/react-native-brownfield-migration

Skill: Bare Android AAR Generation

Package a bare React Native app into an Android AAR and publish it for native host consumption.

Quick Command

npx brownfield package:android --variant release --module-name <android_module_name>
npx brownfield publish:android --module-name <android_module_name>

When to Use

• Building Android artifact from bare RN app
• Publishing AAR for host app dependency resolution

Prerequisites

• bare-quick-start.md completed
• Dedicated Android library module exists (com.android.library)
• Brownfield Gradle plugin configured
• RN and Hermes dependency versions aligned with package.json

Step-by-Step Instructions

Progress checklist:
- [ ] Library module verified
- [ ] Plugin + autolinking configured
- [ ] Publishing configured
- [ ] package:android succeeds
- [ ] publish:android succeeds
- [ ] Host app resolves Maven coordinate

1. Verify target module is a library module and will be passed as --module-name.
2. Ensure module plugins include:
   • com.android.library
   • org.jetbrains.kotlin.android
   • com.facebook.react
   • com.callstack.react.brownfield
   • maven-publish
3. Ensure autolinking is enabled in module:

react {
    autolinkLibrariesWithApp()
}

4. Add/verify facade bootstrap class in artifact module (host app should call only this facade):

object ReactNativeHostManager {
    fun initialize(application: Application, onJSBundleLoaded: OnJSBundleLoaded? = null) {
        loadReactNative(application)
        val packageList = PackageList(application).packages
        ReactNativeBrownfield.initialize(application, packageList, onJSBundleLoaded)
    }
}

5. Package AAR:
   • npx brownfield package:android --variant release --module-name <android_module_name>
6. Publish to Maven local:
   • npx brownfield publish:android --module-name <android_module_name>
7. Validate host app resolves groupId:artifactId:version with mavenLocal() enabled.

Stop Conditions

Proceed only if:

• package and publish commands exit with code 0
• host app resolves published coordinate

If Failed

• Re-check module type (com.android.library) and module-name flag
• Re-check plugin configuration and maven-publish
• Clean/rebuild Android project and retry package/publish
• Do not proceed to runtime integration until coordinate resolution passes

Canonical Docs

• Android Integration
• Brownfield CLI
• Guidelines
• Troubleshooting

Common Pitfalls

• Using app module instead of library module for packaging
• RN/Hermes dependency mismatch vs package.json
• Missing mavenLocal() in host dependency resolution

Related Skills

• bare-quick-start.md - Bare setup prerequisites
• bare-android-native-integration.md - Bare Android host integration