Expo vs GitHub
Side-by-side trajectory, velocity, and editorial themes.
SDK 56 ships and MCP integration goes free — opening AI-coding workflows to every Expo developer.
Expo just shipped SDK 56 (following a May 6 beta) and made the Expo MCP Server available on the Free plan, opening up the AI-coding-assistant integration path to all users. Around it: continued workflow changes for Expo Go's project loading, Android build acceleration via Gradle cache, and the recurring App Store status update for Go users.
The two lines being pushed hardest are (a) AI-coding integration — MCP now free, expanded GitHub bot permissions earlier in the quarter — and (b) build pipeline performance. Expo Go remains a maintenance surface, with the May post and loading-behavior changes hinting at continued constraints on what the iOS App Store will allow. The SDK cadence (55 → 56) stays roughly quarterly.
Expect more MCP-server capabilities now that the gate is open, continued EAS Build optimization, and the next SDK 57 beta before the end of summer if the prior cadence holds. Expo Go's iOS story remains the open question.
GitHub bends its security stack toward governing the coding agents now writing the code.
GitHub is shipping on two tracks at once: hardening the security surface (code scanning, CodeQL, EMU controls) and building out the Copilot coding-agent platform with programmatic access and enterprise billing controls. The throughline is treating autonomous agents as first-class actors that need their own validation and guardrails.
The platform is converging security and agents into one story — if third-party agents write code in your repos, GitHub wants to own the validation, scanning, and budget layer around them. Recent releases push agent capabilities (REST API, one-click fixes) out of enterprise-only tiers into Pro, while enterprise governance moves to GA.
Expect continued GA promotion of agent-governance features and tighter coupling between code scanning and agent-authored changes — likely scanning that specifically flags or gates agent commits.
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