React Native Patch Updates: Ship Only Changed Code to Production

[u/Emotional_Pickle8354]

Most React Native OTA systems (CodePush, Expo Updates, etc.) still ship a full JS bundle every time — even if only a few lines changed.

That leads to:

• Large downloads for tiny hotfixes

• Slower updates

• More crash risk

• Harder rollbacks when something goes wrong

There’s a different approach: patch (diff) updates, where devices only download what actually changed instead of the full bundle. This can reduce OTA sizes by 90–98% and makes hotfixes much safer.

Here’s a technical write-up that explains how it works and why most OTA systems don’t support it:
https://stalliontech.io/react-native-patch-updates

Curious if anyone here has tried patch-based OTA or hit limits with CodePush / Expo Updates.