How do you handle different React Native versions and what's the upgrade path (`react-native upgrade`, Upgrade Helper)?

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React Native upgrades are not a simple npm update — versions touch native files (Podfile, build.gradle, AppDelegate, MainApplication). The tooling has gotten much better, but you still need a deliberate process. The Upgrade Helper (the canonical tool): Web tool at react-native-community.github.io/upgrade-helper . Shows a file-by-file diff between your current RN version and any target version. You manually apply changes to ios/ , android/ , package.json , babel.config.js , etc. The CLI upgrade command: npx @react-native-community/cli upgrade [version] — runs the same diffs and three-way merges them; conflicts marked for manual resolution. Always works best on a clean git tree so you can review and reset. For Expo projects (simpler): npx expo install expo@<new-sdk> then npx expo install --fix to update peer deps to compatible versions. npx expo prebuild --clean regenerates ios/ and android/ from app.json for that SDK. Read Expo's SDK changelog for breaking changes per release. Best practices: Upgrade on a dedicated branch with empty diff (commit clean before starting). Don't skip more than 2-3 minor versions at once — go incrementally. Audit each native module's New-Arch compatibility on every major bump. Always do a full E2E run on real devices after the upgrade. There's no clean `npm update` story for RN — upgrades touch native files (Podfile, build.gradle, AppDelegate). Mention the **React Native Upgrade Helper** by name (it's a web tool that diffs your current version vs the target) and the `npx @react-native-community/cli upgrade` command. For Expo projects, `npx expo install --fix` and `expo prebuild --clean` are the workflow. Bonus signal: never skip more than 2-3 minor versions in one upgrade.