Use GitHub Actions

Create a file path named .github/workflows/update.yml at the root of your project.

Inside update.yml, copy and paste the following snippet:

name: update
on: push

jobs:
  update:
    name: EAS Update
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Check for EXPO_TOKEN
        run: |
          if [ -z "${{ secrets.EXPO_TOKEN }}" ]; then
            echo "You must provide an EXPO_TOKEN secret linked to this project's Expo account in this repo's secrets. Learn more: https://docs.expo.dev/eas-update/github-actions"
            exit 1
          fi

      - name: Checkout repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v3

      - name: Setup Node
        uses: actions/setup-node@v3
        with:
          node-version: 18.x
          cache: yarn

      - name: Setup EAS
        uses: expo/expo-github-action@v8
        with:
          eas-version: latest
          token: ${{ secrets.EXPO_TOKEN }}

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: yarn install

      - name: Publish update
        run: eas update --auto

In the code above, we set the action to run every time code is pushed to any branch. In the update job, we set up Node, in addition to Expo's GitHub Action: expo-github-action. We then add a couple of steps to cache any dependencies installed from the last run to speed this script up on subsequent runs. In the end, we install dependencies (yarn install), then publish the update with eas update --auto. Since we're using the --auto flag, the EAS branch will be named after the GitHub branch, and the message for the update will match the commit's message.

Finally, we need to give the script above permission to run by providing an EXPO_TOKEN environment variable.

1. Navigate to https://expo.dev/settings/access-tokens.
2. Click "Create" to create a new access token.
3. Copy the token generated.
4. Navigate to https://github.com/your-username/your-repo-name/settings/secrets/actions, replacing "your-username" and "your-repo-name" with your project's info.
5. Click "New repository secret"
6. Make the secret's name "EXPO_TOKEN", then paste the access token in as the value.

Your GitHub Action should be set up now. Whenever a developer merges code into the repo, this action will build an update and publish it, making it available to all of our devices with builds that have access to the EAS branch.

Some repositories or organizations might need to explicitly enable GitHub Workflows and allow third-party Actions.

Create a file path named .github/workflows/preview.yml at the root of your project.

Inside preview.yml, copy and paste the following snippet:

name: preview
on: pull_request

jobs:
  update:
    name: EAS Update
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      contents: read
      pull-requests: write
    steps:
      - name: Check for EXPO_TOKEN
        run: |
          if [ -z "${{ secrets.EXPO_TOKEN }}" ]; then
            echo "You must provide an EXPO_TOKEN secret linked to this project's Expo account in this repo's secrets. Learn more: https://docs.expo.dev/eas-update/github-actions"
            exit 1
          fi

      - name: Checkout repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v3

      - name: Setup Node
        uses: actions/setup-node@v3
        with:
          node-version: 18.x
          cache: yarn

      - name: Setup EAS
        uses: expo/expo-github-action@v8
        with:
          eas-version: latest
          token: ${{ secrets.EXPO_TOKEN }}

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: yarn install

      - name: Create preview
        uses: expo/expo-github-action/preview@v8
        with:
          command: eas update --auto

Although the code above is similar to the example in the previous section, there are a few differences. In this action, we changed the workflow event (on) to run every time a pull request is opened or updated. In the update job, we still set up Node, Expo's GitHub Action, and the dependencies using GitHub action's built-in cache. But, instead of running eas update --auto ourselves, we let the preview subaction run it for us. This will add a comment to the pull request with basic information about the update and a QR code to scan the update.

Don't forget to add the permissions section to the job. This enables the job to add comments to the pull request.

You can skip this step if you have already set up EXPO_TOKEN in the previous section. Only one valid EXPO_TOKEN is required to authenticate GitHub Actions with your Expo account.

If you haven't, you must give the script above permission to run by providing an EXPO_TOKEN environment variable.

1. Navigate to https://expo.dev/settings/access-tokens.
2. Click "Create" to create a new access token.
3. Copy the token generated.
4. Navigate to https://github.com/your-username/your-repo-name/settings/secrets/actions, replacing "your-username" and "your-repo-name" with your project's info.
5. Click "New repository secret"
6. Make the secret's name "EXPO_TOKEN", then paste the access token in as the value.

Your GitHub Action should be set up now. Whenever a developer creates a pull request, this action will build an update and publish it, making it available to all reviewers with builds that have access to the EAS branch.

Some repositories or organizations might need to explicitly enable GitHub Workflows and allow third-party Actions.

Replace the Setup Node step in update.yml with the following snippet:

- name: Setup Bun
  uses: oven-sh/setup-bun@v1
  with:
    bun-version: latest

To install dependencies using Bun, replace the Install dependencies step with the following snippet:

- name: Install dependencies
  run: bun install