The React Native Rewind
@ReactNativeRwd • 2,645 subscribers
We break down what’s new, what’s next, and what’s actually worth your time in the evolving React Native ecosystem. Expect a dose of humour and plenty of memes.
Shorts
If you’ve ever managed custom icons in React Native, you know the frustration of choosing between performance and developer experience. Libraries like 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝘁-𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲-𝘀𝘃𝗴 are flexible but heavy. Every icon creates its own React subtree. The alternative? Manual icon fonts that force you into a constant back-and-forth of using web tools like IcoMoon and syncing font assets every time a design changes. 𝗦𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗮𝗯𝘀 just released 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝘁-𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲-𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗼-𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀 to solve exactly this. It’s a build-time icon font generator that gives you the performance of native fonts with the flexibility of simple SVG files. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴? Instead of rendering complex vector paths at runtime, this library automatically converts your folder of SVGs into an optimized icon font during the build process. It essentially teaches your app to treat icons like standard text characters, which allows it to bypass React’s component tree and layout engine entirely. ➡️ 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱-𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: It handles the entire pipeline—watching your icon folder, converting SVGs to .ttf files, and linking them to your native project automatically. ➡️ 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲: Because icons render as native text glyphs, it is significantly faster than traditional SVG rendering, making it the ideal choice for long, scrollable lists or icon-heavy dashboards. ➡️ 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗴 𝗣𝗹𝘂𝗴𝗶𝗻: It features first-class support for Expo, automating the native plumbing like Info.plist updates and asset linking during the prebuild phase. ➡️ 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗲 𝗦𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆: The library generates TypeScript definitions for your icon set, providing full IDE autocomplete and ensuring you never break the UI with a misspelled icon name. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀? In high-performance applications, small overheads add up. By shifting the heavy lifting from the mobile device to your build machine, 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝘁-𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲-𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗼-𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀 ensures your UI stays buttery smooth while keeping your developer workflow modern. It’s another great example of how 𝗦𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 continues to solve the "last mile" of performance friction in the ecosystem. Before you migrate your entire library, keep in mind: this is designed for the 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 (Fabric) and requires React Native 0.74 or higher. #ReactNative #Expo #SoftwareMansion #Icons #MobileDev #Performance #DeveloperExperience #OpenSource #JavaScript #TypeScript #SVG #Fabric
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React Native now has its own shadcn/ui equivalent — introducing 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗨𝗜. If you love the flexibility of copying customisable components directly into your project (avoiding heavy, dependency-laden packages), NativeUI is designed for you. 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗨𝗜 offers beautifully crafted, accessible components tailored for React Native, following the same copy-paste philosophy as shadcn/ui. Built with 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗱 for fast, declarative, and flexible styling optimised for React Native. ➡️ 𝗖𝗼𝗽𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 — no black-box dependencies required. ➡️ 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗯𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗮𝘂𝗹𝘁, supporting screen readers and keyboard navigation, and designed to align with native iOS and Android UX patterns. ➡️ 𝗙𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗨𝗜 without rebuilding common elements like buttons, inputs, or sliders from scratch. ➡️ 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀, but not yet integrated with Tamagui’s styling system (future support may be planned). ➡️ 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗶𝗮 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗱 — though you’ll need to wire it up manually using Tailwind variables, context providers, and config files. Note: The term “install” in the documentation refers to using the shadcn CLI (e.g., npx shadcn@latest add component) to fetch and copy component code into your project, not adding a package to your dependencies. NativeUI isn’t a plug-and-play library; it’s a lightweight toolbox that empowers you to shape your UI with precision and control. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲: npm install a pre-built UI kit for speed, or copy/paste NativeUI components for ultimate customisation? #ReactNative #KeyboardUX #MobileDev #OpenSource #JSDev #Performance #iOSDev #KeyboardExtensions #ReactNativeKeyboard #UIUX #shadcn #nativeui
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