expo-ios-hig

name

expo-ios-hig

description

Expo / React Native iOS interface conforming to Apple Human Interface Guidelines (iOS 26) — native navigation (Expo Router native stack and tabs), platform controls (Alert, ActionSheetIOS, SF Symbols via expo-symbols), safe areas, dark mode, Dynamic Type, haptics, Liquid Glass, accessibility, and 60fps motion. Covers architecture and styling decisions made in React Native/TypeScript; for the @expo/ui SwiftUI component API use the expo-ui skill, and for native Swift use ios-hig. Trigger when building, reviewing, or refactoring such an app — even when the user does not say "HIG" or "native feel" but is writing TSX screens, navigation, lists, forms, or styling for iOS in Expo.

Expo iOS HIG Best Practices

Design rules for building iOS 26 apps in Expo (React Native) that feel genuinely native under Apple's Human Interface Guidelines. Contains 46 rules across 8 categories, prioritized by how much each decision affects native feel and HIG compliance. Every example is TSX/Expo — the decisions you make in React Native and TypeScript, not Swift.

The core idea: a React Native app feels native when it reaches for the platform — the system navigation controller, system controls, semantic colors, SF Symbols, real haptics, the system share sheet — instead of re-implementing iOS in JavaScript. These rules say which decision earns the native feel and which one quietly forfeits it.

When to Apply

Reference these guidelines when:

• Building or reviewing iOS screens, navigation, lists, or forms in an Expo app
• Choosing navigation: Expo Router native stack vs JS stack, native tabs, sheets, modals, large titles
• Picking controls: when to use the native Alert, ActionSheetIOS, date picker, Switch, SF Symbols, or drop to @expo/ui
• Styling for the platform: safe areas, dark mode, semantic colors, the iOS type scale, spacing, Liquid Glass
• Making interaction feel native: touch targets, press feedback, swipe actions, pull-to-refresh, gestures, haptics