rubyforgood / rubyforgood/alongwithyou
Update mobile/README.md for development builds — Expo Go no longer runs the app
@Jberma23 is already working on this.
Since Aug 16, 2026.
- Dominant language
- TypeScript
- Stars
- 9
- Forks
- 4
- Avg merge
- 9h 34m
- Merged PRs (30d)
- 16
Description
Description
ADR 0016 (lands with #128) makes development builds mandatory: useSQLCipher is a build-level flag, so SQLCipher requires npx expo prebuild and a dev build, and Expo Go can no longer run this app.
mobile/README.md was not updated to match, so the moment #128 merges the onboarding instructions tell contributors to do something that will fail:
mobile/README.md:13— lists Expo Go as a prerequisitemobile/README.md:31— "scan the QR code with Expo Go"mobile/README.md:53— "Expo Go still runs the app on a…"
0016 calls this out directly: "Contributor onboarding changes and the docs have to change with it… the first-run cost (a native build) needs saying up front rather than discovered." It also notes this lands on the same people 0008 designed a gentle first ticket for, so the setup instructions matter more here than usual.
ADR 0017 adds a second doc gap: the journal database refuses to open on web by design, so npm run web is the landing page and not a preview of the app. A contributor who runs it and sees something render will reasonably assume otherwise.
Scope is mobile/README.md and any sibling contributor docs — no code changes.
Acceptance Criteria
- Expo Go removed as a way to run the app; replaced with the
npx expo prebuild+ development-build path - First-run cost (a native build, and that it is slow the first time) stated up front, not buried
- Prerequisites corrected — Xcode/Android Studio requirements for a dev build, and the required Node version (
enginesis>=20.19.4) -
npm run webdocumented as the landing/marketing surface only, per 0017 — explicitly not an app preview - A contributor with a clean checkout can follow the README start to finish and reach a running app
- The feature/s being implemented are covered by unit tests - If not, create tests for them on this ticket (docs-only; no tests expected)
Additional Info and Resources
- Source: ADR 0016 (Consequences) and ADR 0017 (Consequences), both in #128
- 0016 also notes demoing to non-technical stakeholders no longer works via Expo Go — a shared development build or the web landing page is the substitute, worth a line in the README
- CI is unaffected (lint/typecheck/jest need no native build), so this is purely a local-development docs problem
QA
- On a clean clone, follow the README exactly on macOS (iOS) and confirm the app runs
- Repeat on Linux/Windows (Android) and confirm the instructions hold
- Confirm nothing in the README still implies Expo Go or
npm run webwill show the journal
Contributor guide
No contributing guide indexed for this repository
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Assessment
This issue has not been assessed yet.