photo_manager

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A Flutter plugin that provides assets abstraction management APIs without UI integration, you can get assets (image/video/audio) on Android, iOS, macOS and OpenHarmony.

Projects using this plugin

name	pub	github
wechat_assets_picker
wechat_camera_picker

Articles about this plugin

• Hard to manage media with Flutter? Try photo_manager, the all-in-one solution

Migration guide

For versions upgrade across major versions, see the migration guide for detailed info.

• photo_manager
  • Projects using this plugin
  • Articles about this plugin
  • Migration guide
  • Common issues
  • Prepare for use
    • Add the plugin reference to pubspec.yaml
    • Import in your projects
    • Configure native platforms
      • Android config preparation
        • Kotlin, Gradle, AGP
        • Android 10 (Q, 29)
        • Glide

Common issues

Please search common issues in GitHub issues for build errors, runtime exceptions, etc.

Prepare for use

Add the plugin reference to pubspec.yaml

Two ways to add the plugin to your pubspec:

• (Recommend) Run flutter pub add photo_manager.
• Add the plugin reference in your pubspec.yaml's dependencies section:

dependencies:
  photo_manager: $latest_version

The latest stable version is:

Import in your projects

import 'package:photo_manager/photo_manager.dart';

Configure native platforms

Minimum platform versions: Android 16, iOS 9.0, macOS 10.15.

[!NOTE] The iOS 9.0 minimum applies to CocoaPods builds. When building with Swift Package Manager, the iOS minimum is 13.0, to match the iOS 13.0 requirement of Flutter's generated FlutterFramework SwiftPM package on recent Flutter SDKs. The macOS minimum (10.15) is the same for both.

• Android: Android config preparation.
• iOS: iOS config preparation.
• macOS: Pretty much the same with iOS.

Android config preparation

Kotlin, Gradle, AGP

We ship this plugin with Kotlin 1.7.22. If your projects use a lower version of Kotlin/Gradle/AGP, please upgrade them to a newer version.

More specifically:

• Upgrade your Gradle version (gradle-wrapper.properties) to 7.5.1 or the latest version.
• Upgrade your Kotlin version (ext.kotlin_version) to 1.7.22 or the latest version.
• Upgrade your AGP version (com.android.tools.build:gradle) to 7.2.2 or the latest version.

Android 10 (Q, 29)

If you're not setting your compileSdkVersion or targetSdkVersion to 29, you can skip this section.

On Android 10, Scoped Storage was introduced, which causes the origin resource file not directly inaccessible through it file path.

If your compileSdkVersion or targetSdkVersion is 29, you can consider adding android:requestLegacyExternalStorage="true" to your AndroidManifest.xml in order to obtain resources:

<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    package="com.fluttercandies.photo_manager_example">

    <application
        android:label="photo_manager_example"
        android:icon="@mipmap/ic_launcher"
        android:requestLegacyExternalStorage="true">
    </application>
</manifest>

Note: Apps that are using the flag will be rejected from the Google Play.

This is not a requirement, the plugin can still work with caching files. But you'll need to control caches on your own, the best practice is to clear file caches each time when you start your app by calling PhotoManager.clearFileCache().

Glide

The plugin use Glide to create thumbnail bytes for Android.

If you found some warning logs with Glide appearing, it means the main project needs an implementation of AppGlideModule. See Generated API for the implementation.

iOS config preparation

Define the NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription key-value in the ios/Runner/Info.plist:

<key>NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription</key>
<string>In order to access your photo library</string>

If you want to grant only write-access to the photo library on iOS 11 and above, define the NSPhotoLibraryAddUsageDescription key-value in the ios/Runner/Info.plist. It's pretty much the same as the NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription.

Usage

Request for permission

Most of the APIs can only use with granted permission.

final PermissionState ps = await PhotoManager.requestPermissionExtend(); // the method can use optional param `permission`.
if (ps.isAuth) {
  // Granted
  // You can to get assets here.
} else if (ps.hasAccess) {
  // Access will continue, but the amount visible depends on the user's selection.
} else {
  // Limited(iOS) or Rejected, use `==` for more precise judgements.
  // You can call `PhotoManager.openSetting()` to open settings for further steps.
}

But if you're pretty sure your callers will be only called after the permission is granted, you can ignore permission checks:

PhotoManager.setIgnorePermissionCheck(true);

For background processing (such as when the app is not in the foreground), ignore permissions check would be proper solution.

