@capacitor/camera

This project is developed based on @capacitor/camera@8.0.0.

Introduction

@capacitor/camera is a core plugin in the Capacitor ecosystem. It provides camera capture and photo selection from the album, and also supports permission checks and image parameter configuration. It provides device-specific adaptation capability for cross-platform app development. The plugin is compatible with Android, iOS, and browser environments. This document only describes usage in the OpenHarmony environment.

The API can: take photos with the camera, or select existing photos from the album.

Supported platforms

• OpenHarmony: 5.0+

Download and installation

Install quickly via command line or manual integration. The package is available from npm.

Command-line installation (recommended)

Install hionic CLI:

npm install -g hionic

Choose one of the following two methods; do not repeat operations:

npm install:

# Install plugin
npm install @capacitor/camera

# Sync plugin
hionic sync

hionic CLI install:

hionic plugin add @capacitor/camera

Manual integration

Integrate the plugin according to plugin.xml in the plugin source:

1. Add plugin configuration

According to the config-json item in plugin.xml, find capacitor.plugins.json in the entry module through the target field, then add config according to param:

{
  "pkg": "@capacitor/camera",
  "classpath": "Camera"
}

2. Update CMake configuration

According to the CMakeLists item in plugin.xml, find module capacitor through modules-name, then locate CMakeLists.txt by the target path. Add add_subdirectory and target_link_libraries according to the param tag:

#START_ADD_SUBDIRECTORY
// ...
add_subdirectory(Camera)
// ...
#END_ADD_SUBDIRECTORY

// ...

target_link_libraries(capacitor PUBLIC
  "-Wl,--whole-archive"
  // ...
  Camera
  // ...
  "-Wl,--no-whole-archive"
)

3. Copy source files

According to source-file items in plugin.xml, find files from src, and locate destination module and directory through modules-name and target-dir:

Copy Camera.h, Camera.cpp, and CMakeLists.txt from src/main/cpp/Camera into src/main/cpp/Camera of the capacitor module.

Copy CameraAction.ets, ErrorCode.ets, ExifInfo.ets, ImageCompressEx.ets, and ImageInfo.ets from src/main/ets/components/ImageCompress into src/main/ets/components/ImageCompress of the capacitor module.

Copy CameraDefine.ets, CameraSelectDialog.ets, CheckCameraPermission.ets, and MediaAction.ets from src/main/ets/components/MediaAction into src/main/ets/components/MediaAction of the capacitor module.

4. Add ArkTS configuration

In build-profile.json5 of the capacitor module, add copied .ets file paths from step 3 to buildOption/arkOptions/runtimeOnly/sources:

{
  "buildOption": {
    "arkOptions": {
      "runtimeOnly": {
        "sources": [
          "./src/main/ets/components/ImageCompress/CameraAction.ets",
          "./src/main/ets/components/MediaAction/MediaAction.ets",
          "./src/main/ets/components/MediaAction/CameraSelectDialog.ets",
          "./src/main/ets/components/MediaAction/CheckCameraPermission.ets"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Uninstallation

# Uninstall camera plugin
hionic plugin remove @capacitor/camera

Constraints and limitations

Compatibility

Tested on:

1. capacitor: 8.0.0-ohos-8.0.0; SDK: 5.0.5(17); IDE: DevEco Studio: 6.0.0; ROM: 5.1.0.150;

Permission requirements

For OpenHarmony permissions, refer to Request app permissions. To use camera capture, add camera permission in the requestPermissions array of module.json5 in your main project:

{
  "name": "ohos.permission.CAMERA",
  "reason": "$string:camera",
  "usedScene": {
    "abilities": [
      "EntryAbility"
    ],
    "when": "always"
  }
}

Usage examples

Example 1: Take a photo or select a single photo from album

This example demonstrates calling the camera API to show a selection dialog. Users can choose camera capture or pick one image from album, configure image quality, and return in URI format for direct rendering.

import { Camera, CameraResultType } from '@capacitor/camera';

const takePicture = async () => {
  const image = await Camera.getPhoto({
    quality: 90,
    allowEditing: true,
    resultType: CameraResultType.Uri
  });

  // image.webPath contains a path that can be used as image src.
  // You can use image.path to access the original file and pass it to Filesystem API if needed,
  // (or pass resultType: CameraResultType.Base64 to getPhoto)
  var imageUrl = image.webPath;

  // Set it as image src
  imageElement.src = imageUrl;
};

Usage notes

Import and use the Camera module from @capacitor/camera. All APIs are Promise-based and support async calls. It is recommended to check and request permissions before use.

1. Get a single photo

Shows a picker allowing users to choose one photo from album or take a new photo with camera. Supports quality, size, and return format options.

