Overview

expo-check-installed-apps is a native Expo module and config plugin that lets you query — at runtime — whether specific apps are present on the user's device.

• Android — check by package name (e.g. com.android.chrome)
• iOS — check by URL scheme (e.g. twitter, fb)

The library normalises and deduplicates your input before hitting the native layer, so you can pass raw schemes like twitter:// and they will work just fine.

Requirements

• Expo SDK 51 or higher
• This package uses native code and does not work inside Expo Go. Use a development build, expo prebuild, or a bare React Native project.

Table of Contents

• Quick Start
• Installation
  • Managed Expo Projects
  • Bare React Native Projects
• Configuration
  • Automatic (Config Plugin)
  • Manual (Native Files)
• API Reference
  • checkInstalledApps
• Usage Examples
• Error Handling
• Platform Behaviour
• Contributing
• Support the Project
• License

Quick Start

npx expo install expo-check-installed-apps

// app.json
{
  "expo": {
    "plugins": [
      [
        "expo-check-installed-apps",
        {
          "android": ["com.android.chrome"],
          "ios": ["twitter"]
        }
      ]
    ]
  }
}

npx expo prebuild

import { checkInstalledApps } from "expo-check-installed-apps";

const result = await checkInstalledApps(["com.android.chrome"]);
// → { "com.android.chrome": true }

Installation

Managed Expo Projects

Use the Expo CLI installer to get the correct version pinned automatically:

npx expo install expo-check-installed-apps

Then follow the Automatic Config Plugin setup and rebuild your app.

Bare React Native Projects

Make sure the expo package is installed and configured in your project first, then:

npm install expo-check-installed-apps
# or
yarn add expo-check-installed-apps

If you are not using Expo config plugins, follow the Manual Native Files setup.

Configuration

Automatic (Config Plugin)

Add the plugin to app.json or app.config.js and list every package/scheme you want to query at runtime. You must declare them ahead of time — this is an OS-level requirement, not a library limitation.

{
  "expo": {
    "plugins": [
      [
        "expo-check-installed-apps",
        {
          "android": ["com.facebook.katana", "com.twitter.android"],
          "ios": ["fb", "twitter"]
        }
      ]
    ]
  }
}

Plugin options

| Option | Platform | Type | Description | Example | | --------- | -------- | ---------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------- | | android | Android | string[] | Package names added under <queries> in AndroidManifest.xml | ["com.facebook.katana"] | | ios | iOS | string[] | URL schemes added under LSApplicationQueriesSchemes in Info.plist | ["fb", "twitter"] |

Rebuilding required — any time you change the plugin options you must run npx expo prebuild (and rebuild your native app) for the changes to take effect.

The plugin automatically:

• Adds <package android:name="…"/> entries inside <queries> in AndroidManifest.xml
• Appends strings to LSApplicationQueriesSchemes in Info.plist

Manual (Native Files)

Android — AndroidManifest.xml

Add a <queries> block inside <manifest>:

<manifest>
  <queries>
    <package android:name="com.facebook.katana" />
    <package android:name="com.twitter.android" />
  </queries>

  <!-- ... rest of your manifest -->
</manifest>

iOS — Info.plist

Add the schemes you want to query:

<key>LSApplicationQueriesSchemes</key>
<array>
  <string>fb</string>
  <string>twitter</string>
</array>

API Reference

checkInstalledApps

Queries the OS to determine whether specific apps are installed on the device.

function checkInstalledApps(
  targets: string[],
): Promise<Record<string, boolean>>;

Parameters

| Parameter | Type | Description | | --------- | ---------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | targets | string[] | Android package names (e.g. com.android.chrome) or iOS URL schemes (e.g. twitter, fb://) |

Input normalisation

Before calling the native layer, the library:

1. Trims whitespace from every target
2. Strips trailing :// or : from iOS schemes (e.g. twitter:// → twitter)
3. Removes duplicate entries

Validation rules

| Platform | Accepted format | Example | | -------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------- | | Android | Valid Java package name: [a-zA-Z0-9_]+(\.[a-zA-Z0-9_]+)+ | com.android.chrome | | iOS | Valid URL scheme: [A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9+.-]* | twitter, fb:// |

Passing an empty string or an invalid identifier throws synchronously before any native call is made.

