.

# Fresh Expo SDK 56 project, NativeWind v5 preview track
npx create-expo-app@latest my-app --template default@sdk-56
cd my-app

# Run AniUI init — pick "v5 preview" at the NativeWind track prompt
npx @aniui/cli init

# (or skip the prompt)
npx @aniui/cli init --nw v5 --yes

# Start
npx expo start -c

# Fresh Expo SDK 56 project, NativeWind v4 stable track
npx create-expo-app@latest my-app --template default@sdk-56
cd my-app

# Run AniUI init — pick "v4 stable" at the NativeWind track prompt
npx @aniui/cli init

# (or skip the prompt)
npx @aniui/cli init --nw v4 --yes

# Start
npx expo start -c

CSS format by track#

/* SDK 56 + NativeWind v5 preview */
@import "tailwindcss";
@import "nativewind/theme";

@theme {
  --color-background: hsl(0 0% 100%);
  --color-foreground: hsl(240 10% 3.9%);
  --color-primary: hsl(240 5.9% 10%);
  /* ... */
  --radius: 0.5rem;
}

@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --color-background: hsl(240 10% 3.9%);
    /* ... */
  }
}

/* SDK 56 + NativeWind v4 stable */
@tailwind base;
@tailwind components;
@tailwind utilities;

:root {
  --background: 0 0% 100%;
  --foreground: 240 10% 3.9%;
  --primary: 240 5.9% 10%;
  /* ... */
  --radius: 0.5rem;
}

.dark {
  --background: 240 10% 3.9%;
  /* ... */
}

Migrating from SDK 55#

# Migration from Expo SDK 55 → 56
# 1. Bump Expo + companion native modules
npx expo install expo@~56 react@19.2.3 react-native@0.85.3

# 2. Install the new required worklets peer
npx expo install react-native-worklets react-native-reanimated@~4.3.1

# 3. Bump safe-area-context
npx expo install react-native-safe-area-context@~5.7.0

# 4. Re-run aniui init to refresh templates (no template changes if staying on v5)
npx @aniui/cli init

# 5. Components — no changes needed.

If you were already on the v5 preview track, your global.css, metro config, and babel config don't change — only the underlying React / React Native / Reanimated versions and the new worklets peer.

Migrating from SDK 54#

# Migration from Expo SDK 54 → 56
# 1. Bump Expo to SDK 56
npx expo install expo@~56

# 2. Switch to New Architecture if not already
#    Set "newArchEnabled": true in app.json (SDK 55 dropped Old Arch)

# 3. Bump Reanimated 3 → 4 and install the new worklets peer
npx expo install react-native-reanimated@~4.3.1 react-native-worklets

# 4. Decide: keep NativeWind v4 (stable, Tailwind v3) or flip to v5 preview (Tailwind v4)
#    Stay on v4 — your tailwind.config.js + global.css keep working.
#    Flip to v5  — re-run aniui init and pick "v5 preview" at the prompt.

npx @aniui/cli init

The biggest jump is the architecture switch. SDK 55 already removed Old Architecture support, and SDK 56 continues that. You also move from Reanimated 3 to Reanimated 4, which is why the new worklets peer appears.

Known footguns#

• react-native-worklets:Required as a separate peer by Reanimated 4.3+. aniui doctor will flag this if it's missing.
• expo/fetch default:SDK 56 makes expo/fetch the default globalThis.fetch. Set EXPO_PUBLIC_USE_RN_FETCH=1 to opt out if a dependency relies on the RN fetch behaviour.
• @expo/vector-icons:Deprecated in SDK 56. Use @react-native-vector-icons/* instead (Expo ships a codemod).
• expo-router:No longer transitively depends on @react-navigation/*. If you import navigation packages directly, install them explicitly.
• React Compiler:Still incompatible with NativeWind's className transform. Do NOT enable experiments.reactCompiler in app.json. AniUI's init turns it off automatically.