Build a User Management App with Expo React Native

This tutorial demonstrates how to build a basic user management app. The app authenticates and identifies the user, stores their profile information in the database, and allows the user to log in, update their profile details, and upload a profile photo. The app uses:

Supabase Database - a Postgres database for storing your user data and Row Level Security so data is protected and users can only access their own information.
Supabase Auth - users log in through magic links sent to their email (without having to set up passwords).
Supabase Storage - users can upload a profile photo.

Supabase User Management example

If you get stuck while working through this guide, refer to the full example on GitHub.

Project setup

Before we start building we're going to set up our Database and API. This is as simple as starting a new Project in Supabase and then creating a "schema" inside the database.

Create a project

Create a new project in the Supabase Dashboard.
Enter your project details.
Wait for the new database to launch.

Set up the database schema

Now we are going to set up the database schema. We can use the "User Management Starter" quickstart in the SQL Editor, or you can just copy/paste the SQL from below and run it yourself.

Go to the SQL Editor page in the Dashboard.
Click User Management Starter.
Click Run.

You can easily pull the database schema down to your local project by running the db pull command. Read the local development docs for detailed instructions.


_10supabase link --project-ref <project-id>
_10# You can get <project-id> from your project's dashboard URL: https://supabase.com/dashboard/project/<project-id>
_10supabase db pull

Get the API Keys

Now that you've created some database tables, you are ready to insert data using the auto-generated API. We just need to get the Project URL and anon key from the API settings.

Go to the API Settings page in the Dashboard.
Find your Project URL, anon, and service_role keys on this page.

Building the app

Let's start building the React Native app from scratch.

Initialize a React Native app

We can use expo to initialize an app called expo-user-management:


_10npx create-expo-app -t expo-template-blank-typescript expo-user-management
_10
_10cd expo-user-management

Then let's install the additional dependencies: supabase-js


_10npx expo install @supabase/supabase-js @react-native-async-storage/async-storage @rneui/themed

Now let's create a helper file to initialize the Supabase client. We need the API URL and the anon key that you copied earlier. These variables are safe to expose in your Expo app since Supabase has Row Level Security enabled on your Database.

lib/supabase.ts


_14import AsyncStorage from '@react-native-async-storage/async-storage'
_14import { createClient } from '@supabase/supabase-js'
_14
_14const supabaseUrl = YOUR_REACT_NATIVE_SUPABASE_URL
_14const supabaseAnonKey = YOUR_REACT_NATIVE_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY
_14
_14export const supabase = createClient(supabaseUrl, supabaseAnonKey, {
_14  auth: {
_14    storage: AsyncStorage,
_14    autoRefreshToken: true,
_14    persistSession: true,
_14    detectSessionInUrl: false,
_14  },
_14})

Let's set up a React Native component to manage logins and sign ups. Users would be able to sign in with their email and password.

