If you are seeing `Error loading Metro config at: C:\...\metro.config.js` with either `ERR_UNSUPPORTED_ESM_URL_SCHEME` or `Cannot find module '../lightningcss.win32-x64-msvc.node'`, your Expo + NativeWind setup is running into a Windows-specific problem — not a mistake in your code.

What These Errors Mean

There are two distinct errors that appear when setting up NativeWind v4 on Windows. The first is an ESM/Windows path conflict where Node.js tries to load your `metro.config.js` as an ES Module and rejects the `C:` drive prefix as an invalid URL scheme. The second is a missing native binary where `lightningcss` — a dependency of `react-native-css-interop` — fails to find its Windows-specific `.node` file because it was not downloaded correctly during `npm install`.

Why It Happens

The ESM error appears when your project or a parent directory has `"type": "module"` in `package.json`, or when you are running Node.js 23+ on Windows. In either case, Node's ESM loader intercepts Metro's config file and rejects the Windows absolute path (`C:\...`) because it expects a valid `file://` URL scheme. The `lightningcss` binary error is a separate issue — it occurs when `npm install` does not correctly fetch the platform-specific `.node` binary for `win32-x64`.

• `"type": "module"` in package.json forces ESM mode on all .js files
• Node.js 23+ has a stricter ESM loader that rejects Windows drive paths
• Metro internally passes `C:\...` style paths that ESM treats as unknown URL scheme
• `lightningcss` ships platform-specific native binaries that can fail to download on Windows
• Corrupted or incomplete `npm install` leaves the `.node` file missing inside `react-native-css-interop`

Fix 1: Patch Metro for Windows Paths (ESM Error)

This is the root fix for the `ERR_UNSUPPORTED_ESM_URL_SCHEME` error. It patches Metro's config loader to convert Windows absolute paths into proper `file://` URLs before passing them to the ESM `import()` call.

1npm install patch-package --save-dev

Open `node_modules/metro-config/src/loadConfig.js` and find the line with `await import(absolutePath)`. Replace it with the following:

1const { pathToFileURL } = require('url');
2const importPath = process.platform === 'win32'
3  ? pathToFileURL(absolutePath).href
4  : absolutePath;
5const c await import(importPath);

1npx patch-package metro-config

Add a `postinstall` script to your `package.json` so the patch reapplies automatically after every `npm install`:

1"scripts": {
2  "postinstall": "patch-package",
3  "start": "expo start"
4}

Fix 2: Reinstall lightningcss Binary (Missing .node Error)

If you see `Cannot find module '../lightningcss.win32-x64-msvc.node'`, the Windows native binary for `lightningcss` is missing. Fix it with a targeted reinstall.

1rd /s /q node_modules\react-native-css-interop
2npm install react-native-css-interop

1rd /s /q node_modules
2del package-lock.json
3npm install

1npm install lightningcss-win32-x64-msvc

Correct metro.config.js for NativeWind v4

After applying the fixes above, make sure your `metro.config.js` matches the official NativeWind v4 documentation exactly. Do not use the older `withNativeWind` wrapper from community posts — only the one from `nativewind/metro`.

1const { getDefaultConfig } = require("expo/metro-config");
2const { withNativeWind } = require('nativewind/metro');
3
4const c getDefaultConfig(__dirname);
5
6module.exports = withNativeWind(config, { input: './global.css' });

Final Steps: Clear Cache and Start

1rd /s /q .expo
2npx expo start -c

Additional Troubleshooting Checklist

• Check Node version: `node --version` — Expo 54 recommends Node 20 LTS. Node 23+ causes ESM loader issues on Windows
• Ensure no `"type": "module"` exists in your project's `package.json` or any parent directory's `package.json`
• Use `npx expo start -c` instead of `npm run start -c` to ensure cache is properly cleared
• Confirm `global.css` exists in the project root and contains `@tailwind base; @tailwind components; @tailwind utilities;`
• Verify `tailwind.config.js` content array includes your source files so Tailwind can detect classes
• If on Node 23+, switch to Node 20 LTS using nvm-windows: `nvm install 20 && nvm use 20`

Official-Style Error Explanation

`Error loading Metro config: ERR_UNSUPPORTED_ESM_URL_SCHEME` and `Cannot find module '../lightningcss.win32-x64-msvc.node'` are Windows-specific failures when setting up NativeWind v4 with Expo. The first is an ESM loader conflict caused by Windows absolute paths not conforming to the `file://` URL scheme expected by Node's ESM runtime. The second is a missing platform binary caused by an incomplete `npm install`. Neither error is caused by incorrect NativeWind or Tailwind configuration — patch Metro for the path issue and reinstall `react-native-css-interop` for the binary issue.