expo-check-installed-apps

Check whether apps are installed on Android and iOS from your Expo or React Native project.

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Overview

expo-check-installed-apps is a native Expo module and config plugin that lets you query — at runtime — whether specific apps are present on the user's device.

• Android — check by package name (e.g. com.android.chrome)
• iOS — check by URL scheme (e.g. twitter, fb)

The library normalises and deduplicates your input before hitting the native layer, so you can pass raw schemes like twitter:// and they will work just fine.

Requirements

• Expo SDK 51 or higher
• This package uses native code and does not work inside Expo Go. Use a development build, expo prebuild, or a bare React Native project.

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Table of Contents

• Quick Start
• Installation
  • Managed Expo Projects
  • Bare React Native Projects
• Configuration
  • Automatic (Config Plugin)
  • Manual (Native Files)
• API Reference
  • checkInstalledApps
• Usage Examples
• Error Handling
• Platform Behaviour
• Contributing
• Support the Project
• License

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Quick Start

npx expo install expo-check-installed-apps

// app.json
{
  "expo": {
    "plugins": [
      [
        "expo-check-installed-apps",
        {
          "android": ["com.android.chrome"],
          "ios": ["twitter"]
        }
      ]
    ]
  }
}

npx expo prebuild

import { checkInstalledApps } from "expo-check-installed-apps";

const result = await checkInstalledApps(["com.android.chrome"]);
// → { "com.android.chrome": true }

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Installation

Managed Expo Projects

Use the Expo CLI installer to get the correct version pinned automatically:

npx expo install expo-check-installed-apps

Then follow the Automatic Config Plugin setup and rebuild your app.

Bare React Native Projects

Make sure the expo package is installed and configured in your project first, then:

npm install expo-check-installed-apps
# or
yarn add expo-check-installed-apps

If you are not using Expo config plugins, follow the Manual Native Files setup.

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Configuration

Automatic (Config Plugin)

Add the plugin to app.json or app.config.js and list every package/scheme you want to query at runtime. You must declare them ahead of time — this is an OS-level requirement, not a library limitation.

{
  "expo": {
    "plugins": [
      [
        "expo-check-installed-apps",
        {
          "android": ["com.facebook.katana", "com.twitter.android"],
          "ios": ["fb", "twitter"]
        }
      ]
    ]
  }
}

Plugin options

Option	Platform	Type	Description	Example
android	Android	string[]	Package names added under <queries> in AndroidManifest.xml	["com.facebook.katana"]
ios	iOS	string[]	URL schemes added under LSApplicationQueriesSchemes in Info.plist	["fb", "twitter"]

Rebuilding required — any time you change the plugin options you must run npx expo prebuild (and rebuild your native app) for the changes to take effect.

The plugin automatically:

• Adds <package android:name="…"/> entries inside <queries> in AndroidManifest.xml
• Appends strings to LSApplicationQueriesSchemes in Info.plist

Manual (Native Files)

Android — AndroidManifest.xml

Add a <queries> block inside <manifest>:

<manifest>
  <queries>
    <package android:name="com.facebook.katana" />
    <package android:name="com.twitter.android" />
  </queries>

  <!-- ... rest of your manifest -->
</manifest>

iOS — Info.plist

Add the schemes you want to query:

<key>LSApplicationQueriesSchemes</key>
<array>
  <string>fb</string>
  <string>twitter</string>
</array>

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API Reference

checkInstalledApps

Queries the OS to determine whether specific apps are installed on the device.

function checkInstalledApps(
  targets: string[],
): Promise<Record<string, boolean>>;

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
targets	string[]	Android package names (e.g. com.android.chrome) or iOS URL schemes (e.g. twitter, fb://)

Input normalisation

Before calling the native layer, the library:

1. Trims whitespace from every target
2. Strips trailing :// or : from iOS schemes (e.g. twitter:// → twitter)
3. Removes duplicate entries

Validation rules

Platform	Accepted format	Example
Android	Valid Java package name: [a-zA-Z0-9_]+(\.[a-zA-Z0-9_]+)+	com.android.chrome
iOS	Valid URL scheme: [A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9+.-]*	twitter, fb://

Passing an empty string or an invalid identifier throws synchronously before any native call is made.

Returns

Promise<Record<string, boolean>>

Resolves to a plain object keyed by the (normalised) identifier:

{
  "com.android.chrome": true,   // app is installed
  "com.facebook.katana": false  // app is not installed
}

Returns an empty object {} when the targets array is empty.

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Usage Examples

Basic — check a single app

import { checkInstalledApps } from "expo-check-installed-apps";

const result = await checkInstalledApps(["com.android.chrome"]);

if (result["com.android.chrome"]) {
  console.log("Chrome is installed");
}

Platform-aware check

import { checkInstalledApps } from "expo-check-installed-apps";
import { Platform } from "react-native";

const targets = Platform.select({
  android: ["com.google.android.apps.fitness", "com.android.chrome"],
  ios: ["fb", "twitter"],
  default: [],
});

const installedApps = await checkInstalledApps(targets);
console.log(installedApps);

Example response (Android)

{
  "com.google.android.apps.fitness": false,
  "com.android.chrome": true
}

Example response (iOS)

{
  "fb": true,
  "twitter": false
}

Check multiple social apps

import { checkInstalledApps } from "expo-check-installed-apps";
import { Platform } from "react-native";

const SOCIAL_APPS = {
  android: [
    "com.facebook.katana",
    "com.twitter.android",
    "com.instagram.android",
    "com.whatsapp",
  ],
  ios: ["fb", "twitter", "instagram", "whatsapp"],
};

async function getInstalledSocialApps() {
  const targets =
    Platform.OS === "android" ? SOCIAL_APPS.android : SOCIAL_APPS.ios;

  const result = await checkInstalledApps(targets);

  return Object.entries(result)
    .filter(([, installed]) => installed)
    .map(([app]) => app);
}

const installed = await getInstalledSocialApps();
console.log("Installed social apps:", installed);
// → ["com.facebook.katana", "com.whatsapp"]

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Error Handling

The library throws for invalid input before making any native call:

import { checkInstalledApps } from "expo-check-installed-apps";

try {
  const result = await checkInstalledApps(["com.android.chrome"]);
  console.log(result);
} catch (error) {
  if (error instanceof TypeError) {
    // Invalid targets array or non-string element
    console.error("Invalid input:", error.message);
  } else {
    // Invalid package name / URL scheme format
    console.error("Validation error:", error.message);
  }
}

Condition	Error type	Message
targets is not an array	TypeError	checkInstalledApps expects an array of package names or URL schemes.
An element is not a string	TypeError	checkInstalledApps targets must be strings.
An element is an empty string (after trim)	Error	checkInstalledApps targets cannot be empty.
Invalid Android package name	Error	Invalid Android package name: <value>
Invalid iOS URL scheme	Error	Invalid iOS URL scheme: <value>

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Platform Behaviour

Behaviour	Android	iOS
Check by package name	✅	❌
Check by URL scheme	❌	✅
Requires pre-declaration in manifest	✅	✅
Works in Expo Go	❌	❌
Works in development build	✅	✅
Requires rebuild after config change	✅	✅

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Contributing

Contributions, bug reports, and feature requests are welcome!

1. Fork the repository and create a new branch from main.
2. Make your changes — please include tests for new behaviour.
3. Open a Pull Request with a clear description of the problem and your solution.

For substantial changes, please open an issue first to discuss the approach.

• Bug reports → GitHub Issues
• Source code → GitHub Repository

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Support the Project

If this library has saved you time, consider supporting its development:

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License

MIT © EndLess728

See LICENSE for the full text.