Expo UI Guidelines

Overview

This public intake copy packages

plugins/antigravity-awesome-skills-claude/skills/building-native-ui

https://github.com/sickn33/antigravity-awesome-skills

Use it when the operator needs the upstream workflow, support files, and repository context to stay intact while the public validator and private enhancer continue their normal downstream flow.

This intake keeps the copied upstream files intact and uses

metadata.json

ORIGIN.md

Expo UI Guidelines

Imported source sections that did not map cleanly to the public headings are still preserved below or in the support files. Notable imported sections: Running the App, Code Style, Routes, Responsiveness, Behavior, Text Styling.

When to Use This Skill

Use this section as the trigger filter. It should make the activation boundary explicit before the operator loads files, runs commands, or opens a pull request.

• You are building a native-feeling Expo Router application and need guidance on navigation, controls, effects, or platform-specific UI.
• You need to decide whether Expo Go is sufficient or a custom native build is actually required.
• The task involves modern Expo UI patterns across animations, tabs, headers, storage, media, or visual effects.
• Use when the request clearly matches the imported source intent: Complete guide for building beautiful apps with Expo Router. Covers fundamentals, styling, components, navigation, animations, patterns, and native tabs.
• Use when the operator should preserve upstream workflow detail instead of rewriting the process from scratch.
• Use when provenance needs to stay visible in the answer, PR, or review packet.

Operating Table

metadata.json

ORIGIN.md

SKILL.md

SKILL.md

## Related Skills

Workflow

This workflow is intentionally editorial and operational at the same time. It keeps the imported source useful to the operator while still satisfying the public intake standards that feed the downstream enhancer flow.

1. Confirm the user goal, the scope of the imported workflow, and whether this skill is still the right router for the task.
2. Read the overview and provenance files before loading any copied upstream support files.
3. Load only the references, examples, prompts, or scripts that materially change the outcome for the current request.
4. Execute the upstream workflow while keeping provenance and source boundaries explicit in the working notes.
5. Validate the result against the upstream expectations and the evidence you can point to in the copied files.
6. Escalate or hand off to a related skill when the work moves out of this imported workflow's center of gravity.
7. Before merge or closure, record what was used, what changed, and what the reviewer still needs to verify.

Imported Workflow Notes

Imported: Running the App

CRITICAL: Always try Expo Go first before creating custom builds.

Most Expo apps work in Expo Go without any custom native code. Before running

npx expo run:ios

npx expo run:android

1. Start with Expo Go: Run

   npx expo start

   and scan the QR code with Expo Go
2. Check if features work: Test your app thoroughly in Expo Go
3. Only create custom builds when required - see below

When Custom Builds Are Required

You need

npx expo run:ios/android

eas build

• Local Expo modules (custom native code in

  modules/

  )
• Apple targets (widgets, app clips, extensions via

  @bacons/apple-targets

  )
• Third-party native modules not included in Expo Go
• Custom native configuration that can't be expressed in

  app.json

When Expo Go Works

Expo Go supports a huge range of features out of the box:

• All

  expo-*

  packages (camera, location, notifications, etc.)
• Expo Router navigation
• Most UI libraries (reanimated, gesture handler, etc.)
• Push notifications, deep links, and more

If you're unsure, try Expo Go first. Creating custom builds adds complexity, slower iteration, and requires Xcode/Android Studio setup.

Examples

Example 1: Ask for the upstream workflow directly

Use @building-native-ui to handle <task>. Start from the copied upstream workflow, load only the files that change the outcome, and keep provenance visible in the answer.

Explanation: This is the safest starting point when the operator needs the imported workflow, but not the entire repository.

Example 2: Ask for a provenance-grounded review

Review @building-native-ui against metadata.json and ORIGIN.md, then explain which copied upstream files you would load first and why.

Explanation: Use this before review or troubleshooting when you need a precise, auditable explanation of origin and file selection.

Example 3: Narrow the copied support files before execution

Use @building-native-ui for <task>. Load only the copied references, examples, or scripts that change the outcome, and name the files explicitly before proceeding.

Explanation: This keeps the skill aligned with progressive disclosure instead of loading the whole copied package by default.

