These integration guides are not official documentation and the Strapi Support Team will not provide assistance with them.

What Is React Native?

React Native is an open-source framework for building native mobile apps using JavaScript and React. It lets you create cross-platform applications for iOS and Android from a single codebase, saving time and reducing complexity.

To see how React compares to React Native, check out Strapi's React vs. React Native guide.

When paired with Strapi, an open-source headless CMS, React Native becomes even more powerful. You can fetch dynamic content via APIs and manage everything from a central admin panel—making it easy to build fast, content-rich mobile experiences.

Why Use Strapi With React Native

Strapi and React Native make a powerful pairing for building fast, content-driven mobile applications. While React Native handles the user interface, Strapi provides a flexible backend for managing and delivering content via APIs.

Here's why this integration works so well:

• API-first architecture: Strapi automatically generates RESTful APIs and supports GraphQL via a plugin, making it easy for React Native apps to fetch and manage content.
• Separation of concerns: Content teams use Strapi's admin panel, while developers have full control over the mobile frontend. This setup simplifies collaboration across teams and accelerates release cycles.
• Granular access control: Role-based permissions in Strapi help secure content access, working seamlessly with React Native's client-side authentication.
• Custom content modeling: Define exactly the data structure your mobile app needs—no rigid schemas or unnecessary fields.
• Optimized for mobile apps: Strapi's architecture supports flexible, real-time content delivery, offline caching, and multi-platform distribution. Learn more in our guide on the benefits of using Strapi as a mobile app framework.

With Strapi Cloud and Strapi v5, this setup is even more effective. Strapi Cloud provides a production-ready environment with optimized infrastructure, while Strapi v5 brings performance improvements and an even smoother developer experience.

For React Native developers, integrating with Strapi means spending less time on backend setup and more time building polished, high-performance mobile apps.

Keep in touch with the latest Strapi and React Native updates

How to Integrate React Native With Strapi

Integrating React Native with Strapi involves several straightforward steps. The most common approach is to run Strapi as a backend service that communicates with your React Native application through its RESTful or GraphQL APIs.

Setting Up Your Environment

1. Ensure you have Node.js 14 or higher installed alongside your React Native development environment. 2. Create a new Strapi project:

npx create-strapi-app@latest my-project --quickstart

3. Configure your Strapi instance according to your application's content needs.

Connecting React Native to Strapi

To connect your React Native application to Strapi, you can use libraries like Axios or the Fetch API to make HTTP requests. You can choose between RESTful APIs or implement GraphQL for more efficient data queries. For guidance on implementing GraphQL in Strapi, refer to Implementing GraphQL in Strapi. Additionally, understanding the basics of GraphQL can be beneficial; see Understanding GraphQL.

1import axios from 'axios';
2
3axios.get('http://localhost:1337/api/articles')
4  .then(response => {
5    const articles = response.data;
6    // Use articles in your React Native app
7  })
8  .catch(error => {
9    console.error(error);
10  });

Authentication Between Systems

To secure communication between your React Native application and Strapi:

1. Generate API tokens in your Strapi admin panel. 2. Include tokens in your React Native application's HTTP requests:

1const config = {
2  headers: { Authorization: `Bearer your-api-token` }
3};
4
5axios.get('http://localhost:1337/api/articles', config)
6  .then(response => {
7    const articles = response.data;
8    // Use articles in your app
9  })
10  .catch(error => {
11    console.error(error);
12  });

For best practices on securing your APIs, you can read more about API design in Strapi. Additionally, for advanced access control mechanisms, explore Advanced access control in Strapi.

Production Deployment Considerations

When deploying to production:

1. Configure appropriate CORS settings in Strapi to allow requests from your React Native application.
2. Implement proper error handling and retry logic in your React Native code.
3. Consider using caching strategies to optimize performance.
4. Keep your API tokens secure and avoid exposing them in your application's codebase.

For detailed options on deploying your Strapi application, see Strapi deployment options.

Keep in touch with the latest Strapi and React Native updates

Project Example: Building a Mobile Blog With React Native and Strapi

Here's a practical example of integrating React Native with Strapi to create a mobile blogging platform for iOS and Android.

The goal: Let content editors manage blog posts and localization through Strapi, while mobile users enjoy a smooth, responsive experience powered by React Native.

Architecture Overview

This setup separates responsibilities between frontend and backend:

• Frontend: React Native handles navigation, user interactions, and rendering.
• Backend: Strapi manages blog content, localization, and access control.
• APIs: REST or GraphQL APIs connect React Native to Strapi's content layer.

Core Features

1. Custom React Native services handle all communication with Strapi's APIs.
2. Content caching strategies improve load times and enable offline access.
3. Webhooks from Strapi trigger updates in the app when content changes.
4. JWT authentication and RBAC secure API access using Strapi's permissions system.
5. Multilingual support is powered by Strapi's i18n plugin.

Developer Experience

This decoupled architecture improves team workflows:

• Content editors manage everything in Strapi's admin panel.
• Mobile developers build frontend logic independently with clean APIs.
• Teams scale faster with fewer cross-system dependencies.

Strapi Open Office Hours

If you have any questions about Strapi 5 or just would like to stop by and say hi, you can join us at Strapi's Discord Open Office Hours Monday through Friday at 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm CST.

For more details, visit the Strapi documentation and React Native documentation.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)