OTA Update Deployment with EAS

VerifiedCaution

Deploy JavaScript/UI changes via EAS Update without native rebuild. Perfect for UI components, styling, navigation, and business logic.

Sby Skills Guide Bot
DevOpsIntermediate
406/2/2026
Claude Code
#ota#eas-update#over-the-air#react-native#deployment

Recommended for

Our review

Deploys JavaScript/UI changes via EAS Update without requiring a native rebuild.

Strengths

  • Enables rapid updates without going through app stores
  • Reduces deployment time for UI/business logic changes
  • Simple integration with EAS (Expo Application Services)
  • Non-destructive: native changes remain unaffected

Limitations

  • Only works for JavaScript/pure UI code, not native modules
  • Requires prior EAS setup (project and account)
  • Update is only applied after the app is restarted
When to use it

Use this skill when you have JavaScript, UI, or business logic changes to deploy quickly to a development branch.

When not to use it

Avoid using it for native changes (intents, permissions, native modules, icons); instead, use a native rebuild via /dist-dev-client.

Security analysis

Caution
Quality score90/100

The skill runs a legitimate Expo CLI command (npx eas update) for over-the-air deployment, which is a powerful network operation. While not inherently malicious, deploying changes to a remote service carries risk if misused or if the environment is misconfigured. No destructive, exfiltrating, or obfuscated commands are present.

No concerns found

Examples

Deploy UI fixes
I've fixed the button styling on the home screen. Deploy the OTA update to the dev branch.
Quick JS logic update
Update the API call logic and deploy it via OTA without rebuilding.
Rollout new screen layout
Deploy the new onboarding screen layout as an OTA update using EAS.

name: ota description: Deploy JavaScript/UI changes via EAS Update without native rebuild (OTA = Over-The-Air). Use for UI components, styling, screen layouts, navigation, business logic, API calls, text/strings, or pure JS dependencies. Use when the user mentions "ota", "EAS Update", "OTA deploy", "JS update", "UI update", or wants to deploy code changes without rebuilding. user-invocable: true

/ota - OTA Update Deployment

Run EAS Update to deploy JavaScript/UI changes without native rebuild (OTA = Over-The-Air).

Execution Requirements

IMPORTANT: Execute npx commands from the app root directory (APPNAME directory, not the .git root).

Command

cd APPNAME  # Move to app directory from project root
npx eas update --branch dev --message "OTA update from Claude Code" --non-interactive

Use This For

JavaScript-only changes that don't require native rebuild:

  • UI components, styling
  • Screen layouts, navigation
  • Business logic (TypeScript/JavaScript)
  • API calls, text/strings
  • Pure JS dependencies

When NOT to Use

For native changes, use /dist-dev-client instead:

  • Intent handlers / deep links
  • Permissions
  • Native modules
  • Package name changes
  • App icon or splash screen
  • Build configuration (app.json affecting native)

Instructions for Claude

When this skill is invoked:

  1. Verify current directory: Ensure you're in the app root (APPNAME directory)
  2. Run EAS Update:
    cd APPNAME
    npx eas update --branch dev --message "OTA update from Claude Code" --non-interactive
    
  3. Inform the user: Explain that the update was deployed and users need to restart the app to see changes
  4. Verify success: Check command output for successful deployment confirmation

Success Indicators

  • "Published" message in output
  • Update ID shown
  • No error messages

Common Issues

  • Not in app directory: Remind user that command must be run from APPNAME directory
  • Not logged in: Run eas login first
  • No EAS project: Run eas init first
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