React Native Setup on macOS (Without Expo)

TL;DR — Skip Expo, go full‑native! In this guide you’ll install all the tooling (Xcode, Android Studio, VS Code, Node.js, JDK), create a fresh project with the React Native CLI, fix the infamous sdk.dir error, and run your app on an Android device from your Mac.

Why Go Native Instead of Expo?

Expo is fantastic for quick prototypes, but a pure React Native workflow gives you:

• Full access to native modules (Bluetooth, background tasks, custom camera, etc.).

• Smaller bundle sizes for production apps.

• Fine‑grained control over build settings and signing.

If that sounds like the roadmap for your next big idea, let’s dive in!

1. Prerequisites

Make sure the following are installed or updated to the latest stable versions:

2. Create Your Workspace

Open Terminal and run:

mkdir react-native-series
cd react-native-series

Inside the folder, bootstrap a new project:

npx @react-native-community/cli init Awesome01

When the CLI finishes, you’ll have a vanilla React Native app called Awesome01.

3. Open the Project in VS Code

code Awesome01

Let IntelliSense finish indexing. Meanwhile, plug your Android phone into your Mac with a USB cable.

4. Enable USB Debugging on Android

1. Unlock Developer Options
   Go to Settings › About Phone › Software Information › Build Number and tap Build Number 7 times. You’ll see a toast: “You are now a developer!”

2. Turn On USB Debugging
   Navigate to Settings › System › Developer Options (usually at the bottom) and toggle USB Debugging to On.

3. Allow File Transfer
   When prompted on macOS, approve Android File Transfer so your device is visible to adb.

5. First Run — and Fixing the SDK Error

Attempt to run:

npx react-native run-android

Common Error

SDK location not found. Define location with sdk.dir in the local.properties file.

Fix

1. In Awesome01/android, create local.properties:

    propertiesCopyEditsdk.dir = /Users/<YourUsername>/Library/Android/sdk
   

2. Add Android tools to your shell path (zsh):

    bashCopyEditecho 'export ANDROID_HOME=$HOME/Library/Android/sdk' >> ~/.zshrc
    echo 'export PATH="$PATH:$ANDROID_HOME/tools:$ANDROID_HOME/platform-tools"' >> ~/.zshrc
    source ~/.zshrc
   

Verify device connectivity:

adb devices

You should see your phone’s serial number listed as device.

6. Run the App

With everything configured, run:

npx react-native run-android

Watch Bundler compile the JS bundle, then see the Awesome01 app load on your phone. It’s alive!

Thanks for reading!
Hope this helped you solve your problem. 😊