How it works

Native share flows begin outside your React Native runtime. react-native-share-content separates intake, persistence, and application processing so JavaScript startup timing does not decide whether content is delivered.

The three layers

1. Native integration

The Expo config plugin mutates generated native projects during prebuild:

• Android receives ACTION_SEND and ACTION_SEND_MULTIPLE intent filters.
• iOS receives a native Share Extension target, App Group entitlements, activation rules, generated Swift source, and EAS extension metadata.

The plugin is designed for Expo prebuild and Continuous Native Generation. If your repository permanently maintains ios/ or android/, review the generated diff before replacing native files.

2. Durable intake

Platform	Intake path	Persistence
Android	Launch intent + onNewIntent	Atomic queue file and app no-backup attachment storage
iOS	NSExtensionItem / NSItemProvider	Atomic JSON records and attachments in the shared App Group

Temporary provider data is copied before the source app revokes URI or file-provider access. A single native share operation becomes one SharePayload containing one or more normalized items.

3. JavaScript processing

Your app can consume payloads through both:

• Pending APIs for cold starts and retryable processing.
• Live events for low-latency delivery while JavaScript is active.

Both paths use the same payload contract. They can surface the same stable ID, so application processing must be idempotent.

Payload shape

export type SharePayload = {
  id: string;
  timestamp: number;
  source: 'share-sheet';
  title?: string;
  items: SharedContentItem[];
};

export type SharedContentItem = {
  id: string;
  type: 'text' | 'url' | 'image' | 'video' | 'audio' | 'file';
  mimeType: string | null;
  text?: string;
  uri?: string;
  fileName?: string;
  size?: number;
};

Text and URL items use text. Binary items use a module-managed file:// URI and may expose filename, MIME type, and byte size.

Platform boundaries

• Android and iOS only; web is not supported.
• The module receives content; it does not provide an outbound share API.
• The module does not upload in the background.
• Expo Go cannot contain the generated native integration.
• iOS host auto-open is opt-in and best effort, not guaranteed continuation.
• Permanent attachment retention belongs to the consuming application.