`styled()` crashes with `Maximum call stack size exceeded` when wrapping `react-native-svg` primitives

[mo-fouad]

Describe the bug

In nativewind@5.0.0-preview.4, the documented v5 third-party-component recipe for react-native-svg throws on first render:

RangeError: Maximum call stack size exceeded (native stack depth)

The same crash also fires when calling useUnstableNativeVariable() from a component rendered inside an SVG tree — so the bug appears to live in the shared observable/effect layer that both APIs route through (useNativeCss → varResolver → reactivity graph), not in styled() itself.

Plain <Svg color={someStaticHex} /> with the color resolved outside of any NativeWind runtime hook renders correctly. Only the NativeWind runtime path crashes.

Versions:

• nativewind: 5.0.0-preview.4
• react-native-css: 3.0.7
• react-native-svg: 15.15.4
• react-native: 0.85.3
• react: 19.2.3
• expo: 56.0.11 (SDK 56)
• tailwindcss: 4.2.0 (Tailwind v4, @theme {} block)
• Platform: iOS simulator, Hermes

Reproduction

npx rn-new@latest --nativewind then drop in:

import { styled } from 'nativewind';
import Svg, { Path } from 'react-native-svg';

const StyledSvg  = styled(Svg);
const StyledPath = styled(Path);

export default function App() {
  return (
    <StyledSvg width={24} height={24} viewBox="0 0 24 24" className="text-red-500">
      <StyledPath d="M2 12h20" stroke="currentColor" strokeWidth={2} />
    </StyledSvg>
  );
}

The documented nativeStyleMapping recipe reproduces the same crash:

const StyledSvg = styled(Svg, {
  className: { target: 'style', nativeStyleMapping: { color: 'color' } },
});

Expected behavior

styled(Svg, { className: { target: 'style', nativeStyleMapping: { color: 'color' } } }) should resolve text-… classes to a color value and lift it onto the <Svg color={…}> prop, so stroke="currentColor" on descendants follows the Tailwind text color. This is the v4 cssInterop recipe that the v5 third-party-components guide still points to.

Additional context

Two suspect spots in react-native-css@3.0.7 that fit the symptom (not confirmed by runtime instrumentation):

1. useNativeCss runs setState during render if testGuards flips. react-native-svg's Svg/Shape class components rebuild prop derivations on every render (extractedProps, SvgTouchableMixin, setNativeProps), so an identity-based guard may flip on every iteration and recurse synchronously.
2. varResolver's variableHistory only blocks repeating the same variable name — it doesn't catch cycles across different names. Tailwind v4 OKLCH palette colors compile to nested var() chains, which may be enough to trigger that.

Workaround in use: resolve the color from className ourselves via useColorScheme() + a static token map mirrored from our @theme {} block, then pass it as <Svg color={…} />. Inner Path/Circle stay as plain react-native-svg primitives with stroke="currentColor". Works, but duplicates values from CSS and can't read live runtime variables.

What I tried that did not help:

• Every nativeStyleMapping shape on styled(Svg, …).
• Wrapping only the outer <Svg> and leaving inner primitives untouched.
• Calling useUnstableNativeVariable('color-foreground-tertiary') before any SVG primitive renders — still crashes.

Related: #242 — [V5] - styled doesn't work as it worked in V4 — same symptom shape, marked Done in roadmap but not yet in a published preview.

[github-actions]

👋 Thanks for opening this issue!

Before our CI can confidently reproduce this bug we'd like a bit more information. The following appear to be missing or incomplete:

• a public GitHub reproduction repository link

Please update the issue and provide a public GitHub repository that reproduces the bug end-to-end. The easiest way to scaffold one is:

• npx rn-new@latest --nativewind
• npx rn-new@latest --nativewind --expo-router
• npx rn-new@next --nativewind
• npx rn-new@next --nativewind --expo-router

Because the rest of the bug report is complete, our CI will still attempt a reproduction against a freshly-scaffolded next-plain rn-new starter — see the workflow run linked in the follow-up comment. If the bug only shows up in a specific configuration, please attach a repro repo and the workflow will re-run on the next edit / reopen.

For usage questions please use the Discord or GitHub Discussions.

[github-actions]

❓ Inconclusive

Our automated reproduction pipeline could not conclusively judge this bug. See the CI run for the captured evidence. A maintainer will take a closer look.

⚠️ This run was against a freshly-scaffolded next-plain rn-new starter because the issue didn't link a repro repository. If your bug only manifests in a specific configuration (extra deps, custom babel/metro config, navigation flow, etc.), please attach a public repro repo and the workflow will re-run on the next edit / reopen.

Cannot reproduce or refute. The iOS build completed successfully ('** BUILD SUCCEEDED **'), but the app failed to launch due to a CI infrastructure timeout ('Daemon request timed out'). No runtime console output, crash logs, or UI snapshots were captured, so we have no evidence whether the reported stack overflow when wrapping react-native-svg with styled() actually occurs.

Platform	Verdict	Evidence
ios	inconclusive	Build succeeded but app never launched. agent_device_errors shows 'Daemon request timed out' - no runtime evidence captured (app_console_tail empty, no snapshot, no logs). Cannot determine if the reported 'Maximum call stack size exceeded'

_{Automated by .github/workflows/issue-repro.yml using agent-device. Workflow run: https://github.com/nativewind/nativewind/actions/runs/27747937436}

[jsg2021]

Just attempted to upgrade gluestack v5 and hit this as it includes nativewind v5

[github-actions]

❓ Inconclusive

Our automated reproduction pipeline could not conclusively judge this bug. See the CI run for the captured evidence. A maintainer will take a closer look.

⚠️ This run was against a freshly-scaffolded next-plain rn-new starter because the issue didn't link a repro repository. If your bug only manifests in a specific configuration (extra deps, custom babel/metro config, navigation flow, etc.), please attach a public repro repo and the workflow will re-run on the next edit / reopen.

The iOS build completed successfully but the bundler did not produce a main.jsbundle, meaning the user's JavaScript code never ran. Without runtime execution, we cannot confirm whether the reported 'Maximum call stack size exceeded' crash when wrapping react-native-svg primitives with styled() actually occurs.

Platform	Verdict	Evidence
ios	inconclusive	Build succeeded but no main.jsbundle was embedded (repro_status='bundle-missing'). User JS never executed, so the reported runtime 'Maximum call stack size exceeded' error could not be observed.

_{Automated by .github/workflows/issue-repro.yml using agent-device. Workflow run: https://github.com/nativewind/nativewind/actions/runs/28917177742}