---
title: "Run the demo app"
description: "Build and run the React Native reference wallet on a device or simulator."
canonical: https://wavelength.lightning.engineering/react-native/get-started/run-the-demo-app/
---

> Docs index: https://wavelength.lightning.engineering/llms.txt

# Run the demo app

## Clone and install

The reference integration lives in the Wavelength monorepo at `apps/rn-wallet-demo`. Clone the repository, install dependencies with pnpm, and build the workspace packages:

```sh
git clone https://github.com/lightninglabs/wavelength-sdk.git
cd wavelength-sdk
pnpm install
pnpm build
```

The demo needs the native wallet runtime binaries staged before it can build. Point `WAVELENGTH_DIR` at a daemon source checkout and run the package’s `fetch-bindings` script:

```sh
WAVELENGTH_DIR=/path/to/daemon-checkout \
  pnpm --filter @lightninglabs/wavelength-react-native run fetch-bindings
```

See [Installation](/react-native/get-started/installation/) for why the binaries ship this way and what the script stages.

## Run

Start Metro in its own terminal, then build and launch per platform:

```sh
cd apps/rn-wallet-demo
npx expo start --dev-client --clear
```

This starts Metro, the dev server that serves the JS bundle to the app. Keep it running in its own terminal; `--clear` drops a possibly stale cache.

```sh
npx expo run:android
```

This generates the native `android` project if needed, compiles the dev build, installs it on the running emulator or a connected device, and launches it.

```sh
LANG=en_US.UTF-8 npx expo run:ios
```

This does the same for the iOS simulator: generates the native `ios` project if needed, compiles the dev build, installs it, and launches it. The `LANG` prefix satisfies `pod install`’s locale requirement.

The first `expo run:*` generates the native `android/` and `ios/` projects (gitignored) and takes a while; later runs are incremental.

## Networks

The start screen offers four presets:

- **regtest** targets a local stack. Host addressing is automatic per platform: the Android emulator reaches your machine as `10.0.2.2`, the iOS simulator as `127.0.0.1`.
- **testnet** and **signet** target the public test network deployments over TLS and also work on physical devices.

Every endpoint is editable under “Advanced endpoints” before starting, so a preset is a starting point, not a limit.

## What the demo shows

The app exercises the full wallet flow: create, restore, or unlock (password or passkey), recovery-phrase backup, on-chain boarding and Lightning receive with scannable QRs, send, live activity, local-data wipe, and light/dark themes. It mirrors the web demo screen for screen, so the two SDK surfaces can be compared directly; see [Demo app](/web/support/demo-app/) for the web counterpart.