When Only EAS Build Fails with "No matching variant", Check Your Local android/build First
Gradle passes on your machine, but the Android build on EAS stops at "No matching variant of project". Reading the reports on GitHub, I traced how a Windows-generated autolinking cache can reach the Linux builder, and wrote a small script that checks for it before you queue a build.
My App Open Ad Only Showed When the App Came Back From Background. The 'Returned to Foreground' Signal Fired Before the Ad Had Loaded
On a cold start, the app open ad in my Android app never showed. The foreground signal came before the load began. Here is how I split the signal from the load and rebuilt it as logic you can test ordering by ordering.
Japanese Headings Won't Turn Bold on Android: How to Trace and Fix a fontWeight That Does Nothing
A troubleshooting note for Rork apps where headings look bold on iPhone but stay thin on Android. How to tell the symptoms apart, pick weights through fontFamily, and verify the fix.
It Crashed, but the Reviews Say "It Freezes" — When an Android Crash Leaves a Blank Screen Behind
Your crash reports show exceptions, yet users only ever say the app freezes. Here is why expo-updates plus the New Architecture can leave an empty Android screen behind, and the order I now use: a way out first, a bad-exit marker second, root cause last.
Four Numbers to Record Before R8 Becomes the Default — Android Measurements While We Wait for Expo SDK 58
Expo SDK 58 turns on R8 by default for Android release builds. Here is how I capture four numbers — download size, DEX total, cold start, and build time — so the before and after can be compared with the same ruler.
The Token I Deleted Came Back After a Restart — Detecting Failed SecureStore Deletes
On Android, getItemAsync can report null right after sign-out while the value is still sitting on disk. Here is how I rewrote a sign-out path that was verifying deletion by reading instead of by the delete result.
I Added a Dim Screen Button, and iPhones Stayed Dark After the App Was Closed
In expo-brightness, setBrightnessAsync applies only to the current activity on Android, but changes the device brightness itself on iOS. Here is why the cleanup burden falls on one platform only, and a hook that restores brightness through AppState.
Sending user text to an external AI: what actually goes in Play's Data safety form
Classifying user input sent to an external AI as collected, shared, or ephemeral in Play's Data safety form, plus a redaction ordering bug found by running the code.
Three Minutes After the Screen Locked, My expo-audio Ambient Sound Went Silent
Why expo-audio stops playing when the screen locks, diagnosed as three separate layers: build config, audio session, and lock screen integration. The three-minute stop on Android is documented behavior.
The four acceptance checks I still run after the build turns green
A successful build does not mean a shippable build. Here are the four failure classes an AI build loop cannot see, and a dependency-free script that inspects the artifact itself before you submit.
The three places I had to fix before a Rork project actually targeted API level 36
My app.json said targetSdkVersion 36. The value my build actually read was 35. Here is the script that reports the effective value, and how I split my apps between raising, leaving alone, and requesting an extension.
Four Countries, Not the World: Checking Which of My Six Apps the September 30 Deadline Actually Touches
Android developer verification goes live on September 30, 2026 in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand. Here's how to decide from your own install data whether that date is urgent for you, and what actually blocks indie developers.