Development journal
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Written by: Jonathan Reis on
Build one analytics contract for an Expo app, keep Firebase and GA4 working, add Amplitude without rewriting product code, and gain independent rollout, failure isolation, and better product decisions.
Written by: Jonathan Reis on
A practical asset-library pattern for React Native apps, static sites, store exports, and shared audio without losing the editable original.
Written by: Jonathan Reis on
Use one editable icon source, an opaque iOS raster, and a transparent Android adaptive foreground so launcher masks do not crop your artwork.
Written by: Jonathan Reis on
Step by step how I ran the first iOS build of an Expo app (Sudoku) that already built on Android, in a pnpm monorepo: prebuild, pod install, xcodebuild Release, simulator. Includes the three traps that block the build (babel, Hermes prebuilt, Firebase mock) and how to fix each one in versioned source files.
Written by: Jonathan Reis on
An Expo POC hosts Godot in a native Android View, fixes the RN↔GDScript bridge, and replaces thousands of nodes with batched drawing; on iOS, the diagnosis shows why a build and bootstrap do not prove Simulator rendering.
Written by: Jonathan Reis on
Why the declarative Skia renderer with 81 React components per cell struggled on low-end devices, and how reimplementing the board with Skia.PictureRecorder + <Picture> removes the reconciler from the render hot path.
Written by: Jonathan Reis on
After nine Play uploads on versionName 0.1.0, lint overwriting production config, and ambiguous build script names, we documented SemVer rules, dev/prd commands, and why lint must not regenerate config.
Written by: Jonathan Reis on
Validate Firebase Analytics in a production React Native APK by combining local debug logs with the realtime response behind GA4 DebugView, even when its device counter says zero.
Written by: Jonathan Reis on
A practical release checklist for AdMob UMP in an Expo/React Native Android app, covering GDPR messages, US state privacy messages, app store linking, and the SDK gate before ads can request.
Written by: Jonathan Reis on
We wanted physical-keyboard input in a React Native game on Android. The classic hidden TextInput trick failed under Fabric because showSoftInputOnFocus is ignored. adb proved it, and a config plugin fixed it for good.
Written by: Jonathan Reis on
A border on an overflow-hidden container silently shifted our Skia board and un-centered every digit. Here is how screenshots, not eyeballs, found the real cause in a React Native game.
Written by: Jonathan Reis on
A developer shortcut hidden behind __DEV__ disappeared exactly when we needed it in a release build. Here is why that happens in React Native and how we moved the gate to runtime config.
Written by: Jonathan Reis on
How we gave a template-looking Sudoku a bold art direction by changing the theme tokens first, sharing them with our website, and staying inside a low-end performance budget.
Written by: Jonathan Reis on
How Daily Sudoku added a persisted vibration toggle, reused gameplay feedback events, and kept Web bundling safe while using expo-haptics on native.
Written by: Jonathan Reis on
How we reduced the gap between Web and app in an Expo/React Native game by replacing synthetic tones with bundled WAV assets and configurable audio logs.
Written by: Jonathan Reis on
How one React Native sound setting ended up owning gameplay effects, Android tap feedback, and a double-toggle bug in a nested Switch.
Written by: Jonathan Reis on
How we measured React Native response time from tap handler to state update and paint when frame stats did not explain what players felt.
Written by: Jonathan Reis on
How we tested a Skia Sudoku board behind config without deleting the React Native renderer, accessibility layer, or rollback path.
Written by: Jonathan Reis on
A practical field note on fixing a missing native splash after an Expo SDK upgrade by moving from the legacy splash block to the expo-splash-screen plugin.
Written by: Jonathan Reis on
How to build a local Expo/React Native AAB for Google Play and still validate signing, Firebase, Sentry, AdMob, RevenueCat, and Play delivery like a real release.
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