Overview

The @independo/capacitor-voice-recorder plugin allows you to record audio on Android, iOS, and Web platforms.

Installation

pnpm add @independo/capacitor-voice-recorder
pnpm exec cap sync

Configuration

Using with Android

Add the following to your AndroidManifest.xml:

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

Using with iOS

Add the following to your Info.plist:

<key>NSMicrophoneUsageDescription</key>
<string>This app uses the microphone to record audio.</string>

Requirements

• Capacitor 8+
• iOS 15+
• Android minSdk 24+; builds require Java 21 (recommended). pnpm verify:android requires a Java version supported by the bundled Gradle wrapper (currently Java 21–24, with Java 21 recommended).

Compatibility

Versioning follows Capacitor versioning. Major versions of the plugin are compatible with major versions of Capacitor.

| Plugin Version | Capacitor Version | Status | |----------------|-------------------|------------| | 8.* | 8 | Active | | 7.* | 7 | Deprecated | | 6.* | 6 | Deprecated | | 5.* | 5 | Deprecated |

iOS Package Manager Support

This plugin supports both CocoaPods and Swift Package Manager (SPM) on iOS.

• CocoaPods (default Capacitor iOS template): npx cap sync ios
• Swift Package Manager (SPM): migrate/create your iOS app to use SPM, then run npx cap sync ios

Quick start

Minimal flow for starting and stopping a recording:

import {VoiceRecorder} from '@independo/capacitor-voice-recorder';

export const startRecording = async () => {
    const permission = await VoiceRecorder.requestAudioRecordingPermission();
    if (!permission.value) {
        throw new Error('Microphone permission not granted');
    }

    await VoiceRecorder.startRecording();
};

export const stopRecording = async () => {
    const {value} = await VoiceRecorder.stopRecording();
    return value;
};

API

Below is an index of all available methods. Run pnpm docgen after updating any JSDoc comments to refresh this section.

• canDeviceVoiceRecord()
• requestAudioRecordingPermission()
• hasAudioRecordingPermission()
• startRecording(...)
• stopRecording()
• pauseRecording()
• resumeRecording()
• getCurrentStatus()
• addListener('voiceRecordingInterrupted', ...)
• addListener('voiceRecordingInterruptionEnded', ...)
• removeAllListeners()
• Interfaces
• Type Aliases
• Enums

Interface for the VoiceRecorderPlugin which provides methods to record audio.

canDeviceVoiceRecord()

canDeviceVoiceRecord() => Promise<GenericResponse>

Checks if the current device can record audio. On mobile, this function will always resolve to { value: true }. In a browser, it will resolve to { value: true } or { value: false } based on the browser's ability to record. This method does not take into account the permission status, only if the browser itself is capable of recording at all.

Returns: Promise<GenericResponse>

requestAudioRecordingPermission()

requestAudioRecordingPermission() => Promise<GenericResponse>

Requests audio recording permission from the user. If the permission has already been provided, the promise will resolve with { value: true }. Otherwise, the promise will resolve to { value: true } or { value: false } based on the user's response.

Returns: Promise<GenericResponse>

hasAudioRecordingPermission()

hasAudioRecordingPermission() => Promise<GenericResponse>

Checks if audio recording permission has been granted. Will resolve to { value: true } or { value: false } based on the status of the permission. The web implementation of this plugin uses the Permissions API, which is not widespread. If the status of the permission cannot be checked, the promise will reject with COULD_NOT_QUERY_PERMISSION_STATUS. In that case, use requestAudioRecordingPermission or startRecording and capture any exception that is thrown.

