local_image_provider 2.1.0

A library for retrieving the metadata and contents of the images, videos, and albums on a mobile device.

Local Image Provider Plugin

A library for searching and retrieving the metadata and contents of the images and albums on a mobile device.

This plugin contains a set of classes that make it easy to discover the metadata of the images and albums on the mobile device. It supports both Android and iOS. The content of images can be retrieved in a format compatible with ImageProvider. Note that this plugin has no UI components, it provides information about local photos that can be used to develop other applications.

Recent Updates

The 2.0.0 version uses the new Flutter 1.12.x plugin registration. Although it may be backwards compatible with older Flutter versions, you should consider upgrading your projects to protect future compatibility. This version also supports video, look for the new properties on LocalImage: mediaType, isVideo, isImage, to detect video and the getVideoFile method on LocalImageProvider. NOTEThis version only works on Flutter 1.17.0+.

The 1.0.0 version adds error handling for missing images on Android.

Note: If you have feature requests or issue reports please post them as issues.

Using

To retrieve the list of the ten latest local images import the package and call the plugin, like so:

import 'package:local_image_provider/local_image_provider.dart' as lip;

    lip.LocalImageProvider imageProvider = lip.LocalImageProvider();
    bool hasPermission = await imageProvider.initialize();
    if ( hasPermission) {
        List<lip.LocalImage> images = await imageProvider.findLatest(10);
        images.forEach((image) => print( image.id));
    }
    else {
        print("The user has denied access to images on their device.");
    }

Get an ImageProvider for a local image like so:

import 'package:local_image_provider/local_image_provider.dart' as lip;
import 'package:flutter/painting.dart';
// ...

    lip.LocalImageProvider imageProvider = lip.LocalImageProvider();
    bool hasPermission = await imageProvider.initialize();
    if ( hasPermission) {
        List<lip.LocalImage> images = await imageProvider.findLatest(1);
        if ( !images.isEmpty ) {
            lip.LocalImage image = images.first;
            DeviceImage deviceImg = DeviceImage( image );
        }
        else {
            print("No images found on the device.");
        }
    else {
        print("The user has denied access to images on their device.");
    }

The DeviceImage can be used directly as an ImageProvider in an Image widget in Flutter. Assuming that _selectedImg is a LocalImage then that image can be displayed in a Flutter Widget tree like so:

    Container(
        child: Image( image: DeviceImage( _selectedImg ),
        ),
    ),

Permissions

Applications using this plugin require the following user permissions.

iOS

Add the following key to your Info.plist file, located in <project root>/ios/Runner/Info.plist:

• NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription - describe why your app needs permission for the photo library. This is called Privacy - Photo Library Usage Description in the visual editor. This permission is required for the app to read the image and album information.

Android

Add the storage permission to your AndroidManifest.xml file, located in <project root>/android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml:

• android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE - this allows the app to query and read the image and album information.

Build Issues

If you get the error "File local_image_provider-Swift.h missing" when trying to build, see this SO reference for possible solutions. The issue seems to be mixing Swift plugins with Flutter projects that weren't built with the Swift option. At least one user resolved the issue by adding use_frameworks! to their Podfile. That looks like this:

...
target 'Runner' do
  use_frameworks!
...