🚀 Drastically speed up your npx expo run:[android | ios] builds!
This plugin adds local disk caching for Expo builds. If a matching cached build exists, it launches instantly, letting you skip the often time-consuming compilation step entirely.
Can be combined with remote caching providers (like eas-build-cache-provider).

If you want remote caching using S3 storage, consider using the build-cache-s3 plugin.

• Requires Expo SDK 53+
• Install:

  npm install --save-dev expo-build-disk-cache

• Add to your app config:

  {
    "experiments": {
      "buildCacheProvider": {
        "plugin": "expo-build-disk-cache"
      }
    }
  }

• expo run:android or expo run:ios will now use the cache.

You can configure options via:

• Expo app config (app.json, app.config.js, or app.config.ts)

  {
    "experiments": {
      "buildCacheProvider": {
        "plugin": "expo-build-disk-cache",
        "options": {
          "cacheDir": "node_modules/.expo-build-disk-cache"
        }
      }
    }
  }

• disk-cache.json (in the project or home directory). This allows per-machine customization without affecting the build fingerprint and can be added to .gitignore.

  {
    "cacheDir": "node_modules/.expo-build-disk-cache"
  }

• package.json (under the disk-cache key)
• Environment variables (see the Env Variable column above. these take precedence over other config sources)

cacheDir recommendations:
By default, the cache is stored in the system temporary directory, which may be cleared by the OS on reboot. For a more persistent cache, consider these alternatives (the plugin will automatically clean up old files after cacheGcTimeDays [default: 7 days after last access]):

• Use a directory in your home folder, such as ~/.expo-build-cache, to share the cache across projects and retain it between reboots.
• Use node_modules/.expo-build-disk-cache for a project-specific cache that is easy to remove with npm run clean or similar scripts.

expo-build-disk-cache can be used in CI/CD environments by preserving the entire cache directory between workflow runs.

1. Configure a cache directory in your project settings or via the $DISK_CACHE_CACHE_DIR environment variable (recommended: node_modules/.expo-build-disk-cache)
2. Restore this directory from your CI/CD cache provider before building
3. Execute your build command (expo run:android or expo run:ios)
4. Save the updated cache directory back to your CI/CD provider

While this approach is simple to implement, it can consume significant storage and transfer time as the entire cache directory is stored. Consider these optimizations:

• Reduce retention period: Set lower cacheGcTimeDays [default 7] to remove unused files more frequently
• Use remote caching: For more efficient transfers, consider:
  • The built-in remotePlugin option with EAS
  • build-cache-s3 for S3-compatible storage

Remote caching solutions only transfer files needed for the current build, significantly reducing cache size and transfer times.

Add remotePlugin to your configuration to use the EAS remote build cache provider.

{
  "experiments": {
    "buildCacheProvider": {
      "plugin": "expo-build-disk-cache",
      "options": {
        "remotePlugin": "eas"
      }
    }
  }
}

Special thanks to Expo for making this possible and for their overall great software.