The work that you don't see

In the React space, there’s always a lot going on - and with that, a lot of emotions that can swing in both good and bad ways: how many times we’ve seen a hot take on Twitter generating drama? That, paired with a lack of communication from who’s in the driving seat, can create a lack of trust towards this awesome technology.

But behind the scenes, there is a dedicated group of developers working to improve the underlying infrastructure of React Native. This work is focused on making the technology more robust, better structured, and ultimately more reliable. In this talk, I'll take you on a deep dive into the inner workings of these discussions and highlight some of the radical changes that are being made. My hope is that by shining a light on this under-appreciated work, I can help restore your faith in the future of React Native.

Transcript

1. the work that you don’t see
   

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2. before we start
   lorenzo sciandra
   
   
   @kelset
   
   
   senior software engineer @ microsoft
   
   
   maintainer & releaser of RN (5+ yrs)
   who am i
   #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 2
   

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3. the problem statement
   #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 3
   

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4. #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 4
   

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5. #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 5
   the drama 🎭
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

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6. #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 6
   the roaring silence 🫥
   

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7. #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 7
   the roaring silence 🫥
   https://github.com/facebook/react-native/wiki/Roadmap
   

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8. #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 8
   feedback loop? 🤔
   

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9. #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 9
   feedback loop? 🤔
   https://github.com/react-native-community/discussions-and-proposals/discussions/546
   

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10. #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 10
    

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11. #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 11
    

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12. #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 12
    ➡
    TRUST IN THE PROJECT
    Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt
    

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13. #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 13
    💧
    can we trust it?
    

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14. #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 14
    

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15. …how to handle it?
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 15
    

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16. …how to handle it?
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 16
    

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17. 💡
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 17
    

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18. being boring
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 18
    

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19. what people talk about
    what people don' talk about
    react
    native
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 19
    

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20. what people talk about
    what people don' talk about
    the boring bits
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 20
    react
    native
    

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21. are you excited
    
    
    to be BORED?
    🎉
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 21
    

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22. the
    f
    irst victim topic
    releases…but not how you think
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 22
    https://reactnative.dev/blog/2023/01/12/version-071
    

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23. releases…but not how you think
    when i started
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 23
    ⚠
    ⚠
    ⚠
    https://github.com/facebook/react-native/releases/tag/v0.57.4
    

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24. releases…but not how you think
    now
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 24
    ✅
    ✅
    ✅
    ✅
    https://github.com/facebook/react-native/releases/tag/v0.71.3
    https://github.com/reactwg/react-native-releases/discussions/58 https://reactnative.dev/blog/2022/09/05/version-070
    https://reactnative.dev/contributing/release-branch-cut-and-rc0
    

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25. releases…but not how you think
    future
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 25
    https://github.com/facebook/react-native/pull/36267
    

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26. releases…but not how you think
    why is it good?
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 26
    ⚖ more stable releases
    
    
    🫀 less human error
    

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27. releases…but not how you think
    why is it good?
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 27
    ⚖ more stable releases
    
    
    🫀 less human error
    https://rn-versions.github.io/
    

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28. #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 28
    

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29. we can do better
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 29
    

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30. MORE BORING
    
    
    MORE CONVOLUTED
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 30
    

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31. the monorepo
    the problem
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 31
    📁 /react-native
    

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32. the monorepo
    the problem
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 32
    📁 /react-native 📦 "react-native" - 0.71.0
    📦 "@react-native/assets" - 1.0.0
    📦 "@react-native-community/eslint-con
    f
    ig" - 3.0.1
    📦 "react-native-codegen" - 0.0.15
    📦 ...
    📁 /react-native/packages/
    ⚠
    ⚠
    ⚠
    

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33. the monorepo
    the problem
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 33
    

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34. the monorepo
    the solution
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 34
    📁 /react-native 📦 "react-native" - 0.71.0
    📦 "@react-native/assets" - 1.0.0
    📦 "@react-native-community/eslint-con
    f
    ig" - 3.0.1
    📦 "react-native-codegen" - 0.0.15
    📦 ...
    📁 /react-native/packages/
    

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35. the monorepo
    the solution
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 35
    📁 /react-native/packages/
    📦 "react-native" - 0.72.x
    📦 "@react-native/packager-assets" - 0.72.x
    📦 "@react-native/eslint-con
    f
    ig" - 0.72.x
    📦 "@react-native/codegen" - 0.72.x
    📦 ...
    ✅
    ✅
    ✅
    ✅
    

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36. the monorepo
    0.72 is going to be the
    f
    irst of the new era
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 36
    https://github.com/facebook/react-native/commit/714b502b0c7a5f897432dbad388c02d3b75b4689
    

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37. the monorepo
    0.72 is going to be the
    f
    irst of the new era
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 37
    👏👏
    https://github.com/facebook/react-native/commit/714b502b0c7a5f897432dbad388c02d3b75b4689
    

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38. the monorepo
    why is it good?
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 38
    🔍 allows for further granularity
    
    
    🧩 more control (and automation)
    
    
    🤗 easier to contribute
    

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39. massively boring 📉
    
    
    very exciting future 📈
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 39
    

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40. (
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 40
    

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41. 🤔 How has this all been happening?
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 41
    

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42. 🎻🎺🎷🪗🪕🎸🥁
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 42
    https://github.com/facebook/react-native/blob/main/ECOSYSTEM.md
    https://github.com/react-native-community/discussions-and-proposals/pulls https://github.com/microsoft/rnx-kit/discussions/categories/bundle-working-group
    

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43. How can 🫵 get involved?
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 43
    

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44. #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 44
    how to get involved
    shaping react-native
    My personal recommendations:
    
    
    1. come up with your proposal - think it through
    
    
    2. draft up a document, a few graphs (ex. Excalidraw)
    
    
    3. show it to a few people, get feedback
    
    
    4. establish a collaboration with Meta
    
    
    5. open the proper RFC in the discussion-and-proposal repo
    
    
    6. execute on the plan and co-own it
    

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45. shaping react-native
    how to get involved
    the two changes I've shown are
    “made by Microsoft”
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 45
    

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46. made by Microsoft
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 46
    

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47. made by Microsoft
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 47
    🖥 react-native-macos
    🪟 react-native-windows
    📲 react-native-test-app
    🌟 rnx-kit
    📏 align-deps
    📏 metro-serializer-esbuild
    🪟 hermes-windows
    and much, much more!
    

    👉 https://devblogs.microsoft.com/react-native/
    

    🐦 @ReactNativeMSFT
    

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48. Let's close this ) off!
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 48
    

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49. concluding
    🌞
    React (Native) not just 🎭
    
    
    There is a lot going on under the surface
    
    
    Key companies are heavily invested in its success
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 49
    

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50. concluding
    🌝
    Meta will listen and (might) help you
    
    
    You need to know where to 👀
    
    
    Be ready to put in the work
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 50
    

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51. when we cut out all the noise,
    
    
    React Native is one of the safest bets
    in the entire Open Source space
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 51
    

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52. #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 52
    TRUST IN THE PROJECT
    

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53. thanks for listening!
    lorenzo sciandra
    
    
    @kelset
    
    
    slides, email, everything ➡ kelset.dev
    enjoy ChainReact ❤
    #ChainReact2023 19-may-23 @kelset 53
    Thanks Jamon, Gant and the IR team
    
    
    for making this awesome conference!
    

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