The Top 10 Expo SDK Modules Every Developer Should Know (With Short Examples)

Expo ships 100+ first-party native modules that let a React Native app use the camera, send push notifications, read GPS, store secrets, and more — without touching Xcode or Android Studio. But you don't need all 100. In practice a handful of modules show up in almost every app and dominate search traffic and Stack Overflow questions.

Below are the 10 most-searched Expo SDK modules, ranked by how often developers actually reach for them, each with a minimal, copy-paste example. All snippets target SDK 54+ (current stable is SDK 55, React Native 0.83). Install every module the same way:

npx expo install <package-name>

Using expo install (not npm install) picks the version that matches your SDK, which prevents most "it crashed on launch" bugs.

1. Expo Router — file-based navigation

expo-router turns your app/ folder into your navigation. A file becomes a route, a folder becomes a nested stack, and deep linking works automatically. It's the single most-searched Expo topic because every app needs navigation.

// app/_layout.tsx
import { Stack } from "expo-router"

export default function Layout() {
  return <Stack />
}

// app/index.tsx
import { Link } from "expo-router"
import { Text, View } from "react-native"

export default function Home() {
  return (
    <View>
      <Text>Home screen</Text>
      <Link href="/profile">Go to profile →</Link>
    </View>
  )
}

app/profile.tsx is now reachable at /profile — no route config, no navigator boilerplate.

2. expo-notifications — local & push notifications

expo-notifications schedules local reminders and receives push notifications with one unified API across iOS and Android. Here's a local notification that fires after 5 seconds:

import * as Notifications from "expo-notifications"

Notifications.setNotificationHandler({
  handleNotification: async () => ({
    shouldShowBanner: true,
    shouldShowList: true,
    shouldPlaySound: true,
    shouldSetBadge: false,
  }),
})

await Notifications.requestPermissionsAsync()
await Notifications.scheduleNotificationAsync({
  content: { title: "Don't forget 👋", body: "Your standup starts now." },
  trigger: { seconds: 5 },
})

For push notifications you'd also call getExpoPushTokenAsync() and send that token to your server.

3. expo-camera — take photos & scan barcodes

The modern camera API is a single CameraView component plus a useCameraPermissions hook. It handles live preview, photo capture, and barcode scanning.

import { CameraView, useCameraPermissions } from "expo-camera"
import { Button, View } from "react-native"

export default function Scanner() {
  const [permission, requestPermission] = useCameraPermissions()

  if (!permission?.granted) {
    return <Button title="Grant camera access" onPress={requestPermission} />
  }

  return <CameraView style={{ flex: 1 }} facing="back" />
}

4. expo-image-picker — pick photos & videos

expo-image-picker opens the system UI so users can choose an existing photo or shoot a new one. It's the go-to for avatars, uploads, and attachments.

import * as ImagePicker from "expo-image-picker"

async function pickImage() {
  const result = await ImagePicker.launchImageLibraryAsync({
    mediaTypes: ["images"],
    quality: 1,
  })

  if (!result.canceled) {
    return result.assets[0].uri // use this URI in an <Image />
  }
}

5. expo-location — GPS & geolocation

Ask for permission, then read the device's current coordinates. Powers maps, "near me" features, and delivery tracking.

import * as Location from "expo-location"

async function getLocation() {
  const { status } = await Location.requestForegroundPermissionsAsync()
  if (status !== "granted") return

  const { coords } = await Location.getCurrentPositionAsync({})
  console.log(coords.latitude, coords.longitude)
}

6. expo-image — the fast image component

expo-image is a drop-in replacement for React Native's <Image> with disk caching, blurhash placeholders, and smooth transitions built in. Faster lists, less flicker.

import { Image } from "expo-image"

<Image
  source="https://picsum.photos/400"
  style={{ width: 200, height: 200, borderRadius: 12 }}
  contentFit="cover"
  transition={300}
/>

7. expo-file-system — read & write files

SDK 54 introduced a new synchronous File / Paths API that reads far more like normal file code:

import { File, Paths } from "expo-file-system"

const file = new File(Paths.document, "notes.txt")
file.create()
file.write("Hello from Expo!")

console.log(file.textSync()) // "Hello from Expo!"

Great for caching API responses, saving user-generated content, or handling downloads.

8. expo-secure-store — encrypted key/value storage

Never keep auth tokens in plain AsyncStorage. expo-secure-store encrypts small secrets using the iOS Keychain and Android Keystore.

import * as SecureStore from "expo-secure-store"

await SecureStore.setItemAsync("session_token", "abc123")
const token = await SecureStore.getItemAsync("session_token")
await SecureStore.deleteItemAsync("session_token")

This pairs naturally with auth — see our guide on adding authentication to an Expo app.

9. expo-video & expo-audio — media playback

expo-av is deprecated and removed in SDK 55. Use expo-video for video and expo-audio for sound. Both are hook-based and much simpler than the old API:

import { useVideoPlayer, VideoView } from "expo-video"
import { View } from "react-native"

export default function Player() {
  const player = useVideoPlayer(
    "https://commondatastorage.googleapis.com/gtv-videos-bucket/sample/BigBuckBunny.mp4",
    (p) => {
      p.loop = true
      p.play()
    }
  )

  return (
    <View style={{ flex: 1 }}>
      <VideoView style={{ width: "100%", height: 240 }} player={player} allowsFullscreen />
    </View>
  )
}

Playing a sound with expo-audio is just as short:

import { useAudioPlayer } from "expo-audio"

const player = useAudioPlayer(require("./assets/ping.mp3"))
player.play()

10. expo-sqlite — a real database on-device

For structured, queryable, offline data, expo-sqlite gives you a full SQLite database with an async API.

import * as SQLite from "expo-sqlite"

const db = await SQLite.openDatabaseAsync("app.db")

await db.execAsync(
  `CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS todos (id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY NOT NULL, text TEXT);`
)
await db.runAsync("INSERT INTO todos (text) VALUES (?)", "Ship the app")

const todos = await db.getAllAsync("SELECT * FROM todos")
console.log(todos) // [{ id: 1, text: "Ship the app" }]

Wrapping up

These ten modules cover the backbone of almost every Expo app — navigation, notifications, media, storage, and location. Learn their small, focused APIs and you can build most product features without a single line of native code.

A few habits that save time:

• Always install with npx expo install so versions match your SDK.
• Add required permissions/config plugins in app.json (camera, notifications, and location each need one).
• Prefer the modern replacements — expo-image over the RN Image, and expo-video/expo-audio over the retired expo-av.

Want a head start instead of wiring these together yourself? Browse our production-ready Expo templates and UI components — they already integrate the modules above.