feat: add bare React Native LLM chat example app (#763)

## Description

Adds a new bare React Native example application demonstrating LLM chat
functionality using Executorch. This example provides a complete
reference implementation for running local LLM inference on mobile
devices through a simple chat interface.

**Key features:**

- Local LLM inference using Executorch
- Simple chat UI with message history
- Model loading and inference pipeline
- Error handling and user feedback
- Compatible with both iOS and Android

### Introduces a breaking change?

- [ ] Yes
- [x] No

### Type of change

- [ ] Bug fix (change which fixes an issue)
- [x] New feature (change which adds functionality)
- [ ] Documentation update (improves or adds clarity to existing
documentation)
- [ ] Other (chores, tests, code style improvements etc.)

### Tested on

- [x] iOS
- [x] Android

### Testing instructions

1. Navigate to the example directory:

`cd apps/bare_rn`

2. Install dependencies:

`yarn install`

3. Run on iOS:

`npx pod-install`
`yarn ios`

Or run on Android:

`yarn android`

4. Verify the app launches and displays the chat interface

5. Test message sending and model inference (requires model file setup)

### Screenshots

[
<img width="1040" height="1037" alt="Screenshot 2026-01-28 at 02 06 29"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/3774f4d2-ccc0-414b-85e7-3e26b06249ad"
/>
](url)

### Related issues

This PR provides an example app for PR #759

### Checklist

- [x] I have performed a self-review of my code
- [x] I have commented my code, particularly in hard-to-understand areas
- [x] I have updated the documentation accordingly
- [x] My changes generate no new warnings

### Additional notes

This example app was generated using `npx
@react-native-community/cli@latest init bare_rn --version 0.81.5 --pm
yarn` and follows bare React Native project structure (not Expo). It
serves as a foundational example for developers to understand how to
integrate Executorch for on-device LLM inference in their React Native
applications.

**Why this example is not included in the yarn workspace:**

The bare React Native example is maintained outside the yarn workspace
structure due to fundamental architectural differences and specific
technical issues:

1. Native Module Resolution Issues with Background Downloader:
Using the workspace monorepo breaks the Android app's integration with
`@kesha-antonov/react-native-background-downloader`. The monorepo's
package hoisting and workspace resolution interferes with the native
module's ability to properly register and resolve its native components.
This causes runtime failures when attempting to download AI models in
the background, which is a critical feature for this LLM chat example.

2. Dependency Isolation: Bare React Native projects have distinct native
dependency chains (iOS Pods, Android Gradle) that conflict with the
monorepo's package management. The monorepo uses workspaces and hoisting
strategies optimized for JavaScript/TypeScript packages, which can
interfere with native module resolution.

---------

Co-authored-by: Mateusz Słuszniak <mateusz.sluszniak@swmansion.com>
Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Co-authored-by: Mateusz Sluszniak <56299341+msluszniak@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Norbert Klockiewicz <Nklockiewicz12@gmail.com>

Author: 4 people

.gitignore

@@ -88,7 +88,9 @@ lib/
 ios/generated
 android/generated
 apps/*/ios/
+!apps/bare_rn/ios/
 apps/*/android/
+!apps/bare_rn/android/
 
 # generated TypeDoc API reference (regenerated at build time)
 docs/docs/06-api-reference/

README.md

@@ -38,20 +38,24 @@ React Native ExecuTorch bridges the gap between React Native and native platform
 [![CI](https://github.com/software-mansion/react-native-executorch/actions/workflows/ci.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/software-mansion/react-native-executorch/actions/workflows/ci.yml)
 
 <details>
-<summary><strong> :blue_book: Table of Contents </strong></summary>
-
-- [:yin_yang: Supported Versions](#yin_yang-supported-versions)
-- [:earth_africa: Real-world Example](#earth_africa-real-world-example)
-- [:llama: Quickstart - Running Llama](#llama-quickstart---running-llama)
-- [:calling: Demo Apps](#calling-demo-apps)
-- [:robot: Ready-made Models](#robot-ready-made-models)
-- [:books: Documentation](#books-documentation)
-- [:balance_scale: License](#balance_scale-license)
-- [:soon: What's Next?](#soon-whats-next)
+<summary><strong>Table of Contents</strong></summary>
+
+- [Supported Versions](#supported-versions)
+- [Real-world Example](#real-world-example)
+- [Quickstart - Running Llama](#quickstart---running-llama)
+  - [:one: Installation](#one-installation)
+  - [:two: Setup \& Initialization](#two-setup--initialization)
+  - [:three: Run the Model!](#three-run-the-model)
+- [Demo Apps](#demo-apps)
+- [Ready-made Models](#ready-made-models)
+- [Documentation](#documentation)
+- [License](#license)
+- [What's Next?](#whats-next)
+- [React Native ExecuTorch is created by Software Mansion](#react-native-executorch-is-created-by-software-mansion)
 
 </details>
 
-## :yin_yang: Supported Versions
+## Supported Versions
 
 The minimal supported version are:
 * iOS 17.0
@@ -61,17 +65,17 @@ The minimal supported version are:
 > [!IMPORTANT]
 > React Native ExecuTorch supports only the [New React Native architecture](https://reactnative.dev/architecture/landing-page).
 
-## :earth_africa: Real-world Example
+## Real-world Example
 
 React Native ExecuTorch is powering [Private Mind](https://privatemind.swmansion.com/), a privacy-first mobile AI app available on [App Store](https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/private-mind/id6746713439) and [Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.swmansion.privatemind).
 