Example 4: Build a reviewer packet

Review @building-native-ui using the copied upstream files plus provenance, then summarize any gaps before merge.

Explanation: This is useful when the PR is waiting for human review and you want a repeatable audit packet.

Best Practices

Treat the generated public skill as a reviewable packaging layer around the upstream repository. The goal is to keep provenance explicit and load only the copied source material that materially improves execution.

• Prefer flex gap over margin and padding styles
• Prefer padding over margin where possible
• Always account for safe area, either with stack headers, tabs, or ScrollView/FlatList contentInsetAdjustmentBehavior="automatic"
• Ensure both top and bottom safe area insets are accounted for
• Inline styles not StyleSheet.create unless reusing styles is faster
• Add entering and exiting animations for state changes
• Use { borderCurve: 'continuous' } for rounded corners unless creating a capsule shape

Imported Operating Notes

Imported: General Styling Rules

• Prefer flex gap over margin and padding styles
• Prefer padding over margin where possible
• Always account for safe area, either with stack headers, tabs, or ScrollView/FlatList

  contentInsetAdjustmentBehavior="automatic"

• Ensure both top and bottom safe area insets are accounted for
• Inline styles not StyleSheet.create unless reusing styles is faster
• Add entering and exiting animations for state changes
• Use

  { borderCurve: 'continuous' }

  for rounded corners unless creating a capsule shape
• ALWAYS use a navigation stack title instead of a custom text element on the page
• When padding a ScrollView, use

  contentContainerStyle

  padding and gap instead of padding on the ScrollView itself (reduces clipping)
• CSS and Tailwind are not supported - use inline styles

Troubleshooting

Problem: The operator skipped the imported context and answered too generically

Symptoms: The result ignores the upstream workflow in

plugins/antigravity-awesome-skills-claude/skills/building-native-ui

metadata.json

ORIGIN.md

Problem: The imported workflow feels incomplete during review

Symptoms: Reviewers can see the generated

SKILL.md

Problem: The task drifted into a different specialization

Symptoms: The imported skill starts in the right place, but the work turns into debugging, architecture, design, security, or release orchestration that a native skill handles better. Solution: Use the related skills section to hand off deliberately. Keep the imported provenance visible so the next skill inherits the right context instead of starting blind.

Related Skills

• @azure-mgmt-apicenter-py

  - Use when the work is better handled by that native specialization after this imported skill establishes context.

• @azure-mgmt-apimanagement-dotnet

  - Use when the work is better handled by that native specialization after this imported skill establishes context.

• @azure-mgmt-apimanagement-py

  - Use when the work is better handled by that native specialization after this imported skill establishes context.

• @azure-mgmt-applicationinsights-dotnet

  - Use when the work is better handled by that native specialization after this imported skill establishes context.

Additional Resources

Use this support matrix and the linked files below as the operator packet for this imported skill. They should reflect real copied source material, not generic scaffolding.

references

references/n/a

examples

examples/n/a

scripts

scripts/n/a

agents

agents/n/a

assets

assets/n/a

Imported Reference Notes

Imported: References

Consult these resources as needed:

references/
  animations.md          Reanimated: entering, exiting, layout, scroll-driven, gestures
  controls.md            Native iOS: Switch, Slider, SegmentedControl, DateTimePicker, Picker
  form-sheet.md          Form sheets in expo-router: configuration, footers and background interaction. 
  gradients.md           CSS gradients via experimental_backgroundImage (New Arch only)
  icons.md               SF Symbols via expo-image (sf: source), names, animations, weights
  media.md               Camera, audio, video, and file saving
  route-structure.md     Route conventions, dynamic routes, groups, folder organization
  search.md              Search bar with headers, useSearch hook, filtering patterns
  storage.md             SQLite, AsyncStorage, SecureStore
  tabs.md                NativeTabs, migration from JS tabs, iOS 26 features
  toolbar-and-headers.md Stack headers and toolbar buttons, menus, search (iOS only)
  visual-effects.md      Blur (expo-blur) and liquid glass (expo-glass-effect)
  webgpu-three.md        3D graphics, games, GPU visualizations with WebGPU and Three.js
  zoom-transitions.md    Apple Zoom: fluid zoom transitions with Link.AppleZoom (iOS 18+)