components/Auth.tsx


_95import React, { useState } from 'react'
_95import { Alert, StyleSheet, View, AppState } from 'react-native'
_95import { supabase } from '../lib/supabase'
_95import { Button, Input } from '@rneui/themed'
_95
_95// Tells Supabase Auth to continuously refresh the session automatically if
_95// the app is in the foreground. When this is added, you will continue to receive
_95// `onAuthStateChange` events with the `TOKEN_REFRESHED` or `SIGNED_OUT` event
_95// if the user's session is terminated. This should only be registered once.
_95AppState.addEventListener('change', (state) => {
_95  if (state === 'active') {
_95    supabase.auth.startAutoRefresh()
_95  } else {
_95    supabase.auth.stopAutoRefresh()
_95  }
_95})
_95
_95export default function Auth() {
_95  const [email, setEmail] = useState('')
_95  const [password, setPassword] = useState('')
_95  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(false)
_95
_95  async function signInWithEmail() {
_95    setLoading(true)
_95    const { error } = await supabase.auth.signInWithPassword({
_95      email: email,
_95      password: password,
_95    })
_95
_95    if (error) Alert.alert(error.message)
_95    setLoading(false)
_95  }
_95
_95  async function signUpWithEmail() {
_95    setLoading(true)
_95    const {
_95      data: { session },
_95      error,
_95    } = await supabase.auth.signUp({
_95      email: email,
_95      password: password,
_95    })
_95
_95    if (error) Alert.alert(error.message)
_95    if (!session) Alert.alert('Please check your inbox for email verification!')
_95    setLoading(false)
_95  }
_95
_95  return (
_95    <View style={styles.container}>
_95      <View style={[styles.verticallySpaced, styles.mt20]}>
_95        <Input
_95          label="Email"
_95          leftIcon={{ type: 'font-awesome', name: 'envelope' }}
_95          onChangeText={(text) => setEmail(text)}
_95          value={email}
_95          placeholder="email@address.com"
_95          autoCapitalize={'none'}
_95        />
_95      </View>
_95      <View style={styles.verticallySpaced}>
_95        <Input
_95          label="Password"
_95          leftIcon={{ type: 'font-awesome', name: 'lock' }}
_95          onChangeText={(text) => setPassword(text)}
_95          value={password}
_95          secureTextEntry={true}
_95          placeholder="Password"
_95          autoCapitalize={'none'}
_95        />
_95      </View>
_95      <View style={[styles.verticallySpaced, styles.mt20]}>
_95        <Button title="Sign in" disabled={loading} onPress={() => signInWithEmail()} />
_95      </View>
_95      <View style={styles.verticallySpaced}>
_95        <Button title="Sign up" disabled={loading} onPress={() => signUpWithEmail()} />
_95      </View>
_95    </View>
_95  )
_95}
_95
_95const styles = StyleSheet.create({
_95  container: {
_95    marginTop: 40,
_95    padding: 12,
_95  },
_95  verticallySpaced: {
_95    paddingTop: 4,
_95    paddingBottom: 4,
_95    alignSelf: 'stretch',
_95  },
_95  mt20: {
_95    marginTop: 20,
_95  },
_95})

By default Supabase Auth requires email verification before a session is created for the users. To support email verification you need to implement deep link handling!

While testing, you can disable email confirmation in your project's email auth provider settings.

Account page

After a user is signed in we can allow them to edit their profile details and manage their account.

Let's create a new component for that called Account.tsx.

components/Account.tsx


_120import { useState, useEffect } from 'react'
_120import { supabase } from '../lib/supabase'
_120import { StyleSheet, View, Alert } from 'react-native'
_120import { Button, Input } from '@rneui/themed'
_120import { Session } from '@supabase/supabase-js'
_120
_120export default function Account({ session }: { session: Session }) {
_120  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true)
_120  const [username, setUsername] = useState('')
_120  const [website, setWebsite] = useState('')
_120  const [avatarUrl, setAvatarUrl] = useState('')
_120
_120  useEffect(() => {
_120    if (session) getProfile()
_120  }, [session])
_120
_120  async function getProfile() {
_120    try {
_120      setLoading(true)
_120      if (!session?.user) throw new Error('No user on the session!')
_120
_120      const { data, error, status } = await supabase
_120        .from('profiles')
_120        .select(`username, website, avatar_url`)
_120        .eq('id', session?.user.id)
_120        .single()
_120      if (error && status !== 406) {
_120        throw error
_120      }
_120
_120      if (data) {
_120        setUsername(data.username)
_120        setWebsite(data.website)
_120        setAvatarUrl(data.avatar_url)
_120      }
_120    } catch (error) {
_120      if (error instanceof Error) {
_120        Alert.alert(error.message)
_120      }
_120    } finally {
_120      setLoading(false)
_120    }
_120  }
_120
_120  async function updateProfile({
_120    username,
_120    website,
_120    avatar_url,
_120  }: {
_120    username: string
_120    website: string
_120    avatar_url: string
_120  }) {
_120    try {
_120      setLoading(true)
_120      if (!session?.user) throw new Error('No user on the session!')
_120
_120      const updates = {
_120        id: session?.user.id,
_120        username,
_120        website,
_120        avatar_url,
_120        updated_at: new Date(),
_120      }
_120
_120      const { error } = await supabase.from('profiles').upsert(updates)
_120
_120      if (error) {
_120        throw error
_120      }
_120    } catch (error) {
_120      if (error instanceof Error) {
_120        Alert.alert(error.message)
_120      }
_120    } finally {
_120      setLoading(false)
_120    }
_120  }
_120
_120  return (
_120    <View style={styles.container}>
_120      <View style={[styles.verticallySpaced, styles.mt20]}>
_120        <Input label="Email" value={session?.user?.email} disabled />
_120      </View>
_120      <View style={styles.verticallySpaced}>
_120        <Input label="Username" value={username || ''} onChangeText={(text) => setUsername(text)} />
_120      </View>
_120      <View style={styles.verticallySpaced}>
_120        <Input label="Website" value={website || ''} onChangeText={(text) => setWebsite(text)} />
_120      </View>
_120
_120      <View style={[styles.verticallySpaced, styles.mt20]}>
_120        <Button
_120          title={loading ? 'Loading ...' : 'Update'}
_120          onPress={() => updateProfile({ username, website, avatar_url: avatarUrl })}
_120          disabled={loading}
_120        />
_120      </View>
_120
_120      <View style={styles.verticallySpaced}>
_120        <Button title="Sign Out" onPress={() => supabase.auth.signOut()} />
_120      </View>
_120    </View>
_120  )
_120}
_120
_120const styles = StyleSheet.create({
_120  container: {
_120    marginTop: 40,
_120    padding: 12,
_120  },
_120  verticallySpaced: {
_120    paddingTop: 4,
_120    paddingBottom: 4,
_120    alignSelf: 'stretch',
_120  },
_120  mt20: {
_120    marginTop: 20,
_120  },
_120})

