native_modules behavior unstable for Getting Started

[ctjlewis]

Environment

react-native -v: 20.0.0
npm ls react-native-macos: react-native-macos@0.79.0
node -v: v22.13.1
npm -v: 10.9.2
yarn --version: No Yarn. Bun for PM. Yarn didn't change this, I tested.
xcodebuild -version:
Xcode 26.0.1
Build version 17A400

Steps to reproduce the bug

Here's how you reproduce:

1. Run bunx @react-native-community/cli init [project] from the docs
   Note: The docs are technically fine it turns out, because they force 0.78 which is stable. But ideally, every release works, or the docs are updated for 0.79...
2. Get to the pod install step (on 0.79)
3. Get errors from pod install because native_modules.rb was removed in chore: remove unused native_modules files react-native-community/cli#2547.

If you close this issue like you have closed these, it would be a serious mistake. This is going to be a pretty common issue for people.

Expected Behavior

The pod install should work, like it worked for years.

Actual Behavior

The pod install fails:

[!] Invalid `Podfile` file: cannot load such file -- /Users/lewis/.../node_modules/@react-native-community/cli-platform-ios/native_modules.

 #  from /Users/lewis/Development/panels/macos/Podfile:2
 #  -------------------------------------------
 #  require_relative '../node_modules/react-native-macos/scripts/react_native_pods'
 >  require_relative '../node_modules/@react-native-community/cli-platform-ios/native_modules'
 #  

Reproducible Demo

Why don't you use CI to test that your examples actually set up correctly?

Additional context

No response

[ctjlewis]

pod install is stable for ios/ in same project, it's just this which is a problem. But I already know someone is going to walk in here and close this issue.

Update: Stable for 0.78. 0.79 broken. Please start using CI to test pod install setup.

[ctjlewis]

One more update. I will submit a PR to update the docs; react-native start must be running for the application to load, or you will get a "script URL not found" error (a better error would be: "please run react-native start"). npx react-native run-macos is not sufficient.

For pod install, use 0.78 exactly as docs provide for now:

npx @react-native-community/cli init <projectName> --version 0.78

Yarn/bun/npm doesn't seem to matter, only that you don't go beyond 0.78.

[ctjlewis]

@Saadnajmi, I can't find the doc to edit for https://microsoft.github.io/react-native-windows/docs/rnm-getting-started, the markdown file moved from that repo. I checked here, but didn't see it. Do you know where it is?

[Saadnajmi]

@Saadnajmi, I can't find the doc to edit for https://microsoft.github.io/react-native-windows/docs/rnm-getting-started, the markdown file moved from that repo. I checked here, but didn't see it. Do you know where it is?

We have our own docs at Microsoft.github.io/react-native-macos now

[shirakaba]

This seems to work in react-native-macos@0.79.0:

macos/Podfile

- require_relative '../node_modules/react-native-macos/scripts/react_native_pods'
- require_relative '../node_modules/@react-native-community/cli-platform-ios/native_modules'
+ require_relative '../node_modules/react-native-macos/scripts/cocoapods/autolinking'