dt-setup-react-native

Dynatrace React Native Plugin Integration Skill

Prerequisites

• Node.js 16.0+ and npm available on PATH
• An existing React Native project (v0.68+) or Expo project (v45+) with a package.json at the project root
• android/ and ios/ platform folders present (Expo managed workflow requires npx expo prebuild first)
• A Dynatrace environment with access to Experience Vitals (to obtain applicationId and beaconUrl, or to download dynatrace.config.js)
• Console access to Experience Vitals → Mobile to configure app settings (Data Privacy, Enablement and Cost Control)
• macOS with CocoaPods for iOS builds

Work through the steps below in order, interacting with the user at each decision point. Read actual project files before suggesting changes — do not assume the current state.

Step 1 — Check for existing dynatrace.config.js

Before asking the user anything, check whether dynatrace.config.js exists at the project root.

• File exists: Read it, show the applicationId and beaconUrl, and confirm they match the target environment. If correct, run the userOptIn check below and skip to Step 3 (config is already present — Step 2 is not needed).
• File does not exist: Proceed to Step 2.

userOptIn check:

Inspect the file for userOptIn (Android block) and DTXUserOptIn (iOS block).

• Present on both platforms: Trust the value as-is. If true, flag Step 9. If false, skip Step 9.
• Absent from either platform: Ask the user: "Do you have User Opt-In mode enabled or disabled?" (If unsure: Experience Vitals → Mobile → [Your App] → Settings → Data Privacy.) Add the missing value to the relevant platform(s), then flag Step 9 if the final value is true.

Step 2 — Obtain dynatrace.config.js (only if Step 1 found no file)

Ask the user which approach they prefer:

Option A — Download from console (recommended):

1. Open their Dynatrace environment
2. Navigate to: Experience Vitals → New Frontend → Mobile
3. Enter app name and choose React Native as the platform
4. On the Select capability and settings screen, configure monitoring features (crash reporting, user action monitoring, etc.)
5. Download dynatrace.config.js and place it at the project root (same level as package.json)

Once the file is in place, apply the userOptIn check from Step 1 and flag Step 9 if needed.

Option B — Provide credentials manually: Read references/config-js.md for the full template and conditional blocks. Collect all required values from the user before creating any files, then apply the userOptIn check and flag Step 9 if needed.

Step 3 — Install the plugin

Read package.json first.

• Not present: Run:

  npm install @dynatrace/react-native-plugin
• Already under dependencies: No change needed.
• Under devDependencies: Remove it and run npm install @dynatrace/react-native-plugin. The plugin is required at runtime including in release builds.

Note: npm install alphabetically sorts the dependencies object in package.json. Existing entries may appear reordered after this step — this is expected npm behavior, not an error.

Step 4 — Install iOS pods (macOS only)

If on macOS and targeting iOS, run:

cd ios && pod install && cd ..

Confirm success before continuing. CocoaPods must be installed (gem install cocoapods if missing).

Step 5 — Register Babel plugin in babel.config.js

Read babel.config.js. Append BabelPluginDynatrace to the plugins array, just before react-native-reanimated/plugin if that plugin is present (reanimated must always be last):

module.exports = {
  presets: ['module:@react-native/babel-preset'],
  plugins: [
    // ... existing plugins ...
    '@dynatrace/react-native-plugin/instrumentation/BabelPluginDynatrace',
    // react-native-reanimated/plugin goes here if present — must stay last
  ],
};

• If the plugins array already contains '@dynatrace/react-native-plugin/instrumentation/BabelPluginDynatrace': skip this step.
• If useLegacyJscodeshift: true is set in dynatrace.config.js: the Babel plugin is already applied internally — skip this step.
• If the project already configures metro.config.js with babelTransformerPath: '@dynatrace/react-native-plugin/lib/dynatrace-transformer': that is the legacy Metro transformer approach — auto-instrumentation is already handled; skip this step and Step 6.

Common mistakes to flag and correct:

• Placing the plugin in presets instead of plugins
• Placing BabelPluginDynatrace after react-native-reanimated/plugin — reanimated must always be the absolute last plugin

Step 6 — Register JSX runtime in babel.config.js

Read babel.config.js and determine which preset the project uses — this controls how the JSX runtime is registered.

Expo (babel-preset-expo)

If babel-preset-expo appears in presets, set jsxImportSource on the preset itself. Do not add a separate @babel/plugin-transform-react-jsx plugin — Expo's preset already owns the JSX transform, and stacking a second JSX plugin over it breaks the instrumentation.

module.exports = function (api) {
  api.cache(true);
  return {
    presets: [
      ['babel-preset-expo', {
        jsxRuntime: 'automatic',
        jsxImportSource: '@dynatrace/react-native-plugin',
      }],
    ],
    plugins: [
      '@dynatrace/react-native-plugin/instrumentation/BabelPluginDynatrace',
      'react-native-reanimated/plugin',  // stays last
    ],
  };
};

• If babel-preset-expo already has jsxImportSource: '@dynatrace/react-native-plugin': no change needed.
• If a different jsxImportSource is already set: replace it with '@dynatrace/react-native-plugin'.
• Remove any existing @babel/plugin-transform-react-jsx plugin entry — it must not coexist with the preset-level jsxImportSource on babel-preset-expo.

