How to Use FFmpeg with React Native and Expo

Integrating FFmpeg with React Native and Expo allows you to perform complex media processing tasks on mobile applications. This guide will walk you through the process step-by-step.

Introduction to FFmpeg and React Native

FFmpeg is a comprehensive suite for handling multimedia files and streams. It offers functionalities like encoding, decoding, and streaming. React Native, combined with Expo, provides a framework for building cross-platform mobile apps using JavaScript. Using FFmpeg with React Native and Expo can enhance your app's media capabilities.

Prerequisites

• Node.js and npm/yarn installed on your machine.
• Expo CLI installed globally using npm install -g expo-cli.
• Basic knowledge of React Native, Expo, and JavaScript.

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Setting Up the Expo Project

1. Initialize a new Expo project:

   expo init my-ffmpeg-app

   Choose a blank template and navigate to your project directory:

   cd my-ffmpeg-app

2. Install required packages:

   yarn add ffmpeg-kit-react-native

Step 2: Configuring FFmpeg with React Native

Android Configuration

In android/build.gradle, add the ffmpeg-kit package:

ext {
    ffmpegKitPackage = "min"
}

iOS Configuration

In the ios directory, update the Podfile:

pod 'ffmpeg-kit-react-native', :subspecs => ['min'], :podspec => '../node_modules/ffmpeg-kit-react-native/ffmpeg-kit-react-native.podspec'

Run pod install in the ios directory.

Step 3: Using FFmpeg in Your React Native App

1. Import FFmpeg Kit in your component:

   import React from 'react';
   import { View, Button } from 'react-native';
   import { FFmpegKit } from 'ffmpeg-kit-react-native';

2. Create a function to execute FFmpeg commands:

   const convertVideoFormat = (sourceUri, outputUri) => {
       FFmpegKit.execute(`-i ${sourceUri} -c:v mpeg4 ${outputUri}`).then((session) => {
           const returnCode = session.getReturnCode();
           if (returnCode.isSuccess()) {
               console.log('Success');
           } else {
               console.log('Error');
           }
       });
   };

3. Create a simple UI to trigger the conversion:

   export default function App() {
       return (
           
                convertVideoFormat('input.mp4', 'output.mp4')}
               />
           
       );
   }

Step 4: Testing Your App

1. Run the project using Expo:

   expo start

   Scan the QR code with the Expo app or use an emulator.

2. Test the FFmpeg command and check the output log for any errors.

Conclusion

Integrating FFmpeg with React Native and Expo involves setting up your project environment, configuring platform-specific settings, and executing multimedia processing commands. This setup enables complex media manipulation tasks, making your React Native applications more powerful across platforms.