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Components Reference

This section is the reference counterpart to the tutorial track. The tutorial teaches how to assemble an app. This reference explains when to use the built-in React Native components, where they fit, and which tradeoffs matter in production.

Why a dedicated component section exists​

Teams usually make one of two mistakes:

  • they treat every built-in component as interchangeable
  • they jump to third-party UI abstractions before understanding the native primitives underneath

The result is avoidable layout bugs, inconsistent interaction behavior, accessibility regressions, and poor performance on lower-end devices.

How to use this section​

Use these pages in two ways:

  • while designing a new screen, to choose the right primitive or container
  • while reviewing an existing screen, to check whether the implementation matches the behavioral expectations of the component

This reference is grouped by use rather than alphabetically.

Included component groups​

What this section is optimized for​

This is not a verbatim restatement of the official API docs. It is optimized for:

  • choosing the right component for the job
  • avoiding common production mistakes
  • understanding performance and accessibility tradeoffs
  • mapping components into a maintainable design-system layer

Team rule​

Your design system should build on top of the platform primitives with intention. Teams that skip understanding the primitives usually end up re-learning them through bugs.

Use this section together with Styling and Layout and the Detailed React Native Tutorial.