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React Native 0.79, announced on April 8, 2025, brought faster Metro startup, stable-by-default package exports resolution, a community-maintained JavaScriptCore option, and a change to Android bundle compression. These are release-specific changes, not a recommendation to upgrade to 0.79 today: React Native’s current release overview lists the 0.79.x line as unsupported.
What changed in React Native 0.79?
The release announcement, React Native 0.79 – Faster tooling and much more, describes four changes that matter most to developers: Metro’s deferred hashing, package resolution behavior, JavaScriptCore distribution, and Android bundle compression. The announcement also reports 944 commits from 100 contributors.
Metro defers hashing to speed up startup
React Native 0.79 includes Metro 0.82, which defers hashing work during startup. The release authors said the first yarn start is typically over three times faster, with larger projects and monorepos potentially seeing a greater improvement. That is the authors’ reported typical result, not a guarantee for every project or machine.
Package exports and imports resolution is stable and on by default
Metro 0.82 made resolution of the exports and imports fields in package.json stable and enabled it by default for React Native 0.79 projects. This can improve compatibility with packages using those fields, but it can also change which package entry Metro selects and expose incompatibilities in existing setups.
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The release announcement noted reported issues involving Firebase and AWS Amplify that were being addressed. It also described a Metro 0.81.5 hotfix and setting resolver.unstable_enablePackageExports = false as then-current workarounds. Those were contemporaneous April 2025 suggestions; check current package and React Native documentation before applying them to a present-day project.
JavaScriptCore can be used through a community package
React Native 0.79 supports @react-native-community/javascriptcore, which follows its own release schedule. The change does not affect projects using Hermes. Core JavaScriptCore was still available in React Native 0.79 when that version was released.
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Android bundle compression is off by default
In 0.79, the JavaScript bundle is shipped uncompressed inside the Android APK by default. Android can avoid decompressing it before startup, potentially reducing startup time, but the bundle takes more storage on the device. The release announcement says projects can restore compression by setting enableBundleCompression = true in app/build.gradle; the trade-off is slower startup in exchange for less space consumption.
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For a concrete example, the release authors reported a Margelo team test on Discord running on a Samsung A14: time-to-interactive was 400 ms lower, described as a 12% speedup, with the uncompressed bundle. This result applies to that app and device test, not to Android apps or phones generally.
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What should developers take away from the changes?
- For development startup: Deferred hashing targets the time spent starting Metro, with the release authors reporting the largest potential gains on larger projects and monorepos.
- For package compatibility: Default
exportsandimportsresolution may change package selection. Check affected dependencies if a project encounters resolution or build problems. - For JavaScriptCore users: The community package provides a separate maintenance path; Hermes users are unaffected by this change.
- For Android app storage: Leaving the bundle uncompressed favors startup at the cost of more on-device space. Projects can opt back into compression.
Is React Native 0.79 still supported?
No. React Native’s current releases overview marks 0.79.x as unsupported. Treat the 0.79 announcement as a record of what that release introduced, not as current upgrade guidance. For an upgrade decision, consult the current release overview and the official upgrade documentation.
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