A lightweight desktop companion for React Native (Expo) developers that lets you preview your application without installing Android Studio or running an Android emulator.
Desktop Go detects your running Expo development server and opens it inside a clean, mobile-sized preview window, making UI development significantly faster and more lightweight.
🚀 Desktop Go v1.0.0
──────────────────────────────────────
📱 Expo Preview
🌐 http://localhost:8081
✓ Development server detected
✓ Opening mobile preview...
Current Version: v1.0.0
Status: Stable Release
Desktop Go currently supports Expo development servers and Windows desktop builds. More features are planned for future releases.
Developing React Native applications shouldn't require installing a multi-gigabyte Android Studio setup just to preview your UI.
Desktop Go is built for developers who want a lightweight workflow:
- No Android Studio
- No Android Emulator
- No Hypervisor configuration
- Faster startup
- Lower RAM usage
- Native desktop experience
Simply start your Expo project and Desktop Go takes care of the preview.
- 🚀 Lightweight Electron application
- 📱 Mobile-sized preview window
- 🔍 Automatically checks whether the Expo development server is running
- ⚡ One-click mobile preview
- 💻 Native Windows desktop application
- 🎯 Minimal, distraction-free interface
- 📦 Packaged using Electron Builder
- 🖥️ Optimized for rapid UI development
- Start your Expo project.
npx expo start-
Launch Desktop Go.
-
Enter your development server URL.
Example:
http://localhost:8081
- Click Check & Open.
Desktop Go will:
- Verify that your Expo development server is running.
- Automatically open your application in a mobile-sized desktop preview window.
| Desktop Go | Electron | Node.js | Expo |
|---|---|---|---|
| v1.0.0 | 31.2.1 | 20+ | SDK 50+ (Recommended) |
- Node.js 20+
- npm
- Expo CLI (or
npx expo) - A React Native (Expo) project
desktop-go
│
├── build/
├── index.html
├── style.css
├── renderer.js
├── preload.js
├── main.js
├── package.json
└── README.md
- Electron
- JavaScript
- HTML5
- CSS3
- Electron Builder
- Automatic Expo project detection
- QR Code support
- Metro log viewer
- Multiple project management
- Device presets (iPhone, Pixel, Samsung, etc.)
- Dark mode
- Recent projects
- Custom device resolutions
- Live reload status
- React Native CLI support
- Auto-reconnect to development server
Contributions, bug reports, feature requests, and pull requests are always welcome.
If you have an idea that could improve Desktop Go, feel free to open an issue or submit a PR.
Bipanshu Kumar
GitHub: https://github.com/the-bipu
This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.
If Desktop Go helps you build React Native apps faster, consider giving this repository a ⭐.
Your support helps the project reach more developers and motivates future improvements.
Disclaimer
Desktop Go is an independent open-source project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Expo, React Native, Meta, or Electron. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.