Native Stack Navigator

Native Stack Navigator provides a way for your app to transition between screens where each new screen is placed on top of a stack.

This navigator uses the native APIs UINavigationController on iOS and Fragment on Android so that navigation built with createNativeStackNavigator will behave exactly the same and have the same performance characteristics as apps built natively on top of those APIs. It also offers basic Web support using react-native-web.

One thing to keep in mind is that while @react-navigation/native-stack offers native performance and exposes native features such as large title on iOS etc., it may not be as customizable as @react-navigation/stack depending on your needs. So if you need more customization than what's possible in this navigator, consider using @react-navigation/stack instead - which is a more customizable JavaScript based implementation.

Installation

To use this navigator, ensure that you have @react-navigation/native and its dependencies (follow this guide), then install @react-navigation/native-stack:

npm

npm install @react-navigation/native-stack@^6.x

Yarn

yarn add @react-navigation/native-stack@^6.x

pnpm

pnpm add @react-navigation/native-stack@^6.x

API Definition

💡 If you encounter any bugs while using createNativeStackNavigator, please open issues on react-native-screens rather than the react-navigation repository!

To use this navigator, import it from @react-navigation/native-stack:

import { createNativeStackNavigator } from '@react-navigation/native-stack';

const Stack = createNativeStackNavigator();

function MyStack() {
  return (
    <Stack.Navigator>
      <Stack.Screen name="Home" component={Home} />
      <Stack.Screen name="Notifications" component={Notifications} />
      <Stack.Screen name="Profile" component={Profile} />
      <Stack.Screen name="Settings" component={Settings} />
    </Stack.Navigator>
  );
}

Props

The Stack.Navigator component accepts following props:

id

Optional unique ID for the navigator. This can be used with navigation.getParent to refer to this navigator in a child navigator.

initialRouteName

The name of the route to render on first load of the navigator.

screenOptions

Default options to use for the screens in the navigator.

Options

The following options can be used to configure the screens in the navigator:

title

String that can be used as a fallback for headerTitle.

headerBackButtonMenuEnabled

Boolean indicating whether to show the menu on longPress of iOS >= 14 back button. Defaults to true.

Requires react-native-screens version >=3.3.0.

Only supported on iOS.

headerBackVisible

Whether the back button is visible in the header. You can use it to show a back button alongside headerLeft if you have specified it.

This will have no effect on the first screen in the stack.

headerBackTitle

Title string used by the back button on iOS. Defaults to the previous scene's title, or "Back" if there's not enough space. Use headerBackTitleVisible: false to hide it.

Only supported on iOS.

headerBackTitleVisible

Whether the back button title should be visible or not.

Only supported on iOS.

headerBackTitleStyle

Style object for header back title. Supported properties:

• fontFamily
• fontSize

Only supported on iOS.

headerBackImageSource

Image to display in the header as the icon in the back button. Defaults to back icon image for the platform

• A chevron on iOS
• An arrow on Android

headerLargeStyle

Style of the header when a large title is shown. The large title is shown if headerLargeTitle is true and the edge of any scrollable content reaches the matching edge of the header.

Supported properties:

• backgroundColor

Only supported on iOS.

headerLargeTitle

Whether to enable header with large title which collapses to regular header on scroll.

For large title to collapse on scroll, the content of the screen should be wrapped in a scrollable view such as ScrollView or FlatList. If the scrollable area doesn't fill the screen, the large title won't collapse on scroll. You also need to specify contentInsetAdjustmentBehavior="automatic" in your ScrollView, FlatList etc.

Only supported on iOS.

headerLargeTitleShadowVisible

Whether drop shadow of header is visible when a large title is shown.

headerLargeTitleStyle

Style object for large title in header. Supported properties:

• fontFamily
• fontSize
• fontWeight
• color

Only supported on iOS.

headerShown

Whether to show the header. The header is shown by default. Setting this to false hides the header.

headerStyle

Style object for header. Supported properties:

• backgroundColor

headerShadowVisible

Whether to hide the elevation shadow (Android) or the bottom border (iOS) on the header.

headerTransparent

Boolean indicating whether the navigation bar is translucent.

Defaults to false. Setting this to true makes the header absolutely positioned - so that the header floats over the screen so that it overlaps the content underneath, and changes the background color to transparent unless specified in headerStyle.

This is useful if you want to render a semi-transparent header or a blurred background.

