---

name: native-data-fetching description: Use when implementing or debugging ANY network request, API call, or data fetching. Covers fetch API, React Query, SWR, error handling, caching, offline support, and Expo Router data loaders (useLoaderData). risk: unknown source: community version: 1.0.0 license: MIT

Expo Networking

You MUST use this skill for ANY networking work including API requests, data fetching, caching, or network debugging.

References

Consult these resources as needed:

references/
  expo-router-loaders.md   Route-level data loading with Expo Router loaders (web, SDK 55+)

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• Implementing API requests
• Setting up data fetching (React Query, SWR)
• Using Expo Router data loaders (useLoaderData, web SDK 55+)
• Debugging network failures
• Implementing caching strategies
• Handling offline scenarios
• Authentication/token management
• Configuring API URLs and environment variables

Preferences

• Avoid axios, prefer expo/fetch

Common Issues & Solutions

1. Basic Fetch Usage

Simple GET request:

const fetchUser = async (userId: string) => {
  const response = await fetch(`https://api.example.com/users/${userId}`);

  if (!response.ok) {
    throw new Error(`HTTP error! status: ${response.status}`);
  }

  return response.json();
};

POST request with body:

const createUser = async (userData: UserData) => {
  const response = await fetch("https://api.example.com/users", {
    method: "POST",
    headers: {
      "Content-Type": "application/json",
      Authorization: `Bearer ${token}`,
    },
    body: JSON.stringify(userData),
  });

  if (!response.ok) {
    const error = await response.json();
    throw new Error(error.message);
  }

  return response.json();
};

---

2. React Query (TanStack Query)

Setup:

// app/_layout.tsx
import { QueryClient, QueryClientProvider } from "@tanstack/react-query";

const queryClient = new QueryClient({
  defaultOptions: {
    queries: {
      staleTime: 1000 * 60 * 5, // 5 minutes
      retry: 2,
    },
  },
});

export default function RootLayout() {
  return (
    <QueryClientProvider client={queryClient}>
      <Stack />
    </QueryClientProvider>
  );
}

Fetching data:

import { useQuery } from "@tanstack/react-query";

function UserProfile({ userId }: { userId: string }) {
  const { data, isLoading, error, refetch } = useQuery({
    queryKey: ["user", userId],
    queryFn: () => fetchUser(userId),
  });

  if (isLoading) return <Loading />;
  if (error) return <Error message={error.message} />;

  return <Profile user={data} />;
}

Mutations:

import { useMutation, useQueryClient } from "@tanstack/react-query";

function CreateUserForm() {
  const queryClient = useQueryClient();

  const mutation = useMutation({
    mutationFn: createUser,
    onSuccess: () => {
      // Invalidate and refetch
      queryClient.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: ["users"] });
    },
  });

  const handleSubmit = (data: UserData) => {
    mutation.mutate(data);
  };

  return <Form onSubmit={handleSubmit} isLoading={mutation.isPending} />;
}

---

3. Error Handling

Comprehensive error handling:

class ApiError extends Error {
  constructor(message: string, public status: number, public code?: string) {
    super(message);
    this.name = "ApiError";
  }
}

const fetchWithErrorHandling = async (url: string, options?: RequestInit) => {
  try {
    const response = await fetch(url, options);

    if (!response.ok) {
      const error = await response.json().catch(() => ({}));
      throw new ApiError(
        error.message || "Request failed",
        response.status,
        error.code
      );
    }

    return response.json();
  } catch (error) {
    if (error instanceof ApiError) {
      throw error;
    }
    // Network error (no internet, timeout, etc.)
    throw new ApiError("Network error", 0, "NETWORK_ERROR");
  }
};

Retry logic:

const fetchWithRetry = async (
  url: string,
  options?: RequestInit,
  retries = 3
) => {
  for (let i = 0; i < retries; i++) {
    try {
      return await fetchWithErrorHandling(url, options);
    } catch (error) {
      if (i === retries - 1) throw error;
      // Exponential backoff
      await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, Math.pow(2, i) * 1000));
    }
  }
};

---

4. Authentication

Token management:

import * as SecureStore from "expo-secure-store";

const TOKEN_KEY = "auth_token";

export const auth = {
  getToken: () => SecureStore.getItemAsync(TOKEN_KEY),
  setToken: (token: string) => SecureStore.setItemAsync(TOKEN_KEY, token),
  removeToken: () => SecureStore.deleteItemAsync(TOKEN_KEY),
};

// Authenticated fetch wrapper
const authFetch = async (url: string, options: RequestInit = {}) => {
  const token = await auth.getToken();

  return fetch(url, {
    ...options,
    headers: {
      ...options.headers,
      Authori