Visual Studio React Native

With the advent of handy extensions like npm Task Runner and native support for npm in Visual Studio, building full-fledged web applications with ASP.NET Web API and React is not only possible, it’s easy!

Install React Native
Debugging React Native Visual Studio Code
React Native For Visual Studio
Visual Studio React Native Ios
Visual Studio Code React Native Debug

Fast Refresh is a React Native feature that allows you to get near-instant feedback for changes in your React components. While debugging, it can help to have Fast Refresh enabled. Fast Refresh is enabled by default, and you can toggle 'Enable Fast Refresh' in the React Native developer menu. The React app, residing in the ClientApp subdirectory, is intended to be used for all UI concerns. Add pages, images, styles, modules, etc. The ClientApp directory is a standard CRA React app. See the official CRA documentation for more information. React is a popular JavaScript library developed by Facebook for building web application user interfaces. The Visual Studio Code editor supports React.js IntelliSense and code navigation out of the box. Welcome to React # We'll be using the create-react-app generator for this tutorial.

This extension targets a platform (React Native) that is rapidly evolving and therefore is currently in early preview. It has been designed for use with React Native 0.19.0 and above. Earlier versions of React Native are missing out-of-box support for selecting non-global versions of Node.js for iOS and may not be patched properly to prevent the build from hanging for iOS.

React Native is an exciting new technology that allows you to bring awesome native app experiences to Android and iOS using a consistent developer experience based on JavaScript and React. Visual Studio Team Services (formerly Visual Studio Online) and Team Foundation Services (TFS) 2015 can be used to building and test React Native apps in a Continuous Integration (CI) environment thanks to a new cross-platform agent that supports OSX and Linux. When you are developing your React Native app you'll be able to take advantage of the React Native packager but in a CI environment or for actual app deployments you'll want to create an offline 'bundle' that present a few challenges that need to be resolved.

This extension provides a 'React Native Prepare' task to simplify setup and deal with two specific problems:

Node.js version headaches - The task will fetch and configure the build to use a compatible version of Node.js if not found globally installed.
Preventing the 'Packager' from starting up as a server and hanging and/or failing your native Xcode build for iOS.

Combined with a 'Bundle' task it should provide you with all the tools you need to get your React Native App up and running in a CI environment.

Quick Start

Install React Native

After installing the extension, upload your project to VSTS, TFS, or GitHub.
Go to your VSTS or TFS project, click on the Build tab, and create a new build definition (the '+' icon). You can use the Empty template.
Click Add build step... and add the following tasks to your build definition:
1. Add npm from the Package category. Specify install as the Command, --no-optional under Advanced > Arguments to speed up the build, and set Advanced > Working Directory to the location of your package.json file if not in the repository root. You may need to add --force if you encounter EPERM issues due to a npm bug.
2. Add React Native Prepare from the Build category and select the appropriate platform. Set Working Directory to the location of your package.json file and update the Xcode Project(s) or react.gradle Path option if your React Native project structure is not in the repisotry root.
3. Add Xcode Build for iOS or Gradle for Android from the Build category and configure your native build. Check out the tool tips for handy inline documentation along with the Xcode and secure app signing tutorials for more details.
[Optional] While typically not required for React Native 0.19.0 and up, you can also add the React Native Bundle task from the Build category to create your offline bundle if you've modified the default generated projects.

In addition, be sure you are running version 0.3.10 or higher of the cross-platform agent and the latest Windows agent as these are required for VS Team Services extension to function. The VSTS hosted agent and MacinCloud agents will already be on this version.

Windows Agent Notes:

curl also needs to be in the path on Windows if Node.js < 4.0.0 is globally installed. You can get curl by installing the Git Command Line Tools.

##Additional Details###React Native Prepare TaskThe React Native Prepare task has two primary functions. Note that if you are running into problems have deviated from the default project provided by React Native init using 0.19.0 or above you may need to make some tweaks. The task is designed to do the following:

Acquire and setup the appropriate version of Node.js for use in the build. This is particularly useful in environments you may not control.
Disable the React Native Packager from starting as a server when building iOS as this provides no value in a CI workflow and will hang the agent and can result in port conflict issues failing the build.

Under the hood, here is what is happening:

Android: It modifies react.gradle to call node node_modules/react-native/local-cli/cli.js using the correct version of Node.js instead of just blindly calling 'react-native bundle'. This solves both the node version problem and avoids having to have react-native-cli installed globally.
iOS: For iOS, two changes were required:
1. It modifies the Bundle React Native code and images Build Phase in your Xcode project ensure export NODE_BINARY is set to the correct path for Node.js before calling ../node_modules/react-native/packager/react-native-xcode.sh. If the export is missing it is added.
2. It disables the startup of the React Native Packager as a local server in the Build Phases of node_modules/react-native/React.xcodeproj by modifying the embedded shell script to exit as this provides no value in a CI workflow and will hang the agent.

###React Native Bundle TaskThis task is a thin UI layer on top of the standard React Native bundle command from the React Native CLI. It is provided as a convenience mechanism and is not required when using stock projects for 0.19.0 and up as the provided Gradle build and Xcode projects trigger bundling when doing a release build by default.

###FAQQ: Is there anything I need to do when upgrading a project to 0.19.0+ or up to ensure the project builds?

Debugging React Native Visual Studio Code

A: If your project has a different folder setup than a typical React Native project, you may need to update the Working Directory and the Xcode Project(s) or react.gradle Path options in the React Native Prepare task. The Working Directory should be pointed to where your package.json is present and you will be running npm install. Next, check to see if your iOS project has a 'Bundle React Native code and images' Build Phase that is calling ../node_modules/react-native/packager/react-native-xcode.sh. If not, you likely also need to use the React Native Bundle task to generate your offline bundle.

Q: After Feb 14th, I am seeing the following error when referencing P12 file in the Xcode Build task: 'Command failed: /bin/sh -c /usr/bin/security find-identity -v -p codesigning ...'

A: This is due to the Apple's WWDR certificate expiring on this date and an old certificate still being present on the system. To resolve, follow the steps outlined by Apple here: https://developer.apple.com/support/certificates/expiration/ In particular, be sure to see 'What should I do if Xcode doesn’t recognize my distribution certificate?' and be sure to remove any expired certificates as this can cause the error to occur even after you've installed updated certificates. This also affects development certs despite the title.

Q: I am using my own Mac for a cross-platform agent and have it configured to run as a daemon. Signing is failing. How can I resolve this problem?

React Native For Visual Studio

A: Configure the agent as a launch agent (./svc.sh install agent) or run it as an interactive process (node agent/vsoagent.js) to ensure Xcode is able to access the appropriate keychains. See the secure app signing tutorial for additional details. You could also opt to use MacinCloud instead.

Installation for TFS 2015 Update 1 or Earlier