Note that if you don't want your content to appear under the header, you need to manually add a top margin to your content. React Navigation won't do it automatically.

To get the height of the header, you can use HeaderHeightContext with React's Context API or useHeaderHeight.

headerBlurEffect

Blur effect for the translucent header. The headerTransparent option needs to be set to true for this to work.

Supported values:

• extraLight
• light
• dark
• regular
• prominent
• systemUltraThinMaterial
• systemThinMaterial
• systemMaterial
• systemThickMaterial
• systemChromeMaterial
• systemUltraThinMaterialLight
• systemThinMaterialLight
• systemMaterialLight
• systemThickMaterialLight
• systemChromeMaterialLight
• systemUltraThinMaterialDark
• systemThinMaterialDark
• systemMaterialDark
• systemThickMaterialDark
• systemChromeMaterialDark

Only supported on iOS.

headerBackground

Function which returns a React Element to render as the background of the header. This is useful for using backgrounds such as an image or a gradient.

headerTintColor

Tint color for the header. Changes the color of back button and title.

headerLeft

Function which returns a React Element to display on the left side of the header. This replaces the back button. See headerBackVisible to show the back button along side left element.

headerRight

Function which returns a React Element to display on the right side of the header.

headerTitle

String or a function that returns a React Element to be used by the header. Defaults to title or name of the screen.

When a function is passed, it receives tintColor andchildren in the options object as an argument. The title string is passed in children.

Note that if you render a custom element by passing a function, animations for the title won't work.

headerTitleAlign

How to align the header title. Possible values:

• left
• center

Defaults to left on platforms other than iOS.

Not supported on iOS. It's always center on iOS and cannot be changed.

headerTitleStyle

Style object for header title. Supported properties:

• fontFamily
• fontSize
• fontWeight
• color

headerSearchBarOptions

Options to render a native search bar on iOS. Search bars are rarely static so normally it is controlled by passing an object to headerSearchBarOptions navigation option in the component's body. You also need to specify contentInsetAdjustmentBehavior="automatic" in your ScrollView, FlatList etc. If you don't have a ScrollView, specify headerTransparent: false.

Only supported on iOS and Android.

Example:

React.useLayoutEffect(() => {
  navigation.setOptions({
    headerSearchBarOptions: {
      // search bar options
    },
  });
}, [navigation]);

Supported properties are:

ref

Ref to manipulate the search input imperatively. It contains the following methods:

• focus - focuses the search bar
• blur - removes focus from the search bar
• setText - sets the search bar's content to given value
• clearText - removes any text present in the search bar input field
• cancelSearch - cancel the search and close the search bar

autoCapitalize

Controls whether the text is automatically auto-capitalized as it is entered by the user. Possible values:

• none
• words
• sentences
• characters

Defaults to sentences.

autoFocus

Whether to automatically focus search bar when it's shown. Defaults to false.

Only supported on Android.

barTintColor

The search field background color. By default bar tint color is translucent.

Only supported on iOS.

tintColor

The color for the cursor caret and cancel button text.

Only supported on iOS.

cancelButtonText

The text to be used instead of default Cancel button text.

Only supported on iOS.

disableBackButtonOverride

Whether the back button should close search bar's text input or not. Defaults to false.

Only supported on Android.

hideNavigationBar

Boolean indicating whether to hide the navigation bar during searching. Defaults to true.

Only supported on iOS.

hideWhenScrolling

Boolean indicating whether to hide the search bar when scrolling. Defaults to true.

Only supported on iOS.

inputType

The type of the input. Defaults to "text".

Supported values:

• "text"
• "phone"
• "number"
• "email"

Only supported on Android.

obscureBackground

Boolean indicating whether to obscure the underlying content with semi-transparent overlay. Defaults to true.

placeholder

Text displayed when search field is empty.

textColor

The color of the text in the search field.

hintTextColor

The color of the hint text in the search field.

Only supported on Android.

headerIconColor

The color of the search and close icons shown in the header

Only supported on Android.

shouldShowHintSearchIcon

Whether to show the search hint icon when search bar is focused. Defaults to true.

Only supported on Android.

onBlur

A callback that gets called when search bar has lost focus.

onCancelButtonPress

A callback that gets called when the cancel button is pressed.

onChangeText

A callback that gets called when the text changes. It receives the current text value of the search bar.