Method signature

getPhoto(options: ImageOptions): Promise<Photo>

ImageOptions

Parameter	Type	Description	Default
quality	number	JPEG quality from 0 to 100
allowEditing	boolean	Whether to allow crop or minor edit (platform-specific). On iOS, only supports CameraSource.Camera, not CameraSource.Photos.
resultType	CameraResultType	Return format. Currently supports only 'Base64', 'DataUrl', or 'Uri'
saveToGallery	boolean	Temporarily unsupported	: false
width	number	Maximum width of saved image, keeping aspect ratio
height	number	Maximum expected height of saved image, keeping aspect ratio
correctOrientation	boolean	Auto-rotate image upright to correct portrait orientation	: true
source	CameraSource	Photo source. PROMPT asks user to choose album or camera	: CameraSource.Prompt
direction	CameraDirection	Camera direction	: CameraDirection.Rear
presentationStyle	'fullscreen'	Camera style, full-screen by default	: 'fullscreen'
webUseInput	boolean	Whether to use PWA element UX or file input, temporarily unsupported
promptLabelHeader	string	Text for PROMPT option header	: 'Photo'
promptLabelCancel	string	Text for PROMPT cancel button	: 'Cancel'
promptLabelPhoto	string	Text for PROMPT pick saved photo button	: 'From Photos'
promptLabelPicture	string	Text for PROMPT open camera button	: 'Take Picture'

Photo

Parameter	Type	Description
base64String	string	Base64-encoded image string when using CameraResultType.Base64
dataUrl	string	A URL starting with data:image/jpeg;base64,. When using CameraResultType.DataUrl, this is the base64 encoded image string. Note: on web, file format may differ by browser.
path	string	When using CameraResultType.Uri, includes full platform-specific file URL for later reading via Filesystem API.
webPath	string	Returns a path that can be used as image src for efficient loading and rendering.
exif	any	EXIF metadata retrieved from the image, if available
format	string	Image format, e.g. jpeg/png/gif. iOS and Android support jpeg only. Web supports jpeg/png/gif (browser dependent). GIF is supported only when webUseInput is true and source is Photos.
saved	boolean	Whether image was saved to gallery. On Android/iOS save may fail without required permissions. On web there is no gallery, so always false.

2. Select multiple images from album

Opens system album, allows selecting multiple images, and supports quality/size/max count options.

Method signature

pickImages(options: GalleryImageOptions): Promise<GalleryPhotos>

GalleryImageOptions

Parameter	Type	Description	Default
quality	number	JPEG image quality from 0 to 100
width	number	Maximum width of saved image, keeping aspect ratio
height	number	Maximum expected height of saved image, keeping aspect ratio
correctOrientation	boolean	Auto-rotate image upright to correct portrait orientation	:true
presentationStyle	'fullscreen'	Camera style, full-screen by default	: 'fullscreen'
limit	number	Maximum number of images user can select	0 (unlimited)

GalleryPhotos

Parameter	Type	Description
photos	GalleryPhoto[]	Selected photo list

GalleryPhoto

Parameter	Type	Description
path	string	Full platform-specific file URL, readable via Filesystem API.
webPath	string	Returns a path for setting image src for efficient loading and rendering.
exif	any	EXIF data retrieved from the image, if available
format	string	Image format, e.g. jpeg/png/gif. iOS and Android support jpeg only. Web supports jpeg/png/gif.

3. Check permission status

Checks current grant status of camera and photos permissions.

Method signature

checkPermissions(): Promise<PermissionStatus>

4. Request permissions

Actively request camera and photo permissions from the system. Capture/select features can be used only after permissions are granted.

Method signature

requestPermissions(permissions?: CameraPluginPermissions): Promise<PermissionStatus>

CameraPluginPermissions

Parameter	Type
permissions	CameraPermissionType[]

CameraPermissionType

'camera' | 'photos'

5. Methods not supported yet

• pickLimitedLibraryPhotos(): select a single photo from limited library, not supported yet
• getLimitedLibraryPhotos(): select multiple photos from limited library, not supported yet

Data type definitions

PermissionStatus

Parameter	Type
camera	CameraPermissionState
photos	CameraPermissionState

Type aliases

CameraPermissionState

PermissionState | 'limited'

PermissionState

'prompt' | 'prompt-with-rationale' | 'granted' | 'denied'

Enums

CameraResultType

Member	Value
Uri	'uri'
Base64	'base64'
DataUrl	'dataUrl'

CameraSource

Member	Value	Description
Prompt	'PROMPT'	Prompt to choose source
Camera	'CAMERA'	Capture from camera
Photos	'PHOTOS'	Pick from photos

CameraDirection

Member	Value
Rear	'REAR'
Front	'FRONT'

Directory structure

|---- root
|     |---- src/main   # Plugin implementation code
|           |---- cpp   # C++ code
|           |---- ets   # ArkTS code
|     |---- README.md          # Documentation
|     |---- package.json       # Configuration file
|     |---- plugin.xml         # Plugin config file

Contributing

If you find any issues, feel free to submit an Issue. PRs are also very welcome: PR.

License

This plugin is open-sourced under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.