# Ignite — Battle-Tested React Native Boilerplate and CLI

> A proven React Native project boilerplate with a CLI generator, opinionated architecture, and nine years of community-driven development by Infinite Red.

## Install

Save in your project root:

# Ignite — Battle-Tested React Native Boilerplate and CLI

## Quick Use
```bash
npx ignite-cli new PizzaApp
cd PizzaApp
npx expo start
```

## Introduction
Ignite is a React Native project generator maintained by Infinite Red since 2016. It provides an opinionated stack with MobX-State-Tree, React Navigation, and Expo, letting teams skip weeks of setup and start building features immediately.

## What Ignite Does
- Generates a complete React Native project with production-ready architecture
- Includes CLI generators for screens, models, components, and navigators
- Ships with a demo app showcasing navigation, theming, and data patterns
- Provides built-in internationalization (i18n) support via react-i18next
- Integrates Expo for managed or bare workflow development

## Architecture Overview
Ignite projects follow an opinionated folder structure: app/models for MobX-State-Tree stores, app/screens for UI, and app/services for API communication using apisauce. The CLI scaffolds new artifacts from EJS templates stored in the ignite/templates directory, keeping generated code consistent with the project conventions.

## Self-Hosting & Configuration
- Requires Node.js 18+ and a React Native development environment
- Run npx ignite-cli new to scaffold; choose Expo managed or bare
- Customize generators by editing EJS templates in ignite/templates
- Configure theming via the app/theme directory with spacing, colors, and typography tokens
- Swap state management or navigation by replacing the relevant app layers

## Key Features
- Nine years of active maintenance with continuous community feedback
- TypeScript-first with strict mode enabled by default
- Built-in error boundary and crash reporting hooks
- Storybook integration for isolated component development
- Detox end-to-end testing pre-configured in the generated project

## Comparison with Similar Tools
- **Expo create-expo-app** — Minimal scaffold; Ignite adds full architecture and generators
- **React Native CLI** — Bare setup only; Ignite layers opinionated patterns on top
- **create-t3-turbo** — Full-stack monorepo; Ignite focuses on mobile-only projects
- **NativeWind** — Styling-only tool; Ignite covers navigation, state, and API layers

## FAQ
**Q: Does Ignite lock me into MobX-State-Tree?**
A: No. The architecture is modular; you can replace MST with Zustand, Redux, or any state solution.

**Q: Can I use Ignite with an existing project?**
A: Ignite is designed for new projects. For existing apps, you can reference its patterns and copy individual templates.

**Q: Is Expo required?**
A: Ignite defaults to Expo but supports bare React Native workflows if you eject or choose bare during setup.

**Q: How active is the project?**
A: The repository has been continuously maintained since 2016 with regular releases tracking the latest React Native and Expo versions.

## Sources
- https://github.com/infinitered/ignite
- https://docs.infinite.red/ignite-cli/

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Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/asset-aaae7f08
Author: AI Open Source