Revel-frontend

A React Native (Expo) app with a lightweight Node/Express backend.

File format

This README is Markdown. Conventionally name it README.md (uppercase is common).

---

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ and npm or pnpm/yarn
• Expo CLI (installed automatically via npx)
• iOS: Xcode + CocoaPods (macOS)
• Android: Android Studio + SDK/emulator
• (Optional) Watchman on macOS for file watching

---

1) Clone & Install

# from the project root (this folder contains package.json)
npm install
# or
yarn
# or
pnpm install

Useful scripts from package.json:

• start → expo start
• android → expo start --android
• ios → expo start --ios
• web → expo start --web

---

2) Environment Setup

Create a .env (or app.config.js / auth/.env depending on your setup). Typical variables:

# Mobile app (example)
EXPO_PUBLIC_API_BASE_URL=http://localhost:4000

# Backend (example)
PORT=4000
NODE_ENV=development

Check app.config.js and any auth/*.ts files for how env is read.

---

3) Run the Mobile App (Expo)

# Start the Expo dev server
npx expo start

Choose one of:

• Press i to open iOS Simulator (macOS).
• Press a to open Android emulator.
• Scan the QR code with the Expo Go app on your phone (same Wi‑Fi).

---

4) Start the Backend (Node/Express)

cd server
npm install  # if server has its own package.json; otherwise skip
node index.js

Default URLs (example): http://localhost:4000

Detected routes

• GET /api/users/:userId
• POST /api/users/add_user
• PUT /api/users/:userId/name
• DELETE /api/users/:userId

If you add a database, configure the connection string in .env and the server.

---

5) iOS Native (Optional)

If you need native iOS builds:

cd ios
pod install
# then open the Xcode workspace and build

For pure Expo (managed) projects you usually don’t open Xcode. Use EAS to build:

npx expo install eas-cli
eas login
eas build -p ios

---

6) Android Native (Optional)

For native builds with EAS:

eas build -p android

Or open in Android Studio if using the bare workflow.

---

7) Project Structure

revel/
├── App.tsx                 # App entry
├── app/                    # Screens & feature modules
│   ├── post/               # Post flow (image, caption, location)
│   ├── search_components/  # Search UI
│   └── new_user_components/# Onboarding / login
├── auth/                   # Auth utilities / context
├── context/                # Global user context
├── navigators/             # React Navigation stacks & tabs
├── server/                 # Node/Express backend
├── ios/                    # iOS native project (Pods, Xcode)
├── package.json            # Dependencies & scripts
└── tsconfig.json           # TypeScript config

---

8) Common Tasks

• Lint/Typecheck: set up ESLint/Prettier/TS; run tsc --noEmit.
• Add a screen: create a file in app/ and register it in a navigator.
• API calls: use EXPO_PUBLIC_API_BASE_URL to hit your backend.
• Debug network: use npx expo start --tunnel if your phone can’t reach localhost.
• Reset Metro cache: npx expo start -c.

---

9) Troubleshooting

• iOS Pods out of date → cd ios && pod install && cd ..
• “SDK mismatch” → update Expo packages to your SDK version.
• Device cannot connect → ensure phone & dev machine are on the same network; try tunnel.
• Android build tools missing → open Android Studio once to install SDKs.

---

10) License

MIT (or your choice).