Getting Started

1. Install the plugin

   npm

   npm i @capgo/capacitor-photo-library

   pnpm

   pnpm add @capgo/capacitor-photo-library

   yarn

   yarn add @capgo/capacitor-photo-library

   bun

   bun add @capgo/capacitor-photo-library

2. Sync platforms

   npm

   npx cap sync

   pnpm

   pnpm cap sync

   yarn

   yarn cap sync

   bun

   bunx cap sync

Platform permissions

• iOS: Update Info.plist with NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription (and NSPhotoLibraryAddUsageDescription if you plan to save media).
• Android: For Android 13+, declare the photo/video permissions (READ_MEDIA_IMAGES, READ_MEDIA_VIDEO). Capacitor 5 handles this automatically, but double-check custom manifests.

Request access

import { PhotoLibrary } from '@capgo/capacitor-photo-library';

const { state } = await PhotoLibrary.requestAuthorization();
if (state !== 'authorized' && state !== 'limited') {
  throw new Error('Photo access denied');
}

Load the gallery

import { Capacitor } from '@capacitor/core';

const { assets, hasMore, nextPage } = await PhotoLibrary.getLibrary({
  limit: 100,
  includeAlbums: false,
  thumbnailWidth: 256,
  thumbnailHeight: 256,
});

const gallery = assets.map((asset) => ({
  id: asset.id,
  fileName: asset.fileName,
  created: asset.creationDate,
  thumbnailUrl: asset.thumbnail
    ? asset.thumbnail.webPath ?? Capacitor.convertFileSrc(asset.thumbnail.path)
    : undefined,
  photoUrl: asset.file
    ? asset.file.webPath ?? Capacitor.convertFileSrc(asset.file.path)
    : undefined,
}));

To fetch additional pages, call PhotoLibrary.getLibrary({ cursor: nextPage }).

Let users pick media

const selection = await PhotoLibrary.pickMedia({
  selectionLimit: 5,
  includeVideos: true,
});

console.log('User selected', selection.assets.length, 'items');

Clean up cached files

Generated thumbnails and exports are stored in the app cache directory under photoLibrary. Remove them with your preferred file API when you need to reclaim storage.