expo-tv-config

name	expo-tv-config
description	Expo TV configuration: app.json plugins, prebuild settings, platform-specific config for react-native-tvos
applies_to	["phase_clone","phase_prebuild"]
load_when	configuring `app.json`, running prebuild, or builds fail with config errors

Expo TV configuration

The Expo plugin @react-native-tvos/config-tv is the single switch that makes an Expo app build for TV. Get this wrong and you ship a phone app to a TV launcher. Get it right and most platform-specific config is automatic.

The one environment variable that matters

EXPO_TV=1

This must be set when:

• Running expo prebuild
• Running expo run:android or expo run:ios for a TV build
• Running EAS Build for a TV profile

For harness-driven Android work, prefer expo prebuild followed by the Gradle wrapper and android run. Treat expo run:android as a manual compatibility command because Android CLI should own deployment and launch when available.

Without it, the plugin no-ops and you get a mobile build. The expo_prebuild tool always sets it; if a user invokes prebuild manually, the symptom is silent — the build succeeds but the app is wrong.

A handy .envrc (direnv) or shell alias avoids forgetting:

export EXPO_TV=1

Plugin options

[
  "@react-native-tvos/config-tv",
  {
    "isTV": true,
    "androidTVBanner": "./assets/icon-400x240.png",
    "showVerboseWarnings": false
  }
]

• isTV: true — required. Drives Android leanback config and tvOS deployment target.
• androidTVBanner — path to the 400×240 banner. Required for Android TV / Fire TV. See firetv-leanback.md.
• showVerboseWarnings — verbose prebuild output. Useful when debugging.

What the plugin does (so you know what NOT to do manually)

On Android:

• Adds <intent-filter> with LEANBACK_LAUNCHER to the main activity
• Adds <uses-feature android:name="android.software.leanback" android:required="false" />
• Adds <uses-feature android:name="android.hardware.touchscreen" android:required="false" />
• References the banner in the application tag

On iOS:

• Sets deployment target to tvOS
• Switches the Xcode target to Apple TV
• Adjusts Info.plist for TV (removes phone-only keys)

This is why you don't edit native files directly. Anything the plugin does, the plugin owns. Manual edits get clobbered on the next prebuild.

Prebuild — when and why

EXPO_TV=1 npx expo prebuild --clean

--clean regenerates ios/ and android/ from scratch. This is what you want in CI and in the harness — reproducible builds. Without --clean, prebuild merges into existing native files and merge conflicts are silent and weird.

When to prebuild

• After changing app.json (any field).
• After adding or removing a config plugin.
• After bumping expo SDK or react-native-tvos.
• After changing the banner or icon.

When NOT to prebuild

• After changing only JS/TS code in packages/shared-ui or apps/expo-multi-tv/src/. JS bundles don't require regeneration.
• After updating a non-native dependency. Prebuild is for native config; JS deps don't need it.

Unnecessary prebuilds cost 60–120s and risk wiping any custom native edits (which the agent shouldn't have made, but).

SDK version pin

The template ships with Expo SDK 51 and react-native-tvos@0.74-stable (or whatever the README states — verify on clone). Compatibility table:

Expo SDK	react-native-tvos version	Notes
51	0.74-stable	Template default
52	0.76-stable	Newer; verify all deps
54	0.81-stable	Latest at time of writing; newest TV features

If the user requests a newer SDK, bump deliberately:

1. Update expo and react-native (the alias to react-native-tvos) in both apps.
2. Update transitive deps that have SDK constraints (expo-router, expo-font, etc.).
3. yarn install.
4. expo prebuild --clean.
5. Build for each platform; expect to fix 1–3 small issues per major SDK bump.

The agent should not silently bump. SDK changes are visible diffs.

EAS profile (when EAS Build is in use)

// eas.json
{
  "build": {
    "preview-tv-android": {
      "extends": "preview",
      "env": { "EXPO_TV": "1" },
      "android": { "buildType": "apk" }
    },
    "preview-tv-ios": {
      "extends": "preview",
      "env": { "EXPO_TV": "1" },
      "ios": { "simulator": false }
    }
  }
}

env.EXPO_TV is the equivalent of the shell variable. Without it on EAS, you get a mobile build out of the cloud — same symptom as locally.

Common config errors and fixes

Symptom	Cause	Fix
Mobile-looking app on a TV target	EXPO_TV not set during prebuild	Re-run with the env var, --clean
Prebuild fails: "android resource not found"	Banner path wrong in app.json	Fix path; rerun prebuild
Prebuild succeeds but app crashes on launch	SDK / react-native-tvos version mismatch	Align versions per the table above
expo run:ios builds a phone app	Xcode scheme is the phone target	Open ios/, switch scheme to the -tvOS variant, or use expo run:ios --device <TV-simulator>
"Plugin not found: @react-native-tvos/config-tv"	Plugin not installed in the app's workspace	yarn workspace expo-multi-tv add @react-native-tvos/config-tv
Banner appears stretched	Wrong dimensions, not exactly 400×240	Regenerate at correct size

When to update plugins vs runtime

Plugin updates → require prebuild. Runtime JS updates → don't.

If a plugin update is included in a normal yarn and the agent forgets to prebuild afterward, the build will succeed but the change won't take effect on native. Always prebuild after a plugin change.

Anti-patterns

• Setting EXPO_TV inside the JS code. It's a build-time variable. Setting it at runtime does nothing.
• Editing ios/ or android/ directly to "fix" something. Prebuild will erase it. If a fix is needed, write or extend a config plugin.
• Skipping --clean during prebuild because "it's faster". It is faster. It's also the source of half of the "works on my machine" bugs.
• Running expo run:ios when an iPhone simulator is open. The build may target the phone. Specify the TV device or close the phone simulator first.