Getting Started

Installing the library

Install react-native-vision-camera through npm:

React Native

npm i react-native-vision-camera
cd ios && pod install

Expo

npx expo install react-native-vision-camera

VisionCamera requires iOS 12 or higher, and Android-SDK version 21 or higher. See Troubleshooting if you're having installation issues.

Updating manifests

To use the Camera or Microphone you must first specify that your app requires camera and microphone permissions.

React Native

iOS

Open your project's Info.plist and add the following lines inside the outermost <dict> tag:

<key>NSCameraUsageDescription</key>
<string>$(PRODUCT_NAME) needs access to your Camera.</string>

<!-- optionally, if you want to record audio: -->
<key>NSMicrophoneUsageDescription</key>
<string>$(PRODUCT_NAME) needs access to your Microphone.</string>

Android

Open your project's AndroidManifest.xml and add the following lines inside the <manifest> tag:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CAMERA" />

<!-- optionally, if you want to record audio: -->
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO" />

Expo

Managed Expo

Add the VisionCamera plugin to your Expo config (app.json, app.config.json or app.config.js):

{
  "name": "my app",
  "plugins": [
    [
      "react-native-vision-camera",
      {
        "cameraPermissionText": "$(PRODUCT_NAME) needs access to your Camera.",

        // optionally, if you want to record audio:
        "enableMicrophonePermission": true,
        "microphonePermissionText": "$(PRODUCT_NAME) needs access to your Microphone."
      }
    ]
  ]
}

Finally, compile the mods:

npx expo prebuild

To apply the changes, build a new binary with EAS:

eas build

Getting/Requesting Permissions

Next, ask the user for Camera or Microphone permissions using the Permissions API:

Hooks API

Simply use the useCameraPermission or useMicrophonePermission hook:

const { hasPermission, requestPermission } = useCameraPermission()

And if you want to use the microphone:

const { hasPermission, requestPermission } = useMicrophonePermission()

There could be three states to this:

1. First time opening the app, hasPermission is false. Call requestPermission() now.
2. User already granted permission, hasPermission is true. Continue with using the <Camera> view.
3. User explicitly denied permission, hasPermission is false and requestPermission() will return false. Tell the user that he needs to grant Camera Permission, potentially by using the Linking API to open the App Settings.

Imperative API

Getting Permissions

Simply use the get functions to find out if a user has granted or denied permission before:

const cameraPermission = Camera.getCameraPermissionStatus()
const microphonePermission = Camera.getMicrophonePermissionStatus()

A permission status can have the following values:

• granted: Your app is authorized to use said permission. Continue with using the <Camera> view.
• not-determined: Your app has not yet requested permission from the user. Continue by calling the request functions.
• denied: Your app has already requested permissions from the user, but was explicitly denied. You cannot use the request functions again, but you can use the Linking API to redirect the user to the Settings App where he can manually grant the permission.
• restricted: Your app cannot use the Camera or Microphone because that functionality has been restricted, possibly due to active restrictions such as parental controls being in place.

Requesting Permissions

Use the request functions to prompt the user to give your app permission to use the Camera or Microphone.

note

The request functions only have effect if the current permission status is not-determined.

const newCameraPermission = await Camera.requestCameraPermission()
const newMicrophonePermission = await Camera.requestMicrophonePermission()

The permission request status can have the following values:

• granted: Your app is authorized to use said permission. Continue with using the <Camera> view.
• denied: The user explicitly denied the permission request alert. You cannot use the request functions again, but you can use the Linking API to redirect the user to the Settings App where he can manually grant the permission.
• restricted: Your app cannot use the Camera or Microphone because that functionality has been restricted, possibly due to active restrictions such as parental controls being in place.

Use the <Camera> view

If your app has permission to use the Camera and Microphone, simply use the useCameraDevice(...) hook to get a Camera device (see Camera Devices) and mount the <Camera> view:

function App() {
  const device = useCameraDevice('back')
  const { hasPermission } = useCameraPermission()

  if (!hasPermission) return <PermissionsPage />
  if (device == null) return <NoCameraDeviceError />
  return (
    <Camera
      style={StyleSheet.absoluteFill}
      device={device}
      isActive={true}
    />
  )
}

🎉 Hooray! You're ready to learn about Camera Devices!