expo-plugin-worklet-cleanup

expo-plugin-worklet-cleanup

An Expo config plugin that prevents iOS crashes when users force-quit apps using worklets (react-native-worklets-core, react-native-reanimated, react-native-filament).

The Problem

When using worklet-based libraries in React Native, your app may crash with SIGABRT or EXC_BAD_ACCESS when the user force-quits from the iOS app switcher. The crash log typically shows:

Exception Type:  EXC_CRASH (SIGABRT)
Thread 1 Crashed:
  facebook::react::ObjCTurboModule::performVoidMethodInvocation
  objc_exception_rethrow
  std::__terminate

Or for 3D renderers like Filament:

Exception Type:  EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGSEGV)
Thread 1 Crashed:
  convertNSExceptionToJSError
  filament::FEngine::destroy

This happens because:

1. User opens app switcher (app enters background/inactive state)
2. Native module cleanup begins (e.g., Filament teardown)
3. Cleanup throws an exception
4. React tries to marshal the exception to JavaScript
5. Hermes runtime is already torn down or accessed from wrong thread → crash

Why applicationWillTerminate isn't enough

On iOS 13+, applicationWillTerminate is not reliably called when users swipe away apps in the app switcher. iOS often just kills the process without calling it. This plugin addresses that by also posting notifications when the app enters the background.

The Solution

This plugin adds lifecycle handlers to your iOS AppDelegate.swift that post notifications for native modules to prepare for and handle termination safely:

1. applicationDidEnterBackground - Posts early warning notification
2. applicationWillTerminate - Posts bridge invalidation notification (when called)

Installation

npm install expo-plugin-worklet-cleanup
# or
yarn add expo-plugin-worklet-cleanup

Setup

1. Add the Plugin

Add to your app.json or app.config.js:

{
  "expo": {
    "plugins": ["expo-plugin-worklet-cleanup"]
  }
}

2. Rebuild Your App

npx expo prebuild --clean
npx expo run:ios

That's it! The plugin automatically adds the cleanup code during prebuild.

What It Does

The plugin adds these methods to your AppDelegate.swift:

// Early warning when app enters background (always called)
public override func applicationDidEnterBackground(_ application: UIApplication) {
    NotificationCenter.default.post(
        name: NSNotification.Name("RNAppDidEnterBackground"),
        object: self
    )
    super.applicationDidEnterBackground(application)
}

// Bridge invalidation on termination (not always called on iOS 13+)
public override func applicationWillTerminate(_ application: UIApplication) {
    NotificationCenter.default.post(
        name: NSNotification.Name("RCTBridgeWillInvalidateNotification"),
        object: self
    )
    super.applicationWillTerminate(application)
}

Notifications

Notification	When	Use Case
RNAppDidEnterBackground	App enters background	Pause render callbacks, prepare for potential termination
RCTBridgeWillInvalidateNotification	App terminating	Cancel pending worklet operations

The background notification is the more reliable signal since it's always called, unlike applicationWillTerminate.

Affected Libraries

This plugin helps prevent crashes when using:

• react-native-worklets-core - The worklet runtime used by other libraries
• react-native-reanimated - Animation library using worklets
• react-native-filament - 3D rendering using worklets for render callbacks
• react-native-skia - 2D graphics with worklet support
• vision-camera - Camera with frame processor worklets

Additional Recommendations

While this plugin helps at the native level, you should also add JS-side cleanup:

Cancel animations on component unmount

import { useEffect } from 'react';
import { cancelAnimation, useSharedValue } from 'react-native-reanimated';

function MyComponent() {
  const animatedValue = useSharedValue(0);

  useEffect(() => {
    return () => {
      cancelAnimation(animatedValue);
    };
  }, []);

  // ...
}

Pause rendering when app is inactive (DON'T unmount!)

Important: Don't conditionally unmount 3D views when the app backgrounds. Unmounting triggers native cleanup which can race with Hermes teardown and crash. Instead, keep the view mounted but skip rendering:

import { useEffect, useState } from 'react';
import { AppState, View, StyleSheet } from 'react-native';
import { useSharedValue } from 'react-native-worklets-core';

function My3DViewer() {
  const [isActive, setIsActive] = useState(AppState.currentState === 'active');
  const isActiveShared = useSharedValue(true);

  useEffect(() => {
    const subscription = AppState.addEventListener('change', (state) => {
      const active = state === 'active';
      setIsActive(active);
      isActiveShared.value = active;
    });
    return () => subscription.remove();
  }, []);

  return (
    <View style={styles.container}>
      {/* Always keep FilamentScene mounted - never conditionally unmount! */}
      <FilamentScene>
        <SceneContent isAppActive={isActiveShared} />
      </FilamentScene>
      {/* Overlay when paused */}
      {!isActive && <View style={StyleSheet.absoluteFill} />}
    </View>
  );
}

// In your render callback:
useRenderCallback(() => {
  'worklet';
  // Skip rendering when backgrounded - prevents race conditions
  if (!isAppActive.value) return;
  // ... render logic
});

Guard worklet execution on unmount

const isSceneActive = useSharedValue(true);

useEffect(() => {
  isSceneActive.value = true;
  return () => {
    // Mark inactive before unmount to prevent worklet crashes
    isSceneActive.value = false;
  };
}, []);

useRenderCallback(() => {
  'worklet';
  // Bail out if scene is being torn down
  if (!isSceneActive.value) return;
  // ... render logic
});

Platform Support

Platform	Supported
iOS
Android	(not needed)

Android doesn't have this issue because it handles app termination differently.

Requirements

• Expo SDK 49+
• iOS (Swift AppDelegate)

Troubleshooting

Plugin not working

Make sure you've run npx expo prebuild --clean after adding the plugin.

Still seeing crashes

The native cleanup helps but may not catch 100% of race conditions. Combine with the JS-side cleanup recommendations above.

Objective-C AppDelegate

This plugin currently only supports Swift AppDelegate (Expo SDK 50+ default). For Objective-C support, please open an issue.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please open an issue or PR.

License

MIT