Install & Setup the React Native Module

The Airship React Native module provides a TypeScript-first interface for React Native apps. It wraps the native iOS and Android Airship SDKs, giving you full access to all platform features while maintaining a JavaScript/TypeScript developer experience with strong typing and modern async/await patterns.

Requirements

For supported versions and React Native compatibility, see Supported Versions .

iOS

• Xcode 15.3+
• minimum deployment target iOS 15+

Android

• minSdkVersion 23+
• compileSdkVersion 36+

Standard React Native Setup

Install the plugin using yarn or npm:

Expo Setup

Apps using Expo’s managed workflows can use the airship-expo-plugin to configure the project.

Configure the plugin

Add the plugin to the app.json with the app’s config:

"plugins":[
  [
    "airship-expo-plugin",
    {
      "android":{
        "icon": "./assets/ic_notification.png",
        "customNotificationChannels": "./assets/notification_channels.xml",
        "airshipExtender": "./assets/AirshipExtender.kt"
      },
      "ios":{
        "mode": "development",
        "notificationService": "./assets/NotificationService.swift",
        "notificationServiceInfo": "./assets/NotificationServiceExtension-Info.plist",
        "notificationServiceTargetName": "NotificationServiceExtension",
        "developmentTeamID": "MY_TEAM_ID",
        "deploymentTarget": "15",
        "airshipExtender": "./assets/AirshipPluginExtender.swift"
      }
    }
  ]
]

Android Config:

• icon: Required. Local path to an image to use as the icon for push notifications. 96x96 all-white png with transparency. The name of the icon will be the resource name.
• customNotificationChannels: Optional. The local path to a Custom Notification Channels resource file.
• airshipExtender: Optional. The local path to a AirshipExtender.kt file.

iOS Config:

• mode: Required. The APNS entitlement. Either development or production.
• notificationService: Optional. The local path to a custom Notification Service Extension or DEFAULT_AIRSHIP_SERVICE_EXTENSION for Airship’s default one.
• notificationServiceInfo: Optional. Airship will use a default one if not provided. The local path to a Notification Service Extension Info.plist.
• notificationServiceTargetName: Optional. Defaults to NotificationServiceExtension if not provided.
• developmentTeamID: Optional. The Apple Development Team ID used to configure the Notification Service Extension target.
• deploymentTarget: Optional. The minimum Deployment Target version used to configure the Notification Service Extension target. Defaults to iOS 15.
• airshipExtender: Optional. The local path to a AirshipPluginExtender.swift file.

Calling TakeOff

takeOff should be called in a standard application at the beginning of the lifecycle. Once takeOff is called, the config will be stored and applied for future app inits. If takeOff is called again with a different config, the new config will not be applied until the next app init.

import Airship from '@ua/react-native-airship';

Airship.takeOff({
    default: {
        appKey: "REPLACE_WITH_YOUR_APP_KEY",
        appSecret: "REPLACE_WITH_YOUR_APP_SECRET"
    },
    site: "us", // use "eu" for EU cloud projects
    urlAllowList: ["*"],
    android: {
        notificationConfig: {
            icon: "ic_notification",
            accentColor: "#00ff00"
        }
    }
});

For a complete list of configuration options, see the AirshipConfig reference.

Test the integration

After completing the setup, verify your integration:

1. Build and run your app on your iOS or Android device/simulator/emulator.
2. Check the console output for Airship channel creation:
   • iOS: Look for a log message in Xcode console: Channel ID: <CHANNEL_ID>
   • Android: Look for a log message in logcat: Airship channel created: <CHANNEL_ID>
   • The channel ID confirms successful SDK initialization.
   • For more detailed logging, see Logging.

If you see the channel ID in the console and no errors, your integration is successful.

Next steps

• Advanced Configuration: Configure URL allowlists and other advanced settings
• Extending Airship: Access native SDK features for advanced customization
• Push Notifications: Configure push notifications
• Deep Links: Handle deep links in your app

If you don’t see a channel ID or encounter errors during initialization, see the Troubleshooting guide for common problems and solutions.