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React Native Simple FS Wiki
Welcome to the official react-native-simple-fs wiki.
react-native-simple-fs is a cross-platform React Native filesystem library built with Expo Modules. It helps developers read and write files, manage folders, download remote files, export files to public storage, and work with the system photo library on iOS and Android.
If you are looking for a simple React Native file system package for Expo Modules, this library is designed to provide practical native filesystem APIs for modern mobile apps.
react-native-simple-fs is a React Native filesystem module for apps that need native file access on iOS and Android. It supports common file management tasks such as:
- reading UTF-8 text files
- writing UTF-8 text files
- checking if files exist
- creating directories
- listing directory contents
- moving, copying, and deleting files
- downloading remote files over
httpandhttps - exporting files to Android Downloads
- opening the iOS Files export flow
- saving images to the device photo library
- listing images from the media library
- deleting images from the media library
This package is useful for React Native apps that need document storage, file downloads, local caching, export flows, or image library integration.
Many React Native apps need reliable native file handling. react-native-simple-fs focuses on the most common filesystem workflows developers need in production apps:
- app-local file storage for documents, notes, JSON, and cached text data
- remote file downloads with progress events
- public file export for user-visible content
- image saving and image browsing through the system photo library
- a small API surface that works well with Expo Modules
This makes it a strong choice if you want a React Native file manager API without unnecessary complexity.
The library works on both Android and iOS for core file operations such as reading, writing, deleting, and moving files.
You can download remote files and track progress using the downloadProgress event.
You can export files outside your app:
- Android: save files into public Downloads
- iOS: open the Files picker so the user can choose a destination
The library supports image workflows such as:
- saving a local image into Photos or Gallery
- listing recent images from the device media library
- deleting images from the system library
react-native-simple-fs is built with Expo Modules, so it fits well into React Native projects that already use Expo-native infrastructure.
| Setup | Supported | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| React Native New Architecture | Yes | |
| React Native old architecture | Yes | |
| Bare React Native app | Yes |
expo and Expo Modules must be installed |
| React Native CLI app | Yes | Expo setup is still required |
| Expo managed app | Yes | Requires a custom native build |
expo run:android |
Yes | |
expo run:ios |
Yes | |
| EAS Build | Yes | |
| Expo Go | No | Expo Go cannot load custom native modules |
| Platform | Supported | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Android | Yes | App storage, Downloads, and MediaStore image library |
| iOS | Yes | App storage, Files export flow, and Photo Library APIs |
| Web | Import only | Native filesystem methods throw on web |
Install the package with npm:
npm install react-native-simple-fs