Storybook for React Native Web

Storybook for React Native Web is a framework that makes it easy to develop and test UI components in isolation for React Native. It uses Vite to build your components for web browsers.

Install

To install Storybook in an existing React Native project, run this command in your project's root directory:

npm create storybook@latest

You can then get started writing stories, running tests and documenting your components. For more control over the installation process, refer to the installation guide.

Requirements

• 

  React Native ≥ 0.72

• 

  React Native Web ≥ 0.19

• 

  Vite ≥ 5

Run Storybook

To run Storybook for a particular project, run the following:

npm run storybook

To build Storybook, run:

npm run build-storybook

You will find the output in the configured outputDir (default is storybook-static).

React Native vs React Native Web

If you’re building React Native (RN) components, Storybook has two options: Native and Web.

Both options provide a catalog of your stories that hot refreshes as you edit the code in your favorite editor. However, their implementations are quite different:

• Native - Runs inside your React Native application. It’s high-fidelity but has a limited feature set.
• Web - Displays your React Native components in the browser. It’s based on Storybook for Web, which is feature-rich and mature.

Comparison

So, which option is right for you?

Native. You should choose this option if you want:

• Native features - Your components rely on device-specific features like native modules. It runs in your actual application, in-simulator, or on-device and provides full fidelity. The web version uses react-native-web, which works for most components but has limitations.
• Mobile publication - You want to share your Storybook on-device as part of a test build or embedded inside your application.

Web. You should choose this option if you want:

• Sharing - Publish to the web and share with your team or publicly.
• Documentation - Auto-generated component docs or rich markdown docs in MDX.
• Testing - Component, visual, and a11y tests for your components.
• Addons - 500+ addons that improve development, documentation, testing, and integration with other tools.

Both. It’s also possible to use both options together. This increases Storybook’s install footprint but is a good option if you want native fidelity in addition to all of the web features. Learn more below.

Using both React Native and React Native Web

The easiest way to use React Native and React Native Web is to select the "Both" option when installing Storybook. This will install and create configurations for both environments, allowing you to run Storybook for both in the same project.

When you select "Both", the installation will:

1. Install and configure React Native Storybook (on-device)
2. Install and configure React Native Web Storybook (web-based)
3. Set up both configurations in your project

After installation, you'll see instructions for both environments:

• React Native Storybook will require additional manual configuration steps (replacing app entry, wrapping metro config)
• React Native Web Storybook can be started immediately using the storybook command

However, you can install them separately if one version is installed. You can add a React Native Web Storybook alongside an existing React Native Storybook by running the install command and selecting "React Native Web" in the setup wizard, and vice versa.

FAQ

How do I migrate from the React Native Web addon?

The React Native Web addon was a Webpack-based precursor to the React Native Web Vite framework (i.e., @storybook/react-native-web-vite). If you're using the addon, you should migrate to the framework, which is faster, more stable, maintained, and better documented. To do so, follow the steps below.

Run the following command to upgrade Storybook to the latest version:

npx storybook@latest upgrade

Install the framework and its peer dependencies:

npm install --save-dev @storybook/react-native-web-vite vite

Update your .storybook/main.js|ts to change the framework property and remove the @storybook/addon-react-native-web addon:

export default {
  addons: [
    '@storybook/addon-react-native-web', // 👈 Remove the addon
  ],
  // Replace @storybook/react-webpack5 with the Vite framework
  framework: '@storybook/react-native-web-vite',
};

Finally, remove the addon and similar packages (i.e., @storybook/react-webpack5 and @storybook/addon-react-native-web) from your project.

API

Options

You can pass an options object for additional configuration if needed:

import type { StorybookConfig } from '@storybook/react-native-web-vite';
 
const config: StorybookConfig = {
  framework: {
    name: '@storybook/react-native-web-vite',
    options: {
      modulesToTranspile: ['my-library'], // add libraries that are not transpiled for web by default
 
      // You should apply babel plugins and presets here for your project that you want to apply to your code
      // for example put the reanimated preset here if you are using reanimated
      // or the nativewind jsxImportSource for example
      pluginReactOptions: {
        jsxRuntime: 'automatic' | 'classic', // default: 'automatic'
        jsxImportSource: string, // default: 'react'
        babel:{
          plugins: Array<string | [string, any]>,
          presets: Array<string | [string, any]>,
          // ... other compatible babel options
        }
        include: Array<string|RegExp>, 
        exclude: Array<string|RegExp>,
        // ... other compatible @vitejs/plugin-react options
      }
    },
  },
};
 
export default config;

Example configuration for reanimated

const main: StorybookConfig = {
  // ... rest of config
 
  framework: {
    name: "@storybook/react-native-web-vite",
    options: {
      pluginReactOptions: {
        babel: {
          plugins: [
            "@babel/plugin-proposal-export-namespace-from",
            "react-native-reanimated/plugin",
          ],
        },
      },
    },
  },
 
  // ... rest of config
}

Example configuration for nativewind

 
const main: StorybookConfig = {
  // ... rest of config
 
  framework: {
    name: "@storybook/react-native-web-vite",
    options: {
      pluginReactOptions: {
        jsxImportSource: "nativewind",
      },
    },
  },
}

Example configuration to transpile additional node_modules

Let's say you need to transpile a library called my-library that is not transpiled for web by default. You can add it to the modulesToTranspile option.

const main: StorybookConfig = {
  // ... rest of config
 
  framework: {
    name: "@storybook/react-native-web-vite",
    options: {
      modulesToTranspile: ['my-library'],
    },
  },
}

builder

Type: Record<string, any>

Configure options for the framework's builder. For this framework, available options can be found in the Vite builder docs.