Expo Camera RTMP Publisher

A React Native/Expo module for RTMP streaming from a mobile device camera. Currently only iOS platform is supported.

Features

• Video streaming via RTMP protocol
• Front and back camera support with switching capability
• Device flashlight control with brightness adjustment
• Configurable video and audio settings (resolution, bitrate)
• Audio muting control
• Broadcasting state management (start/stop/error events)
• Full integration with Expo permissions system
• Hardware-accelerated video encoding
• Built on HaishinKit for iOS

Installation

In managed Expo projects

1npx expo install expo-camera-rtmp-publisher

In bare React Native projects

Make sure you have installed and configured the expo package before continuing.

1npm install expo-camera-rtmp-publisher

iOS configuration

Run npx pod-install after installing the npm package.

Note: Android support is currently under development.

Usage

Basic example

1import React, { useRef, useState } from "react";
2import { Button, View } from "react-native";
3import {
4  ExpoCameraRtmpPublisherView,
5  requestCameraPermissionsAsync,
6  requestMicrophonePermissionsAsync,
7} from "expo-camera-rtmp-publisher";
8
9export default function App() {
10  const [isPublishing, setIsPublishing] = useState(false);
11  const [cameraReady, setCameraReady] = useState(false);
12  const publisherRef = useRef(null);
13
14  const startPublishing = async () => {
15    try {
16      await publisherRef.current?.startPublishing(
17        "rtmp://your-rtmp-server/live",
18        "stream-key",
19        {
20          videoWidth: 1080,
21          videoHeight: 1920,
22          videoBitrate: 2000000,
23          audioBitrate: 128000,
24        },
25      );
26    } catch (err) {
27      console.error("Broadcasting error:", err);
28    }
29  };
30
31  return (
32    <View style={{ flex: 1 }}>
33      <ExpoCameraRtmpPublisherView
34        ref={publisherRef}
35        style={{ flex: 1 }}
36        cameraPosition="front"
37        muted={false}
38        onReady={() => setCameraReady(true)}
39        onPublishStarted={() => setIsPublishing(true)}
40        onPublishStopped={() => setIsPublishing(false)}
41        onPublishError={(error) => console.error(error)}
42      />
43
44      {cameraReady && (
45        <Button
46          title={isPublishing ? "Stop Broadcasting" : "Start Broadcasting"}
47          onPress={isPublishing
48            ? () => publisherRef.current?.stopPublishing()
49            : startPublishing}
50        />
51      )}
52    </View>
53  );
54}

Permissions

Before using the camera and microphone, you need to request permissions:

1import { requestCameraPermissionsAsync, requestMicrophonePermissionsAsync } from 'expo-camera-rtmp-publisher;
2
3async function requestPermissions() {
4  const cameraPermission = await requestCameraPermissionsAsync();
5  const microphonePermission = await requestMicrophonePermissionsAsync();
6  
7  if (!cameraPermission.granted || !microphonePermission.granted) {
8    // Handle missing permissions
9  }
10}

Required Configuration Files

For the module to work properly, you need to add the following configurations to your project files:

iOS (Info.plist)

Add the following to your ios/Info.plist file to request camera and microphone permissions:

1<key>NSCameraUsageDescription</key>
2<string>The application requests access to the camera for video broadcasting</string>
3<key>NSMicrophoneUsageDescription</key>
4<string>The application requests access to the microphone for audio broadcasting</string>

API

ExpoCameraRtmpPublisherView

Properties

Property	Type	Description
cameraPosition	'front' | 'back'	Camera position (default: 'front')
muted	boolean	Audio muting state (default: false)
onReady	() => void	Callback when the camera is ready
onPublishStarted	() => void	Callback when broadcasting starts
onPublishStopped	() => void	Callback when broadcasting stops
onPublishError	(error: string) => void	Callback when a broadcasting error occurs

Methods

Method	Parameters	Description
startPublishing	(url: string, name: string, options?: PublishOptions)	Starts RTMP broadcasting
stopPublishing	()	Stops RTMP broadcasting
switchCamera	()	Switches between front and back cameras
toggleTorch	(level: number)	Controls flashlight (0.0-1.0)

PublishOptions Type

Property	Type	Default	Description
videoWidth	number	1080	Video width in pixels
videoHeight	number	1920	Video height in pixels
videoBitrate	number	2000000	Video bitrate in bits per second
audioBitrate	number	128000	Audio bitrate in bits per second

Permission Functions

Function	Return Type	Description
requestCameraPermissionsAsync	Promise<PermissionResponse>	Requests camera access
requestMicrophonePermissionsAsync	Promise<PermissionResponse>	Requests microphone access
getCameraPermissionsAsync	Promise<PermissionResponse>	Gets camera permission status
getMicrophonePermissionsAsync	Promise<PermissionResponse>	Gets microphone permission status

PermissionResponse Type

Property	Type	Description
status	string	Permission status ('granted', 'denied', etc.)
granted	boolean	Whether permission is granted

License

MIT