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React Native 0.84 uses precompiled binaries for React Native core on iOS by default. During pod install, CocoaPods downloads the framework, so a clean build no longer has to compile React Native core from source. This is a change to how iOS builds obtain React Native core—not a change to Expo’s prebuild command, and not a move to JavaScript-only apps.
What is precompiled in React Native 0.84?
The change applies to React Native core on iOS. CocoaPods fetches a precompiled .xcframework when you install pods, then the app build uses that framework instead of compiling React Native core from source for each clean build. React Native describes this as significantly reducing iOS build times in its 0.84 release announcement.
In practical terms, the prebuilt artifact replaces one part of the build workload: compiling React Native core. It does not mean every part of your app is already built, nor does it mean native compilation disappears.
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| Build path | What happens | When it may fit |
|---|---|---|
| Precompiled core (the 0.84 default for iOS) | pod install downloads the React Native core .xcframework; the build links it rather than compiling core from source. |
Typical projects that want less React Native core work during clean iOS builds. |
| Build core from source | React Native core is compiled locally as part of the native build workflow. | Use this path if you specifically need a source build or are investigating an issue that requires it. |
The 0.81 release announcement described its then-experimental precompiled iOS builds as offering up to 10x faster compile times in projects where React Native was the primary dependency. That was an upper-bound claim from React Native’s 2025 announcement, not a guaranteed result or an independent benchmark; the 0.84 announcement gives no corresponding numeric guarantee. See the React Native 0.81 release announcement.
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How can you opt out and build React Native from source?
React Native documents RCT_USE_PREBUILT_RNCORE=0 as the opt-out. Set it for the CocoaPods installation command:
RCT_USE_PREBUILT_RNCORE=0 bundle exec pod installIf your project does not use Bundler, run RCT_USE_PREBUILT_RNCORE=0 pod install instead. The setting applies to that installation invocation; omit it to use the default precompiled-core path. Follow your project’s existing CocoaPods workflow and run the command from the iOS project directory.
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Does this make a React Native app JavaScript-only?
No. The change supplies React Native core in precompiled form, but an iOS app still has native build and release work. Codegen can generate platform-specific native artifacts for modules and components, which are integrated into app builds; see the Codegen documentation.
For App Store distribution, React Native’s publishing guide still directs developers to build using Xcode’s Release scheme. That process bundles JavaScript locally, then uses Xcode to archive the app for upload through App Store Connect. Precompiled core binaries do not remove those steps; consult the Apple App Store publishing guide.
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Is this the same as other React Native build-speed optimizations?
No. Precompiled iOS core binaries change how React Native core is supplied to the iOS build. Other techniques target different work, and the React Native build-speed guide treats them separately:
- Android ABI selection: limit a development build to the processor architecture you need.
- Gradle configuration caching: reuse configuration work in eligible Android builds.
- Compiler caches: ccache can cache locally; sccache supports distributed caching.
These are optional workflow optimizations, not prerequisites for React Native 0.84’s precompiled iOS binaries. Details are in the React Native build-speed guide.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What else should you know when upgrading to 0.84?
Two other 0.84 changes are worth separating from the iOS binary change: Hermes V1 is the default on both iOS and Android, and React Native 0.84 requires Node.js 22.11 or later, according to the release announcement. These are version-specific upgrade facts; they are not consequences of precompiled iOS core binaries.
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