What is "autolinking" in react-native?

Autolinking in React Native is a feature introduced in React Native 0.60 that automates the process of linking native modules to a React Native project. This feature significantly simplifies the integration of libraries that contain platform-specific (native) code, eliminating the need for manual linking steps that were previously required.

Key Points about Autolinking:

1. Automatic Discovery and Linking:

   • Autolinking automatically discovers and links native modules based on the dependencies listed in your package.json file. This means that when you install a library with native code, React Native will automatically link it during the build process without requiring additional commands like react-native link[1][3][5].

2. Simplified Process:

   • Before the introduction of autolinking, developers had to manually link libraries by running react-native link <LibraryName> after installing them. With autolinking, this step is no longer necessary. The process now involves simply installing the library and, for iOS projects, running pod install to ensure CocoaPods dependencies are set up[3][4].

3. Platform-Specific Code Handling:

   • Autolinking handles both Android and iOS native code. For iOS, it integrates with CocoaPods, and for Android, it updates the necessary Gradle files automatically[1][3].

4. Manual Linking Still Possible:

   • While autolinking covers most scenarios, there may still be cases where manual linking is required. This can involve adding specific files to y...