A
AASA
apple-app-site-association — a JSON file hosted at /.well-known/ that tells iOS which paths on your domain should open your app via Universal Links.
AI app builder
Software that generates a working application from a natural-language prompt. Mobile-first variants produce native React Native code; web-first variants produce web apps.
App Store Connect (ASC)
Apple's portal for managing iOS app submissions, TestFlight, IAP products, pricing, and App Privacy labels.
App Links
Android equivalent of iOS Universal Links — https URLs that open your app if installed, falling back to web otherwise.
App Privacy labels
Nutrition-label-style disclosures in App Store Connect describing what data your app collects. Must match your privacy policy.
ASO
App Store Optimization — the practice of improving App Store and Play Store search ranking and conversion through keywords, screenshots, and reviews.
AsyncStorage
React Native key-value storage library. Works fine for small data; slower than MMKV.
B
BaaS
Backend-as-a-Service — managed auth, database, storage, and realtime in one product. Supabase and Firebase are the 2026 defaults.
Bare workflow
Expo workflow with full native project access — you edit Xcode and Android Studio projects directly. Opposite of managed workflow.
Bundle ID
Unique reverse-DNS identifier for an iOS app (e.g., com.yourco.myapp). Must match across app.json, App Store Connect, and Stripe Merchant ID.
C
CCPA
California Consumer Privacy Act — requires disclosures and opt-out rights for California users. CPRA extended it in 2023.
Clerk
Auth-as-a-service with pre-built UI components, passkeys, and excellent Expo support. Popular pick for consumer apps.
Config plugin
Expo mechanism for modifying native iOS and Android configuration at build time. How libraries like RevenueCat and React Native Firebase integrate.
Cursor
AI-first IDE (VS Code fork) with tab-to-accept autocomplete, Composer for multi-file edits, and chat. Popular for day-to-day RN development.
D
Data Safety form
Google Play equivalent of App Privacy labels — declares what data your app collects and shares.
Deep link
A URL that opens your app at a specific screen. Custom-scheme (myapp://) or Universal/App Links (https://).
Drizzle
TypeScript ORM that works well with SQLite and Postgres. Popular for adding typed queries to Expo apps.
E
EAS
Expo Application Services — managed build (EAS Build), submit (EAS Submit), and update (EAS Update) services for Expo projects.
EAS Build
Cloud service that produces signed iOS and Android binaries from your Expo project.
EAS Update
Over-the-air (OTA) JavaScript update service — ship JS-only fixes without App Store review.
Entitlement (RevenueCat)
A named capability (e.g., 'pro') that maps to one or more subscription products. Lets you grant access independent of the specific SKU.
Expo
Framework and platform for building React Native apps with managed native configuration, cloud builds, and OTA updates.
Expo Go
Dev-sandbox app for Expo projects. Works for basic features but not for custom native modules or most in-app purchases.
Expo Router
File-based routing for Expo apps — directory structure maps to navigation and URLs. Default for new apps in 2026.
F
Fabric
React Native's modern rendering architecture. Closed most historical performance gaps with native.
Firebase
Google's BaaS — auth, Firestore (document DB), Realtime Database, storage, functions. Strong free tier for auth.
FlashList
Shopify's drop-in replacement for FlatList with dramatically better scroll performance on long or mixed-size lists.
G
GDPR
General Data Protection Regulation — EU law requiring specific data rights, disclosures, and controls. Applies to any app with EU users.
H
HealthKit
Apple's framework for accessing health and fitness data. Available in Expo via expo-health or react-native-health.
Hermes
React Native's default JavaScript engine — faster startup and lower memory than JavaScriptCore.
I
IAP
In-App Purchase — Apple or Google's mechanism for selling digital goods/services. Required for digital content; not required for physical goods.
Impeller
Flutter's modern rendering engine, similar in role to React Native's Fabric.
J
JSI
JavaScript Interface — React Native mechanism for direct synchronous calls between JS and native, replacing the older bridge.
L
LWW
Last-Write-Wins — conflict-resolution strategy where the most recent timestamp wins. The simplest offline-sync conflict resolution.
M
MAU
Monthly Active Users — pricing metric for Clerk, Supabase, Firebase, and similar providers.
MMKV
Fast key-value storage library (react-native-mmkv). Synchronous reads, ~30x faster than AsyncStorage.
N
NativeWind
Tailwind CSS for React Native — class-based styling. Popular in 2026 for its DX.
O
OTA update
Over-the-air update. Via EAS Update, you ship JavaScript fixes without going through App Store review.
P
PaymentIntent
Stripe object representing a payment attempt. Create server-side, confirm client-side via PaymentSheet.
PaymentSheet
Stripe's prebuilt payment UI component. Handles card entry, Apple Pay, Google Pay, 3DS.
PWA
Progressive Web App — a website that can install to the home screen. Limited mobile capabilities vs native.
R
Reanimated
react-native-reanimated — library for animations that run on the UI thread. Default for any serious animation work in 2026.
RevenueCat
Subscription platform that abstracts iOS and Google Play IAP. Provides entitlements, webhooks, and cross-platform sync.
RLS
Row-Level Security — Postgres feature (used by Supabase) that restricts which rows a user can read or write. Essential for multi-tenant apps.
S
Safe Area
The part of the screen not covered by notches, home indicators, or status bars. Use SafeAreaView or react-native-safe-area-context.
Scheme
Custom URL scheme (e.g., myapp://) that opens your app. Defined in app.json for Expo.
ShipNative
AI-native mobile app builder that generates Expo React Native projects from prompts, screenshots, or PRDs.
Stripe Connect
Stripe's marketplace product — handles split payments, KYC, and payouts to third-party sellers or providers.
Supabase
Open-source BaaS on top of Postgres. Auth, database, storage, realtime, functions. Default pick for most 2026 mobile apps.
T
TestFlight
Apple's beta testing system. Internal (up to 100 testers, no review) or external (up to 10k testers, requires beta review).
TurboModules
Modern React Native native module system that pairs with the New Architecture. Replaces the older bridge-based modules.
U
Universal Link
Apple mechanism that makes https URLs open your app when installed, falling back to web otherwise. Modern replacement for custom schemes.
W
WatermelonDB
Reactive SQLite database for React Native, built for offline-first apps at scale.
Webhook
HTTP callback from a service (Stripe, RevenueCat, Supabase) when an event happens. Secures the server-side source of truth.
Where to go next
Use this as a reference as you read the rest of the ShipNative blog. Deep dives worth starting with: What Is an AI App Builder?, Prompt Engineering for Mobile Apps, and From Zero to App Store: 30-Day Timeline.