Returns: Promise<GenericResponse>

startRecording(...)

startRecording(options?: RecordingOptions | undefined) => Promise<GenericResponse>

Starts audio recording. On success, the promise will resolve to { value: true }. On error, the promise will reject with one of the following error codes: "MISSING_PERMISSION", "ALREADY_RECORDING", "MICROPHONE_BEING_USED", "DEVICE_CANNOT_VOICE_RECORD", or "FAILED_TO_RECORD".

| Param | Type | Description | | ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------ | | options | RecordingOptions | The options for the recording. |

Returns: Promise<GenericResponse>

stopRecording()

stopRecording() => Promise<RecordingData>

Stops audio recording. Will stop the recording that has been previously started. If the function startRecording has not been called beforehand, the promise will reject with RECORDING_HAS_NOT_STARTED. If the recording has been stopped immediately after it has been started, the promise will reject with EMPTY_RECORDING. In a case of unknown error, the promise will reject with FAILED_TO_FETCH_RECORDING. On iOS, if a recording interrupted by the system cannot be merged, the promise will reject with FAILED_TO_MERGE_RECORDING. In case of success, the promise resolves to RecordingData containing the recording in base-64, the duration of the recording in milliseconds, and the MIME type.

Returns: Promise<RecordingData>

pauseRecording()

pauseRecording() => Promise<GenericResponse>

Pauses the ongoing audio recording. If the recording has not started yet, the promise will reject with an error code RECORDING_HAS_NOT_STARTED. On success, the promise will resolve to { value: true } if the pause was successful or { value: false } if the recording is already paused. On certain mobile OS versions, this function is not supported and will reject with NOT_SUPPORTED_OS_VERSION.

Returns: Promise<GenericResponse>

resumeRecording()

resumeRecording() => Promise<GenericResponse>

Resumes a paused or interrupted audio recording. If the recording has not started yet, the promise will reject with an error code RECORDING_HAS_NOT_STARTED. On success, the promise will resolve to { value: true } if the resume was successful or { value: false } if the recording is already running. On certain mobile OS versions, this function is not supported and will reject with NOT_SUPPORTED_OS_VERSION.

Returns: Promise<GenericResponse>

getCurrentStatus()

getCurrentStatus() => Promise<CurrentRecordingStatus>

Gets the current status of the voice recorder. Will resolve with one of the following values: { status: "NONE" } if the plugin is idle and waiting to start a new recording. { status: "RECORDING" } if the plugin is in the middle of recording. { status: "PAUSED" } if the recording is paused. { status: "INTERRUPTED" } if the recording was paused due to a system interruption.

Returns: Promise<CurrentRecordingStatus>

addListener('voiceRecordingInterrupted', ...)

addListener(eventName: 'voiceRecordingInterrupted', listenerFunc: (event: VoiceRecordingInterruptedEvent) => void) => Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

Listen for audio recording interruptions (e.g., phone calls, other apps using microphone). Available on iOS and Android only.

| Param | Type | Description | | ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | | eventName | 'voiceRecordingInterrupted' | The name of the event to listen for. | | listenerFunc | (event: VoiceRecordingInterruptedEvent) => void | The callback function to invoke when the event occurs. |

Returns: Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

addListener('voiceRecordingInterruptionEnded', ...)

addListener(eventName: 'voiceRecordingInterruptionEnded', listenerFunc: (event: VoiceRecordingInterruptionEndedEvent) => void) => Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

Listen for audio recording interruption end events. Available on iOS and Android only.

| Param | Type | Description | | ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | | eventName | 'voiceRecordingInterruptionEnded' | The name of the event to listen for. | | listenerFunc | (event: VoiceRecordingInterruptionEndedEvent) => void | The callback function to invoke when the event occurs. |

Returns: Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

removeAllListeners()

removeAllListeners() => Promise<void>

Remove all listeners for this plugin.

Interfaces

GenericResponse

Interface representing a generic response with a boolean value.

| Prop | Type | Description | | ----------- | -------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | | value | boolean | The result of the operation as a boolean value. |

RecordingOptions

Can be used to specify options for the recording.

| Prop | Type | Description | | ---------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | directory | Directory | The capacitor filesystem directory where the recording should be saved. If not specified, the recording will be stored in a base64 string and returned in the RecordingData object. | | subDirectory | string | An optional subdirectory in the specified directory where the recording should be saved. | | requirePlaybackSupport | boolean | Whether the web implementation should require the selected recording MIME type to also be playable by the browser's native HTML <audio> element. Defaults to true on web to reduce cases where MediaRecorder reports support for a format but the recorded file cannot be played back in the same browser (observed on some Safari/iOS/WKWebView combinations). Native platforms ignore this option. |

