expo-ui-jetpack-compose

Android UI with Jetpack Compose via @expo/ui

Overview

@expo/ui/jetpack-compose provides Android-native Jetpack Compose views directly in React Native Expo apps. These components render using Android's modern declarative UI framework, giving you truly native Android look-and-feel without writing Kotlin.

Core principle: Use platform-specific @expo/ui imports to get native-quality components that follow each platform's design language. On Android, this means Jetpack Compose.

When to Use

• Building Android-specific screens or components that must feel native
• Needing performant scrolling lists on Android (LazyColumn)
• Rendering Material Design 3 components natively
• Displaying Android XML vector drawable icons
• Building platform-specific UI alongside cross-platform shared code

Import Pattern

// Android-specific import
import { Button, LazyColumn, Icon } from '@expo/ui/jetpack-compose';

// For platform-specific rendering
import { Platform } from 'react-native';

function MyComponent() {
  if (Platform.OS === 'android') {
    return <AndroidView />;
  }
  return <IOSView />;
}

LazyColumn for Scrolling Lists

LazyColumn is the Jetpack Compose equivalent of RecyclerView. It lazily composes and lays out only the visible items, making it efficient for large datasets.

Basic Usage

import { LazyColumn, Section, Item, Text } from '@expo/ui/jetpack-compose';

function ContactList() {
  const contacts = [
    { id: '1', name: 'Alice', phone: '555-0101' },
    { id: '2', name: 'Bob', phone: '555-0102' },
    { id: '3', name: 'Charlie', phone: '555-0103' },
  ];

  return (
    <LazyColumn style={{ flex: 1 }}>
      <Section header="Contacts">
        {contacts.map((contact) => (
          <Item key={contact.id}>
            <Text style={{ fontSize: 16, fontWeight: 'bold' }}>
              {contact.name}
            </Text>
            <Text style={{ fontSize: 14, color: '#666' }}>
              {contact.phone}
            </Text>
          </Item>
        ))}
      </Section>
    </LazyColumn>
  );
}

Sectioned Lists

import { LazyColumn, Section, Item, Text } from '@expo/ui/jetpack-compose';

function SettingsScreen() {
  return (
    <LazyColumn style={{ flex: 1 }}>
      <Section header="Account">
        <Item onPress={() => console.log('Profile')}>
          <Text>Profile</Text>
        </Item>
        <Item onPress={() => console.log('Security')}>
          <Text>Security</Text>
        </Item>
      </Section>

      <Section header="Preferences">
        <Item onPress={() => console.log('Notifications')}>
          <Text>Notifications</Text>
        </Item>
        <Item onPress={() => console.log('Theme')}>
          <Text>Theme</Text>
        </Item>
      </Section>

      <Section header="About">
        <Item>
          <Text>Version 1.0.0</Text>
        </Item>
      </Section>
    </LazyColumn>
  );
}

Icon Component for XML Vector Drawables

Render Android XML vector drawables as icons:

import { Icon } from '@expo/ui/jetpack-compose';

function NavigationBar() {
  return (
    <View style={{ flexDirection: 'row', justifyContent: 'space-around' }}>
      <Icon
        name="home"
        size={24}
        tintColor="#333"
      />
      <Icon
        name="search"
        size={24}
        tintColor="#333"
      />
      <Icon
        name="settings"
        size={24}
        tintColor="#333"
      />
    </View>
  );
}

Using Material Icons

import { Icon } from '@expo/ui/jetpack-compose';

// Material Design icons available by name
<Icon name="favorite" size={24} tintColor="red" />
<Icon name="share" size={24} tintColor="#1976D2" />
<Icon name="more_vert" size={24} tintColor="#757575" />

Button Component

Native Material Design 3 buttons:

import { Button } from '@expo/ui/jetpack-compose';

function ActionButtons() {
  return (
    <View style={{ gap: 12 }}>
      <Button
        title="Filled Button"
        onPress={() => console.log('Pressed')}
        variant="filled"
      />
      <Button
        title="Outlined Button"
        onPress={() => console.log('Pressed')}
        variant="outlined"
      />
      <Button
        title="Text Button"
        onPress={() => console.log('Pressed')}
        variant="text"
      />
    </View>
  );
}

Host Component Wrapping

When you need to wrap Jetpack Compose views for use within React Native's view hierarchy:

import { requireNativeView } from 'expo';

// Wrap a native Android Compose component
const NativeComposeView = requireNativeView('MyComposeView');

function ComposeWrapper({ data, onAction }) {
  return (
    <NativeComposeView
      style={{ flex: 1 }}
      data={data}
      onAction={onAction}
    />
  );
}

Writing a Custom Compose Module

If you need a Compose component not available in @expo/ui:

// android/src/main/java/com/myapp/MyComposeView.kt
package com.myapp

import expo.modules.kotlin.modules.Module
import expo.modules.kotlin.modules.ModuleDefinition

class MyComposeModule : Module() {
  override fun definition() = ModuleDefinition {
    Name("MyComposeView")

    View(MyComposeView::class) {
      Prop("title") { view: MyComposeView, title: String ->
        view.setTitle(title)
      }

      Events("onAction")
    }
  }
}

Platform-Conditional Rendering

Pattern for using Jetpack Compose components alongside cross-platform code:

import { Platform, View, Text } from 'react-native';

// Lazy imports to avoid loading on wrong platform
const AndroidList = Platform.OS === 'android'
  ? require('@expo/ui/jetpack-compose').LazyColumn
  : null;

function AdaptiveList({ items }) {
  if (Platform.OS === 'android' && AndroidList) {
    return (
      <AndroidList style={{ flex: 1 }}>
        {/* Android-native rendering */}
      </AndroidList>
    );
  }

  // Fallback for iOS/web
  return (
    <FlatList
      data={items}
      renderItem={({ item }) => <Text>{item.name}</Text>}
    />
  );
}

File-Based Platform Splits

For larger platform differences, use Expo Router's platform file extensions:

components/
  SettingsList.tsx           # Shared/default
  SettingsList.android.tsx   # Android with Jetpack Compose
  SettingsList.ios.tsx       # iOS with SwiftUI

// components/SettingsList.android.tsx
import { LazyColumn, Section, Item, Text } from '@expo/ui/jetpack-compose';

export function SettingsList({ sections }) {
  return (
    <LazyColumn style={{ flex: 1 }}>
      {sections.map((section) => (
        <Section key={section.title} header={section.title}>
          {section.items.map((item) => (
            <Item key={item.id} onPress={item.onPress}>
              <Text>{item.label}</Text>
            </Item>
          ))}
        </Section>
      ))}
    </LazyColumn>
  );
}

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Fix
Importing @expo/ui/jetpack-compose on iOS	Guard imports with Platform.OS check or use platform file extensions
Using FlatList patterns with LazyColumn	LazyColumn uses Section/Item children, not renderItem
Forgetting to rebuild after adding native dependency	Run eas build or npx expo run:android after adding @expo/ui
Mixing Compose and View styling	Compose components have their own styling; use props, not StyleSheet
Expecting identical rendering across platforms	Jetpack Compose follows Material Design; iOS follows Human Interface Guidelines

Quick Reference

Task	Pattern
Import Compose components	import { ... } from '@expo/ui/jetpack-compose'
Scrolling list	<LazyColumn> with <Section> and <Item>
Icon	<Icon name="icon_name" size={24} />
Button	<Button title="Label" variant="filled" onPress={fn} />
Platform guard	Platform.OS === 'android' or .android.tsx file
Custom native view	requireNativeView('ViewName')
Host wrapping	Expo Modules API with Kotlin + Compose