Using 26.1.x with Expo packages

[andrewb]

I am unable to build my Expo app after upgrading React Native Firebase from 26.0.0 to 26.1.0. I believe the problem is isolated to Expo projects that include additional packages such as @expo/ui.

For background, I originally followed the getting started guide at https://rnfirebase.io/ and updated app.json to use static linkage, which worked with 26.0.0.

Minimal example:

[
  "expo-build-properties",
  {
    "ios": {
      "useFrameworks": "static",
      "forceStaticLinking": ["RNFBApp"]
    }
  }
]

After upgrading to v26.1.0, I received the following error:

⚠️  Something went wrong running `pod install` in the `ios` directory.
Command `pod install` failed.
└─ Cause: [react-native-firebase] SPM + static linkage is not supported (target(s): Pods-myapp).

firebase-ios-sdk's Swift Package only ships dynamic library products, so `use_frameworks! :linkage => :static` causes every react-native-firebase pod that resolves Firebase via SPM to embed its own copy of the same Firebase frameworks -- this produces duplicate-symbol linker errors at build time instead of a clear error here.

Fix one of the following in your Podfile, then run `pod install` again:
  - Use dynamic linkage: `use_frameworks! :linkage => :dynamic`
  - Opt out of SPM: set `$RNFirebaseDisableSPM = true` before any target block, then use the static or dynamic linkage your project requires.

To fix this, I switched the build properties to use dynamic linkage:

[
  "expo-build-properties",
  {
    "ios": {
      "useFrameworks": "dynamic"
    }
  }
]

This change resolved the earlier error, however, my project build now errors with:

CommandError: Failed to build iOS project. "xcodebuild" exited with error code 65

To debug, I created two new apps using Expo templates:

• Default: This includes a number of additional Expo packages. This project had the same issues.
• Blank: This project built successfully with dynamic linkage enabled. However, after adding @expo/ui, it failed.

It appears it's also possible to opt out of SPM, but I don't know if this is a viable long term solution. I could not find any information in the docs about this approach (edit: I just saw #9147).

Does anyone have recommendations on the best way to configure React Native Firebase v26.1.0 in Expo projects that use packages such as @expo/ui?