You can also read the current permission state with PhotoManager.getPermissionState. Make sure the same permission request option is used between this request and other asset requests.

Limited entities access

Limited entities access on iOS

With iOS 14 released, Apple brought a "Limited Photos Library" permission (PermissionState.limited) to iOS. The PhotoManager.requestPermissionExtend() method will return PermissionState. See PHAuthorizationStatus for more detail.

To reselect accessible entities for the app, use PhotoManager.presentLimited() to call the modal of accessible entities' management. This method only available for iOS 14+ and when the permission state is limited (PermissionState.limited).

To suppress the automatic prompting from the system when each time you access the media after the app has restarted, you can set the Prevent limited photos access alert key to YES in your app's Info.plist (or manually writing as below):

<key>PHPhotoLibraryPreventAutomaticLimitedAccessAlert</key>
<true/>

Limited entities access on Android

Android 14 (API 34) has also introduced the concept of limited assets similar to iOS.

However, there is a slight difference in behavior (based on the emulator): On Android, the access permission to a certain resource cannot be revoked once it is granted, even if it hasn't been selected when using presentLimited in future actions.

Handling a limited grant that doesn't match the requested type

Neither iOS nor Android exposes which media kinds are inside the current limited selection. If your app requests RequestType.image but the user picked only videos while granting limited access, permission will still resolve to PermissionState.limited, and querying images will legitimately return zero results — the same as if the library truly had no images.

The recommended recovery is to prompt for reselection when this happens:

if (state == PermissionState.limited) {
  // On Android 14+, `type` filters the picker to only the media kinds you need.
  // On iOS the picker cannot be filtered by type and `type` is ignored.
  await PhotoManager.presentLimited(type: RequestType.image);
}

Get albums/folders (AssetPathEntity)

Albums or folders are abstracted as the AssetPathEntity class. It represents a bucket in the MediaStore on Android, and the PHAssetCollection object on iOS/macOS. To get all of them:

final List<AssetPathEntity> paths = await PhotoManager.getAssetPathList();

See getAssetPathList for more detail.

Params of getAssetPathList

Name	Description	Default value
hasAll	Set to true when you need an album containing all assets.	true
onlyAll	Use this property if you only need one album containing all assets.	false
type	Type of media resource (video, image, audio)	RequestType.common
filterOption	Used to filter resource files, see Filtering for details	FilterOptionGroup()
pathFilterOption	Only valid for iOS and macOS, for the corresponding album type. See PMPathFilterOption for more detail.	Include all by default.

PMPathFilterOption (Since 2.7.0)

[!NOTE] This option is only valid for iOS and macOS.

final List<PMDarwinAssetCollectionType> pathTypeList = []; // use your need type
final List<PMDarwinAssetCollectionSubtype> pathSubTypeList = []; // use your need type
final darwinPathFilterOption = PMDarwinPathFilter(
  type: pathTypeList,
  subType: pathSubTypeList,
);
PMPathFilter pathFilter = PMPathFilter();

The PMDarwinAssetCollectionType has a one-to-one correspondence with PHAssetCollectionType | Apple Developer Documentation.

The PMDarwinAssetCollectionSubtype has a one-to-one correspondence with PHAssetCollectionSubType | Apple Developer Documentation.

Get assets (AssetEntity)

Assets (images/videos/audios) are abstracted as the AssetEntity class. It represents a series of fields with MediaStore on Android, and the PHAsset object on iOS/macOS.

From AssetPathEntity

You can use the pagination method:

final List<AssetEntity> entities = await path.getAssetListPaged(page: 0, size: 80);

Or use the range method:

final List<AssetEntity> entities = await path.getAssetListRange(start: 0, end: 80);

From PhotoManager (Since 2.6)

First, You need to get count of assets:

final int count = await PhotoManager.getAssetCount();

Then, you can use the pagination method:

final List<AssetEntity> entities = await PhotoManager.getAssetListPaged(page: 0, pageCount: 80);

Or use the range method:

final List<AssetEntity> entities = await PhotoManager.getAssetListRange(start: 0, end: 80);

Note: page and start starts from 0.

