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The AI coding setup for Expo apps.

Six things we give our coding agent when it builds an Expo app: one to design, one to animate, two to write fast code, one to test and profile it on a phone and one to ship it.

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This sits on top of the agents stack

In short

  • VMGM Software builds Expo apps with an AI coding agent that has three MCP servers and three skills.
  • The Mobbin MCP lets the agent look at real app screens before it designs one.
  • The animate-expo skill from Emil Kowalski teaches the agent to build animations that feel right on a real phone.
  • Vercel’s React best practices and React Native skills give the agent ranked rules for fast code, from re-renders to lists and images.
  • Argent from Software Mansion lets the agent tap through the app in the simulator and profile it.
  • The Expo MCP lets the agent read the current Expo docs and run and check EAS builds and workflows, including over-the-air updates.

What is in the Expo stack?

  • DesignMCP

    Mobbin MCP

    by Mobbin

    Searches screens and flows from real, shipped apps, so the agent does not design every screen the same default way.

    How we use it: Before the agent redesigns a screen, it searches how other apps do it and writes down what to borrow and what to skip.

    bash
    claude mcp add mobbin --scope user --transport http https://api.mobbin.com/mcp
    Our Mobbin MCP guideMobbin MCP docs
  • MotionSkill

    animate-expo

    by Emil Kowalski

    Teaches the agent to build animations that feel right on a real phone: whether something should move at all, springs or timing, gestures and haptics. It writes the code with Reanimated, Gesture Handler, Expo Router and expo-haptics.

    How we use it: We use it in Kidtime for sheets, screen changes, press feedback and haptics.

    bash
    npx skills add emilkowalski/skills --skill animate-expo
    animate-expo on GitHub
  • Fast React codeSkill

    React best practices

    by Vercel

    Vercel’s rules for fast React code, ranked by impact: extra re-renders, data fetching and bundle size.

    How we use it: When Argent’s profiler shows a screen redrawing too often, the agent reads these rules to pick the fix.

    bash
    npx skills add vercel-labs/agent-skills --skill vercel-react-best-practices
    React best practices on GitHub
  • Fast mobile codeSkill

    React Native skills

    by Vercel

    Vercel’s rules for React Native and Expo: fast lists, images, animations, native navigation and safe areas.

    How we use it: Our fix list for slow lists and images, once the profiler has found them.

    bash
    npx skills add vercel-labs/agent-skills --skill vercel-react-native-skills
    React Native skills on GitHub
  • Test and profileMCP

    Argent

    by Software Mansion

    Lets the agent tap through the app in the iOS simulator and Android emulator, take screenshots and profile it.

    How we use it: Mostly profiling: find the slow screen, fix it, then profile again to prove the fix worked.

    bash
    npx @swmansion/argent@latest init
    Our Argent guideArgent docs
  • Docs and deploysMCP

    Expo MCP

    by Expo

    Expo’s own MCP server. It reads the current Expo docs, adds libraries at the version your SDK needs, and runs and checks EAS builds and workflows. It can also read TestFlight and Google Play crashes and reviews.

    How we use it: The agent reads the Expo docs through it instead of guessing from old training data. Our over-the-air updates ship through an EAS workflow, so the agent starts it and reads the logs here.

    bash
    claude mcp add --transport http expo https://mcp.expo.dev/mcp
    Expo MCP docs

How do they work together?

  1. Design. The agent searches Mobbin for how real apps do the screen, then builds it with our own colours and fonts.
  2. Motion. Where the screen moves, animate-expo decides how.
  3. Check. Argent opens the app in the simulator, taps through the screen and takes a screenshot.
  4. Speed. If the screen feels slow, Argent profiles it. The Vercel rules pick the fix. Argent profiles it again, and if the number did not move, the fix is undone.
  5. Ship. The agent runs the over-the-air update workflow through the Expo MCP and reads its logs.

Frequently asked questions

Do these work with Cursor and Codex, or only Claude Code?

All of them. The two MCP servers work in any client that supports MCP. The skills install with the skills command, which can put them in Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and other agents.

What is the difference between an MCP server and a skill?

An MCP server gives the agent new abilities, such as tapping through an app or searching Mobbin. A skill gives it knowledge: instructions it reads when a task matches. Here is more on skills.

Do I need all six?

No. Start with Argent, so the agent can check its own work on a phone, and the Expo MCP, so it reads current docs. Add the Vercel skills when speed matters, Mobbin when the developers also do the design, and animate-expo when the app needs motion.

Is the Expo MCP free?

You sign in with an Expo account. Expo’s docs say the documentation search tool needs a paid EAS plan; the rest works on a free account.

Does this work for a bare React Native app?

Mostly. The skills, Mobbin and Argent work on React Native without Expo. The Expo MCP needs an Expo project, and animate-expo leans on Expo pieces such as Expo Router and expo-haptics.

None of these makers pay us to list them. Setup commands checked on .

We set this up on your team’s codebase, with the rules that make the agent use it well.

Talk to us about your team