Autotomy vs Ignite
Ignite is the long-running React Native boilerplate from Infinite Red, developed since 2016 and used on their client apps. Autotomy combines Expo Foundation source with a CLI for agent setup, local checks and optional maintained audits and upgrade guidance.
| Feature | Ignite | Autotomy Lite / Starter / Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Status / price | Available, free, open source (MIT for code; trademarks excluded) | Lite: free. Starter: US$149 once, including 30 days of Pro without automatic renewal. Optional Pro: US$19/month or US$190/year. Availability is shown in the setup guide. |
| Maintainer | Infinite Red (agency), since 2016; release v11.5.0 (March 2026), as recorded at the check date below | Autotomy |
| Expo / React Native | Expo SDK 55, React Native 0.83 (boilerplate package.json) | Starter baseline: Expo SDK 57.0.31, React Native 0.86.3. Pro provides a reviewed, agent-guided SDK 57→58 recipe with project preconditions; device behavior still requires testing. |
| Navigation | React Navigation v7 | Expo Router with a typed route list |
| Data / storage | apisauce REST client, MMKV persistence | Axios client with retry and circuit breaker; TanStack Query with AsyncStorage persistence |
| UI | Component library with theming and custom fonts | One semantic UI contract implemented with NativeWind v5 and Tailwind CSS v4 |
| i18n | Expo Localization, including RTL | Not included |
| Generators / CLI | Ignite CLI with component, screen, and model generators | CLI for signed installation, agent setup, checks and Pro maintenance. Features are written directly using documented slice archetypes; no feature generators. |
| Dev tools | Reactotron | CLI diagnostics and local checks, with optional Pro audit and hook feedback; Reactotron is not included |
| Tests | Jest; Maestro for end-to-end | Vitest with a 100% gate on the measured logic set; fast-check property tests. This is not whole-app or visual coverage; no end-to-end tests are included. |
| Architecture checks | dependency-cruiser with general rules (for example no circular dependencies, no orphans, no deprecated modules) | dependency-cruiser layer whitelist (for example, services can't import UI) plus general rules, part of pnpm check |
| AI agent guidance | No AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, or Cursor rules in the repo as of this check | CLI-managed instructions for Codex, Claude Code and Cursor; AGENTS.md, principles profile and slice documentation. Pro adds local policy audits, hook feedback and agent-guided Expo upgrade plans. |
Choose Ignite if
you want a free boilerplate with generators, i18n, Reactotron and end-to-end testing, maintained by Infinite Red.
Choose Autotomy if
you want editable Expo source with explicit architecture checks, a CLI that configures your coding agent, and optional maintained audits and upgrade guidance. You choose and implement your app's integrations.
Explore Autotomy setup →Sources
- Ignite on GitHub (README tech stack, license)
- Ignite boilerplate package.json
- Ignite boilerplate .dependency-cruiser.js
- Ignite CLI docs
Ignite's README table lists React Native v0.81, but the boilerplate package.json pins react-native 0.83.2 and expo 55.0.5. This page quotes package.json.
Autotomy details were reviewed against the v1.0.0 source and CLI on . The Starter baseline uses Expo SDK 57 and NativeWind v5. This source review is not a public-launch or device-certification claim. See the offer and licensing details and compatibility limits.