Bare React Native (@react-native/babel-preset or metro-react-native-babel-preset)

For metro 0.72.0+ (React Native 0.71+), add @babel/plugin-transform-react-jsx with the Dynatrace importSource before BabelPluginDynatrace in the plugins array:

module.exports = {
  presets: [
    ['module:@react-native/babel-preset', { unstable_transformProfile: 'hermes-stable' }],
  ],
  plugins: [
    ['@babel/plugin-transform-react-jsx', {
      runtime: 'automatic',
      importSource: '@dynatrace/react-native-plugin',
    }],
    '@dynatrace/react-native-plugin/instrumentation/BabelPluginDynatrace',
    'react-native-reanimated/plugin',  // stays last
  ],
};

The required plugin order is:

1. @babel/plugin-transform-react-jsx (JSX runtime — first)
2. BabelPluginDynatrace (auto-instrumentation — before reanimated)
3. react-native-reanimated/plugin (must be absolutely last)

• If the project already has @babel/plugin-transform-react-jsx with importSource: '@dynatrace/react-native-plugin': no change needed.
• If a different importSource is set: replace it with '@dynatrace/react-native-plugin'.

After any Babel change, reset Metro cache on next build:

npx react-native start --reset-cache

Step 7 — Run npx instrumentDynatrace

npx instrumentDynatrace

This reads dynatrace.config.js and automatically configures Android build.gradle and iOS Info.plist. Must be re-run whenever dynatrace.config.js changes.

Common mistakes to flag and correct:

• Skipping this step after changing dynatrace.config.js
• Using react-native instrument-dynatrace — same effect but deprecated for RN 0.70+
• Manual edits to build.gradle or Info.plist — not needed, the script handles it

If android/ and ios/ folders exist but automatic plist discovery fails, pass explicit paths:

npx instrumentDynatrace plist=ios/YourApp/Info.plist

Expo only: If android/ and ios/ folders do not yet exist, run npx expo prebuild first, then re-run npx instrumentDynatrace.

Step 7a — Manual SDK startup (only if autoStart: false)

Skip this step if autoStart is true or absent in dynatrace.config.js — the SDK starts automatically.

Check dynatrace.config.js for autoStart: false in the react block. If present, the SDK will not start on its own and no data will be collected until Dynatrace.start() is called explicitly.

Add the startup call at the top level of the app entry file (for example App.tsx or index.js). Any logic that depends on the SDK being ready goes after the await:

import { Dynatrace, ConfigurationBuilder } from '@dynatrace/react-native-plugin';
 
await Dynatrace.start(
  new ConfigurationBuilder('<BEACON_URL>', '<APPLICATION_ID>').buildConfiguration()
);
// SDK is initialized — place any SDK-dependent logic here

Replace <BEACON_URL> and <APPLICATION_ID> with the exact same values from dynatrace.config.js — they must match or the SDK will report to the wrong environment.

Important: Even with autoStart: false, the beaconUrl and applicationId must still be present in dynatrace.config.js (used by npx instrumentDynatrace to configure the native files). The values passed to ConfigurationBuilder at runtime take effect — values in the config file are ignored when manual startup is used.

Tradeoff: Manual startup causes the SDK to miss the native application start event and any interactions that happen before start() is called. Use autoStart: true (the default) unless runtime credential injection is a hard requirement.

Step 8 — Enable navigation tracking

Check dynatrace.config.js for the react.navigation block and check package.json for @react-navigation/native.

If @react-navigation/native is present and navigation.enabled is not set to true, add it:

module.exports = {
  react: {
    navigation: {
      enabled: true,  // requires @react-navigation/native v5–v7
    },
    // ...
  },
  // ...
};

Then re-run npx instrumentDynatrace.

What this does: When enabled, the plugin hooks into React Navigation's NavigationContainer and detects route changes automatically. Each navigation event is reported to Dynatrace as a view change, with the current route represented as a URL-style path (e.g., /Home, /Home/Details). This populates the screen timeline in Dynatrace user sessions and associates all events with the currently active screen. This setting is enabled by default in the plugin's own config template.

If @react-navigation/native is not present: inform the user that automatic view tracking requires @react-navigation/native. They can use Dynatrace.startView("ScreenName") for manual view tracking instead.

Step 9 — Privacy options call (only if userOptIn: true)

Skip this step if userOptIn was not set to true during Steps 1 or 2.

Read references/user-opt-in.md for the full guidance on DataCollectionLevel, crashReportingOptedIn, and placement options. Ask the user the questions defined there, then apply the call to the relevant file.

Step 10 — Post-setup summary

Confirm to the user what is active:

Enabled by default (when userOptIn is false or absent):

• ✅ Crash reporting
• ✅ User action tracking (Touchables, Buttons, Pressable, Switch)
• ✅ Network monitoring
• ✅ Error handler
• ✅ Auto-start

When userOptIn: true, all data collection — including crash reporting — is gated on the applyUserPrivacyOptions(...) call.

Configured during this setup:

• Privacy mode: [userOptIn: true — consent call added / opt-out (SDK default)]
• Navigation tracking: [react.navigation.enabled: true / manual via Dynatrace.startView()]

Step 11 — Verification

Read references/verification.md and show the user the verification checklist. If no data appears after 5 minutes, work through the troubleshooting steps in that file.

Reference Files

• references/config-js.md — Full dynatrace.config.js template with Grail and userOptIn conditional blocks
• references/user-opt-in.md — applyUserPrivacyOptions guidance, DataCollectionLevel options, placement options
• references/verification.md — Post-setup verification checklist and troubleshooting

External References

• @dynatrace/react-native-plugin on npm — package changelog, API docs, and latest version
• Dynatrace React Native Installation Docs — official setup guide