Example:

const [search, setSearch] = React.useState('');

React.useLayoutEffect(() => {
  navigation.setOptions({
    headerSearchBarOptions: {
      onChangeText: (event) => setSearch(event.nativeEvent.text),
    },
  });
}, [navigation]);

header

Custom header to use instead of the default header.

This accepts a function that returns a React Element to display as a header. The function receives an object containing the following properties as the argument:

• navigation - The navigation object for the current screen.
• route - The route object for the current screen.
• options - The options for the current screen
• back - Options for the back button, contains an object with a title property to use for back button label.

Example:

import { getHeaderTitle } from '@react-navigation/elements';

// ..

header: ({ navigation, route, options, back }) => {
  const title = getHeaderTitle(options, route.name);

  return (
    <MyHeader
      title={title}
      leftButton={
        back ? <MyBackButton onPress={navigation.goBack} /> : undefined
      }
      style={options.headerStyle}
    />
  );
};

To set a custom header for all the screens in the navigator, you can specify this option in the screenOptions prop of the navigator.

Note that if you specify a custom header, the native functionality such as large title, search bar etc. won't work.

statusBarAnimation

Sets the status bar animation (similar to the StatusBar component). Defaults to fade on iOS and none on Android.

Supported values:

• "fade"
• "none"
• "slide"

On Android, setting either fade or slide will set the transition of status bar color. On iOS, this option applies to appereance animation of the status bar.

Requires setting View controller-based status bar appearance -> YES (or removing the config) in your Info.plist file.

Only supported on Android and iOS.

statusBarHidden

Whether the status bar should be hidden on this screen.

Requires setting View controller-based status bar appearance -> YES (or removing the config) in your Info.plist file.

Only supported on Android and iOS.

statusBarStyle

Sets the status bar color (similar to the StatusBar component). Defaults to auto.

Supported values:

• "auto"
• "inverted" (iOS only)
• "dark"
• "light"

Requires setting View controller-based status bar appearance -> YES (or removing the config) in your Info.plist file.

Only supported on Android and iOS.

statusBarColor

Sets the status bar color (similar to the StatusBar component). Defaults to initial status bar color.

Only supported on Android.

statusBarTranslucent

Sets the translucency of the status bar (similar to the StatusBar component). Defaults to false.

Only supported on Android.

contentStyle

Style object for the scene content.

customAnimationOnGesture

Whether the gesture to dismiss should use animation provided to animation prop. Defaults to false.

Doesn't affect the behavior of screens presented modally.

Only supported on iOS.

fullScreenGestureEnabled

Whether the gesture to dismiss should work on the whole screen. Using gesture to dismiss with this option results in the same transition animation as simple_push. This behavior can be changed by setting customAnimationOnGesture prop. Achieving the default iOS animation isn't possible due to platform limitations. Defaults to false.

Doesn't affect the behavior of screens presented modally.

Only supported on iOS.

gestureEnabled

Whether you can use gestures to dismiss this screen. Defaults to true. Only supported on iOS.

animationTypeForReplace

The type of animation to use when this screen replaces another screen. Defaults to pop.

Supported values:

• push: the new screen will perform push animation.
• pop: the new screen will perform pop animation.

animation

How the screen should animate when pushed or popped.

Supported values:

• default: use the platform default animation
• fade: fade screen in or out
• fade_from_bottom: fade the new screen from bottom
• flip: flip the screen, requires presentation: "modal" (iOS only)
• simple_push: default animation, but without shadow and native header transition (iOS only, uses default animation on Android)
• slide_from_bottom: slide in the new screen from bottom
• slide_from_right: slide in the new screen from right (Android only, uses default animation on iOS)
• slide_from_left: slide in the new screen from left (Android only, uses default animation on iOS)
• none: don't animate the screen

Only supported on Android and iOS.

presentation

How should the screen be presented.

Supported values:

• card: the new screen will be pushed onto a stack, which means the default animation will be slide from the side on iOS, the animation on Android will vary depending on the OS version and theme.
• modal: the new screen will be presented modally. this also allows for a nested stack to be rendered inside the screen.
• transparentModal: the new screen will be presented modally, but in addition, the previous screen will stay so that the content below can still be seen if the screen has translucent background.
• containedModal: will use "UIModalPresentationCurrentContext" modal style on iOS and will fallback to "modal" on Android.
• containedTransparentModal: will use "UIModalPresentationOverCurrentContext" modal style on iOS and will fallback to "transparentModal" on Android.
• fullScreenModal: will use "UIModalPresentationFullScreen" modal style on iOS and will fallback to "modal" on Android. A screen using this presentation style can't be dismissed by gesture.
• formSheet: will use "UIModalPresentationFormSheet" modal style on iOS and will fallback to "modal" on Android.