RecordingData

Interface representing the data of a recording.

| Prop | Type | Description | | ----------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- | | value | { recordDataBase64: string; msDuration: number; mimeType: string; fileExtension: string; uri?: string; } | The value containing the recording details. |

CurrentRecordingStatus

Interface representing the current status of the voice recorder.

| Prop | Type | Description | | ------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | status | 'NONE' | 'RECORDING' | 'PAUSED' | 'INTERRUPTED' | The current status of the recorder, which can be one of the following values: 'RECORDING', 'PAUSED', 'INTERRUPTED', 'NONE'. |

PluginListenerHandle

| Prop | Type | | ------------ | ----------------------------------------- | | remove | () => Promise<void> |

Type Aliases

Base64String

Represents a Base64 encoded string.

string

VoiceRecordingInterruptedEvent

Event payload for voiceRecordingInterrupted event (empty - no data).

Record<string, never>

Record

Construct a type with a set of properties K of type T

{ [P in K]: T; }

VoiceRecordingInterruptionEndedEvent

Event payload for voiceRecordingInterruptionEnded event (empty - no data).

Record<string, never>

Enums

Directory

| Members | Value | Description | Since | | --------------------- | ------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----- | | Documents | "DOCUMENTS" | The Documents directory. On iOS it's the app's documents directory. Use this directory to store user-generated content. On Android it's the Public Documents folder, so it's accessible from other apps. It's not accessible on Android 10 unless the app enables legacy External Storage by adding android:requestLegacyExternalStorage="true" in the application tag in the AndroidManifest.xml. On Android 11 or newer the app can only access the files/folders the app created. | 1.0.0 | | Data | "DATA" | The Data directory. On iOS it will use the Documents directory. On Android it's the directory holding application files. Files will be deleted when the application is uninstalled. | 1.0.0 | | Library | "LIBRARY" | The Library directory. On iOS it will use the Library directory. On Android it's the directory holding application files. Files will be deleted when the application is uninstalled. | 1.1.0 | | Cache | "CACHE" | The Cache directory. Can be deleted in cases of low memory, so use this directory to write app-specific files. that your app can re-create easily. | 1.0.0 | | External | "EXTERNAL" | The external directory. On iOS it will use the Documents directory. On Android it's the directory on the primary shared/external storage device where the application can place persistent files it owns. These files are internal to the applications, and not typically visible to the user as media. Files will be deleted when the application is uninstalled. | 1.0.0 | | ExternalStorage | "EXTERNAL_STORAGE" | The external storage directory. On iOS it will use the Documents directory. On Android it's the primary shared/external storage directory. It's not accessible on Android 10 unless the app enables legacy External Storage by adding android:requestLegacyExternalStorage="true" in the application tag in the AndroidManifest.xml. It's not accessible on Android 11 or newer. | 1.0.0 | | ExternalCache | "EXTERNAL_CACHE" | The external cache directory. On iOS it will use the Documents directory. On Android it's the primary shared/external cache. | 7.1.0 | | LibraryNoCloud | "LIBRARY_NO_CLOUD" | The Library directory without cloud backup. Used in iOS. On Android it's the directory holding application files. | 7.1.0 | | Temporary | "TEMPORARY" | A temporary directory for iOS. On Android it's the directory holding the application cache. | 7.1.0 |

Platform behaviors

Interruption handling (iOS and Android)

On iOS and Android, the plugin listens for system audio interruptions (phone calls, other apps taking audio focus). When an interruption begins, the recording is paused, the status becomes INTERRUPTED, and the voiceRecordingInterrupted event fires. When the interruption ends, the voiceRecordingInterruptionEnded event fires, and the status stays INTERRUPTED until you call resumeRecording() or stopRecording(). Web does not provide interruption handling.