Launch!

Now that we have all the components in place, let's update App.tsx:

App.tsx


_26import { useState, useEffect } from 'react'
_26import { supabase } from './lib/supabase'
_26import Auth from './components/Auth'
_26import Account from './components/Account'
_26import { View } from 'react-native'
_26import { Session } from '@supabase/supabase-js'
_26
_26export default function App() {
_26  const [session, setSession] = useState<Session | null>(null)
_26
_26  useEffect(() => {
_26    supabase.auth.getSession().then(({ data: { session } }) => {
_26      setSession(session)
_26    })
_26
_26    supabase.auth.onAuthStateChange((_event, session) => {
_26      setSession(session)
_26    })
_26  }, [])
_26
_26  return (
_26    <View>
_26      {session && session.user ? <Account key={session.user.id} session={session} /> : <Auth />}
_26    </View>
_26  )
_26}

Once that's done, run this in a terminal window:


_10npm start

And then press the appropriate key for the environment you want to test the app in and you should see the completed app.

Bonus: Profile photos

Every Supabase project is configured with Storage for managing large files like photos and videos.

Additional dependency installation

You will need an image picker that works on the environment you will build the project for, we will use expo-image-picker in this example.


_10npx expo install expo-image-picker

Let's create an avatar for the user so that they can upload a profile photo. We can start by creating a new component:

