Revopush Setup

Revopush OTA Setup

Integrate Revopush OTA updates into a React Native or Expo app. Revopush is a hosted (SaaS) drop-in successor to Microsoft CodePush; the JS API and most native wiring are identical, only the package name and server URL differ. The current SDK line (2.5.x/2.6.x) also ships automatic differential ("diff") updates — the server sends only the changed bytes, no configuration required.

docs.revopush.org is the source of truth, and Revopush is hosted-only. Always target the hosted servers https://api.revopush.org (API) and https://app.revopush.org (dashboard). Revopush does not currently offer a self-hosted option — never tell the user to point the SDK or CLI at their own server. When a version or step looks stale, check the live docs.

Tip: once the SDK is installed, it bundles its own authoritative setup docs at node_modules/@revopush/react-native-code-push/docs/ (setup-android.md, setup-ios.md, api-js.md, …). For any edge case not covered here — e.g. an unusual template — read those; they match the installed version exactly.

When to use

Use when a developer wants to add or configure Revopush/CodePush OTA updates in a React Native or Expo project. Do not use when they only want to publish a release of an already-integrated app — that's the revopush CLI by itself (see references/cli-and-releases.md).

Safety rules

These edits touch real native project files. Work transparently:

1. Confirm the project root — a package.json containing react-native must exist. If not, stop and ask where the app lives.
2. Detect before editing. Run scripts/detect-project.sh and show the user the detected React Native version, Expo-vs-bare result, the native file variants (Swift vs Objective-C, Kotlin DSL vs Groovy, Kotlin vs Java), and the Android host pattern (which decides the MainApplication wiring) before changing anything. The workflow branches on this.
3. Edit deliberately. Before each native file change, tell the user which file and what you're adding, and edit one file at a time so changes are easy to review and revert. The scripts/wrap-entry.js helper is --dry-run-first and backs up the file it touches — use it for the JS wrap.
4. Never invent deployment keys. Keys are created in the dashboard at https://app.revopush.org (the user signs up and logs in there), or via the CLI. Ask the user for their iOS and Android keys, or walk them through getting them per references/cli-and-releases.md. Use YOUR_DEPLOYMENT_KEY as a placeholder only if they don't have keys yet, and tell them to fill it in before a release will work.

Workflow

1. Detect

Run scripts/detect-project.sh from the project root and show the user the summary. It reports the RN version, Expo-vs-bare, and which iOS/Android source variants are present. Branch on it:

If an app depends on expo and has ios//android/ folders, detect-project.sh disambiguates by whether those folders are gitignored:

• Gitignored → they're generated: managed Expo (CNG). Use the Expo path; prebuild --clean is safe. Proceed without asking.
• Tracked (committed) → ambiguous. Ask the user: a managed app uses the Expo path (prebuild --clean regenerates native code); a bare app that just uses expo modules and hand-maintains ios//android/ uses the bare path, and you must not run prebuild --clean (it would overwrite their native code).

2. Choose the SDK version and install

Read references/versions.md to choose the right @revopush/react-native-code-push version. Always use the 2.x line (2.5.x/2.6.x) for differential updates — never the 1.x line for new setups. The current mapping: RN 0.76–0.82 → @2.5.1, RN 0.83+ → @2.6.x, RN < 0.76 → not supported (use Microsoft CodePush). Then install:

• Bare RN: npm install --save @revopush/react-native-code-push@2.5.1 (0.76–0.82) or @2.6.0/latest 2.6.x (0.83+) — see versions.md.
• Expo: install the SDK and the config plugin, pinned as a matched pair by Expo SDK (SDK 52–54 → @revopush/react-native-code-push@2.5.1 + @revopush/expo-code-push-plugin@1.0.1; SDK 55+ → @2.6.0 + @1.1.0). Don't rely on expo install auto-resolve — see the table in references/expo.md.

Also suggest the user install or update the Revopush CLI to the latest version (npm install -g @revopush/code-push-cli / npm update -g @revopush/code-push-cli) — see references/cli-and-releases.md.

3. Apply the native integration

• Bare RN: follow references/ios.md and references/android.md. Pick the sections matching the detected variants — Swift vs Objective-C for iOS; Groovy build.gradle vs Kotlin DSL build.gradle.kts and Kotlin vs Java MainApplication for Android. For the MainApplication bundle wiring, use the Android host pattern from detection to choose between the getJSBundleFile() override (§3a) and the bridgeless jsBundleFilePath (§3b) — the decider is whether a DefaultReactNativeHost exists, not whether New Architecture is on. Apply edits with your own Read/Edit tools, one file at a time, per the safety rules.
• Expo: edit the config plugin per references/expo.md, then run npx expo prebuild --clean.

4. Wire up the JS layer

Wrap the root component with the codePush() higher-order component — the simplest correct default.

Find the right file first. Wrap the file that has export default <RootComponent>, not index.js. For bare RN that's usually App.tsx/App.js (the bare index.js is AppRegistry.registerComponent(name, () => App) and has no default export — the helper will correctly refuse it). For Expo Router it's the root app/_layout.tsx. If unsure, check package.json's "main" and trace the component it registers.

Then use scripts/wrap-entry.js for an idempotent, backed-up edit:

node scripts/wrap-entry.js <path-to-root-component-file> --dry-run   # preview
node scripts/wrap-entry.js <path-to-root-component-file>             # apply

For HOC options, and for advanced cases where the user wants to control the update flow themselves (manual codePush.sync(), checkForUpdate(), custom download/install UI, progress callbacks), read references/js-api.md.

5. Deployment keys & releasing

Add the iOS and Android deployment keys, and show the user how to cut a release, following references/cli-and-releases.md.

6. Verify

First, run the static completeness check and resolve anything it flags:

node --version >/dev/null && scripts/verify-integration.sh   # from project root

It reports PASS/WARN/FAIL for the SDK dep, native wiring, server URL + keys, Podfile 15.5, and the JS wrap. Fix any FAIL before continuing; WARN (e.g. placeholder keys) is a reminder.

Then confirm end-to-end with a real release — this is where OTA "looks broken" but isn't:

• Build a release build (OTA never applies in debug/dev): bare RN npx react-native run-ios --mode Release --no-packager (or the Android release variant); Expo a dev/native build (Revopush does not work in Expo Go).
• Make a trivial visible JS change, then cut a release to the deployment whose key is in the build: revopush release-react <app> <ios|android> -d Staging (see references/cli-and-releases.md).
• Relaunch the app twice. With the default installMode: ON_NEXT_RESTART, an update downloads on one launch and only applies on the next — a single relaunch shows nothing and looks like a failure. Tell the user this explicitly.

Read each reference only when its branch applies, to keep this workflow lean.