Only supported on Android and iOS.

orientation

The display orientation to use for the screen.

Supported values:

• default - resolves to "all" without "portrait_down" on iOS. On Android, this lets the system decide the best orientation.
• all: all orientations are permitted.
• portrait: portrait orientations are permitted.
• portrait_up: right-side portrait orientation is permitted.
• portrait_down: upside-down portrait orientation is permitted.
• landscape: landscape orientations are permitted.
• landscape_left: landscape-left orientation is permitted.
• landscape_right: landscape-right orientation is permitted.

Only supported on Android and iOS.

autoHideHomeIndicator

Boolean indicating whether the home indicator should prefer to stay hidden. Defaults to false.

Only supported on iOS.

gestureDirection

Sets the direction in which you should swipe to dismiss the screen.

Supported values:

• vertical – dismiss screen vertically
• horizontal – dismiss screen horizontally (default)

When using vertical option, options fullScreenGestureEnabled: true, customAnimationOnGesture: true and animation: 'slide_from_bottom' are set by default.

Only supported on iOS.

animationDuration

Changes the duration (in milliseconds) of slide_from_bottom, fade_from_bottom, fade and simple_push transitions on iOS. Defaults to 350.

The duration of default and flip transitions isn't customizable.

Only supported on iOS.

navigationBarColor

Sets the navigation bar color. Defaults to initial status bar color.

Only supported on Android.

navigationBarHidden

Boolean indicating whether the navigation bar should be hidden. Defaults to false.

Only supported on Android.

freezeOnBlur

Boolean indicating whether to prevent inactive screens from re-rendering. Defaults to false. Defaults to true when enableFreeze() from react-native-screens package is run at the top of the application.

Requires react-native-screens version >=3.16.0.

Only supported on iOS and Android.

Events

The navigator can emit events on certain actions. Supported events are:

transitionStart

This event is fired when the transition animation starts for the current screen.

Event data:

• e.data.closing - Boolean indicating whether the screen is being opened or closed.

Example:

React.useEffect(() => {
  const unsubscribe = navigation.addListener('transitionStart', (e) => {
    // Do something
  });

  return unsubscribe;
}, [navigation]);

transitionEnd

This event is fired when the transition animation ends for the current screen.

Event data:

• e.data.closing - Boolean indicating whether the screen was opened or closed.

Example:

React.useEffect(() => {
  const unsubscribe = navigation.addListener('transitionEnd', (e) => {
    // Do something
  });

  return unsubscribe;
}, [navigation]);

Helpers

The native stack navigator adds the following methods to the navigation prop:

replace

Replaces the current screen with a new screen in the stack. The method accepts following arguments:

• name - string - Name of the route to push onto the stack.
• params - object - Screen params to pass to the destination route.

navigation.replace('Profile', { owner: 'Michaś' });

push

Pushes a new screen to top of the stack and navigate to it. The method accepts following arguments:

• name - string - Name of the route to push onto the stack.
• params - object - Screen params to pass to the destination route.

navigation.push('Profile', { owner: 'Michaś' });

pop

Pops the current screen from the stack and navigates back to the previous screen. It takes one optional argument (count), which allows you to specify how many screens to pop back by.

navigation.pop();

popToTop

Pops all of the screens in the stack except the first one and navigates to it.

navigation.popToTop();

Example

import { createNativeStackNavigator } from '@react-navigation/native-stack';

const Stack = createNativeStackNavigator();

function MyStack() {
  return (
    <Stack.Navigator
      initialRouteName="Home"
      screenOptions={{
        headerTintColor: 'white',
        headerStyle: { backgroundColor: 'tomato' },
      }}
    >
      <Stack.Screen
        name="Home"
        component={Home}
        options={{
          title: 'Awesome app',
        }}
      />
      <Stack.Screen
        name="Profile"
        component={Profile}
        options={{
          title: 'My profile',
        }}
      />
      <Stack.Screen
        name="Settings"
        component={Settings}
        options={{
          gestureEnabled: false,
        }}
      />
    </Stack.Navigator>
  );
}