If interruptions occur on iOS, recordings are segmented and merged when you stop. iOS recordings are normalized to an M4A container with MIME type audio/mp4 for consistent output across interrupted and non-interrupted sessions.

Web constraints

• getUserMedia requires a secure context (HTTPS or localhost).
• Most browsers require a user gesture to start recording; call startRecording() from a click/tap handler.
• The Permissions API is not consistently supported; hasAudioRecordingPermission() can reject with COULD_NOT_QUERY_PERMISSION_STATUS. In that case, use requestAudioRecordingPermission() or startRecording() and handle errors.
• By default, the web implementation picks a MIME type that is supported for both recording (MediaRecorder) and playback (<audio>). You can disable the playback probe with RecordingOptions.requirePlaybackSupport = false if you prefer recorder-only MIME selection.

Recording options and storage

When you set RecordingOptions.directory, recordings are written to the Capacitor filesystem and stopRecording() returns a uri. This avoids large base64 payloads and is recommended for long recordings. When directory is not set, the data is returned in recordDataBase64.

When a uri is present, recordDataBase64 may be empty or omitted, so prefer uri when available.

import {Directory} from '@capacitor/filesystem';
import {VoiceRecorder} from '@independo/capacitor-voice-recorder';

await VoiceRecorder.startRecording({
    directory: Directory.Cache,
    subDirectory: 'voice',
});

Format and MIME type

The plugin returns the recording in one of several possible formats. The actual MIME type depends on the platform and browser capabilities.

• Android: audio/aac
• iOS: audio/mp4 (M4A container)
• Web: first supported MIME type from the plugin's ordered list, with a default preference for formats that are reported as playable by the browser <audio> element (in addition to MediaRecorder support)

Because not all devices and browsers support the same formats, recordings may not be playable everywhere. If you need consistent playback across targets, convert recordings to a single format outside this plugin. The plugin focuses on recording only and does not perform format conversion.

Playback

To play a recording, prefer uri when available. On native platforms, pass it through Capacitor.convertFileSrc before using it in the web view.

import {Capacitor} from '@capacitor/core';

const {recordDataBase64, mimeType, uri} = result.value;
const source = uri
    ? Capacitor.convertFileSrc(uri)
    : `data:${mimeType};base64,${recordDataBase64}`;

const audioRef = new Audio(source);
audioRef.oncanplaythrough = () => audioRef.play();
audioRef.load();

Troubleshooting

Common error codes

The plugin rejects with error codes; check error.code (native) or error.message (web). Not all codes apply to every platform.

| Code | Platform(s) | Typical cause | |-------------------------------------|-------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | MISSING_PERMISSION | iOS, Android, Web | Microphone permission is not granted. | | ALREADY_RECORDING | iOS, Android, Web | startRecording() called while already recording. | | DEVICE_CANNOT_VOICE_RECORD | iOS, Android, Web | The device or browser cannot record audio. | | FAILED_TO_RECORD | iOS, Android, Web | Recording failed to start or continue. | | RECORDING_HAS_NOT_STARTED | iOS, Android, Web | stopRecording(), pauseRecording(), or resumeRecording() called too early. | | EMPTY_RECORDING | iOS, Android, Web | Recording stopped too quickly or produced no data. | | FAILED_TO_FETCH_RECORDING | iOS, Android, Web | The recording could not be read back. | | FAILED_TO_MERGE_RECORDING | iOS | Interrupted recording segments failed to merge. | | MICROPHONE_BEING_USED | Android | The microphone is busy or held by another app. | | NOT_SUPPORTED_OS_VERSION | Android | Pause/resume is not supported on the current OS version. | | COULD_NOT_QUERY_PERMISSION_STATUS | Web | Permissions API is unavailable. |

Origins and credit

This project started as a fork of tchvu3/capacitor-voice-recorder. Thanks to Avihu Harush for the original implementation and community groundwork. Since then, the plugin has been re-architected for improved performance, reliability, and testability (service/adapters split, contract tests, and a normalized response path). The codebase now diverges substantially, which is why this repo left the fork network. This plugin is maintained by Independo GmbH.