[0.88] Bump template react to 19.3.0 to match the React 19.3.0 sync

[fabriziocucci]

Target Branch

0.88

Link to commit or PR to be picked

• Update react and react-test-renderer versions to 19.3.0 react-native-community/template#249 (commit aad5b40ded3933a66166c11fe05835467bba48a3)

Description

Note this is a pick in react-native-community/template, not in react/react-native. Opening it here for bookkeeping so the 0.88 pick list is complete.

The React 19.3.0 sync (#1408, react/react-native#58446) has been picked into 0.88-stable. That commit bumps the react-native package's peer dependency:

"peerDependencies": {
-   "react": "^19.2.3"
+   "react": "^19.3.0"
}

The 0.88-stable branch of react-native-community/template still pins react: 19.2.3, so the generated app and the picked react-native no longer agree. test_e2e_ios_templateapp and test_e2e_android_templateapp now fail in all four configurations (Debug and Release on both platforms) while installing the scaffolded project:

npm error code ERESOLVE
npm error While resolving: RNTestProject@0.0.1
npm error Found: react@19.2.3
npm error   react@"19.2.3" from the root project
npm error Could not resolve dependency:
npm error peer react@"^19.3.0" from react-native@0.88.0-rc.0

Failing run: https://github.com/react/react-native/actions/runs/34846501953

scripts/e2e/init-project-e2e.js clones the template repo, checks out the branch matching the current release branch, then rewrites only the @react-native/* scoped dependencies and react-native itself. It never rewrites react, so the pin has to be correct on the template's release branch.

Both halves of this change already landed on main on the same day:

Repo	Change	Date
react/react-native	#58446 React 19.3.0 sync	2026-09-10
react-native-community/template	#249 Update react and react-test-renderer to 19.3.0	2026-09-10

The template's 0.88-stable branch was cut on 2026-09-08, two days before #249, and has not been updated since, so it missed the bump. Only the react/react-native half was picked into 0.88.

The pick is two lines in template/package.json:

-    "react": "19.2.3",
+    "react": "19.3.0",
...
-    "react-test-renderer": "19.2.3",
+    "react-test-renderer": "19.3.0",

Note that react-native on the template's main is pinned to nightly while the release branch pins the release version, so only the two react lines should be taken.

This is a required follow-up to the React 19.3.0 sync rather than an independent change. Without it the template e2e jobs cannot pass on 0.88-stable, and anyone scaffolding a new app from the 0.88 template hits the same peer dependency conflict.

[github-actions]

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[fabriziocucci]

Picked manually into the template's 0.88-stable via react-native-community/template#250.