Imported: Library Preferences

• Never use modules removed from React Native such as Picker, WebView, SafeAreaView, or AsyncStorage
• Never use legacy expo-permissions

• expo-audio

  not

  expo-av

• expo-video

  not

  expo-av

• expo-image

  with

  source="sf:name"

  for SF Symbols, not

  expo-symbols

  or

  @expo/vector-icons

• react-native-safe-area-context

  not react-native SafeAreaView

• process.env.EXPO_OS

  not

  Platform.OS

• React.use

  not

  React.useContext

• expo-image

  Image component instead of intrinsic element

  img

• expo-glass-effect

  for liquid glass backdrops

Imported: Code Style

• Be cautious of unterminated strings. Ensure nested backticks are escaped; never forget to escape quotes correctly.
• Always use import statements at the top of the file.
• 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.

Imported: Routes

See

./references/route-structure.md

• 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.

Imported: Responsiveness

• Always wrap root component in a scroll view for responsiveness
• Use

  <ScrollView contentInsetAdjustmentBehavior="automatic" />

  instead of

  <SafeAreaView>

  for smarter safe area insets

• contentInsetAdjustmentBehavior="automatic"

  should be applied to FlatList and SectionList as well
• Use flexbox instead of Dimensions API
• ALWAYS prefer

  useWindowDimensions

  over

  Dimensions.get()

  to measure screen size

Imported: Behavior

• Use expo-haptics conditionally on iOS to make more delightful experiences
• Use views with built-in haptics like

  <Switch />

  from React Native and

  @react-native-community/datetimepicker

• When a route belongs to a Stack, its first child should almost always be a ScrollView with

  contentInsetAdjustmentBehavior="automatic"

  set
• When adding a

  ScrollView

  to the page it should almost always be the first component inside the route component
• Prefer

  headerSearchBarOptions

  in Stack.Screen options to add a search bar
• Use the

  <Text selectable />

  prop on text containing data that could be copied
• Consider formatting large numbers like 1.4M or 38k
• Never use intrinsic elements like 'img' or 'div' unless in a webview or Expo DOM component

Styling

Follow Apple Human Interface Guidelines.

Imported: Text Styling

• Add the

  selectable

  prop to every

  <Text/>

  element displaying important data or error messages
• Counters should use

  { fontVariant: 'tabular-nums' }

  for alignment

Imported: Shadows

Use CSS

boxShadow

<View style={{ boxShadow: "0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.05)" }} />

'inset' shadows are supported.

Navigation

Imported: Link

Use

<Link href="/path" />

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>

Imported: 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 in Stack.Screen options:

<Stack.Screen options={{ title: "Home" }} />

Imported: 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>;

Imported: 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.

Imported: Modal

Present a screen as a modal:

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

Prefer this to building a custom modal component.

Imported: 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+.

Imported: 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, Icon, Label } from "expo-router/unstable-native-tabs";
import { Theme } from "../components/theme";

export default function Layout() {
  return (
    <Theme>
      <NativeTabs>
        <NativeTabs.Trigger name="(index)">
          <Icon sf="list.dash" />
          <Label>Items</Label>
        </NativeTabs.Trigger>
        <NativeTabs.Trigger name="(search)" role="search" />
      </NativeTabs>
    </Theme>
  );
}

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

// app/(index,search)/_layout.tsx
import { Stack } from "expo-router/stack";
import { PlatformColor } from "react-native";

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: PlatformColor("label") },
        headerLargeTitle: true,
        headerBlurEffect: "none",
        headerBackButtonDisplayMode: "minimal",
      }}
    >
      <Stack.Screen name={screen} options={{ title: titles[screen] }} />
      <Stack.Screen name="i/[id]" options={{ headerLargeTitle: false }} />
    </Stack>
  );
}

Imported: Limitations

• Use this skill only when the task clearly matches the scope described above.
• Do not treat the output as a substitute for environment-specific validation, testing, or expert review.
• Stop and ask for clarification if required inputs, permissions, safety boundaries, or success criteria are missing.