Quick guide for updating package name in React Native
Tags: javascript, reactnative, android, ios
Published: 2020-04-11 11:26:57


## Quick guide for updating package name in React Native

Hey, React Native community, in this short article let's see how to change the package name and bundle Ids in our React Native application.

List of files to edit to change/rename your react-native android project.
The following constants are used in the files to denote what kind of value should be placed.  

- `APPLICATION_NAME` - this will be used by react-native to identify your application.
- `APPLICATION_DISPLAY_NAME` - Display name on the Home Screen.
- `ANDROID_PACKAGE_NAME` - A valid android package name.
- `IOS_BUNDLE_ID` - A valid iOS bundle identifier.

<i>Please note that this is only to show what files to modify, the contents of the files are omitted in order to emphasize the parts to change.</i>



### Android

### Files to modify

```
---------------------------------------------------
FILE                  |  PATH
---------------------------------------------------
app.json              |  ./
index.js              |  ./
package.json          |  ./
settings.gradle       |  ./android/
BUCK                  |  ./android/app/
build.gradle          |  ./android/app/
AndroidManifest.xml   |  ./android/app/src/main/
MainActivity.java     |  ./android/app/src/main/java/**
MainApplication.java  |  ./android/app/src/main/java/**
strings.xml           |  ./android/app/src/main/res/values
```

#### AndroidManifest.xml

```xml
<!-- ./android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml -->
<!-- change the value of 'package' -->

<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    package="ANDROID_PACKAGE_NAME">   
</manifest>
```

#### BUCK

```
# ./android/app/BUCK

# find 'android_build_config' and 'android_resource'
# ANDROID_PACKAGE_NAME = com.mycompany.whaterver.app

android_build_config(
    name = "build_config",
    package = "ANDROID_PACKAGE_NAME",
)

android_resource(
    name = "res",
    package = "ANDROID_PACKAGE_NAME",
    res = "src/main/res",
)
```

#### MainActivity.java

```java
// ./android/app/src/main/java/

/* NOTE: create a directory according to your package name
 * example: An android package name like, 'com.mycompany.sub.app'
 * will turn into 'com/mycompany/sub/app'
 * Now, manually create/put MainActivity.java under './android/app/src/main/java/com/mycompany/sub/app/'
*/

package ANDROID_PACKAGE_NAME;

import com.facebook.react.ReactActivity;

public class MainActivity extends ReactActivity {

    /**
     * Returns the name of the main component registered from JavaScript.
     * This is used to schedule rendering of the component.
     */
    @Override
    protected String getMainComponentName() {
        return "APPLICATION_NAME";
    }
}
```

#### MainApplication.java

```java
// ./android/app/src/main/java/

// Similar to MainActivity.java
/* NOTE: create a directory according to your package name
 * example: An android package name like, 'com.mycompany.sub.app'
 * will turn into 'com/mycompany/sub/app'
 * Now, manually create/put MainActivity.java under './android/app/src/main/java/com/mycompany/sub/app/'
*/

package ANDROID_PACKAGE_NAME;

import android.app.Application;

import com.facebook.react.ReactApplication;
```

#### app.json

```json
{
  "name": "APPLICATION_NAME",
  "displayName": "APPLICATION_DISPLAY_NAME"
}
```
#### build.gradle

```gradle
# ./android/app/build.gradle

# find 'applicationId' under 'android.defaultConfig'
# android.defaultConfig.applicationId


android {
    compileSdkVersion 23
    buildToolsVersion "23.0.1"

    defaultConfig {
        applicationId "ANDROID_PACKAGE_NAME"
        minSdkVersion 16
        targetSdkVersion 22
        versionCode 1
        versionName "1.0"
        ndk {
            abiFilters "armeabi-v7a", "x86"
        }
    }
```

#### index.js

```js
import { AppRegistry } from 'react-native';
import App from './App';

AppRegistry.registerComponent('APPLICATION_NAME', () => App);
```

#### package.json

```json
{
  "name": "APPLICATION_NAME",
  "version": "0.0.1",
  "private": true,
  "scripts": {
    "start": "node node_modules/react-native/local-cli/cli.js start",
    "test": "jest"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "react": "16.3.1",
    "react-native": "0.55.3"
  }
}
```

#### settings.gradle

```gradle
// ./android/settings.gradle

rootProject.name = 'APPLICATION_NAME'
include ':app'
```

#### strings.xml

```xml
<!-- ./android/app/src/main/res/values/strings.xml -->
<resources>
    <!-- NOTE: 
      This will be the name visible in the Android Home screen
    -->
    <string name="app_name">APPLICATION_NAME/APPLICATION_DISPLAY_NAME</string>
</resources>
```

### iOS

#### Files to modify

```
---------------------------------------------------
FILE                  |  PATH
---------------------------------------------------
info.plist            |  ./ios/APPLICATION_NAME/**
```

##### info.plist 
```xml
<dict>
  ...
  <key>CFBundleDisplayName</key>
  <string>APPLICATION_NAME</string>
  <key>CFBundleIdentifier</key>
  <string>IOS_BUNDLE_ID</string>
  ...
</dict>
```

I hope you were able to update the package name of your app, as always don't forget to run a clean build after these changes.

<i>If you liked this article, or faced any issues, feel free to reach out via [Twitter](https://twitter.com/karan_6864) or [Email](mailto:karan.pratapsingh686@gmail.com) 🚀</i>

Happy Coding :tada: