diff --git a/__e2e__/__snapshots__/config.test.ts.snap b/__e2e__/__snapshots__/config.test.ts.snap
index 1d8bb1c6d..ac2afe61b 100644
--- a/__e2e__/__snapshots__/config.test.ts.snap
+++ b/__e2e__/__snapshots__/config.test.ts.snap
@@ -56,6 +56,13 @@ exports[`shows up current config without unnecessary output 1`] = `
         "<<REPLACED>>"
       ]
     },
+    {
+      "name": "spm [action]",
+      "description": "Set up or maintain Swift Package Manager support for the iOS/macOS app. Actions: add, update, deinit, scaffold. With no action: add (or update if SPM is already set up).",
+      "options": [
+        "<<REPLACED>>"
+      ]
+    },
     {
       "name": "log-ios",
       "description": "starts iOS device syslog tail",
diff --git a/__e2e__/unknown.test.ts b/__e2e__/unknown.test.ts
index a9c581514..ef552ccc9 100644
--- a/__e2e__/unknown.test.ts
+++ b/__e2e__/unknown.test.ts
@@ -24,3 +24,12 @@ test('suggest matching command', () => {
 (Did you mean init?)`,
   );
 });
+
+test('explain missing @react-native/community-cli-plugin commands', () => {
+  writeFiles(DIR, {'package.json': '{}'});
+  const {exitCode, stderr} = runCLI(DIR, ['start'], {expectedFailure: true});
+  expect(exitCode).toBe(1);
+  expect(stderr).toContain(
+    'The "start" command is provided by @react-native/community-cli-plugin, which is not installed in this project.',
+  );
+});
diff --git a/packages/cli-config/src/__tests__/__snapshots__/index-test.ts.snap b/packages/cli-config/src/__tests__/__snapshots__/index-test.ts.snap
index d5720cfa2..d08a5635a 100644
--- a/packages/cli-config/src/__tests__/__snapshots__/index-test.ts.snap
+++ b/packages/cli-config/src/__tests__/__snapshots__/index-test.ts.snap
@@ -85,15 +85,7 @@ Object {
 }
 `;
 
-exports[`should not skip packages that have invalid configuration (to avoid breaking users): dependencies config 1`] = `
-Object {
-  "react-native": Object {
-    "name": "react-native",
-    "platforms": Object {},
-    "root": "<<REPLACED>>/node_modules/react-native",
-  },
-}
-`;
+exports[`should not skip packages that have invalid configuration (to avoid breaking users): dependencies config 1`] = `Object {}`;
 
 exports[`should not skip packages that have invalid configuration (to avoid breaking users): logged warning 1`] = `"warn Package react-native contains invalid configuration: \\"dependency.invalidProperty\\" is not allowed. Please verify it's properly linked using \\"npx react-native config\\" command and contact the package maintainers about this."`;
 
@@ -138,14 +130,6 @@ Object {
 
 exports[`should return dependencies from package.json 1`] = `
 Object {
-  "react-native": Object {
-    "name": "react-native",
-    "platforms": Object {
-      "android": null,
-      "ios": null,
-    },
-    "root": "<<REPLACED>>/node_modules/react-native",
-  },
   "react-native-test": Object {
     "name": "react-native-test",
     "platforms": Object {
diff --git a/packages/cli-config/src/__tests__/index-test.ts b/packages/cli-config/src/__tests__/index-test.ts
index 49b915e7c..b40b1de76 100644
--- a/packages/cli-config/src/__tests__/index-test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli-config/src/__tests__/index-test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import path from 'path';
 import slash from 'slash';
-import {loadConfigAsync} from '..';
+import loadConfig, {loadConfigAsync} from '..';
 import {cleanup, writeFiles, getTempDirectory} from '../../../../jest/helpers';
 
 let DIR = getTempDirectory('config_test');
@@ -100,6 +100,33 @@ test('should return dependencies from package.json', async () => {
   expect(removeString(dependencies, DIR)).toMatchSnapshot();
 });
 
+test('does not link "react-native" as a dependency', async () => {
+  DIR = getTempDirectory('config_test_react_native_not_linked');
+  writeFiles(DIR, {
+    'node_modules/react-native/package.json': '{}',
+    'node_modules/react-native/React-Core-prebuilt.podspec': '',
+    'node_modules/react-native-test/package.json': '{}',
+    'node_modules/react-native-test/ReactNativeTest.podspec': '',
+    'package.json': `{
+      "dependencies": {
+        "react-native": "0.0.1",
+        "react-native-test": "0.0.1"
+      }
+    }`,
+  });
+  const platforms = {
+    ios: {
+      projectConfig: require(iosPath).projectConfig,
+      dependencyConfig: require(iosPath).dependencyConfig,
+    },
+  };
+
+  const asyncConfig = await loadConfigAsync({projectRoot: DIR, platforms});
+  const syncConfig = loadConfig({projectRoot: DIR, platforms});
+  expect(Object.keys(asyncConfig.dependencies)).toEqual(['react-native-test']);
+  expect(Object.keys(syncConfig.dependencies)).toEqual(['react-native-test']);
+});
+
 test('should read a config of a dependency and use it to load other settings', async () => {
   DIR = getTempDirectory('config_test_settings');
   writeFiles(DIR, {
diff --git a/packages/cli-config/src/loadConfig.ts b/packages/cli-config/src/loadConfig.ts
index b01c2d03b..644d92b51 100644
--- a/packages/cli-config/src/loadConfig.ts
+++ b/packages/cli-config/src/loadConfig.ts
@@ -84,15 +84,44 @@ const removeDuplicateCommands = <T extends boolean>(commands: Command<T>[]) => {
   return Array.from(uniqueCommandsMap.values());
 };
 
+/**
+ * `react-native` provides the platforms that dependencies are linked into, so
+ * it is never linked as a dependency itself.
+ */
+const isLinkableDependency = (dependencyName: string) =>
+  dependencyName !== 'react-native';
+
+/**
+ * Returns the built-in platforms to seed the config with, honoring the
+ * `selectedPlatform` filter the same way dependency platforms are filtered. The
+ * project's own and dependencies' platforms are layered on top of these.
+ */
+const getBasePlatforms = (
+  platforms: Config['platforms'] | undefined,
+  selectedPlatform: string | undefined,
+): {[platform: string]: Config['platforms'][string]} => {
+  if (!platforms) {
+    return {};
+  }
+  if (selectedPlatform != null) {
+    return platforms[selectedPlatform]
+      ? {[selectedPlatform]: platforms[selectedPlatform]}
+      : {};
+  }
+  return platforms;
+};
+
 /**
  * Loads CLI configuration
  */
 export default function loadConfig({
   projectRoot = findProjectRoot(),
   selectedPlatform,
+  platforms,
 }: {
   projectRoot?: string;
   selectedPlatform?: string;
+  platforms?: Config['platforms'];
 }): Config {
   let lazyProject: ProjectConfig;
   const userConfig = readConfigFromDisk(projectRoot);
@@ -110,7 +139,10 @@ export default function loadConfig({
     dependencies: userConfig.dependencies,
     commands: userConfig.commands,
     healthChecks: userConfig.healthChecks || [],
-    platforms: userConfig.platforms,
+    platforms: {
+      ...getBasePlatforms(platforms, selectedPlatform),
+      ...userConfig.platforms,
+    },
     assets: userConfig.assets,
     get project() {
       if (lazyProject) {
@@ -148,17 +180,19 @@ export default function loadConfig({
       let config = readDependencyConfigFromDisk(root, dependencyName);
 
       return assign({}, acc, {
-        dependencies: assign({}, acc.dependencies, {
-          get [dependencyName](): DependencyConfig {
-            return getDependencyConfig(
-              root,
-              dependencyName,
-              finalConfig,
-              config,
-              userConfig,
-            );
-          },
-        }),
+        dependencies: isLinkableDependency(dependencyName)
+          ? assign({}, acc.dependencies, {
+              get [dependencyName](): DependencyConfig {
+                return getDependencyConfig(
+                  root,
+                  dependencyName,
+                  finalConfig,
+                  config,
+                  userConfig,
+                );
+              },
+            })
+          : acc.dependencies,
         commands: removeDuplicateCommands([
           ...config.commands,
           ...acc.commands,
@@ -188,9 +222,11 @@ export default function loadConfig({
 export async function loadConfigAsync({
   projectRoot = findProjectRoot(),
   selectedPlatform,
+  platforms,
 }: {
   projectRoot?: string;
   selectedPlatform?: string;
+  platforms?: Config['platforms'];
 }): Promise<Config> {
   let lazyProject: ProjectConfig;
   const userConfig = await readConfigFromDiskAsync(projectRoot);
@@ -208,7 +244,10 @@ export async function loadConfigAsync({
     dependencies: userConfig.dependencies,
     commands: userConfig.commands,
     healthChecks: userConfig.healthChecks || [],
-    platforms: userConfig.platforms,
+    platforms: {
+      ...getBasePlatforms(platforms, selectedPlatform),
+      ...userConfig.platforms,
+    },
     assets: userConfig.assets,
     get project() {
       if (lazyProject) {
@@ -250,17 +289,19 @@ export async function loadConfigAsync({
       );
 
       return assign({}, acc, {
-        dependencies: assign({}, acc.dependencies, {
-          get [dependencyName](): DependencyConfig {
-            return getDependencyConfig(
-              root,
-              dependencyName,
-              finalConfig,
-              config,
-              userConfig,
-            );
-          },
-        }),
+        dependencies: isLinkableDependency(dependencyName)
+          ? assign({}, acc.dependencies, {
+              get [dependencyName](): DependencyConfig {
+                return getDependencyConfig(
+                  root,
+                  dependencyName,
+                  finalConfig,
+                  config,
+                  userConfig,
+                );
+              },
+            })
+          : acc.dependencies,
         commands: removeDuplicateCommands([
           ...config.commands,
           ...acc.commands,
diff --git a/packages/cli/package.json b/packages/cli/package.json
index 1e849da07..a5aed9848 100644
--- a/packages/cli/package.json
+++ b/packages/cli/package.json
@@ -27,6 +27,8 @@
     "@react-native-community/cli-clean": "20.2.0",
     "@react-native-community/cli-config": "20.2.0",
     "@react-native-community/cli-doctor": "20.2.0",
+    "@react-native-community/cli-platform-android": "20.2.0",
+    "@react-native-community/cli-platform-ios": "20.2.0",
     "@react-native-community/cli-server-api": "20.2.0",
     "@react-native-community/cli-tools": "20.2.0",
     "@react-native-community/cli-types": "20.2.0",
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/index.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/index.ts
index 306fd5449..b609cc5e0 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/index.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/index.ts
@@ -2,12 +2,16 @@ import {Command, DetachedCommand} from '@react-native-community/cli-types';
 import {commands as cleanCommands} from '@react-native-community/cli-clean';
 import {commands as doctorCommands} from '@react-native-community/cli-doctor';
 import {commands as configCommands} from '@react-native-community/cli-config';
+import {commands as androidCommands} from '@react-native-community/cli-platform-android';
+import {commands as iosCommands} from '@react-native-community/cli-platform-ios';
 import init from './init';
 
 export const projectCommands = [
   ...configCommands,
   cleanCommands.clean,
   doctorCommands.info,
+  ...iosCommands,
+  ...androidCommands,
 ] as Command[];
 
 export const detachedCommands = [
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/index.ts b/packages/cli/src/index.ts
index dd8fd2223..26781e0d9 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/index.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,14 @@ import type {
   Config,
   DetachedCommand,
 } from '@react-native-community/cli-types';
+import {
+  projectConfig as androidProjectConfig,
+  dependencyConfig as androidDependencyConfig,
+} from '@react-native-community/cli-platform-android';
+import {
+  projectConfig as iosProjectConfig,
+  dependencyConfig as iosDependencyConfig,
+} from '@react-native-community/cli-platform-ios';
 import childProcess from 'child_process';
 import {Command as CommanderCommand} from 'commander';
 import path from 'path';
@@ -149,6 +157,31 @@ const isCommandPassed = (commandName: string) => {
   return process.argv.filter((arg) => arg === commandName).length > 0;
 };
 
+/**
+ * Commands that `@react-native/community-cli-plugin` registers, which projects
+ * must list in their own dependencies.
+ */
+const communityCliPluginCommands = ['bundle', 'codegen', 'spm', 'start'];
+
+function exitIfCommunityCliPluginMissing(argv: string[]) {
+  const commandName = argv.slice(2).find((arg) => !arg.startsWith('-'));
+
+  if (
+    commandName == null ||
+    !communityCliPluginCommands.includes(commandName) ||
+    program.commands.some((cmd) => cmd.name() === commandName)
+  ) {
+    return;
+  }
+
+  logger.error(
+    `The "${commandName}" command is provided by ${pico.bold(
+      '@react-native/community-cli-plugin',
+    )}, which is not installed in this project. Add it to your devDependencies, at the same version as react-native, then run your package manager's install.`,
+  );
+  process.exit(1);
+}
+
 async function setupAndRun(platformName?: string) {
   // Commander is not available yet
 
@@ -197,6 +230,24 @@ async function setupAndRun(platformName?: string) {
 
     config = await loadConfigAsync({
       selectedPlatform,
+      // iOS and Android are core platforms bundled with the CLI, so they are
+      // always registered. The project's own and dependencies' configs can
+      // still override them.
+      //
+      // The cast is needed because the platform packages' `projectConfig`/
+      // `dependencyConfig` return `null` and take required params, whereas the
+      // `PlatformConfig` interface models these as `void`. These functions are
+      // the canonical implementations the CLI already calls via the config scan.
+      platforms: {
+        ios: {
+          projectConfig: iosProjectConfig,
+          dependencyConfig: iosDependencyConfig,
+        },
+        android: {
+          projectConfig: androidProjectConfig,
+          dependencyConfig: androidDependencyConfig,
+        },
+      } as Config['platforms'],
     });
 
     logger.enable();
@@ -211,6 +262,8 @@ async function setupAndRun(platformName?: string) {
     for (const command of Object.values(commands)) {
       attachCommand(command, config);
     }
+
+    exitIfCommunityCliPluginMissing(process.argv);
   } catch (error) {
     /**
      * When there is no `package.json` found, the CLI will enter `detached` mode and a subset
diff --git a/packages/cli/tsconfig.json b/packages/cli/tsconfig.json
index 3848b08e3..e6d066349 100644
--- a/packages/cli/tsconfig.json
+++ b/packages/cli/tsconfig.json
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@
     {"path": "../cli-config"},
     {"path": "../cli-doctor"},
     {"path": "../cli-link-assets"},
+    {"path": "../cli-platform-android"},
+    {"path": "../cli-platform-ios"},
     {"path": "../cli-server-api"},
     {"path": "../cli-types"},
     {"path": "../cli-tools"}