rn-voice-to-text

A React Native native module for speech recognition (voice-to-text) with TypeScript support for Android and iOS.

Features

• 🎤 Real-time speech recognition with partial and final results
• 📱 Cross-platform support for Android and iOS
• 🔗 Auto-linking support (React Native ≥ 0.64)
• 🎯 TypeScript type definitions included
• ⚡ Promise-based API with event emitters
• 🌍 Multi-language support
• 🔒 Permission handling for microphone and speech recognition
• 📦 Zero dependencies (peer dependencies only)
• 🎵 Audio file transcription (iOS only - see platform limitations below)

Installation

npm install rn-voice-to-text
# or
yarn add rn-voice-to-text

For React Native ≥ 0.64, the library will auto-link. After installation, rebuild your app:

# iOS
cd ios && pod install && cd ..
npx react-native run-ios

# Android
npx react-native run-android

Platform Setup

iOS Setup

Add the following permissions to your ios/YourApp/Info.plist:

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

Android Setup

The library automatically adds required permissions. You must request RECORD_AUDIO permission at runtime using requestPermissions().

Usage

Basic Example

import VoiceToText from 'rn-voice-to-text';

const hasPermission = await VoiceToText.requestPermissions();
if (hasPermission) {
  await VoiceToText.startListening({ language: 'en-US' });
}
await VoiceToText.stopListening();

Event Listeners

VoiceToText.addEventListener('onResult', (result) => {
  console.log('Final:', result.transcript);
});

VoiceToText.addEventListener('onPartialResult', (result) => {
  console.log('Partial:', result.transcript);
});

VoiceToText.addEventListener('onError', (error) => {
  console.error(error.code, error.message);
});

API Reference

Methods

startListening(options?: VoiceToTextOptions): Promise<void>

Starts speech recognition.

interface VoiceToTextOptions {
  language?: string;        // default: 'en-US'
  maxResults?: number;      // default: 5
  partialResults?: boolean; // default: true
  continuous?: boolean;     // default: false
  timeout?: number;         // default: 30000
}

stopListening(): Promise<void>

Stops recognition and returns final results.

cancel(): Promise<void>

Cancels recognition without returning results.

isListening(): Promise<boolean>

Checks if currently listening.

requestPermissions(): Promise<boolean>

Requests microphone and speech permissions.

checkPermissions(): Promise<boolean>

Checks if permissions are granted.

Events

• onStart: Recognition started
• onPartialResult: Partial results available
• onResult: Final results available
• onError: Error occurred
• onEnd: Recognition ended

Error Codes

AUDIO, CLIENT, INSUFFICIENT_PERMISSIONS, NETWORK, NETWORK_TIMEOUT, NO_MATCH, RECOGNIZER_BUSY, SERVER, SPEECH_TIMEOUT, NOT_AVAILABLE, UNKNOWN

Supported Languages

Common language codes: en-US, en-GB, es-ES, fr-FR, de-DE, it-IT, ja-JP, ko-KR, zh-CN, pt-BR, ru-RU, ar-SA, hi-IN

Platform Differences

Android: Uses android.speech.SpeechRecognizer, provides confidence scores, works offline with language packs

iOS: Uses SFSpeechRecognizer with AVAudioEngine, requires iOS 12.0+, may need internet

Requirements

• React Native ≥ 0.64.0
• Android: minSdkVersion 21
• iOS: iOS 12.0+

License

MIT

Author

afzaal