Deferred Deep Links in React Native: Complete Integration Guide
If you've shipped a React Native app, you've probably wired up universal links / app links already. Existing users tap a link, the OS hands it to your app, Linking.addEventListener fires, you push the right screen. Done. Then someone runs a paid campaign, or an email blast, or an influencer post — and every single new install lands on the plain home screen. No error. No crash. Just a slightly…
Deferred deep linking in React Native is a way to preserve link context when an app is not installed yet. This guide provides a complete integration walkthrough using LinkTrail. First, install the SDK with npm or yarn, then configure the native setup for iOS and Android. Enable Associated Domains on iOS and add an intent filter for Android.
Initialize the SDK in your app before the navigation container mounts. Use LinkTrail's addLinkListener to handle direct deep links when the app is already installed, and getFirstOpenLink to resolve deferred links for first-time installs. Handle both cases the same in your router, treating the link object as the primary data source.
Ensure your server serves valid apple-app-site-association and assetlinks.json files for validation.
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