Serverless App with React Native and AWS Amplify

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The AWS Amplify framework is a command-line tool-chain that connects the AWS cloud services to any frontend environment. It is a client library with a CLI toolchain that allows the developers to create as well as connect to a variety of services in the cloud.

AWS cloud services could be connected to ReactJS as well as React Native. When a full-stack mobile app is in its starting phase of development, it has a lot of requirements to fulfill.

The AWS amplify reduces the amount of time spent on building applications.

The Amplify services enable features like GraphQL, storage, serverless functions, hosting and access to detailed analytics.

The objective of CLI and the library is to allow the developers to create full-stack web applications rather than worrying about managing the back-end infrastructure. This allows them to move further up the stack with the skills they already have. 

Amplify works with JavaScript projects. It also features framework-specific components who are perfect for Angular, React Native and Vue. The same CLI also supports native iOS and Android.

AWS Amplify – An introduction

AWS or Amazon Web Services technology provides cloud services like hosting, database technologies, storage, etc.

React Native can quickly bootstrap an application using Expo.

But the problem with React is that managing and writing a backend service for your web/mobile application could be pretty much challenging.

As a solution, JavaScript developers with AWS manage a project called AWS Amplify which can create cloud services and provide features in the form of API. That is the main reason why React and AWS Amplify go hand in hand. Some of these features include –

• Cloud Storage.
• Push Notifications and Cloud Storage.
• Interactions as per conversational bots.
• Internationalization and Authentication.

Creating a New React Application

First of all, we would be creating a new React application using create-react-app CLI. The same is changed into a new directory –

npx create-react-app amplify-web-app

Cd amplify-web-app

Now. we install the AWS amplify client dependencies –

yarn add aws-amplify aws-amplify-react

#or

npm install aws-amplify aws-amplify-react

Install the AWS Amplify CLI

Now, we have to install the AWS Amplify CLI.

npm install -g @aws-amplify/cli

As the AWS Amplify CLI has been installed already, we have to configure the same for creating the needful resources in our AWS account.

Configure the AWS Amplify CLI

For the configuration part, we run the amplifying command and set up a new AWS user.

amplify configure

Now as the AWS Amplify CLI has properly been installed as well as configured, we run the amplify command from our command line. It shows us the available options to ensure that the CLI was installed properly.

Initializing the AWS Project

For initializing a new AWS Amplify project, we would be running the init command –

amplify init

When asked, just choose the text editor you want and tick on all the defaults for the rest of the options.

The same initializes a new AWS Amplify project which makes a new amplify directory and a .amplifyrc file is created in the root directory of our React project. The same files hold the configuration of our Amplify project.

Implementing the Authentication for AWS

Setting up user authentication is the first thing we need to do. We have to enable features by running amplify and adding the name of the feature, as <featurename>. We need to run the following commands –

amplify add auth

You would now be promoted to use the default authentication and security config. Choose ‘yes’.

As soon as it is created, we would be running amplify push for creating the new service in our account.

amplify push

When asked if you want to continue, choose yes.

As soon as your service is created, you can access the dashboard. There you can view each item by clicking the name of your service.

All of the enabled services could also be viewed by running the amplify status –

amplify status

Here, a file would also be created called aws-export.js which you would be able to find in the root folder of your React Native application.

There’s no need to edit it as it is handled by your CLI, yet you would be using it for configuring any of your local projects.

Add Authentication to React Native App Development

As the authentication service is already created, we can implement the same in the React app. You would start off with configuring the React app.

import Amplify from ‘aws-amplify’

import config from ‘./aws-exports’

amplify.configure(config)

This finishes our project, which means that we can implement authentication now.

Build your own React Native serverless app

In case you are to build your custom web or mobile applications and can’t find proper resources to do so, you can always head to a react native development company for helping you out.

If you are required to develop a React native Apps, so you can Hire dedicated React native developers who can help to build a serverless app with react native and AWS amplify as per requirement.

Conclusion

As now you have already built a cross-platform mobile app, you can implement the same into your business or personal projects.

The same was made possible by integrating frameworks like React and Expo with AWS and Amplify.

If your business needs a serverless app, look for services that offer the best solutions for your customers and get your demands fulfilled as per requirement.