video_thumbnail_plus

A Flutter plugin for generating thumbnail images from video files or URLs. Supports Android and iOS, returns images in memory or saves them as files with customizable format, resolution, and quality.

Based on video_thumbnail with bug fixes and improvements.

Platform Requirements

Platform	Minimum Version
Android	API 24 (Android 7.0)
iOS	13.0

Features

• Generate thumbnails from local video files
• Generate thumbnails from video URLs (http/https)
• Support content:// URIs on Android (gallery/file picker)
• Custom HTTP headers for authenticated video URLs
• Configurable output format (JPEG, PNG, WebP)
• Configurable resolution and quality
• Extract frame at specific timestamp

Methods

Method	Description	Return
thumbnailData	Generate thumbnail as bytes in memory	Future<Uint8List?>
thumbnailFile	Generate thumbnail and save to file	Future<String?>

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
video	String	Required. Video file path, URL, or content:// URI
headers	Map<String, String>?	HTTP headers for network videos
thumbnailPath	String?	Output directory (file method only)
imageFormat	ImageFormat	JPEG, PNG, or WEBP (default: PNG)
maxHeight	int	Max height in pixels (0 = original)
maxWidth	int	Max width in pixels (0 = original)
timeMs	int	Frame timestamp in milliseconds (default: 0)
quality	int	Compression quality 0-100 (default: 100)

Installation

Add to your pubspec.yaml:

dependencies:
  video_thumbnail_plus: ^0.0.2

Usage

import 'package:video_thumbnail_plus/video_thumbnail_plus.dart';

Generate thumbnail in memory

final uint8list = await VideoThumbnailPlus.thumbnailData(
  video: videoFile.path,
  imageFormat: ImageFormat.JPEG,
  maxWidth: 128,
  quality: 75,
);

Generate thumbnail file from URL

final filePath = await VideoThumbnailPlus.thumbnailFile(
  video: "https://example.com/video.mp4",
  thumbnailPath: (await getTemporaryDirectory()).path,
  imageFormat: ImageFormat.PNG,
  maxHeight: 64,
  quality: 100,
);

Generate thumbnail from gallery video (Android)

// Using file_picker or image_picker
final result = await FilePicker.platform.pickFiles(type: FileType.video);
if (result != null) {
  final uint8list = await VideoThumbnailPlus.thumbnailData(
    video: result.files.single.path!, // Also supports content:// URIs
    imageFormat: ImageFormat.JPEG,
    maxWidth: 256,
    quality: 80,
  );
}

Generate thumbnail with custom headers

final uint8list = await VideoThumbnailPlus.thumbnailData(
  video: "https://example.com/protected-video.mp4",
  headers: {
    "Authorization": "Bearer your-token",
  },
  imageFormat: ImageFormat.JPEG,
  maxWidth: 128,
  quality: 75,
);

Platform Notes

Android

• Supports content:// URIs from gallery/file picker
• WebP format is natively supported

iOS

• WebP encoding is not supported; falls back to PNG format
• Videos from Photo Library require appropriate permissions

Scaling Behavior

• When both maxWidth and maxHeight are specified, the image is scaled to fit within bounds while maintaining aspect ratio
• When only one dimension is specified, the other is scaled proportionally

Notes

Fork or pull requests are always welcome.