Skill

expo-router

Name: expo-router
Author: Expo

implement navigation and routing in Expo

Published by Expo Updated Jul 24

Covers React Native Expo Mobile Navigation

Description

Framework (OSS). Navigation and routing for Expo Router. Covers file-based routes, groups and dynamic routes, folder organization, Link with previews and context menus, native Stack, page titles, modals and form sheets, NativeTabs, headers and toolbars, and header search bars.

SKILL.md

Expo Router Navigation

Navigation and routing for Expo Router apps. For screen styling, colors, controls, animations, media, and visual effects, use the expo-native-ui skill.

References

Consult these resources as needed:

references/
  route-structure.md     Route conventions, dynamic routes, groups, folder organization
  tabs.md                NativeTabs, migration from JS tabs, iOS 26 features
  toolbar-and-headers.md Stack headers and toolbar buttons, menus, search (iOS only)
  form-sheet.md          Form sheets in expo-router: configuration, footers and background interaction.
  search.md              Search bar with headers, useSearch hook, filtering patterns
  zoom-transitions.md    Apple Zoom: fluid zoom transitions with Link.AppleZoom (iOS 18+)

Code Style

Always use kebab-case for file names, e.g. comment-card.tsx
Always remove old route files when moving or restructuring navigation
Never use special characters in file names
Configure tsconfig.json with path aliases, and prefer aliases over relative imports for refactors.

Routes

See ./references/route-structure.md for detailed route conventions.

Routes belong in the app directory.
Never co-locate components, types, or utilities in the app directory. This is an anti-pattern.
Ensure the app always has a route that matches "/", it may be inside a group route.

Library Preferences

Color from expo-router for native semantic colors, not raw PlatformColor (type-safe, auto-adapts to light/dark). See expo-native-ui for the full color palette pattern.
In SDK 56+, never import from @react-navigation/* directly — use expo-router/react-navigation instead (covers @react-navigation/native, /core, /elements, /routers)

Behavior

Prefer Stack.SearchBar to add a search bar to a screen

Navigation

Link

Use <Link href="/path" /> from 'expo-router' for navigation between routes.

import { Link } from 'expo-router';

// Basic link
<Link href="/path" />

// Wrapping custom components
<Link href="/path" asChild>
  <Pressable>...</Pressable>
</Link>

Whenever possible, include a <Link.Preview> to follow iOS conventions. Add context menus and previews frequently to enhance navigation.

Stack

ALWAYS use _layout.tsx files to define stacks
Use Stack from 'expo-router/stack' for native navigation stacks

Page Title

Set the page title with Stack.Title:

<Stack.Title>Home</Stack.Title>

Context Menus

Add long press context menus to Link components:

import { Link } from "expo-router";

<Link href="/settings" asChild>
  <Link.Trigger>
    <Pressable>
      <Card />
    </Pressable>
  </Link.Trigger>
  <Link.Menu>
    <Link.MenuAction
      title="Share"
      icon="square.and.arrow.up"
      onPress={handleSharePress}
    />
    <Link.MenuAction
      title="Block"
      icon="nosign"
      destructive
      onPress={handleBlockPress}
    />
    <Link.Menu title="More" icon="ellipsis">
      <Link.MenuAction title="Copy" icon="doc.on.doc" onPress={() => {}} />
      <Link.MenuAction
        title="Delete"
        icon="trash"
        destructive
        onPress={() => {}}
      />
    </Link.Menu>
  </Link.Menu>
</Link>;

Link Previews

Use link previews frequently to enhance navigation:

<Link href="/settings">
  <Link.Trigger>
    <Pressable>
      <Card />
    </Pressable>
  </Link.Trigger>
  <Link.Preview />
</Link>

Link preview can be used with context menus.

Present a screen as a modal:

<Stack.Screen name="modal" options={{ presentation: "modal" }} />

Prefer this to building a custom modal component.

Sheet

Present a screen as a dynamic form sheet:

<Stack.Screen
  name="sheet"
  options={{
    presentation: "formSheet",
    sheetGrabberVisible: true,
    sheetAllowedDetents: [0.5, 1.0],
    contentStyle: { backgroundColor: "transparent" },
  }}
/>

Using contentStyle: { backgroundColor: "transparent" } makes the background liquid glass on iOS 26+.

Common route structure

A standard app layout with tabs and stacks inside each tab:

app/
  _layout.tsx — <NativeTabs />
  (index,search)/
    _layout.tsx — <Stack />
    index.tsx — Main list
    search.tsx — Search view

// app/_layout.tsx
import { NativeTabs } from "expo-router/unstable-native-tabs";
import { ThemeProvider, DarkTheme, DefaultTheme } from "expo-router/react-navigation";
import { useColorScheme } from "react-native";

export default function Layout() {
  const colorScheme = useColorScheme();
  return (
    <ThemeProvider value={colorScheme === "dark" ? DarkTheme : DefaultTheme}>
      <NativeTabs>
        <NativeTabs.Trigger name="(index)">
          <NativeTabs.Trigger.Icon sf="list.dash" md="list" />
          <NativeTabs.Trigger.Label>Items</NativeTabs.Trigger.Label>
        </NativeTabs.Trigger>
        <NativeTabs.Trigger name="(search)" role="search" />
      </NativeTabs>
    </ThemeProvider>
  );
}

Create a shared group route so both tabs can push common screens:

// app/(index,search)/_layout.tsx
import { Stack } from "expo-router/stack";
import { colors } from "@/theme/colors";

export default function Layout({ segment }) {
  const screen = segment.match(/\((.*)\)/)?.[1]!;
  const titles: Record<string, string> = { index: "Items", search: "Search" };

  return (
    <Stack
      screenOptions={{
        headerTransparent: true,
        headerShadowVisible: false,
        headerLargeTitleShadowVisible: false,
        headerLargeStyle: { backgroundColor: "transparent" },
        headerTitleStyle: { color: colors.label },
        headerLargeTitle: true,
        headerBlurEffect: "none",
        headerBackButtonDisplayMode: "minimal",
      }}
    >
      <Stack.Screen name={screen} options={{ title: titles[screen] }} />
      <Stack.Screen name="i/[id]" options={{ headerLargeTitle: false }} />
    </Stack>
  );
}

Submitting Feedback

If you encounter errors, misleading or outdated information in this skill, report it so Expo can improve:

npx --yes submit-expo-feedback@latest --category skills --subject "expo-router" "<actionable feedback>"

Only submit when you have something specific and actionable to report. Include as much relevant context as possible.

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