add_to_gallery

Add to Gallery

Adds images and videos to the Android Gallery and iOS Photos

View example app

💡 There are a couple of important notes about Google photos and iOS filepaths. Jump to the end of this page for info!

Installation

Add add_to_gallery as a dependency in your pubspec.yaml file.

Permissions

You need the following permissions in your app:

• iOS
  • NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription
  • This allows the plugin to use the PHPhotoLibrary APIs to add assets to the user's photo library.
• Android
  • READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE
  • WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE
  • If you target Android 10, you will also need the requestLegacyExternalStorage="true" in your AndroidManifest.
  • NB: Android < 13 needs storge permission
  • NB: Android >= 13 needs photos permission
    • ^ the example app shows how to request these permissions

This plugin does not manage permissions for you. By excluding permissions from our plugin we have created a simple, reliable plugin.

We recommend using permission_handler to handle permissions.

Usage

There's only one method. It copies the source file to the gallery and returns the new file.

File file = await AddToGallery.addToGallery(
  originalFile: File('/Some/Media/Path.jpg'),
  albumName: 'My Awesome App',
  deleteOriginalFile: false,
  keepFilename: true,
);
print("Savd to gallery with Path: ${file.path}");

Using permission_handler, this may look like:

Future<void> _addToGalleryExample() async {
  try {
    await _grantPermissions();
    File file = await AddToGallery.addToGallery(
      originalFile: File('/Some/Media/Path.jpg'),
      albumName: 'My Awesome App',
      deleteOriginalFile: true,
      keepFilename: true,
    );
    print("Savd to gallery with Path: ${file.path}");
  } catch(e) {
    print("Error: $e");
  }
}

Future<void> _grantPermissions() async {
  final int? androidVersion = Platform.isAndroid
      ? (await DeviceInfoPlugin().androidInfo).version.sdkInt
      : null;
  // We need storage on:
  // - iOS to pick files from other apps
  // - Android < 13 for legacy access
  if (Platform.isIOS || (androidVersion != null && androidVersion <= 32)) {
    if (!await Permission.storage.request().isGranted) {
      throw ('Storage Permission Required');
    }
  }
  // We need photos on:
  // - iOS to pick files from this app
  // - Android >= 13
  if (Platform.isIOS || (androidVersion != null && androidVersion >= 33)) {
    if (!await Permission.photos.request().isGranted) {
      throw ('Photos Permission Required');
    }
  }
}

Example app

The example app shows a few more edge-cases in action.

• Uses permission_handler to request permissions
• Uses image_picker to take photos with the camera
• Copies assets to the gallery
• Uses shared_preferences to save and read the file path locally
  • This shows that the assets are still accessible between reboots

Credits & Comparison

Add to Gallery is based on gallery_saver with some notable differences. Enough to warrant a new package rather than a pull-request. Generally speaking, I've simplified the API and unified the behaviour on iOS and Android. It also supports scoped storage on Android (which will be enforced with Android 11)

Big thanks to the Tecocraft LTD team for Android functionality on Android 10 and 11.

Feature	gallery_saver original package	add_to_gallery this package
General Behaviour	Android 🔥 Source file is copied to the gallery 🔥 The copy is not a tmp file 👎 The file path is not returned 👎 No way to find the new file path iOS 🔥 Source file is linked to the gallery 👎 If the source file is in a tmp directory it may be garbage collected 👎 The file path is not returned 🔥 The original file path is correct	Android and iOS 🔥 Source file is copied to the getApplicationDocumentsDirectory for persistence 🔥 Your app has permission to access the file 🔥 The new file path is returned Automatically deletes sourceFile - defaults to false
Return Value	Returns bool for the success of the operation	Returns a File pointing to the new file in the gallery
Remote Files	Automatically downloads files that start with http	Does not download files that start with http
Album Name	Optional with default values	Is required
Image Manipulation	Android Rotates images according to EXIF data Creates Thumbnails iOS Does not manipulate images	Does not manipulate images
Permissions	Handled within the plugin. The first-call fails silently due to permissions race-condition	Not handled within the plugin

💡 An Important Note about Google photos

Google Photos has a built-in feature to remove exact duplicates. It can be confusing to see your media disappearing like this. I considered addressing this behaviour in the plugin, but decided against it. I expect plugin users to be creating unique images with the camera or other methods.

💡 An Important Note about iOS Filepaths

Simply, it will change when new versions of your app are released. For example:

• The user installs 1.0.0 of your app, the path is: .../<A-UNIQUE-DIRECTORY>/Documents/your-file.jpg
• The user upgrades to 2.0.0, the path is now: .../<A-DIFFERENT-UNIQUE-DIRECTORY>/Documents/your-file.jpg

This becomes an issue when you try to access the file later, as the path has changed.

To handle this, you can use the path_provider package to build the path dynamically. Here's an example:

// 1. We used `add_to_gallery` to save a file, and stored the `file.path` locally (in a db, shared preferences etc.)
// 2. The user then updated their app
// 3. They re-opened the app, and we want to access the file again:
import 'package:path_provider/path_provider.dart';
final fileName = basename(filePath);
storageDirectory = await getApplicationDocumentsDirectory();
final sourcePath = '${storageDirectory.path}/$fileName'; // This is the new path