React Native Bottom Navigation – Example using React Navigation V5

React Native Bottom Navigation

Here is an example of React Native Bottom Navigation for Android and IOS using React Navigation V5. Bottom Navigation is very useful when you have 2-3 main navigation options. It provides the user with easy access to regular usable options.

This example is updated for the React Navigation V5. For the React Navigation V4, you can scroll to the bottom.

In this example, We will make a Bottom Navigation with navigation options like Home and Setting. Each screen has other navigation options too. So let’s get started.

To Make a React Native App

Getting started with React Native will help you to know more about the way you can make a React Native project. We are going to use react-native init to make our React Native App. Assuming that you have node installed, you can use npm to install the react-native-cli command line utility. Open the terminal and go to the workspace and run

npm install -g react-native-cli

Run the following commands to create a new React Native project

react-native init ProjectName

If you want to start a new project with a specific React Native version, you can use the --version argument:

react-native init ProjectName --version X.XX.X

react-native init ProjectName --version react-native@next

This will make a project structure with an index file named App.js in your project directory.

Installation of Dependencies

For React Native Bottom Navigation we need to add react-navigation and other supporting dependencies.

To install the dependencies open the terminal and jump into your project

cd ProjectName

1. Install react-navigation

npm install @react-navigation/native --save

2. Other supporting libraries react-native-gesture-handler, react-native-reanimated, react-native-screens and react-native-safe-area-context and @react-native-community/masked-view

npm install react-native-reanimated react-native-gesture-handler react-native-screens react-native-safe-area-context @react-native-community/masked-view --save

3. For the  Bottom Navigator install

npm install @react-navigation/bottom-tabs --save

4. We are going to use MaterialCommunityIcons to show the menu icons from react-native-vector-icons/MaterialCommunityIcons. To install react-native-vector-icons

npm install react-native-vector-icons --save

5. These steps are enough for the bottom navigation but in this example, we are also using between screens so we will also need Stack Navigator

npm install @react-navigation/stack --save

Note: When you use a navigator, you’ll need to follow the installation instructions of that navigator for any additional dependencies. If you’re getting an error “Unable to resolve module”, you need to install that module in your project.

You might get warnings related to peer dependencies after installation. They are usually caused by incorrect version ranges specified in some packages. You can safely ignore most warnings as long as your app builds.

Linking of Dependency

We need to link react-native-vector-icons library

react-native link react-native-vector-icons

CocoaPods Installation

Please use the following command to install CocoaPods

cd ios && pod install && cd ..

To finalize the installation of react-native-gesture-handler, add the following at the top (make sure it’s at the top and there’s nothing else before it) of your entry files, such as index.js or App.js:

import 'react-native-gesture-handler';

Note: If you skip this step, your app may crash in production even if it works fine in development.

Project File Structure

To start with this Example you need to create a directory named pages in your project and create four files DetailsScreen.js, HomeScreen.js, ProfileScreen.js, and SettingScreen.js in it.

Code to Create React Native Bottom Navigation

App.js

Open App.js in any code editor and replace the code with the following code.

// React Native Bottom Navigation - Example using React Navigation V5 //
// https://aboutreact.com/react-native-bottom-navigation //
import 'react-native-gesture-handler';

import * as React from 'react';
import { Button, View, Text, TouchableOpacity, Image } from 'react-native';
import MaterialCommunityIcons from 'react-native-vector-icons/MaterialCommunityIcons';

import { NavigationContainer } from '@react-navigation/native';
import { createStackNavigator } from '@react-navigation/stack';
import { createBottomTabNavigator } from '@react-navigation/bottom-tabs';

import HomeScreen from './pages/HomeScreen';
import DetailsScreen from './pages/DetailsScreen';
import ProfileScreen from './pages/ProfileScreen';
import SettingsScreen from './pages/SettingsScreen';

const Stack = createStackNavigator();
const Tab = createBottomTabNavigator();

function HomeStack() {
  return (
      <Stack.Navigator
        initialRouteName="Home"
        screenOptions={{
          headerStyle: { backgroundColor: '#42f44b' },
          headerTintColor: '#fff',
          headerTitleStyle: { fontWeight: 'bold' }
        }}>
        <Stack.Screen name="Home" component={HomeScreen} options={{ title: 'Home Page' }}/>
        <Stack.Screen name="Details" component={DetailsScreen} options={{ title: 'Details Page' }} />
      </Stack.Navigator>
  );
}

function SettingsStack() {
  return (
    <Stack.Navigator
      initialRouteName="Settings"
      screenOptions={{
        headerStyle: { backgroundColor: '#42f44b' },
        headerTintColor: '#fff',
        headerTitleStyle: { fontWeight: 'bold' }
      }}>
      <Stack.Screen name="Settings" component={SettingsScreen} options={{ title: 'Setting Page' }}/>
      <Stack.Screen name="Details" component={DetailsScreen} options={{ title: 'Details Page' }}/>
      <Stack.Screen name="Profile" component={ProfileScreen} options={{ title: 'Profile Page' }}/>
    </Stack.Navigator>
  );
}

function App() {
  return (
    <NavigationContainer>
      <Tab.Navigator
        initialRouteName="Feed"
        tabBarOptions={{
          activeTintColor: '#42f44b',
        }}>
        <Tab.Screen
          name="HomeStack"
          component={HomeStack}
          options={{
            tabBarLabel: 'Home',
            tabBarIcon: ({ color, size }) => (
              <MaterialCommunityIcons name="home" color={color} size={size} />
            ),
          }}  />
        <Tab.Screen
          name="SettingsStack"
          component={SettingsStack}
          options={{
            tabBarLabel: 'Settings',
            tabBarIcon: ({ color, size }) => (
              <MaterialCommunityIcons name="settings" color={color} size={size} />
            ),
          }} />
      </Tab.Navigator>
    </NavigationContainer>
  );
}
export default App;

HomeScreen.js

Open pages/HomeScreen.js in any code editor and place the following code.

// React Native Bottom Navigation - Example using React Navigation V5 //
// https://aboutreact.com/react-native-bottom-navigation //
import * as React from 'react';
import { TouchableOpacity, StyleSheet, View, Text, SafeAreaView } from 'react-native';

const HomeScreen = ({ navigation }) => {
  return (
    <SafeAreaView style={{ flex: 1 }}>
      <View style={{ flex: 1, padding: 16 }}>
        <View
          style={{
            flex: 1,
            alignItems: 'center',
            justifyContent: 'center',
          }}>
          <Text
            style={{
              fontSize: 25,
              textAlign: 'center',
              marginBottom: 16
            }}>
            You are on Home Screen
          </Text>
          <TouchableOpacity
            style={styles.button}
            onPress={() => navigation.navigate('SettingsStack', { screen: 'Settings' })}>
            <Text>Go to settng Tab</Text>
          </TouchableOpacity>
          <TouchableOpacity
            style={styles.button}
            onPress={() => navigation.navigate('Details')}>
            <Text>Open Details Screen</Text>
          </TouchableOpacity>
        </View>
        <Text style={{ fontSize: 18, textAlign: 'center', color: 'grey' }}>
          React Native Bottom Navigation
        </Text>
        <Text
          style={{ fontSize: 16, textAlign: 'center', color: 'grey' }}>
          www.aboutreact.com
        </Text>
      </View>
    </SafeAreaView>
  );
}

const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  button: {
    alignItems: 'center',
    backgroundColor: '#DDDDDD',
    padding: 10,
    width: 300,
    marginTop: 16,
  },
});
export default HomeScreen;

DetailsScreen.js

Open pages/DetailsScreen.js in any code editor and place the following code.

// React Native Bottom Navigation - Example using React Navigation V5 //
// https://aboutreact.com/react-native-bottom-navigation //
import * as React from 'react';
import { View, Text, SafeAreaView } from 'react-native';

const DetailsScreen = () => {
  return (
    <SafeAreaView style={{ flex: 1 }}>
      <View style={{ flex: 1 , padding: 16}}>
        <View
          style={{
            flex: 1,
            alignItems: 'center',
            justifyContent: 'center',
          }}>
          <Text
            style={{
              fontSize: 25,
              textAlign: 'center',
              marginBottom: 16
            }}>
            You are on Details Screen
          </Text>
        </View>
        <Text style={{ fontSize: 18, textAlign: 'center', color: 'grey' }}>
          React Native Bottom Navigation
        </Text>
        <Text
          style={{ fontSize: 16, textAlign: 'center', color: 'grey' }}>
          www.aboutreact.com
        </Text>
      </View>
    </SafeAreaView>
  );
}
export default DetailsScreen;

ProfileScreen.js

Open pages/ProfileScreen.js in any code editor and place the following code.

// React Native Bottom Navigation - Example using React Navigation V5 //
// https://aboutreact.com/react-native-bottom-navigation //
import * as React from 'react';
import { View, Text, SafeAreaView } from 'react-native';

const ProfileScreen = () => {
  return (
    <SafeAreaView style={{ flex: 1 }}>
      <View style={{ flex: 1, padding: 16 }}>
        <View
          style={{
            flex: 1,
            alignItems: 'center',
            justifyContent: 'center',
          }}>
          <Text
            style={{
              fontSize: 25,
              textAlign: 'center',
              marginBottom: 16
            }}>
            You are on Profile Screen
          </Text>
        </View>
        <Text style={{ fontSize: 18, textAlign: 'center', color: 'grey' }}>
          React Native Bottom Navigation
        </Text>
        <Text
          style={{ fontSize: 16, textAlign: 'center', color: 'grey' }}>
          www.aboutreact.com
        </Text>
      </View>
    </SafeAreaView>
  );
}
export default ProfileScreen;

SettingsScreen.js

Open pages/SettingsScreen.js in any code editor and place the following code.

// React Native Bottom Navigation - Example using React Navigation V5 //
// https://aboutreact.com/react-native-bottom-navigation //
import * as React from 'react';
import { TouchableOpacity, StyleSheet, View, Text, SafeAreaView } from 'react-native';

const SettingsScreen = ({ route, navigation }) => {
  return (
    <SafeAreaView style={{ flex: 1 }}>
      <View style={{ flex: 1, padding: 16 }}>
        <View
          style={{
            flex: 1,
            alignItems: 'center',
            justifyContent: 'center',
          }}>
          <Text
            style={{
              fontSize: 25,
              textAlign: 'center',
              marginBottom: 16
            }}>
            You are on Setting Screen
          </Text>
          <TouchableOpacity
            style={styles.button}
            onPress={() => navigation.navigate('Home')}>
            <Text>Go to Home Tab</Text>
          </TouchableOpacity>
          <TouchableOpacity
            style={styles.button}
            onPress={() => navigation.navigate('Details')}>
            <Text>Open Detail Screen</Text>
          </TouchableOpacity>
          <TouchableOpacity
            style={styles.button}
            onPress={() => navigation.navigate('Profile')}>
            <Text>Open Profile Screen</Text>
          </TouchableOpacity>
        </View>
        <Text style={{ fontSize: 18, textAlign: 'center', color: 'grey' }}>
          React Native Bottom Navigation
        </Text>
        <Text
          style={{ fontSize: 16, textAlign: 'center', color: 'grey' }}>
          www.aboutreact.com
        </Text>
      </View>
    </SafeAreaView>
  );
}
const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  button: {
    alignItems: 'center',
    backgroundColor: '#DDDDDD',
    padding: 10,
    width: 300,
    marginTop: 16,
  },
});
export default SettingsScreen;

To Run the React Native App

Open the terminal again and jump into your project using.

cd ProjectName

To run the project on an Android Virtual Device or on real debugging device

react-native run-android

or on the iOS Simulator by running

react-native run-ios (macOS only).

Output Screenshots

Android (Home menu with details screen in it)

IOS (Home menu with details screen in it)

Android (Setting menu with detail and profile screens in it)

IOS (Setting menu with detail and profile screens in it)

In this example, we have used MaterialCommunityIcons for the bottom navigation tab icons. If you want to use the icons from the local directory of your project then please visit our next post on Bottom Navigation with Navigation Icon from Local Directory. This will be a similar example but the bottom tab icon will be from the project’s local directory.

Output in Online Emulator

That was the React Native Bottom Navigation for Android and IOS using React Navigation V5. If you have any doubts or you want to share something about the topic you can comment below or contact us here. There will be more posts coming soon. Stay tuned!

I hope you liked it. 🙂

For React Navigation V4

If you are starting a new app or learning for the first time you should follow V5 steps to create Bottom Navigation but if you are still developing the application using React Navigation V4 then you can follow the below steps.

Installation of Dependencies

Please run following commands in your project directory to install the dependencies

npm install react-navigation --save

npm install react-native-gesture-handler react-native-safe-area-context @react-native-community/masked-view react-native-screens react-native-reanimated --save

npm install react-navigation-tabs --save

npm install react-navigation-stack --save

npm install react-native-vector-icons --save

react-native link react-native-vector-icons

cd ios && pod install && cd ..

Code

App.js

//This is an example code for Bottom Navigation//
import React from 'react';
import { Button, Text, View, TouchableOpacity, StyleSheet } from 'react-native';
//import all the basic component we have used
import Ionicons from 'react-native-vector-icons/Ionicons';
//import Ionicons to show the icon for bottom options

//import React Navigation
import {createAppContainer} from 'react-navigation';
import {createBottomTabNavigator} from 'react-navigation-tabs';
import {createStackNavigator} from 'react-navigation-stack';

import HomeScreen from './pages/HomeScreen';
import SettingsScreen from './pages/SettingsScreen';
import DetailsScreen from './pages/DetailsScreen';
import ProfileScreen from './pages/ProfileScreen';
const HomeStack = createStackNavigator(
  {
    //Defination of Navigaton from home screen
    Home: { screen: HomeScreen },
    Details: { screen: DetailsScreen },
  },
  {
    defaultNavigationOptions: {
      //Header customization of the perticular Screen
      headerStyle: {
        backgroundColor: '#42f44b',
      },
      headerTintColor: '#FFFFFF',
      title: 'Home',
      //Header title
    },
  }
);
const SettingsStack = createStackNavigator(
  {
    //Defination of Navigaton from setting screen
    Settings: { screen: SettingsScreen },
    Details: { screen: DetailsScreen },
    Profile: { screen: ProfileScreen },
  },
  {
    defaultNavigationOptions: {
      //Header customization of the perticular Screen
      headerStyle: {
        backgroundColor: '#42f44b',
      },
      headerTintColor: '#FFFFFF',
      title: 'Settings',
      //Header title
    },
  }
);
const App = createBottomTabNavigator(
  {
    Home: { screen: HomeStack },
    Settings: { screen: SettingsStack },
  },
  {
    defaultNavigationOptions: ({ navigation }) => ({
      tabBarIcon: ({ focused, horizontal, tintColor }) => {
        const { routeName } = navigation.state;
        let IconComponent = Ionicons;
        let iconName;
        if (routeName === 'Home') {
          iconName = `ios-information-circle${focused ? '' : '-outline'}`;
        } else if (routeName === 'Settings') {
          iconName = `ios-checkmark-circle${focused ? '' : '-outline'}`;
        }
        return <IconComponent name={iconName} size={25} color={tintColor} />;
      },
    }),
    tabBarOptions: {
      activeTintColor: '#42f44b',
      inactiveTintColor: 'gray',
    },
  }
);
export default createAppContainer(App);

pages/HomeScreen.js

//This is an example code for Bottom Navigation//
import React from 'react';
//import react in our code.
import { Text, View, TouchableOpacity, StyleSheet } from 'react-native';
//import all the basic component we have used

export default class HomeScreen extends React.Component {
  //Home Screen to show in Home Option
  render() {
    return (
      <View style={{ flex: 1, justifyContent: 'center', alignItems: 'center' }}>
        <Text style={{ marginTop: 50, fontSize: 25 }}>Home!</Text>
        <View
          style={{ flex: 1, justifyContent: 'center', alignItems: 'center' }}>
          <TouchableOpacity
            style={styles.button}
            onPress={() => this.props.navigation.navigate('Settings')}>
            <Text>Go to settng Tab</Text>
          </TouchableOpacity>
          <TouchableOpacity
            style={styles.button}
            onPress={() => this.props.navigation.navigate('Details')}>
            <Text>Open Details Screen</Text>
          </TouchableOpacity>
        </View>
      </View>
    );
  }
}
const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  button: {
    alignItems: 'center',
    backgroundColor: '#DDDDDD',
    padding: 10,
    width: 300,
    marginTop: 16,
  },
});

pages/DetailsScreen.js

//This is an example code for Bottom Navigation//
import React from 'react';
//import react in our code.
import { Text, View, TouchableOpacity, StyleSheet } from 'react-native';
//import all the basic component we have used

export default class DetailsScreen extends React.Component {
  //Detail Screen to show from any Open detail button
  render() {
    return (
      <View style={{ flex: 1, justifyContent: 'center', alignItems: 'center' }}>
        <Text>Details!</Text>
      </View>
    );
  }
}

pages/ProfileScreen.js

//This is an example code for Bottom Navigation//
import React from 'react';
//import react in our code.
import { Text, View, TouchableOpacity, StyleSheet } from 'react-native';
//import all the basic component we have used

export default class ProfileScreen extends React.Component {
  //Profile Screen to show from Open profile button
  render() {
    return (
      <View style={{ flex: 1, justifyContent: 'center', alignItems: 'center' }}>
        <Text>Profile!</Text>
      </View>
    );
  }
}

pages/SettingsScreen.js

//This is an example code for Bottom Navigation//
import React from 'react';
//import react in our code.
import { Text, View, TouchableOpacity, StyleSheet } from 'react-native';
//import all the basic component we have used

export default class SettingsScreen extends React.Component {
  //Setting Screen to show in Setting Option
  render() {
    return (
      <View style={{ flex: 1, justifyContent: 'center', alignItems: 'center' }}>
        <Text style={{ marginTop: 50, fontSize: 25 }}>Setting!</Text>
        <View
          style={{ flex: 1, justifyContent: 'center', alignItems: 'center' }}>
          <TouchableOpacity
            style={styles.button}
            onPress={() => this.props.navigation.navigate('Home')}>
            <Text>Go to Home Tab</Text>
          </TouchableOpacity>
          <TouchableOpacity
            style={styles.button}
            onPress={() => this.props.navigation.navigate('Details')}>
            <Text>Open Detail Screen</Text>
          </TouchableOpacity>
          <TouchableOpacity
            style={styles.button}
            onPress={() => this.props.navigation.navigate('Profile')}>
            <Text>Open Profile Screen</Text>
          </TouchableOpacity>
        </View>
      </View>
    );
  }
}
const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  button: {
    alignItems: 'center',
    backgroundColor: '#DDDDDD',
    padding: 10,
    width: 300,
    marginTop: 16,
  },
});

React Navigation V5 update brings lots of changes in terms of performance and structure. I will suggest you switch to V5 if you are on V4.