title	description
Camera	Take pictures with the device camera.

cordova-plugin-camera

This plugin defines a global navigator.camera object, which provides an API for taking pictures and for choosing images from the system's image library.

Although the object is attached to the global scoped navigator, it is not available until after the deviceready event.

document.addEventListener("deviceready", onDeviceReady, false);
function onDeviceReady() {
    console.log(navigator.camera);
}

Installation

cordova plugin add cordova-plugin-camera

It is also possible to install via repo url directly ( unstable )

cordova plugin add https://github.com/apache/cordova-plugin-camera.git

Plugin variables

The plugin uses the ANDROIDX_CORE_VERSION variable to configure androidx.core:core dependency. This allows to avoid conflicts with other plugins that have the dependency hardcoded. If no value is passed, it will use 1.6.+ as the default value.

The variable is configured on install time

cordova plugin add cordova-plugin-camera --variable ANDROIDX_CORE_VERSION=1.8.0

How to Contribute

Contributors are welcome! And we need your contributions to keep the project moving forward. You can[report bugs, improve the documentation, or contribute code.

There is a specific contributor workflow we recommend. Start reading there. More information is available on our wiki.

Have a solution? Send a Pull Request.

In order for your changes to be accepted, you need to sign and submit an Apache ICLA (Individual Contributor License Agreement). Then your name will appear on the list of CLAs signed by non-committers or Cordova committers.

And don't forget to test and document your code.

iOS Quirks

Since iOS 10 it's mandatory to provide an usage description in the info.plist if trying to access privacy-sensitive data. When the system prompts the user to allow access, this usage description string will displayed as part of the permission dialog box, but if you didn't provide the usage description, the app will crash before showing the dialog. Also, Apple will reject apps that access private data but don't provide an usage description.

This plugins requires the following usage descriptions:

NSCameraUsageDescription specifies the reason for your app to access the device's camera.
NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription specifies the reason for your app to access the user's photo library.
NSLocationWhenInUseUsageDescription specifies the reason for your app to access the user's location information while your app is in use. (Set it if you have CameraUsesGeolocation preference set to true)
NSPhotoLibraryAddUsageDescription specifies the reason for your app to get write-only access to the user's photo library

To add these entries into the info.plist, you can use the edit-config tag in the config.xml like this:

<edit-config target="NSCameraUsageDescription" file="*-Info.plist" mode="merge">
    <string>need camera access to take pictures</string>
</edit-config>

<edit-config target="NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription" file="*-Info.plist" mode="merge">
    <string>need photo library access to get pictures from there</string>
</edit-config>

<edit-config target="NSLocationWhenInUseUsageDescription" file="*-Info.plist" mode="merge">
    <string>need location access to find things nearby</string>
</edit-config>

<edit-config target="NSPhotoLibraryAddUsageDescription" file="*-Info.plist" mode="merge">
    <string>need photo library access to save pictures there</string>
</edit-config>

API Reference

camera
- .getPicture(successCallback, errorCallback, options)
- .cleanup()
- .onError : function
- .onSuccess : function
- .CameraOptions : Object
Camera
- .DestinationType : enum
- .EncodingType : enum
- .MediaType : enum
- .PictureSourceType : enum
- .PopoverArrowDirection : enum
- .Direction : enum
CameraPopoverHandle
CameraPopoverOptions

camera

camera.getPicture(successCallback, errorCallback, options)

Takes a photo using the camera, or retrieves a photo from the device's image gallery. The result is provided in the first parameter of the successCallback as a string.

As of v8.0.0, the result is formatted as URIs. The scheme will vary depending on settings and platform.

Platform	Destination Type	Format
Android	FILE_URI	An URI scheme such as `file://...` or `content://...`
	DATA_URL	Base 64 encoded with the proper data URI header
iOS	FILE_URI	`file://` schemed paths
	DATA_URL	Base 64 encoded with the proper data URI header
Browser	FILE_URI	Not supported
	DATA_URL	Base 64 encoded with the proper data URI header

v7 and earlier versions, the return format is as follows:

Platform	Destination Type	Format
Android	FILE_URI	Raw file path (unprefixed)
	DATA_URL	Base 64 encoded, without the `data:` prefix
iOS	FILE_URI	`file://` schemed paths
	DATA_URL	Base 64 encoded, without the `data:` prefix
Browser	FILE_URI	Not supported
	DATA_URL	Base 64 encoded, without the `data:` prefix

For this reason, upgrading to v8 is strongly recommended as it greatly streamlines the return data.

The camera.getPicture function opens the device's default camera application that allows users to snap pictures by default - this behavior occurs, when Camera.sourceType equals Camera.PictureSourceType.CAMERA. Once the user snaps the photo, the camera application closes and the application is restored.

If Camera.sourceType is Camera.PictureSourceType.PHOTOLIBRARY or Camera.PictureSourceType.SAVEDPHOTOALBUM, then a dialog displays that allows users to select an existing image.

