---

A guide for deploying an Expo React Native app to the App Store without EAS Build. This covers switching from a development config to production, setting up Firebase, and submitting to TestFlight.

Prerequisites

• Xcode installed with a valid Apple Developer account
• An Expo project with a working development build
• Firebase project set up for production
• EAS CLI installed (npm install -g eas-cli)

1. Update Bundle Identifier

In app.json, change your iOS bundleIdentifier from dev to production:

{
  "expo": {
    "ios": {
      "bundleIdentifier": "com.yourcompany.yourapp",
      "googleServicesFile": "./GoogleService-Info.plist"
    }
  }
}

2. Set Up GoogleService-Info.plist

Download the plist from your production Firebase project and place it in the project root. Make sure it includes these keys — Firebase Console downloads sometimes omit them:

<key>CLIENT_ID</key>
<string>YOUR_IOS_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID.apps.googleusercontent.com</string>
<key>REVERSED_CLIENT_ID</key>
<string>com.googleusercontent.apps.YOUR_IOS_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID</string>

The CLIENT_ID is your iOS OAuth client ID from Google Cloud Console under your production project. The REVERSED_CLIENT_ID is the same value with domain parts flipped.

Without these, Google Sign-In will fail with an invalid_audience error: “The audience client and the client need to be in the same project.”

3. Environment Variables

Since .env.local is gitignored and won’t be available in builds, you have a few options:

Option A: EAS Secrets (if on a paid EAS plan)

eas env:create --name EXPO_PUBLIC_API_URL --value "https://your-api.com" --environment production --visibility plaintext

Option B: Inline in eas.json (for local builds)

{
  "build": {
    "production": {
      "env": {
        "EXPO_PUBLIC_API_URL": "https://your-api.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

Option C: Local .env file (simplest for local builds)

Create an .env.production file (gitignored) and source it before building.

4. Build with Xcode

Open the project in Xcode:

open ios/YourApp.xcworkspace

• Click menu Product → Archive and wait for the build to finish.
• When done, click menu Window → Organizer.
• Click Distribute App — choose App Store Connect if the build will be published to the App Store later.

Xcode will handle signing and upload the build to App Store Connect. Once processing is complete (usually a few minutes), the build will appear in TestFlight.

Common Pitfalls

• Missing CLIENT_ID in plist: Google Sign-In will throw invalid_audience. Always verify the plist has CLIENT_ID and REVERSED_CLIENT_ID.
• Wrong Firebase project: Double-check that GOOGLE_APP_ID, PROJECT_ID, and CLIENT_ID in the plist all belong to the same Firebase project.
• Env vars not reaching the build: For local builds, eas env secrets are only pulled during EAS Build. Use eas.json env or a local .env file instead.