Returns

Promise<Record<string, boolean>>

Resolves to a plain object keyed by the (normalised) identifier:

{
  "com.android.chrome": true,   // app is installed
  "com.facebook.katana": false  // app is not installed
}

Returns an empty object {} when the targets array is empty.

Usage Examples

Basic — check a single app

import { checkInstalledApps } from "expo-check-installed-apps";

const result = await checkInstalledApps(["com.android.chrome"]);

if (result["com.android.chrome"]) {
  console.log("Chrome is installed");
}

Platform-aware check

import { checkInstalledApps } from "expo-check-installed-apps";
import { Platform } from "react-native";

const targets = Platform.select({
  android: ["com.google.android.apps.fitness", "com.android.chrome"],
  ios: ["fb", "twitter"],
  default: [],
});

const installedApps = await checkInstalledApps(targets);
console.log(installedApps);

Example response (Android)

{
  "com.google.android.apps.fitness": false,
  "com.android.chrome": true
}

Example response (iOS)

{
  "fb": true,
  "twitter": false
}

Check multiple social apps

import { checkInstalledApps } from "expo-check-installed-apps";
import { Platform } from "react-native";

const SOCIAL_APPS = {
  android: [
    "com.facebook.katana",
    "com.twitter.android",
    "com.instagram.android",
    "com.whatsapp",
  ],
  ios: ["fb", "twitter", "instagram", "whatsapp"],
};

async function getInstalledSocialApps() {
  const targets =
    Platform.OS === "android" ? SOCIAL_APPS.android : SOCIAL_APPS.ios;

  const result = await checkInstalledApps(targets);

  return Object.entries(result)
    .filter(([, installed]) => installed)
    .map(([app]) => app);
}

const installed = await getInstalledSocialApps();
console.log("Installed social apps:", installed);
// → ["com.facebook.katana", "com.whatsapp"]

Error Handling

The library throws for invalid input before making any native call:

import { checkInstalledApps } from "expo-check-installed-apps";

try {
  const result = await checkInstalledApps(["com.android.chrome"]);
  console.log(result);
} catch (error) {
  if (error instanceof TypeError) {
    // Invalid targets array or non-string element
    console.error("Invalid input:", error.message);
  } else {
    // Invalid package name / URL scheme format
    console.error("Validation error:", error.message);
  }
}

| Condition | Error type | Message | | ------------------------------------------ | ----------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | | targets is not an array | TypeError | checkInstalledApps expects an array of package names or URL schemes. | | An element is not a string | TypeError | checkInstalledApps targets must be strings. | | An element is an empty string (after trim) | Error | checkInstalledApps targets cannot be empty. | | Invalid Android package name | Error | Invalid Android package name: <value> | | Invalid iOS URL scheme | Error | Invalid iOS URL scheme: <value> |

Platform Behaviour

| Behaviour | Android | iOS | | ------------------------------------ | :-----: | :-: | | Check by package name | ✅ | ❌ | | Check by URL scheme | ❌ | ✅ | | Requires pre-declaration in manifest | ✅ | ✅ | | Works in Expo Go | ❌ | ❌ | | Works in development build | ✅ | ✅ | | Requires rebuild after config change | ✅ | ✅ |

Contributing

Contributions, bug reports, and feature requests are welcome!

1. Fork the repository and create a new branch from main.
2. Make your changes — please include tests for new behaviour.
3. Open a Pull Request with a clear description of the problem and your solution.

For substantial changes, please open an issue first to discuss the approach.

• Bug reports → GitHub Issues
• Source code → GitHub Repository

Support the Project

If this library has saved you time, consider supporting its development:

License

MIT © EndLess728

See LICENSE for the full text.