Expo prebuild fails — “Cannot find module './lib/commonjs/expo'”

[gpadova]

Before submitting a new issue

• I tested using the latest version of the library, as the bug might be already fixed.
• I tested using a supported version of react native.
• I checked for possible duplicate issues, with possible answers.

Bug summary

Bug: Expo prebuild fails — “Cannot find module './lib/commonjs/expo'”

Description

When adding the react-native-bottom-tabs plugin to the Expo config (plugins array in app.config.ts), the expo prebuild command fails with the following error:

Error: Cannot find module './lib/commonjs/expo'
Require stack:
- node_modules/react-native-bottom-tabs/app.plugin.js
...

After inspecting node_modules/react-native-bottom-tabs, it seems the published package on npm is missing the compiled lib/commonjs/expo directory, which app.plugin.js tries to require.

📦 Investigation

Inside node_modules/react-native-bottom-tabs, the file app.plugin.js contains:

module.exports = require('./lib/commonjs/expo');

However, the package does not include a lib/commonjs directory — it appears the CommonJS build artifacts were not published to npm.

This causes Expo’s config plugin resolver to crash when running expo prebuild.

---

💡 Expected Behavior

expo prebuild should resolve the app.plugin.js normally and complete without errors.

The package should include the built /lib/commonjs/expo.js file in the npm tarball.

Library version

1.0.0

Environment info

- react-native-bottom-tabs version: 1.0.0 

- Expo SDK: 53

- Node: 22

- OS: macOS

- Prebuild command: npx expo prebuild

Steps to reproduce

1. Install the package:

   npm install react-native-bottom-tabs

2. Add it to your app.config.ts:

   plugins: [
   'react-native-bottom-tabs',
   // other plugins...
   ],

3. Run:

   npx expo prebuild

4. Observe the error:

   Error: Cannot find module './lib/commonjs/expo'

Reproducible sample code

Using react-native-bottom-tabs as an Expo config plugin causes the prebuild process to crash because the published package is missing its compiled CommonJS output.

Error output

	Error: Cannot find module './lib/commonjs/expo'
	Require stack:
	- node_modules/react-native-bottom-tabs/app.plugin.js
	- @expo/config-plugins/build/utils/plugin-resolver.js
	- @expo/cli/build/src/prebuild/prebuildAsync.js
	...

Opening the installed package confirms that the lib/commonjs/expo.js file doesn’t exist, even though it’s required by app.plugin.js.

cmd: ls node_modules/react-native-bottom-tabs/lib/commonjs
ls: node_modules/react-native-bottom-tabs/lib/commonjs: No such file or directory

[dennisnjd]

I ran into the same issue after upgraded the library's version to 1.0.0.
The solution worked for me is bit strange , that I just commented the ''react-native-bottom-tabs" in plugins , and everything worked fine.
After tested, I found no issues with the navigation without the plugin. But I don't believe it is the proper solution.

[baveku]

diff --git a/node_modules/react-native-bottom-tabs/app.plugin.js b/node_modules/react-native-bottom-tabs/app.plugin.js
index ad31d0e6ee7ca075f88b9edca5d6b75942ec1f08..87edf84c41cb6888d2befb541072073befac6b1a 100644
--- a/node_modules/react-native-bottom-tabs/app.plugin.js
+++ b/node_modules/react-native-bottom-tabs/app.plugin.js
@@ -1 +1 @@
-module.exports = require('./lib/commonjs/expo');
+module.exports = require('./lib/module/expo');

use this patch to fix wrong plugin path
I create a pull request #452 to update expo path

[okwasniewski]

Hey, just released 1.0.1 that should fix it thanks to @baveku

[dennisnjd]

Hi, I think the issue is still there with 1.0.1.
On expo prebuild it gives the error : "SyntaxError: The requested module '@expo/config-plugins' does not provide an export named 'createRunOncePlugin"

[baveku]

Hi, I think the issue is still there with 1.0.1.
On expo prebuild it gives the error : "SyntaxError: The requested module '@expo/config-plugins' does not provide an export named 'createRunOncePlugin"

Do you use Expo54?