components/Avatar.tsx


_130import { useState, useEffect } from 'react'
_130import { supabase } from '../lib/supabase'
_130import { StyleSheet, View, Alert, Image, Button } from 'react-native'
_130import * as ImagePicker from 'expo-image-picker'
_130
_130interface Props {
_130  size: number
_130  url: string | null
_130  onUpload: (filePath: string) => void
_130}
_130
_130export default function Avatar({ url, size = 150, onUpload }: Props) {
_130  const [uploading, setUploading] = useState(false)
_130  const [avatarUrl, setAvatarUrl] = useState<string | null>(null)
_130  const avatarSize = { height: size, width: size }
_130
_130  useEffect(() => {
_130    if (url) downloadImage(url)
_130  }, [url])
_130
_130  async function downloadImage(path: string) {
_130    try {
_130      const { data, error } = await supabase.storage.from('avatars').download(path)
_130
_130      if (error) {
_130        throw error
_130      }
_130
_130      const fr = new FileReader()
_130      fr.readAsDataURL(data)
_130      fr.onload = () => {
_130        setAvatarUrl(fr.result as string)
_130      }
_130    } catch (error) {
_130      if (error instanceof Error) {
_130        console.log('Error downloading image: ', error.message)
_130      }
_130    }
_130  }
_130
_130  async function uploadAvatar() {
_130    try {
_130      setUploading(true)
_130
_130      const result = await ImagePicker.launchImageLibraryAsync({
_130        mediaTypes: ImagePicker.MediaTypeOptions.Images, // Restrict to only images
_130        allowsMultipleSelection: false, // Can only select one image
_130        allowsEditing: true, // Allows the user to crop / rotate their photo before uploading it
_130        quality: 1,
_130        exif: false, // We don't want nor need that data.
_130      })
_130
_130      if (result.canceled || !result.assets || result.assets.length === 0) {
_130        console.log('User cancelled image picker.')
_130        return
_130      }
_130
_130      const image = result.assets[0]
_130      console.log('Got image', image)
_130
_130      if (!image.uri) {
_130        throw new Error('No image uri!') // Realistically, this should never happen, but just in case...
_130      }
_130
_130      const arraybuffer = await fetch(image.uri).then((res) => res.arrayBuffer())
_130
_130      const fileExt = image.uri?.split('.').pop()?.toLowerCase() ?? 'jpeg'
_130      const path = `${Date.now()}.${fileExt}`
_130      const { data, error: uploadError } = await supabase.storage
_130        .from('avatars')
_130        .upload(path, arraybuffer, {
_130          contentType: image.mimeType ?? 'image/jpeg',
_130        })
_130
_130      if (uploadError) {
_130        throw uploadError
_130      }
_130
_130      onUpload(data.path)
_130    } catch (error) {
_130      if (error instanceof Error) {
_130        Alert.alert(error.message)
_130      } else {
_130        throw error
_130      }
_130    } finally {
_130      setUploading(false)
_130    }
_130  }
_130
_130  return (
_130    <View>
_130      {avatarUrl ? (
_130        <Image
_130          source={{ uri: avatarUrl }}
_130          accessibilityLabel="Avatar"
_130          style={[avatarSize, styles.avatar, styles.image]}
_130        />
_130      ) : (
_130        <View style={[avatarSize, styles.avatar, styles.noImage]} />
_130      )}
_130      <View>
_130        <Button
_130          title={uploading ? 'Uploading ...' : 'Upload'}
_130          onPress={uploadAvatar}
_130          disabled={uploading}
_130        />
_130      </View>
_130    </View>
_130  )
_130}
_130
_130const styles = StyleSheet.create({
_130  avatar: {
_130    borderRadius: 5,
_130    overflow: 'hidden',
_130    maxWidth: '100%',
_130  },
_130  image: {
_130    objectFit: 'cover',
_130    paddingTop: 0,
_130  },
_130  noImage: {
_130    backgroundColor: '#333',
_130    borderWidth: 1,
_130    borderStyle: 'solid',
_130    borderColor: 'rgb(200, 200, 200)',
_130    borderRadius: 5,
_130  },
_130})

And then we can add the widget to the Account page:

components/Account.tsx


_21// Import the new component
_21import Avatar from './Avatar'
_21
_21// ...
_21return (
_21  <View>
_21    {/* Add to the body */}
_21    <View>
_21      <Avatar
_21        size={200}
_21        url={avatarUrl}
_21        onUpload={(url: string) => {
_21          setAvatarUrl(url)
_21          updateProfile({ username, website, avatar_url: url })
_21        }}
_21      />
_21    </View>
_21    {/* ... */}
_21  </View>
_21)
_21// ...

Now you will need to run the prebuild command to get the application working on your chosen platform.


_10npx expo prebuild

At this stage you have a fully functional application!

Build a User Management App with Expo React Native

Project setup

Create a project

Set up the database schema

Get the API Keys

Building the app

Initialize a React Native app

Account page

Launch!

Bonus: Profile photos

Additional dependency installation

Create an upload widget

Add the new widget

Build a User Management App with Expo React Native

Project setup#

Create a project#

Set up the database schema#

Get the API Keys#

Building the app#

Initialize a React Native app#

Set up a login component#

Account page#

Launch!#

Bonus: Profile photos#

Additional dependency installation#

Create an upload widget#

Add the new widget#

Project setup

Create a project

Set up the database schema

Get the API Keys

Building the app

Initialize a React Native app

Set up a login component

Account page

Launch!

Bonus: Profile photos

Additional dependency installation

Create an upload widget

Add the new widget