Dev Menu

Also called Developer menu

Part of: React Native Glossary
Also known as: Developer menu
Related: Fast Refresh Development Build Metro
Mentioned in: Development Build Fast Refresh
Updated: September 12, 2026

What is Dev Menu in React Native?

The dev menu is the in-app debugging panel available in development builds, offering reload, the element inspector, performance monitor and debugger connection.

The dev menu is the overlay React Native shows in development builds, giving you the debugging controls that do not belong in a production app.

Open it with:

iOS Simulator — <kbd>Cmd</kbd> + <kbd>D</kbd>
Android emulator — <kbd>Cmd</kbd> + <kbd>M</kbd> (macOS) or <kbd>Ctrl</kbd> + <kbd>M</kbd>
A physical device — shake it, or run adb shell input keyevent 82 on Android

What is inside:

Reload — re-fetch the bundle from Metro, for when Fast Refresh gets out of sync
Open Debugger — attach React Native DevTools
Element Inspector — tap any view to see its component, props, and computed styles
Performance Monitor — a live overlay of JS and UI frame rates
Toggle Fast Refresh

The menu is stripped from release builds, so it is not a leak risk. If it never appears, you are almost certainly running a release build or a development build that is not connected to Metro.