react-native-audio-record-plus

Audio record buffers for iOS and Android with AVAudioSession category support.

This is an enhanced version of react-native-audio-record with additional features for iOS AVAudioSession category control.

Features

• ✅ Record audio on iOS and Android
• ✅ Get audio data chunks in base64 format
• ✅ Save recordings as WAV files
• ✅ NEW: Control iOS AVAudioSession category (record / playAndRecord)

Install

npm install react-native-audio-record-plus
# or
yarn add react-native-audio-record-plus

For React Native >= 0.60, the library will be automatically linked.

For React Native < 0.60:

react-native link react-native-audio-record-plus

Usage

Basic Usage

import AudioRecord from 'react-native-audio-record-plus';

const options = {
  sampleRate: 16000,  // default 44100
  channels: 1,        // 1 or 2, default 1
  bitsPerSample: 16,  // 8 or 16, default 16
  audioSource: 6,     // android only (see below)
  wavFile: 'test.wav' // default 'audio.wav'
};

AudioRecord.init(options);

// Start recording with default category (record)
AudioRecord.start();

// Stop recording
AudioRecord.stop();
// or to get the wav file path
const audioFile = await AudioRecord.stop();

// Listen to audio data chunks
AudioRecord.on('data', data => {
  // base64-encoded audio data chunks
});

Advanced Usage - Control AVAudioSession Category (iOS)

import AudioRecord from 'react-native-audio-record-plus';

AudioRecord.init(options);

// Start with AVAudioSessionCategoryRecord (default)
// Use this for recording only
AudioRecord.start({ category: 'record' });

// Start with AVAudioSessionCategoryPlayAndRecord
// Use this when you need to play audio while recording (e.g., VoIP calls)
AudioRecord.start({ category: 'playAndRecord' });

// Or use default settings
AudioRecord.start();

AVAudioSession Categories

| Category | Description | Use Case | |----------|-------------|----------| | record | Recording only (default) | Standard audio recording | | playAndRecord | Simultaneous recording and playback | VoIP calls, voice chat, live audio processing |

Note: The category option only affects iOS. Android does not have an equivalent concept.

API Reference

AudioRecord.init(options)

Initialize the audio recorder with options.

Options:

• sampleRate (number): Sample rate in Hz. Default: 44100
• channels (number): Number of channels (1 or 2). Default: 1
• bitsPerSample (number): Bits per sample (8 or 16). Default: 16
• audioSource (number, Android only): Audio source constant. Default: 6 (VOICE_RECOGNITION)
• wavFile (string): Output WAV file name. Default: 'audio.wav'

AudioRecord.start(options?)

Start recording.

Options:

• category (string, iOS only): AVAudioSession category ('record' or 'playAndRecord'). Default: 'record'

AudioRecord.stop()

Stop recording and return the WAV file path.

Returns: Promise<string> - Path to the recorded WAV file

AudioRecord.on(event, callback)

Listen to recording events.

Events:

• data: Emitted when audio data is available. Callback receives base64-encoded audio data.

Platform-Specific Notes

Android

For audioSource, use one of the constant values from MediaRecorder.AudioSource. Default value is 6 (VOICE_RECOGNITION).

iOS

The library uses AVAudioSession for managing audio sessions. You can now control the session category when starting recording:

• AVAudioSessionCategoryRecord: For recording only
• AVAudioSessionCategoryPlayAndRecord: For simultaneous recording and playback

Permissions

Don't forget to add microphone permissions in your app.

iOS (ios/YourApp/Info.plist)

<key>NSMicrophoneUsageDescription</key>
<string>This app requires access to the microphone for audio recording.</string>

Android (android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml)

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

Decoding Audio Data

Use a 3rd-party module like buffer to decode base64 data.

// yarn add buffer
import { Buffer } from 'buffer';

AudioRecord.on('data', data => {
  const chunk = Buffer.from(data, 'base64');
  // Process audio chunk
});

License

MIT