PreviewDrop for Expo

Expo web previews on every PR. No CI config.

Push a branch, get a live HTTPS URL with your Expo web build running. No EAS Build waits, no CI workflow files, no manual deploy to Vercel or Netlify. PreviewDrop auto-detects Expo, builds npx expo export:web, and serves the result behind a TLS-terminated subdomain — all from your existing repo.

TL;DR

Drop the Dockerfile above into your Expo repo, connect to PreviewDrop, set your env vars in the Variables tab. Push a branch. 5 minutes to a live Expo web preview — no EAS Build queue, no CI configuration, no static hosting deploy step.

How PreviewDrop compares for Expo

Feature	PreviewDrop	EAS Build + Vercel	Manual deploy
Setup time	5 min — connect repo	1–2 hours — configure eas.json + Vercel project	Per-branch manual steps
CI config needed	None	eas.json + GitHub Actions or EAS webhook	n/a — manual
Expo web build	Expo web build	Expo web build	Expo web build
HTTPS URL	Yes	Yes	Depends on hosting
Auto-deploy on push	Yes	Yes	No — manual
PR comment with URL	Yes	If you wire up GitHub Action	No
Password protection	Yes	If you build auth	No
Auto-expiring TTL	Yes	Manual cleanup	Manual
Cost	$19/mo flat	EAS free tier + Vercel Hobby (limits apply)	Your time

When to pick each

PreviewDrop — You want Expo web previews on every PR with zero CI config and a flat $19/mo price. You don't want to maintain eas.json web profiles, GitHub Actions workflows, and Vercel project configs just to see what a branch looks like in browser.

EAS Build + Vercel — You're already deep in the Expo ecosystem, using EAS for native builds, and want a single platform for everything. The added configuration cost is worth the unified tooling for your team.

Manual deploy — You deploy Expo web once per release cycle, not per branch. The overhead of per-PR previews doesn't justify any tool investment.

What Expo devs deal with today

EAS Build queue for a web preview

Running npx eas build --platform web queues a build on Expo's servers just to produce static files. For a quick preview to share with a designer, the wait feels disproportionate to the task.

The eas.json branching problem

Different branches need different env vars for the web build (API URLs, feature flags). Managing this in eas.json profiles per branch is fragile — a single misconfigured profile breaks previews silently.

Expo web ≠ Next.js

Expo web uses react-native-web, not Next.js. Vercel's Expo support is nonexistent — it doesn't recognise Expo projects and won't auto-detect the build. You have to manually configure the output directory and build command, which breaks when Expo's export format changes.

No one sees the web build until it's merged

Without per-branch previews, the web build only gets reviewed after merge — on staging or production. Bugs in the web layer (responsive breakpoints, navigation, deep links) are found too late.

Dockerfile

Drop this at the root of your Expo repo. It installs dependencies, runs npx expo export:web, and serves the resulting static files. PreviewDrop picks it up automatically on the next push.

Dockerfile
FROM node:20-slim
WORKDIR /app
COPY package.json package-lock.json* yarn.lock* pnpm-lock.yaml* ./
RUN if [ -f yarn.lock ]; then yarn install --frozen-lockfile; \
    elif [ -f pnpm-lock.yaml ]; then npm install -g pnpm && pnpm install --frozen-lockfile; \
    else npm ci; fi
COPY . .
RUN npx expo export:web
EXPOSE 3000
CMD ["npx", "serve", "dist", "-l", "3000"]

How it works

Add the Dockerfile

Drop the Dockerfile above at the root of your Expo repo. It uses npx expo export:web — the same command you already run locally.

Connect your repo

Authorize PreviewDrop on GitHub. Set any env vars your Expo app needs (API_BASE_URL, feature flags) in the Variables tab.

Push and share

Every branch gets a live HTTPS URL posted to the PR. Designers, PMs, and QA open the link — no EAS Build wait, no manual deploy.

$19/mo flat. Unlimited Expo web previews.

No per-build charges, no EAS queue, no CI minutes counting down. Preview the web layer of every branch without thinking about cost.

Start free with GitHub

More framework guides

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Also compare

vs Vercel Previews vs GitHub Actions vs Vercel vs Netlify

See your Expo web build before it merges

Connect a repo, push a branch, get a URL. No credit card, no EAS Build, no CI config.

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