Installation

Requirements

Node.js (LTS or newer) and npm
For Wear OS: Android Studio with a Wear OS emulator (or a device)
For Apple Watch: Xcode with a watchOS simulator (macOS only)

Create a project


npx @wrst/core init my-app        # scaffold a project (src/, apple-watch/, wear-os/)
cd my-app
npm install

This generates a JavaScript project at the root plus native host shells in apple-watch/ and wear-os/.

Run it

Start the dev server (bundles your code and live-reloads):


npm start

Then, in a second terminal, build and launch on a watch:


npm run run:apple-watch     # boots a watchOS simulator, builds, installs, launches
npm run run:wear-os         # boots a Wear OS emulator, builds, installs, launches

Edit src/App.tsx and it reloads on the watch as you save.

Live reload re-runs your app on each save, so component state resets on reload (your navigation position is preserved). This is live reload, not React Native’s Fast Refresh.

CLI commands

Command	What it does
`wrst init <name>`	Scaffold a new project in `./<name>`
`wrst init --companion <path>`	Add a watch app to an existing React Native project
`wrst start`	Start the dev server + bundler (live reload)
`wrst sync`	Apply project config (name, bundle id) to the native hosts
`wrst run:apple-watch`	Debug build + run on a watchOS simulator
`wrst run:wear-os`	Debug build + install on a Wear OS device/emulator
`wrst build:apple-watch` / `build:wear-os`	Debug build only, no install
`wrst build-release:apple-watch` / `build-release:wear-os`	Release build (runs offline)

In a scaffolded project these are wired to npm scripts (npm start, npm run run:apple-watch, …).

Release builds

Release builds embed your code so the app runs without the dev server:


npm run build-release:wear-os       # → APK
npm run build-release:apple-watch   # → watchOS app