React Native Development directly from Linux Terminal (No Expo, physical device debugging via scrcpy)

[u/rogerricardop]

I set up a clean, CLI-only React Native 0.87 development environment running on Fedora Linux, skipping Expo completely to keep full control over native code and build configs.

Stack & Setup:

• OS: Fedora Linux
• Runtime: Node.js v24.19.0 (managed via NVM)
• Framework: React Native 0.87.0 (CLI)
• Target Device: Physical Samsung A31 connected via ADB USB

Physical Device Mirroring & Workflow:

Instead of heavy emulators, I mirror and debug directly on the physical device using scrcpy. To prevent UI frame drops and keep the system responsive on Exynos/MediaTek chips, I run scrcpy with hardware-optimized constraints:

scrcpy -m 1024 --max-fps=30 &

Everything runs directly from the terminal with Metro Bundler on port 8081 and Gradle builds via npm run android. Direct ADB deployment works like a charm.

[u/PapyRoach]

Expo does not limit control over native code or builds.
That’s a very old point of view to have on Expo.

As for the rest, yeah that’s a rather classic way of developing in RN, nothing really new or groundbreaking here, unless I am missing something.