React Native Voice

A speech-to-text library for React Native with New Architecture (Fabric/TurboModules) and Bridgeless mode support.

Note: This library is a fork of @react-native-voice/voice with custom fixes for React Native 0.76+ and the New Architecture. View source on GitHub

What's Different?

This fork includes the following improvements over the original library:

• ✅ New Architecture Support - Works with Fabric and TurboModules
• ✅ Bridgeless Mode - Full support for React Native's Bridgeless mode
• ✅ React Native 0.76+ - Tested and working with the latest RN versions
• ✅ Fixed Android Event Emission - Events properly reach JavaScript in new architecture
• ✅ Fixed iOS TurboModule Registration - Proper fallback handling for iOS
• ✅ Improved Locale Handling - Better support for Indo-Pak region languages
• ✅ Clean TypeScript Types - Updated type definitions

Installation

yarn add @dev-amirzubair/react-native-voice

# or

npm install @dev-amirzubair/react-native-voice --save

iOS Setup

cd ios && pod install

Android Setup

No additional setup required - autolinking handles everything.

Usage

import Voice from '@dev-amirzubair/react-native-voice';

// Set up event handlers
Voice.onSpeechStart = () => console.log('Speech started');
Voice.onSpeechEnd = () => console.log('Speech ended');
Voice.onSpeechResults = (e) => console.log('Results:', e.value);
Voice.onSpeechPartialResults = (e) => console.log('Partial:', e.value);
Voice.onSpeechError = (e) => console.log('Error:', e.error);

// Start listening
await Voice.start('en-US');

// Stop listening
await Voice.stop();

// Clean up
await Voice.destroy();

Full Example

import React, { useEffect, useState, useCallback } from 'react';
import { View, Text, Button } from 'react-native';
import Voice from '@dev-amirzubair/react-native-voice';

function SpeechToText() {
  const [results, setResults] = useState([]);
  const [isListening, setIsListening] = useState(false);

  useEffect(() => {
    Voice.onSpeechStart = () => setIsListening(true);
    Voice.onSpeechEnd = () => setIsListening(false);
    Voice.onSpeechResults = (e) => setResults(e.value ?? []);
    Voice.onSpeechError = (e) => console.error(e.error);

    return () => {
      Voice.destroy().then(Voice.removeAllListeners);
    };
  }, []);

  const startListening = async () => {
    try {
      await Voice.start('en-US');
    } catch (e) {
      console.error(e);
    }
  };

  const stopListening = async () => {
    try {
      await Voice.stop();
    } catch (e) {
      console.error(e);
    }
  };

  return (
    <View>
      <Text>{isListening ? '🎤 Listening...' : 'Press Start'}</Text>
      <Text>{results.join(' ')}</Text>
      <Button title="Start" onPress={startListening} />
      <Button title="Stop" onPress={stopListening} />
    </View>
  );
}

API

| Method | Description | Platform | |--------|-------------|----------| | Voice.isAvailable() | Check if speech recognition is available | Android, iOS | | Voice.start(locale) | Start listening for speech | Android, iOS | | Voice.stop() | Stop listening | Android, iOS | | Voice.cancel() | Cancel speech recognition | Android, iOS | | Voice.destroy() | Destroy the recognizer instance | Android, iOS | | Voice.removeAllListeners() | Remove all event listeners | Android, iOS | | Voice.isRecognizing() | Check if currently recognizing | Android, iOS | | Voice.getSpeechRecognitionServices() | Get available speech engines | Android only |

Events

| Event | Description | Data | |-------|-------------|------| | onSpeechStart | Speech recognition started | { error: false } | | onSpeechEnd | Speech recognition ended | { error: false } | | onSpeechResults | Final results received | { value: ['recognized text'] } | | onSpeechPartialResults | Partial results (live) | { value: ['partial text'] } | | onSpeechError | Error occurred | { error: { code, message } } | | onSpeechVolumeChanged | Volume/pitch changed | { value: number } | | onSpeechRecognized | Speech was recognized | { isFinal: boolean } |

Permissions

Android

Add to AndroidManifest.xml:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO" />

The library automatically requests permission when starting recognition.

iOS

Add to Info.plist:

<key>NSMicrophoneUsageDescription</key>
<string>This app needs microphone access for speech recognition</string>
<key>NSSpeechRecognitionUsageDescription</key>
<string>This app needs speech recognition access</string>

Platform Notes

Android

• Auto-stops after user stops speaking
• Requires Google Search app for speech recognition on most devices
• Check available services with Voice.getSpeechRecognitionServices()

iOS

• Does NOT auto-stop - call Voice.stop() when done
• Speech recognition only works on physical devices (not simulators)
• Requires iOS 10+

Expo Support

This library requires custom native code and cannot be used with Expo Go. Use a development build or eject.

Add to your app.json:

{
  "expo": {
    "plugins": ["@dev-amirzubair/react-native-voice"]
  }
}

Troubleshooting

Android: No speech recognition services found

Install the Google Search app from Play Store.

iOS: Speech recognition not working on simulator

Use a physical iOS device - simulators don't support speech recognition.

Events not firing

Make sure you set up event handlers before calling Voice.start().

Credits

This library is based on @react-native-voice/voice by the React Native Voice contributors. Special thanks to:

• @wenkesj (original author)
• @jamsch
• All original contributors

License

MIT