React Native Navigation with Nesting Navigators in Advanced — Part 1

3 min readJul 16, 2024

Navigating through screens in a React Native application, especially with nested navigators, requires careful handling, especially when responding to notifications or deep links. In this guide, we’ll explore how to set up advanced navigation to ensure a seamless user experience.

Setting Up the Nested Navigation Structure

Let’s consider a nested navigation structure for our example:

NavigationContainer (init="Home")
├── Home
├── ...
└── GameStack
    ├── ...
    └── GameProductStack
        ├── GameProductList
        └── GameProductDetails

Basic Navigation to a Screen

To navigate to the GameProductDetails screen from any part of your app (e.g., from a notification tap or deep link), use:

navigation.navigate('GameStack', {
    screen: 'GameProductStack',
    params: {
        screen: 'GameProductDetails',
    },
});

This straightforward approach directs users to the specified screen within your nested navigation setup.

Advanced Navigation Handling

Now, let’s tackle a more complex scenario: when a user interacts with a notification or deep link, they should navigate directly to the GameProductDetails screen. Additionally, when they navigate back, they should return to the GameProductList screen instead of the Home screen. Here’s how I can achieve this:

navigation.navigate('GameStack', {
    screen: 'GameProductStack',
    params: {
        screen: 'GameProductDetails',
        state: {
            stale: false,
            type: 'stack',
            key: 'stack-1',
            index: 1, // Adjust the index based on your specific setup
            routeNames: [
                'GameProductList',
                'GameProductDetails'
            ],
            routes: [
                {
                    key: 'GameProductList-1',
                    name: 'GameProductList'
                },
                {
                    key: 'GameProductDetails-1',
                    name: 'GameProductDetails'
                }
            ]
        }
    },
});

Why Use `state`?

Restoring Navigation State: When dealing with deep links or notifications, you may need to navigate directly to a nested screen and ensure that the back navigation works correctly. By providing the state, you define the exact state of the navigation stack, ensuring that users can navigate back to the previous screens as expected.
Complex Navigation Scenarios: In advanced navigation scenarios, such as restoring the app state after a process like app termination or handling specific user flows, the state parameter helps maintain consistency in the navigation stack.

Here’s an explanation of the state parameter:

stale: Indicates whether the state is outdated (false in this case).
type: Specifies the type of navigator (in this example, it’s a stack navigator).
key: Unique identifier for the navigator.
index: The active route’s index in the stack (ensure this reflects your actual stack index).
routeNames: Array listing the route names in the stack.
routes: Array of route objects, each containing a key and name.

This setup ensures that the navigation stack is correctly configured, providing users with a seamless navigation experience when returning from the GameProductDetails screen.

By leveraging the state parameter and understanding your navigation structure, you can effectively manage these scenarios and guide users through your app without unexpected navigation behaviors.

Feel free to adapt these techniques to your specific use cases and explore further enhancements for your application’s navigation flow.