Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 7 hours ago

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Ever wondered how React Native DevTools actually work?

In this talk from React Advanced London (28.11.2025), Szymon Chmal breaks down how he reverse-engineered React Native DevTools and turned that exploration into a real plugin framework.

You’ll learn:
How React Native DevTools are structured internally
How to build plugins without forking or hacking core code
How to embed React-based UIs inside DevTools
How sandboxed execution enables safer extensibility

This session is for React Native developers, tool builders, and anyone interested in how developer tooling is designed—and how far it can be pushed with the right architecture.

Check out more insights from Callstack: clstk.com/45XLReJ

Chapters:

00:00 Intro: Building Custom React Native DevTools
00:45 Motivation: Why DevTools Needed to Be Extended
02:10 How React Native DevTools Work Under the Hood
04:24 Finding Injection Points in DevTools
06:30 Reverse-Engineering the Architecture
08:17 Designing a Plugin-Based Approach
11:19 From Experiments to a Real Plugin Framework
13:40 Embedding React-Based UIs in DevTools
15:30 Sandboxed Execution and Safety Guarantees
17:10 Lessons Learned and Tooling Trade-offs
19:23 Where to Learn More and Get in Touch