A Modern CodePush Alternative for React Native

What happened to CodePush?

Microsoft retired the hosted App Center CodePush service on March 31, 2025. Teams that relied on CodePush for OTA updates now need to decide how they want to handle their existing update workflow.

A small change shouldn't mean a large download

A designer asks for a small UI change. Your JavaScript bundle changes by only a few lines, but a full-bundle OTA workflow may still require users to download the entire bundle. Stallion Patch Updates can generate a differential patch containing the changes between releases.

Example from a Stallion patch update. Actual patch size varies depending on bundle size and the changes included in a release.

Patch Delivery: Any-to-Any, On Demand

Stallion Patch Updates support binary-safe differential delivery with on-demand patch generation between any two Stallion bundle versions.

A patch is automatically generated between the previous and new release as part of the normal release workflow. When users need to move across a version gap, Stallion can generate the required patch on demand rather than requiring every intermediate release to be applied first. This gives teams more flexibility when users are running different versions of an app.

Performance Benchmarks — React Native Stallion Patch Updates

Patch size depends heavily on the type and size of the change. The examples below illustrate how small a differential update can become compared with a full bundle.

Illustrative Stallion patch scenarios. Actual patch size varies by bundle, React Native version, and the files changed in a release.

The practical benefit is straightforward: when a change can be represented by a small patch, users download substantially less data than they would with a full bundle.

What are your options now?

If you're moving away from CodePush, there are several paths you can take. The right choice depends on how much infrastructure your team wants to manage and how much control you need over releases.

For organizations with stricter infrastructure requirements, Stallion also supports regional hosting, self-hosted and on-premise deployment options.

Cost-Effective OTA for React Native

OTA pricing matters once your application starts reaching larger MAU counts and shipping frequently. Stallion is designed to keep the cost of production OTA predictable:

The Enterprise plan is fully customizable to the application's scale and organizational requirements. See Stallion pricing →

What should you look for in a CodePush replacement?

The right OTA platform should fit the way your team actually ships and operates React Native applications.

Different OTA solutions fit different teams. Self-hosted CodePush forks may make sense for teams that want to preserve a familiar workflow while managing the infrastructure themselves. Stallion is designed for teams that want a managed React Native OTA platform with efficient differential updates, release controls, testing, analytics, security, and enterprise deployment options.

OTA Update Reliability

A production OTA platform should protect the application from incomplete, corrupted, or unavailable updates.

Look for safeguards such as:

Stallion combines cryptographic verification, atomic patch application, rollback, and crash-aware recovery to help keep failed OTA releases from becoming broken application states.

Built for the React Native Stack You Already Use

Whether you're using bare React Native or Expo, Stallion fits into your existing application and deployment workflow.

Learn more in our Expo integration guide and New Architecture documentation.

Built From the Ground Up for Enterprise OTA

Stallion is built with enterprise OTA requirements in mind—not simply a hosted replacement for a legacy update service. Enterprise deployments can combine:

The platform is designed to support organizations that need production-grade security, reliability, compliance, and control around their React Native update infrastructure.

For regulated or security-sensitive workloads, regional hosting and on-premise deployment provide additional control over where OTA infrastructure and data operate.

Migrate from CodePush to Stallion

Stallion provides a modern CodePush replacement for teams migrating legacy React Native OTA workflows. Move your existing OTA workflow to Stallion and validate the migration before rolling it out to production.

The migration at a glance

npm install react-native-stallion

@Override
protected String getJSBundleFile() {
    return Stallion.getJSBundleFile(getApplicationContext());
}

- (NSURL *)bundleURL {
    #if DEBUG
        return [[RCTBundleURLProvider sharedSettings] jsBundleURLForBundleRoot:@"index"];
    #else
        return [StallionModule getBundleURL];
    #endif
}

import { withStallion } from "react-native-stallion";

const MyApp = () => {
    // Your App.js Code
}

export default withStallion(MyApp);

npm install --save-dev stallion-cli

npx stallion publish-bundle \
  --upload-path=<orgname>/<project-name>/<bucket-name> \
  --platform=<android/ios> \
  --release-note="Migrated from CodePush"

Before you migrate

A little preparation can make the transition smoother.

• Check your React Native version.
• Review your current CodePush deployment setup.
• Identify native changes that still require an app-store release.
• Decide how you'll test your first Stallion release.
• Plan a gradual production rollout.

Common migration mistakes

For a deeper technical breakdown, see our blog post on CodePush alternatives.

Related Resources