The return value is sent to the cameraSuccess callback function, in one of the following formats, depending on the specified cameraOptions. You can do whatever you want with content:

Render the content in an <img> or <video> tag
Copy the data to a persistent location
Post the data to a remote server

NOTE: Photo resolution on newer devices is quite good. Photos selected from the device's gallery are not downscaled to a lower quality, even if a quality parameter is specified. To avoid common memory problems, set Camera.destinationType to FILE_URI rather than DATA_URL.

NOTE: To use saveToPhotoAlbum option on Android 9 (API 28) and lower, the WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission must be declared.

To do this, add the following in your config.xml:

<config-file target="AndroidManifest.xml" parent="/*" xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" android:maxSdkVersion="28" />
</config-file>

Android 10 (API 29) and later devices does not require WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission. If your application only supports Android 10 or later, then this step is not necessary.

FILE_URI Usage

When FILE_URI is used, the returned path is not directly usable. The file path needs to be resolved into a DOM-usable URL using the Cordova File Plugin.

Additionally, the file URIs returned is a temporary read access grant. The OS reserves the right to revoke permission to access the resource, which typically occurs after the app has been closed. For images captured using the camera, the image is stored in a temporary location which can be cleared at any time, usually after the app exits. It's the application's decision to decide how the content should be used depending on their use cases.

For persistent access to the content, the resource should be copied to your app's storage container. An example use case is an app allowing an user to select a profile picture from their gallery or camera. The application will need consistent access to that resource, so it's not suitable to retain the temporary access path. So the appplication should copy the resource to a persistent location.

For use cases that involve temporary use, it is valid and safe to use the temporary file path to display the content. An example of this could be an image editing application, rendering the data into a canvas.

NOTE: The returned schemes is an implementation detail. Do not assume that it will always be a file:// URI.

Supported Platforms

Android
Browser
iOS

More examples here. Quirks here.

Kind: static method of camera

Param	Type	Description
successCallback	`onSuccess`
errorCallback	`onError`
options	`CameraOptions`	CameraOptions

Example

navigator.camera.getPicture(cameraSuccess, cameraError, cameraOptions);

camera.cleanup()

Removes intermediate image files that are kept in temporary storage after calling camera.getPicture. Applies only when the value of Camera.sourceType equals Camera.PictureSourceType.CAMERA and the Camera.destinationType equals Camera.DestinationType.FILE_URI.

Supported Platforms

iOS

Kind: static method of camera
Example

navigator.camera.cleanup(onSuccess, onFail);

function onSuccess() {
    console.log("Camera cleanup success.")
}

function onFail(message) {
    alert('Failed because: ' + message);
}

camera.onError : `function`

Callback function that provides an error message.

Kind: static typedef of camera

Param	Type	Description
message	`string`	The message is provided by the device's native code.

camera.onSuccess : `function`

Callback function that provides the image data.

Kind: static typedef of camera

Param	Type	Description
imageData	`string`	Data URI, or the image file URI, depending on `cameraOptions` in effect.

Example

// Show image captured with FILE_URI
function cameraCallback(imageData) {
    window.resolveLocalFileSystemURL(uri, (entry) => {
        let image = document.getElementById('myImage');
        image.src = entry.toURL();
    }, onError);
}

// Show image captured with DATA_URL
function cameraCallback(imageData) {
   var image = document.getElementById('myImage');
   image.src = imageData;
}

camera.CameraOptions : `Object`

Optional parameters to customize the camera settings.

Quirks

Kind: static typedef of camera
Properties

Name	Type	Default	Description
quality	`number`	`50`	Quality of the saved image, expressed as a range of 0-100, where 100 is typically full resolution with no loss from file compression. (Note that information about the camera's resolution is unavailable.)
destinationType	`DestinationType`	`FILE_URI`	Choose the format of the return value.
sourceType	`PictureSourceType`	`CAMERA`	Set the source of the picture.
~~allowEdit~~	`Boolean`	`false`	Deprecated. Allow simple editing of image before selection.
encodingType	`EncodingType`	`JPEG`	Choose the returned image file's encoding.
targetWidth	`number`		Width in pixels to scale image. Must be used with `targetHeight`. Aspect ratio remains constant.
targetHeight	`number`		Height in pixels to scale image. Must be used with `targetWidth`. Aspect ratio remains constant.
mediaType	`MediaType`	`PICTURE`	Set the type of media to select from. Only works when `PictureSourceType` is `PHOTOLIBRARY` or `SAVEDPHOTOALBUM`.
correctOrientation	`Boolean`		Rotate the image to correct for the orientation of the device during capture.
saveToPhotoAlbum	`Boolean`		Save the image to the photo album on the device after capture. See Android Quirks.
popoverOptions	`CameraPopoverOptions`		iOS-only options that specify popover location in iPad.
cameraDirection	`Direction`	`BACK`	Choose the camera to use (front- or back-facing).