[dennisnjd]

Hi, I think the issue is still there with 1.0.1.
On expo prebuild it gives the error : "SyntaxError: The requested module '@expo/config-plugins' does not provide an export named 'createRunOncePlugin"

Do you use Expo54?

No. I am using expo 53.

"expo": "53.0.20",
"react": "19.0.0",
"react-native": "0.79.5",
"react-native-bottom-tabs": "^1.0.1",
"@bottom-tabs/react-navigation": "^1.0.1",

Commenting the plugin worked again! No issues with the navigation as far I tested.

[mrzhiin]

Hi, I think the issue is still there with 1.0.1.
On expo prebuild it gives the error : "SyntaxError: The requested module '@expo/config-plugins' does not provide an export named 'createRunOncePlugin"

Do you use Expo54?

I am using Expo 54.0.15 had same error

[baveku]

The plugin was initially implemented incorrectly, so I rewrote it according to the Expo documentation.
I create a pull request to fix it: #456 @okwasniewski

[baveku]

'use strict'
Object.defineProperty(exports, '__esModule', { value: true })
const config_plugins_1 = require('@expo/config-plugins')
const MATERIAL3_THEME_DYANMIC = 'Theme.Material3.DynamicColors.DayNight.NoActionBar'
const MATERIAL3_THEME = 'Theme.Material3.DayNight.NoActionBar'
const MATERIAL2_THEME = 'Theme.MaterialComponents.DayNight.NoActionBar'
const MATERIAL3_EXPRESSIVE_THEME = 'Theme.Material3Expressive.DayNight.NoActionBar'
const withMaterial3Theme = (config, options) => {
  const theme = options?.theme
  return (0, config_plugins_1.withAndroidStyles)(config, (stylesConfig) => {
    stylesConfig.modResults.resources.style = stylesConfig.modResults.resources.style?.map(
      (style) => {
        if (style.$.name === 'AppTheme') {
          if (theme === 'material3-dynamic') {
            style.$.parent = MATERIAL3_THEME_DYANMIC
          } else if (theme === 'material2') {
            style.$.parent = MATERIAL2_THEME
          } else if (theme === 'material3-expressive') {
            style.$.parent = MATERIAL3_EXPRESSIVE_THEME
          } else {
            style.$.parent = MATERIAL3_THEME
          }
        }
        return style
      },
    )
    return stylesConfig
  })
}
exports.default = (0, config_plugins_1.createRunOncePlugin)(
  withMaterial3Theme,
  'react-native-bottom-tabs',
)

maybe help:

1. create plugin file like withRNBottomTabs.js
2. Add this to app.json: plugins[
   ...plugins,
   ["./plugins/withRNBottomTabs", { "theme": "material3" }]
   ]

[JustJoostNL]

@okwasniewski The issue is not resolved in 1.0.2 unfortunately.

PluginError: Unable to resolve a valid config plugin for react-native-bottom-tabs.
• main export of react-native-bottom-tabs does not appear to be a config plugin: the following error was thrown when importing /xxx/node_modules/react-native-bottom-tabs/app.plugin.js: Cannot destructure property 'createRunOncePlugin' of 'import_config_plugins.default' as it is undefined. 
Verify that react-native-bottom-tabs includes a config plugin. If it does not, then remove the entry from plugins in your app config file. Learn more: https://docs.expo.dev/guides/config-plugins/

[okwasniewski]

@JustJoostNL can you try cleaning up your cache (git clean -xdf ./ in the root of your repo). Just tested it out on a fresh project with 1.0.2 and it's working

If its not please provide a reproduction

[JustJoostNL]

Still the same error after cleaning the cache. I don't have time for a repro now, but will try to do later.