expo-data-fetching

const createUser = async (userData: UserData) => {
  const response = await fetch("https://api.example.com/users", {
    method: "POST",
    headers: {
      "Content-Type": "application/json",
      Authorization: `Bearer ${token}`,
    },
    body: JSON.stringify(userData),
  });
 
  if (!response.ok) {
    const error = await response.json();
    throw new Error(error.message);
  }
 
  return response.json();
};

// app/_layout.tsx
import { QueryClient, QueryClientProvider } from "@tanstack/react-query";
 
const queryClient = new QueryClient({
  defaultOptions: {
    queries: {
      staleTime: 1000 * 60 * 5, // 5 minutes
      retry: 2,
    },
  },
});
 
export default function RootLayout() {
  return (
    <QueryClientProvider client={queryClient}>
      <Stack />
    </QueryClientProvider>
  );
}

import { useQuery } from "@tanstack/react-query";
 
function UserProfile({ userId }: { userId: string }) {
  const { data, fetchStatus, error, refetch } = useQuery({
    queryKey: ["user", userId],
    queryFn: () => fetchUser(userId),
  });
 
  if (data === undefined) {
    if (error) return <ErrorState message={error.message} onRetry={() => refetch()} />;
    if (fetchStatus === "paused") return <OfflineState />;
    return <Loading />;
  }
 
  return (
    <>
      {error && <InlineError message="Could not refresh. Showing saved data." onRetry={() => refetch()} />}
      {data === null ? <EmptyState message="User not found" /> : <Profile user={data} />}
    </>
  );
}

import { useMutation, useQueryClient } from "@tanstack/react-query";
 
function CreateUserForm() {
  const queryClient = useQueryClient();
 
  const mutation = useMutation({
    mutationFn: createUser,
    onSuccess: () => {
      // Invalidate and refetch
      queryClient.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: ["users"] });
    },
  });
 
  const handleSubmit = (data: UserData) => {
    if (mutation.isPending) return;
    mutation.mutate(data);
  };
 
  // Form keeps its draft on error and disables Submit while isLoading.
  return <Form onSubmit={handleSubmit} isLoading={mutation.isPending} error={mutation.error?.message} />;
}

class ApiError extends Error {
  constructor(message: string, public status: number, public code?: string) {
    super(message);
    this.name = "ApiError";
  }
}
 
const fetchWithErrorHandling = async (url: string, options?: RequestInit) => {
  try {
    const response = await fetch(url, options);
 
    if (!response.ok) {
      const error = await response.json().catch(() => ({}));
      throw new ApiError(
        error.message || "Request failed",
        response.status,
        error.code
      );
    }
 
    return response.json();
  } catch (error) {
    if (error instanceof ApiError) {
      throw error;
    }
    // Network error (no internet, timeout, etc.)
    throw new ApiError("Network error", 0, "NETWORK_ERROR");
  }
};

const fetchWithRetry = async (
  url: string,
  options?: RequestInit,
  retries = 3
) => {
  for (let i = 0; i < retries; i++) {
    try {
      return await fetchWithErrorHandling(url, options);
    } catch (error) {
      if (i === retries - 1) throw error;
      // Exponential backoff
      await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, Math.pow(2, i) * 1000));
    }
  }
};

import * as SecureStore from "expo-secure-store";
 
const TOKEN_KEY = "auth_token";
 
export const auth = {
  getToken: () => SecureStore.getItemAsync(TOKEN_KEY),
  setToken: (token: string) => SecureStore.setItemAsync(TOKEN_KEY, token),
  removeToken: () => SecureStore.deleteItemAsync(TOKEN_KEY),
};
 
// Authenticated fetch wrapper
const authFetch = async (url: string, options: RequestInit = {}) => {
  const token = await auth.getToken();
 
  return fetch(url, {
    ...options,
    headers: {
      ...options.headers,
      Authorization: token ? `Bearer ${token}` : "",
    },
  });
};

let isRefreshing = false;
let refreshPromise: Promise<string> | null = null;
 
const getValidToken = async (): Promise<string> => {
  const token = await auth.getToken();
 
  if (!token || isTokenExpired(token)) {
    if (!isRefreshing) {
      isRefreshing = true;
      refreshPromise = refreshToken().finally(() => {
        isRefreshing = false;
        refreshPromise = null;
      });
    }
    return refreshPromise!;
  }
 
  return token;
};

// .env
EXPO_PUBLIC_API_URL=https://api.example.com
EXPO_PUBLIC_API_VERSION=v1
 
// Usage in code
const API_URL = process.env.EXPO_PUBLIC_API_URL;
 
const fetchUsers = async () => {
  const response = await fetch(`${API_URL}/users`);
  return response.json();
};

// .env.development
EXPO_PUBLIC_API_URL=http://localhost:3000
 
// .env.production
EXPO_PUBLIC_API_URL=https://api.production.com

// api/client.ts
const BASE_URL = process.env.EXPO_PUBLIC_API_URL;
 
if (!BASE_URL) {
  throw new Error("EXPO_PUBLIC_API_URL is not defined");
}
 
export const apiClient = {
  get: async <T,>(path: string): Promise<T> => {
    const response = await fetch(`${BASE_URL}${path}`);
    if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`HTTP ${response.status}`);
    return response.json();
  },
 
  post: async <T,>(path: string, body: unknown): Promise<T> => {
    const response = await fetch(`${BASE_URL}${path}`, {
      method: "POST",
      headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
      body: JSON.stringify(body),
    });
    if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`HTTP ${response.status}`);
    return response.json();
  },
};

// types/env.d.ts
declare global {
  namespace NodeJS {
    interface ProcessEnv {
      EXPO_PUBLIC_API_URL: string;
      EXPO_PUBLIC_API_VERSION?: string;
    }
  }
}
 
export {};

User asks about networking
  |-- Route-level data loading (web, SDK 55+)?
  |   \-- Expo Router loaders — see references/expo-router-loaders.md
  |
  |-- Basic fetch?
  |   \-- Use fetch API with error handling
  |
  |-- Need caching/state management?
  |   |-- Complex app -> React Query (TanStack Query)
  |   \-- Simpler needs -> SWR or custom hooks
  |
  |-- Authentication?
  |   |-- Token storage -> expo-secure-store
  |   \-- Token refresh -> Implement refresh flow
  |
  |-- Error handling?
  |   |-- Network errors -> Check connectivity first
  |   |-- HTTP errors -> Parse response, throw typed errors
  |   \-- Retries -> Exponential backoff
  |
  |-- Offline support?
  |   |-- Check status -> NetInfo
  |   \-- Queue requests -> React Query persistence
  |
  |-- Environment/API config?
  |   |-- Client-side URLs -> EXPO_PUBLIC_ prefix in .env
  |   |-- Server secrets -> Non-prefixed env vars (API routes only)
  |   \-- Multiple environments -> .env.development, .env.production
  |
  \-- Performance?
      |-- Caching -> React Query with staleTime
      |-- Deduplication -> React Query handles this
      \-- Cancellation -> AbortController or React Query

const data = await fetch(url).then((r) => r.json());

const response = await fetch(url);
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`HTTP ${response.status}`);
const data = await response.json();

await AsyncStorage.setItem("token", token); // Not secure!

await SecureStore.setItemAsync("token", token);

npx --yes submit-expo-feedback@latest --category skills --subject "expo-data-fetching" "<actionable feedback>"