Expo Docs MCP Server

--- title: Start developing description: Make your first change to an Expo project and see it live on your device. hideTOC: true --- ## Start a development server To start the development server, run the following command: ## Open the app on your device After running the command above, you will see a QR code in your terminal. Scan this QR code to open the app on your device. If you're using an Android Emulator or iOS Simulator, you can press <kbd>a</kbd> or <kbd>i</kbd> respectively to open the app. <Collapsible summary="Having problems?"> Make sure you are on the same Wi-Fi network on your computer and your device. If it still doesn't work, it may be due to the router configuration &mdash; this is common for public networks. You can work around this by choosing the **Tunnel** connection type when starting the development server, then scanning the QR code again. > Using the **Tunnel** connection type will make the app reloads considerably slower than on **LAN** or **Local**, so it's best to avoid tunnel when possible. You may want to install and use an emulator or simulator to speed up development if **Tunnel** is required to access your machine from another device on your network. </Collapsible> ## Make your first change Open the **app/(tabs)/index.tsx** file in your code editor and make a change. <DiffBlock raw={`diff --git a/app/(tabs)/index.tsx b/app/(tabs)/index.tsx index 45cfa0e..4d1b384 100644 --- a/app/(tabs)/index.tsx +++ b/app/(tabs)/index.tsx @@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ export default function HomeScreen() { } > <ThemedView style={styles.titleContainer}> - <ThemedText type="title">Welcome!</ThemedText> + <ThemedText type="title">Hello World!</ThemedText> </ThemedView> <ThemedView style={styles.stepContainer}> `} /> <Collapsible summary="Changes not showing up on your device?"> Expo Go is configured by default to automatically reload the app whenever a file is changed, but let's make sure to go over the steps to enable it in case somehow things aren't working. - Make sure you have the [development mode enabled in Expo CLI](/workflow/development-mode#development-mode). - Close the Expo app and reopen it. - Once the app is open again, shake your device to reveal the developer menu. If you are using an emulator, press <kbd>Ctrl</kbd> + <kbd>M</kbd> for Android or <kbd>Cmd ⌘</kbd> + <kbd>D</kbd> for iOS. - If you see **Enable Fast Refresh**, press it. If you see **Disable Fast Refresh**, dismiss the developer menu. Now try making another change. </Collapsible> --- ## File structure Below, you can get familiar with the default project's file structure: ## Features The default project template has the following features: