---
title: "You Don’t Need a Rewrite, You Need React Native Brownfield"
description: "Discover how modern React Native Brownfield integration enables cross-platform power in native apps, without rewriting from scratch."
url: https://www.callstack.com/podcasts/you-dont-need-a-rewrite-you-need-react-native-brownfield
updated: 2026-10-24T08:39:44.346Z
---

# You Don’t Need a Rewrite, You Need React Native Brownfield

Discover how modern React Native Brownfield integration enables cross-platform power in native apps, without rewriting from scratch.

_Guests: Burak Güner, Software Developer @ Callstack; Oskar Kwaśniewski, Software Developer @ Callstack · Host: Łukasz Chludziński, Engineering Manager @ Callstack · Published 2025-05-16 · Duration 48:39 · Category: Brownfield_

Listen: [YouTube](https://youtu.be/6eYuffe4zOk?feature=shared) · [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/0NGnqXAOyfsKfXT3kridqq?si=hsBmUFCtQ4Wf2NEXtu7Utg) · [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/you-dont-need-a-rewrite-you-need-react-native/id1525543072?i=1000708718538) · [SoundCloud](https://soundcloud.com/user-985069846/you-dont-need-a-rewrite-you-need-react-native-brownfield-react-universe-on-air-coffee-talk-27?si=2272626d0924417caf598694fc4bcfa0&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing)

Is rewriting your app from scratch the only path forward? Not quite.

In this episode of Coffee Talk, we dive into a smarter alternative: React Native Brownfield integration. It’s a practical way to bring cross-platform power into existing native apps—without blowing up your architecture or CI pipeline.

Join Łukasz Chludziński and his guests, Oskar Kwaśniewski and Burak Güner—core contributors to React Native and the minds behind brownfield tooling—as they unpack how modern integrations are evolving.

With firsthand experience building at the edge of React Native Core, they walk through the patterns, tools, and decisions that make large-scale brownfield integrations viable today.

## Reinventing React Native Brownfield

Brownfield used to be brittle: manual bridging, chaotic initialization, version mismatches. But that’s no longer the story. Thanks to recent updates in React Native Core—including factory APIs like `RootViewFactory`  and `ReactNativeFactory`—brownfield setups are cleaner and easier to scale.

Even better, with the release of [React Native Brownfield 1.0.0](https://www.callstack.com/blog/powering-native-apps-with-react-native-brownfield), Callstack’s library now supports:

- A simplified, more predictable API
- Packaging as a native framework
- Compatibility with SwiftUI and Jetpack Compose

These updates make it easier to reason about hybrid apps, reduce integration debt, and align React Native with modern native paradigms.

## What you’ll learn about brownfield app development

- What really separates greenfield from brownfield—beyond the buzzwords
- How new factory APIs eliminate boilerplate and make setup consistent
- Tips to avoid side effects and keep your codebase clean
- Why native framework packaging makes modular adoption easier
- How this approach works for both legacy apps and emerging platforms like visionOS
- Where the performance trade-offs live—and how to manage them

## Resources for exploring brownfield React Native further

- Łukasz Chludziński on [X](https://x.com/lukasz_app), [Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/lukasz.app), and [GitHub](https://github.com/lukasz-app)
- Oskar Kwaśniewski on [X](https://x.com/o_kwasniewski/) and [GitHub](https://github.com/okwasniewski)
- Burak Güner on [X](https://x.com/_atlj) and [GitHub](https://github.com/atlj)
- React Native Brownfield on [GitHub](https://github.com/callstack/react-native-brownfield)
- Burak’s article [Powering Native Apps with React Native Brownfield](https://www.callstack.com/blog/powering-native-apps-with-react-native-brownfield)
- React Universe On Air #6: [Brownfield Development With React Native](https://www.callstack.com/podcasts/brownfield-development-with-react-native-6)
- React Universe On Air #13: [Migration to React Native](https://www.callstack.com/podcasts/migration-to-react-native)

Insights

## Learn more about Brownfield

Here's everything we published recently on this topic.

[View all](https://www.callstack.com/insights)

- [React Native Brownfield Deep Dive: How RN Moves Into Native Applications](https://www.callstack.com/events/react-native-brownfield-deep-dive-how-rn-moves-into-native-applications) (Oct 9 · Talk): Artur Morys-Magiera will explain how React Native can move into an existing native app without forcing a big-bang rewrite.
- [React Native in .NET MAUI: A Practical Brownfield Integration Guide](https://www.callstack.com/blog/react-native-in-net-maui-a-practical-brownfield-integration-guide) (Aug 27 · Article): Learn how to embed React Native inside a .NET MAUI app with a brownfield setup. This guide covers runtime packaging, lifecycle wiring, navigation, and shared state across both runtimes.
- [Adoption of Brownfield in React Native](https://www.callstack.com/events/adoption-of-brownfield-in-react-native) (Aug 27 · Talk): Artur Morys-Magiera will explain how teams can adopt React Native incrementally inside existing native applications.
- [Migration to React Native in 2026 Starts With a Delivery Question](https://www.callstack.com/blog/migration-to-react-native-in-2026-starts-with-a-delivery-question) (Aug 3 · Article): Choosing between brownfield and greenfield React Native migration? Learn where risk sits, when to use a checkpoint, and what to prove before committing.
- [How we made Hybrid iOS apps compile 39% faster with React Native Brownfield](https://www.callstack.com/blog/how-we-made-hybrid-ios-apps-compile-39-faster-with-react-native-brownfield) (Jul 8 · Article): See how React Native Brownfield uses iOS prebuilts to cut packaging times by up to 39% for hybrid apps, with details on setup, internals, and benchmark results.
- [How We Made the Brownfield Gradle Plugin 22% Faster](https://www.callstack.com/blog/how-we-made-the-brownfield-gradle-plugin-22-faster) (Jun 18 · Article): See how task-driven Gradle optimization made the Brownfield Gradle Plugin 22% faster for clean Android release builds.
- [AI-Supported Brownfield Migration to React Native](https://www.callstack.com/blog/ai-supported-brownfield-migration-to-react-native) (Jun 3 · Article): See how AI-supported workflows cut brownfield React Native evaluation from weeks to days by speeding up setup, planning, implementation, and QA.
- [Unlocking Expo Updates in an Isolated Brownfield Architecture with SDK 55](https://www.callstack.com/blog/unlocking-expo-updates-in-an-isolated-brownfield-architecture-with-sdk-55) (May 18 · Article): Learn how to enable Expo Updates in an Isolated Brownfield setup with Expo SDK 55, including iOS packaging, Android patching, and OTA testing.
- [State of Brownfield in React Native](https://www.callstack.com/events/state-of-brownfield-in-react-native) (Apr 23 · Talk): A practical look at Brownfield React Native adoption in mature native apps, architecture, tooling, and real-world tradeoffs.