'Custom Expo Development Client for Simulator
I had a specific question about installing a custom expo development client on a simulator, specifically an iOS simulator. I know that there is a way to install an expo build in a simulator (outlined here: https://docs.expo.dev/build-reference/simulators/), but this is just a build and not a development client, which are two very different things. The concept of an expo development client is outlined here: https://docs.expo.dev/development/introduction/. That means there is no Fast Refresh available, and I cannot modify my app in real-time by changing my code. This is a really important feature for me because I need to make sure my app is compatible with all iPhone sizes, and I need to be able to see the changes quickly without having to make a build every single time. Does anyone know how to do this, or if this is currently even possible?
Solution 1:[1]
A more detailed explanation of the issue can be found here: https://expo.canny.io/feature-requests/p/custom-dev-clients-for-simulator
Essentially the issue that I had was I did not set up my eas.json file correctly. I needed to change the preview build profile in the eas.json file so that it contained these parameters: "developmentClient": true and "ios": { "simulator": true } I then built my project using the command eas build --profile preview. I then followed the steps of downloading the tar.gz file, extracting the .app file, dragging it into the simulator, and I was able to successfully open the app and connect it to Metro where I could then see live changes.
Sources
This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Overflow and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Source: Stack Overflow
| Solution | Source |
|---|---|
| Solution 1 | Raamiz Abbasi |