npx react-native run-macos does not start metro

[coolsoftwaretyler]

Environment

react-native -v: 14.0.0
npm ls react-native-macos:react-native-macos@0.75.6
node -v: 22.8.0
npm -v: 10.8.2
yarn --version: 1.22.22
xcodebuild -version: Xcode 15.4, Build version 15F31d

Steps to reproduce the bug

Follow the React Native macOS setup from the docs (for the most part, the current docs are actually a little out of date, but this will be the steps for an up-to-date RN project)

1. npx @react-native-community/cli init macapp
2. cd macapp
3. npx react-native-macos-init
4. npx react-native run-macos

Expected Behavior

I expected the app to build and run the starter project.

Actual Behavior

The app will build, but it doesn't automatically start Metro:

Not a big deal, I can just run:

yarn start

Then tap "reload"

Everything works great from there. I also did not have this issue when following the instructions for RN 0.71:

npx react-native@latest init <projectName> --version 0.71.0

Reproducible Demo

https://github.com/coolsoftwaretyler/rnms-issue-repro

Additional context

Happy to submit a PR if this is a quick fix and y'all know how to fix it but don't have the time to code it up.

[Jasper-Bekkers]

I just ran into this as well, mostly because even tho the docs are out of date the step to install 0.71 is also somehow broken due to a hash mismatch on boost with 0.71 that's resolved in later versions (so I tried 0.76).

[Saadnajmi]

Closing as by design, you need to start metro separately.

[coolsoftwaretyler]

Reasonable to me, although it might make sense to update the docs site, which says:

"A new Command Prompt window will open with the React packager as well as a react-native-macos app. This step may take a while during first run since it involves building the entire project and all dependencies. You can now start developing! 🎉"

I took that to mean the metro server would start.

[Saadnajmi]

Reasonable to me, although it might make sense to update the docs site, which says:

"A new Command Prompt window will open with the React packager as well as a react-native-macos app. This step may take a while during first run since it involves building the entire project and all dependencies. You can now start developing! 🎉"

I took that to mean the metro server would start.

Which docs site? We also just moved to a new one: microsoft.github.io/react-native-macos

[coolsoftwaretyler]

It's on that one at the bottom of: https://microsoft.github.io/react-native-macos/docs/getting-started

[coolsoftwaretyler]

You've got the yarn start command called out in the section for "using Xcode", but the command for "without using Xcode" makes it seem like a single command should suffice to start both.

[alejorrojas]

Hi guys! I've updated the documentation to reflect the correct workflow. The getting-started.md file now:

1. Includes Metro bundler startup (npm run start) as the first step in the Quick Start section
2. Removes the incorrect statement about Metro opening automatically
3. Clarifies that Metro must be running in a separate terminal before running npx react-native run-macos

The PR is ready for review: #2795

This should help prevent the confusion for new users who were expecting Metro to start automatically.