React Native Global CLI

react-native-cli is a command line tool for initializing React Native projects.

Installation

Install it as a global module:

yarn global add react-native-cli

It will create a global react-native binary (even though the package name is react-native-cli).

Usage

To create a new React Native Project called "AwesomeProject" you can run:

react-native init AwesomeProject

It will install react-native, react, jest and a bunch of other necessary packages from the default template.

After it's finished, your AwesomeProject should be ready to use. From this point, you should use your local react-native binary to run the proper React Native CLI:

yarn react-native link native-dep

Options

--template

Use a custom template.

Example: this will install init your AwesomeProject using template called react-native-template-samplename from npm:

react-native init AwesomeProject --template samplename

You can also pass remote git address and local filepath as a --template parameter.

--version

Use a custom version. By default react-native init will use the latest stable.

Example: this will install init your AwesomeProject using version 0.57.0:

react-native init AwesomeProject --version 0.57.0

You can also install a specific tag, like next, using:

react-native init AwesomeProject --version react-native@next

Future work

We understand this is counter-intuitive to have two packages for interacting with React Native and it makes the first experience with the framework a bit confusing.

That's why, as a part of Lean Core initiative, there's an ongoing effort to remove this module so we can use just react-native as the only package necessary to install and run React Native commands.