Migrate Your Bubble App to React Native: Complete Guide

Low-code platforms like Bubble are excellent for prototyping and validating ideas. But once your product grows - and you need better performance, offline support, native APIs, and custom scalability - it's time to move to a full-fledged framework like React Native.

This article explains how to migrate your Bubble mobile app to React Native, including tools, best practices, and pitfalls to avoid.

Why Move Away From Bubble?

Bubble is great for:

• Rapid prototyping
• Early MVP validation
• Web-first products

But when you need:

• Real native performance on iOS and Android
• Offline mode and background tasks
• Push notifications, camera, GPS, Bluetooth, or sensors
• App Store / Play Store distribution
• Custom backend logic and scalability

- it's time to graduate to React Native.

Step 1. Audit Your Bubble App

Before writing any code, map what you already have:

Make a full inventory of your pages, workflows, and data models. This will guide your migration roadmap.

Step 2. Choose the Right React Native Stack

Recommended setup:

Step 3. Data Migration Strategy

Option A - Keep Bubble as Your Backend (Short-Term)

Use Bubble's Data API and Workflow API to read/write data from your new app.

Pros: Quick and easy

Cons: Limited speed and control

Option B - Move to Your Own Backend (Long-Term)

• Export data from Bubble via CSV or API
• Import it into Postgres (via Prisma, Supabase, or direct SQL)
• Build a simple CRUD API with NestJS or Express.js
• Gradually switch your mobile app endpoints from Bubble to your new backend

Step 4. Rebuild the UI

Bubble exports layout metadata that can help recreate your design. You can use tools like:

• ReCode (Applurk) - automatically converts Bubble JSON exports into responsive React Native screens with Expo and Unistyles
• Locofy / Anima - if your design is already in Figma

Then rebuild your screens, one by one:

• Reuse components for consistency
• Add theming and spacing scales early
• Prioritise the top 5 flows (sign in, dashboard, main feature, settings, onboarding)

Step 5. Recreate Workflows as Logic

In Bubble, workflows are event chains; in React Native, they become functions and API calls.

For example:

const mutation = useMutation({
  mutationFn: (payload) => api.updateUser(payload),
  onSuccess: () => queryClient.invalidateQueries(['user']),
});

Use TanStack Query for all data mutations and caching. It gives you automatic retries, optimistic updates, and background refetching.

Step 6. Integrate Core Native Features

Bubble hides these - now you'll build them natively:

• Push notifications: Expo Notifications / Firebase
• Camera / Gallery uploads: expo-image-picker
• Geolocation & Maps: Mapbox / Google Maps SDK
• Payments: @stripe/stripe-react-native or react-native-iap
• Offline storage: SQLite / Realm / AsyncStorage

Step 7. Testing, QA, and CI/CD

Use separate environments (dev / staging / production) and release channels for safe deployment.

Step 8. Launch and Post-Migration Hardening

Once the new app is ready:

• Run beta builds (TestFlight, Play Internal)
• Monitor crash and performance metrics
• Decommission Bubble pages gradually
• Keep the API in "read-only" mode for a few weeks
• Archive your old Bubble version when stable

Step 9. Tools That Can Help You

Step 10. Lessons Learned

• Don't try to rebuild everything - start with the core flows.
• Keep Bubble as your backend until React Native stabilises.
• Automate data migration with scripts instead of manual exports.
• Use responsive layout frameworks like @grapp/stacks to adapt to all devices.
• Track errors and analytics from day one.

Conclusion

Migrating from Bubble to React Native is a powerful step toward full product ownership and scalability. With the right tools, clear migration plan, and phased rollout, you can go from low-code prototype to production-grade native app in just a few weeks.

If you'd like to automate your migration, explore ReCode by Applurk - a tool built to convert Bubble exports into ready-to-use React Native codebases.