expo-background-recording

Recording Audio in background for Android

Installation

pnpm add expo-background-recording

Configuration

Add the plugin to your app.json or app.config.js:

{
  "expo": {
    "plugins": ["expo-background-recording"]
  }
}

Then run prebuild to apply the configuration:

npx expo prebuild

The plugin automatically configures:

• Required Android permissions (RECORD_AUDIO, FOREGROUND_SERVICE, FOREGROUND_SERVICE_MICROPHONE)
• Foreground service declaration in AndroidManifest.xml

API

Methods

startRecording(options?: RecordingOptions): Promise<void>

Starts audio recording with optional configuration.

Options:

• sampleRate?: number - Sample rate in Hz (default: 44100)
• channels?: number - Number of channels (default: 2)
• bitRate?: number - Bit rate in bits per second (default: 128000)
• outputFormat?: 'aac' | 'm4a' | '3gp' - Output format (default: 'm4a')

pauseRecording(): Promise<void>

Pauses the current recording.

resumeRecording(): Promise<void>

Resumes a paused recording.

stopRecording(): Promise<string>

Stops recording and returns the file URI.

getRecordingState(): Promise<RecordingState>

Returns the current recording state.

Returns:

{
  isRecording: boolean;
  isPaused: boolean;
  duration: number;
}

Events

onRecordingStateChange

Emitted when the recording state changes.

Payload:

{
  isRecording: boolean;
  isPaused: boolean;
  duration: number;
}

Usage

import { useState, useEffect } from 'react';
import ExpoBackgroundRecording, { RecordingStateChangePayload } from 'expo-background-recording';
import { Alert, PermissionsAndroid, Platform } from 'react-native';

const requestPermissions = async () => {
  if (Platform.OS === 'android') {
    const granted = await PermissionsAndroid.request(
      PermissionsAndroid.PERMISSIONS.RECORD_AUDIO,
    );
    return granted === PermissionsAndroid.RESULTS.GRANTED;
  }
  return true;
};

const startRecording = async () => {
  const hasPermission = await requestPermissions();
  if (!hasPermission) {
    Alert.alert('Error', 'Microphone permission is required');
    return;
  }

  await ExpoBackgroundRecording.startRecording({
    sampleRate: 44100,
    channels: 2,
    bitRate: 128000,
    outputFormat: 'm4a',
  });
};

const stopRecording = async () => {
  const uri = await ExpoBackgroundRecording.stopRecording();
  console.log('Recording saved at:', uri);
};

const useRecordingState = () => {
  const [recordingState, setRecordingState] = useState({
    isRecording: false,
    isPaused: false,
    duration: 0,
  });

  useEffect(() => {
    const subscription = ExpoBackgroundRecording.addListener(
      'onRecordingStateChange',
      (event: RecordingStateChangePayload) => {
        setRecordingState(event);
      },
    );

    return () => subscription.remove();
  }, []);

  return recordingState;
};

License

MIT