expo-deployment

name	expo-deployment
slug	expo-deployment
description	Deploying Expo apps to iOS App Store, Android Play Store, web hosting, and CI/CD workflows using EAS (Expo Application Services).
version	1.0.0
category	mobile-development
complexity	complex
author	James Ide (Expo)
license	MIT
triggers	["expo deploy","expo build","eas build","app store","play store","testflight","expo submit"]
tags	["expo","deployment","eas","app-store","play-store","ci-cd"]

Expo Deployment

Core Workflows

Workflow 1: Primary Action

1. Analyze the input and context
2. Validate prerequisites are met
3. Execute the core operation
4. Verify the output meets expectations
5. Report results

This skill covers deploying Expo applications across all platforms using EAS (Expo Application Services).

References

Consult these resources as needed:

• ./references/workflows.md -- CI/CD workflows for automated deployments and PR previews
• ./references/testflight.md -- Submitting iOS builds to TestFlight for beta testing
• ./references/app-store-metadata.md -- Managing App Store metadata and ASO optimization
• ./references/play-store.md -- Submitting Android builds to Google Play Store
• ./references/ios-app-store.md -- iOS App Store submission and review process

Quick Start

Install EAS CLI

npm install -g eas-cli
eas login

Initialize EAS

npx eas-cli@latest init

This creates eas.json with build profiles.

Build Commands

Production Builds

# iOS App Store build
npx eas-cli@latest build -p ios --profile production

# Android Play Store build
npx eas-cli@latest build -p android --profile production

# Both platforms
npx eas-cli@latest build --profile production

Submit to Stores

# iOS: Build and submit to App Store Connect
npx eas-cli@latest build -p ios --profile production --submit

# Android: Build and submit to Play Store
npx eas-cli@latest build -p android --profile production --submit

# Shortcut for iOS TestFlight
npx testflight

Web Deployment

Deploy web apps using EAS Hosting:

# Deploy to production
npx expo export -p web
npx eas-cli@latest deploy --prod

# Deploy PR preview
npx eas-cli@latest deploy

EAS Configuration

Standard eas.json for production deployments:

{
  "cli": {
    "version": ">= 16.0.1",
    "appVersionSource": "remote"
  },
  "build": {
    "production": {
      "autoIncrement": true,
      "ios": {
        "resourceClass": "m-medium"
      }
    },
    "development": {
      "developmentClient": true,
      "distribution": "internal"
    }
  },
  "submit": {
    "production": {
      "ios": {
        "appleId": "[e-mail]",
        "ascAppId": "1234567890"
      },
      "android": {
        "serviceAccountKeyPath": "./google-service-account.json",
        "track": "internal"
      }
    }
  }
}

Platform-Specific Guides

iOS

• Use npx testflight for quick TestFlight submissions
• Configure Apple credentials via eas credentials
• See ./reference/testflight.md for credential setup
• See ./reference/ios-app-store.md for App Store submission

Android

• Set up Google Play Console service account
• Configure tracks: internal → closed → open → production
• See ./reference/play-store.md for detailed setup

Web

• EAS Hosting provides preview URLs for PRs
• Production deploys to your custom domain
• See ./reference/workflows.md for CI/CD automation

Automated Deployments

Use EAS Workflows for CI/CD:

# .eas/workflows/release.yml
name: Release

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  build-ios:
    type: build
    params:
      platform: ios
      profile: production

  submit-ios:
    type: submit
    needs: [build-ios]
    params:
      platform: ios
      profile: production

See ./reference/workflows.md for more workflow examples.

Version Management

EAS manages version numbers automatically with appVersionSource: "remote":

# Check current versions
eas build:version:get

# Manually set version
eas build:version:set -p ios --build-number 42

Monitoring

# List recent builds
eas build:list

# Check build status
eas build:view

# View submission status
eas submit:list