 <img width="2720" height="1085" alt="Private Mind promo" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/b12296fe-19ac-48fc-9726-da9242700346" />
 
-## :llama: **Quickstart - Running Llama**
+## Quickstart - Running Llama
 
 **Get started with AI-powered text generation in 3 easy steps!**
 
-### :one: **Installation**
+### :one: Installation
 
 ```bash
 # Install the package
@@ -86,10 +90,10 @@ yarn add @react-native-executorch/bare-resource-fetcher
 yarn add @dr.pogodin/react-native-fs @kesha-antonov/react-native-background-downloader
 
 # Depending on the platform, choose either iOS or Android
-yarn expo run:< ios | android >
+yarn < ios | android >
 ```
 
-### :two: **Setup & Initialization**
+### :two: Setup & Initialization
 
 Add this to your component file:
 
@@ -113,7 +117,7 @@ function MyComponent() {
 }
 ```
 
-### :three: **Run the Model!**
+### :three: Run the Model!
 
 ```tsx
 const handleGenerate = async () => {
@@ -128,44 +132,39 @@ const handleGenerate = async () => {
 };
 ```
 
-## :calling: Demo Apps
+## Demo Apps
 
 We currently host a few example [apps](https://github.com/software-mansion/react-native-executorch/tree/main/apps) demonstrating use cases of our library:
 
 - `llm` - Chat application showcasing use of LLMs
 - `speech` - Speech to Text & Text to Speech task implementations
 - `computer-vision` - Computer vision related tasks
 - `text-embeddings` - Computing text representations for semantic search
+- `bare_rn` - LLM chat example for bare React Native (without Expo)
 
-If you would like to run demo app, navigate to its project directory and install dependencies with:
-
-```bash
-yarn
-```
-
-Then, depending on the platform, choose either iOS or Android:
+If you would like to run a demo app, navigate to its project directory. Then install dependencies and run app with:
 
 ```bash
-yarn expo run:< ios | android >
+yarn && yarn < ios | android >
 ```
 
 > [!WARNING]
 > Running LLMs requires a significant amount of RAM. If you are encountering unexpected app crashes, try to increase the amount of RAM allocated to the emulator.
 
-## :robot: Ready-made Models
+## Ready-made Models
 
 Our library has a number of ready-to-use AI models; a complete list is available in the documentation. If you're interested in running your own AI model, you need to first export it to the `.pte` format. Instructions on how to do this are available in the [Python API](https://docs.pytorch.org/executorch/stable/using-executorch-export.html) and [optimum-executorch README](https://github.com/huggingface/optimum-executorch?tab=readme-ov-file#option-2-export-and-load-separately).
 
-## :books: Documentation
+## Documentation
 
 Check out how our library can help you build your React Native AI features by visiting our docs:
 https://docs.swmansion.com/react-native-executorch
 
-## :balance_scale: License
+## License
 
 This library is licensed under [The MIT License](./LICENSE).
 
-## :soon: What's Next?
+## What's Next?
 
 To learn about our upcoming plans and developments, please visit our [milestones](https://github.com/software-mansion/react-native-executorch/milestones).
 

apps/bare_rn/.bundle/config

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+BUNDLE_PATH: "vendor/bundle"
+BUNDLE_FORCE_RUBY_PLATFORM: 1

apps/bare_rn/.eslintrc.js

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+module.exports = {
+  root: true,
+  extends: '@react-native',
+  parserOptions: {
+    requireConfigFile: false,
+  },
+};

apps/bare_rn/.gitignore

@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+# OSX
+#
+.DS_Store
+
+# Xcode
+#
+build/
+*.pbxuser
+!default.pbxuser
+*.mode1v3
+!default.mode1v3
+*.mode2v3
+!default.mode2v3
+*.perspectivev3
+!default.perspectivev3
+xcuserdata
+*.xccheckout
+*.moved-aside
+DerivedData
+*.hmap
+*.ipa
+*.xcuserstate
+**/.xcode.env.local
+
+# Android/IntelliJ
+#
+build/
+.idea
+.gradle
+local.properties
+*.iml
+*.hprof
+.cxx/
+*.keystore
+!debug.keystore
+.kotlin/
+
+# node.js
+#
+node_modules/
+npm-debug.log
+yarn-error.log
+
+# fastlane
+#
+# It is recommended to not store the screenshots in the git repo. Instead, use fastlane to re-generate the
+# screenshots whenever they are needed.
+# For more information about the recommended setup visit:
+# https://docs.fastlane.tools/best-practices/source-control/
+
+**/fastlane/report.xml
+**/fastlane/Preview.html
+**/fastlane/screenshots
+**/fastlane/test_output
+
+# Bundle artifact
+*.jsbundle
+
+# Ruby / CocoaPods
+**/Pods/
+/vendor/bundle/
+
+# Temporary files created by Metro to check the health of the file watcher
+.metro-health-check*
+
+# testing
+/coverage
+
+# Yarn
+.yarn/*
+!.yarn/patches
+!.yarn/plugins
+!.yarn/releases
+!.yarn/sdks
+!.yarn/versions
+
+# Custom
+!/ios/
+!/android/
+/assets/ai-models/

apps/bare_rn/.prettierrc.js

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+module.exports = {
+  arrowParens: 'avoid',
+  singleQuote: true,
+  trailingComma: 'all',
+};

apps/bare_rn/.watchmanconfig

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{}