From ID

The ID concept represents:

• The ID field of the MediaStore on Android.
• The localIdentifier field of the PHAsset on iOS.

You can store the ID if you want to implement features that's related to persistent selections. Use AssetEntity.fromId to retrieve the entity once you persist an ID.

final AssetEntity? asset = await AssetEntity.fromId(id);

Be aware that the created asset might have limited access or got deleted in anytime, so the result might be null.

From raw data

You can create an entity from raw data, such as downloaded images, recorded videos, etc. The created entity will show as a corresponding resource on your device's gallery app.

final Uint8List rawData = yourRawData;

// Save an image to an entity from `Uint8List`.
final AssetEntity? entity = await PhotoManager.editor.saveImage(
  rawData,
  title: 'write_your_own_title.jpg', // Affects EXIF reading.
);

// Save an existed image to an entity from it's path.
final AssetEntity? imageEntityWithPath = await PhotoManager.editor.saveImageWithPath(
  path, // Use the absolute path of your source file, it's more like a copy method.
  title: 'same_as_above.jpg',
);

// Save a video entity from `File`.
final File videoFile = File('path/to/your/video.mp4');
final AssetEntity? videoEntity = await PhotoManager.editor.saveVideo(
  videoFile, // You can check whether the file is exist for better test coverage.
  title: 'write_your_own_title.mp4',
);

// [iOS only] Save a live photo from image and video `File`.
// This only works when both image and video file were part of same live photo.
final File imageFile = File('path/to/your/live_photo.heic');
final File videoFile = File('path/to/your/live_video.mp4');
final AssetEntity? entity = await PhotoManager.editor.darwin.saveLivePhoto(
  imageFile: imageFile,
  videoFile: videoFile,
  title: 'write_your_own_title.heic',
);

Be aware that the created asset might have limited access or got deleted in anytime, so the result might be null.

iOS and macOS might set extra limitations when saving assets, it seems only certain file types can be saved as a media assets. The limitation follows the definition of AVFileType, when you saw PHPhotosErrorDomain Code=3302 (or 330x), make sure the file type is supported.

From iCloud

Resources might be saved only on iCloud to save disk space. When retrieving file from iCloud, the speed is depended on the network condition, which might be very slow that makes users feel anxious. To provide a responsive user interface, you can use PMProgressHandler to retrieve the progress when load a file.

The preferred implementation would be the LocallyAvailableBuilder in the wechat_asset_picker package, which provides a progress indicator when the file is downloading.

There are several methods that can combine with PMProgressHandler to provide responsive progress events, which are:

• AssetEntity.thumbnailDataWithSize
• AssetEntity.thumbnailDataWithOption
• AssetEntity.getMediaUrl
• AssetEntity.loadFile
• PhotoManager.plugin.getOriginBytes

iCloud files can only be obtained when the Apple ID on the device are correctly authorized. When the account requires to re-enter the password to verify, iCloud files that are not locally available are not allowed to be fetched. The photo library will throws CloudPhotoLibraryErrorDomain in this circumstance.

Cancel loading (Since 3.8.0)

[!NOTE] This is only valid for iOS and macOS.

The cancelToken parameter has been added to various of methods for AssetEntity, which can be used to cancel the loading process.

final PMCancelToken cancelToken = PMCancelToken();
final File? file = await yourAssetEntity.loadFile(cancelToken: cancelToken);
await cancelToken.cancel();

The PhotoManager also has a method to cancel all loading:

await PhotoManager.cancelAllRequest();

Display assets

Starts from v3.0.0, AssetEntityImage and AssetEntityImageProvider are provided in the photo_manager_image_provider package.

Use the AssetEntityImage widget or the AssetEntityImageProvider to display assets:

import 'package:photo_manager_image_provider/photo_manager_image_provider.dart';

final Widget image = AssetEntityImage(
  yourAssetEntity,
  isOriginal: false, // