React Native
With React Native you can develop native mobile applications for iOS and Android using JavaScript and React. It is created by Facebook and used for such well-known apps as Instagram, Airbnb, and now JetBrains’ own YouTrack mobile application. Learn more from the React Native official website.
PyCharm helps you create, edit, lint, run, debug, and maintain your React Native applications. PyCharm also provides code completion for React and Flow symbols.
Creating a new React Native application
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Select from the main menu or click Create New Project on the Welcome screen. The New Project dialog opens.
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In the left-hand pane, choose React Native.
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In the right-hand pane:
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Specify the path to the folder where the project-related files will be stored.
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In the Node Interpreter field, specify the Node.js interpreter to use. Select a configured interpreter from the list or choose Add to configure a new one.
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From the React Native list, select npx --package react-native-cli react-native.
Alternatively, for npm version 5.1 and earlier, install the
react-native-cli
package yourself by runningnpm install -g react-native-cli
in the Terminal Alt+F12. When creating an application, select the folder where thereact-native-cli
package is stored.
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When you click Create, PyCharm generates a React Native-specific project with all the required configuration files, downloads the dependencies, and creates a run/debug configuration of the type React Native with default settings..
Starting with an existing React Native application
To continue developing an existing React Native application, open it in PyCharm and download the required dependencies.
To open the application sources that are already on your machine
To check out the application sources from your version control
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Click Check out from Version Control on the Welcome screen or select from the main menu.
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Select your version control system from the list.
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In the VCS-specific dialog that opens, type your credentials and the repository to check out the application sources from.
To download the dependencies
Click Run 'npm install' in the popup:
Install other tools to get started with React Native, for example, an iOS simulator. The list of these tools depends on your operating system and the mobile platform you are going to target your application at. See React Native Getting Started guide for detailed installation instructions.
Coding assistance
PyCharm provides code completion for React APIs and JSX in JavaScript code. Code completion works for React methods, React-specific attributes, HTML tags and component names, React events, component properties, and so on. See React: Completing Code for more information.
Running and debugging a React Native application
You can run and debug your application on a physical device or on a simulator. Before you launch your application, make sure that the simulator is already running or, if you are using a physical device, it is already connected to your computer.
PyCharm makes running and debugging React Native applications very flexible. For example, if you are starting your application for the first time, you can choose to run the React Native bundler, build the application, and open it on the simulator - all that as part of a running or debugging session. You can also skip launching the bundler if it is already running or refuse building the application if you have not made any changes to its native code since the previous run.
To create a React Native run/debug configuration
On the main menu, choose , click and choose React Native from the list.
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Choose whether you want PyCharm to build and launch the application for you:
Select the Build and launch checkbox if you are launching your application for the first time or if you have updated its native code since the last run.
Clear this checkbox if you haven't made any changes to the native code of your application since the last build. When you start debugging, PyCharm waits for you to open your application in the simulator with the Remote debug enabled as described on the React Native official website.
If your application uses Expo, clear the checkbox because this bundler takes care of the process itself.
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If you selected the Build and launch checkbox, choose the target platform, Android or iOS. Depending on your choice, PyCharm will run the bundler with
react-native run-ios
or withreact-native run-android
.Optionally, type the arguments to be passed to React Native, for example, specify the simulator type through the
‑‑simulator
flag:‑‑simulator="iPhone 4s"
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In the Bundler host field, specify the host where the React Native bundler runs, the default value is localhost.
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In the Bundler port field, specify the port on which the React Native bundler runs, by default 8081 is chosen, learn more from the React Native official website.
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Choose the Node.js interpreter to use. This can be a local Node.js interpreter or a Node.js on Windows Subsystem for Linux.
Specify the path to react-native-cli and the working directory of the application. Optionally, type the environment variables for
react-native run-android
orreact-native run-ios
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By default, PyCharm starts the React Native bundler automatically when you invoke the run/debug configuration. If you have already started the bundler from outside PyCharm, for example, from the command line, you can re-use it without stopping and restarting. Select your bundler in the Before Launch area and click .
To prepare an Android device
You need to prepare an Android device every time you start working with an application.
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Launch an Android virtual device or enable debugging over USB and connect to a physical Android device via USB. Learn more from the React Native official website.
To prepare an iOS simulator
You need to install an iOS simulator only once, after that PyCharm starts it automatically with react-native run-ios
.
To run an application
Choose the newly created React Native configuration in the Select run/debug configuration list on the toolbar and click next to it. PyCharm opens the Run tool window and first starts the React Native bundler in a new React Native tab. After that, the
react-native run-ios
orreact-native run-android
command is executed, depending on the selected target platform. If the build is successful, the simulator shows your application: