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Expo Account

Before you can build your app for the App Store, you need an Expo account. This is free and takes about 5 minutes.
Already have an Expo account? Skip to Service Accounts →

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What is Expo?

Think of Expo as the bridge between your code and the App Store. When you write a mobile app, your code needs to be “compiled” into a format that iPhones can understand. This compilation process is complex — it requires Apple’s Xcode, specific certificates, and a lot of configuration. Expo handles all of this for you. You write code, Expo turns it into an app.

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The Two Parts of Expo

You don’t need to understand how Expo works internally. Just know that when you’re ready to publish, you’ll run a command and Expo handles the rest.

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Why Expo?

Without Expo, publishing an iOS app requires:
  • A Mac with Xcode installed
  • Managing certificates and provisioning profiles
  • Understanding Apple’s complex build system
  • Hours of configuration
With Expo:
  • Build in the cloud (your Mac specs don’t matter)
  • Certificates managed automatically
  • One command to build: eas build
  • One command to submit: eas submit
Expo is used by companies like Microsoft, Shopify, and Discord. It’s production-ready and trusted.

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Create Your Expo Account

1

Go to Expo

Visit expo.dev and click Sign Up
2

Create Account

Sign up with email or GitHub. Use an email you check regularly — Expo sends build notifications here.
3

Verify Email

Check your inbox and verify your email address
That’s it for now. You’ll connect your account to the project later during setup.

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Expo Pricing

Expo has a generous free tier:
30 builds/month is plenty. A “build” is when you create a new version of your app. Most developers use 2-3 builds/month (development, testing, production).

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What About EAS CLI?

Later, during project setup, you’ll install the EAS command-line tool:
This connects your local project to your Expo account. Don’t worry about this now — the setup guide will walk you through it.

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Expo vs App Store: What’s the Difference?

People sometimes confuse Expo and the App Store. Here’s the distinction: Think of it this way: Expo is the factory that makes your app. The App Store is the store that sells it.

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Next Step

Create Service Accounts

Set up Supabase, RevenueCat, and MixPanel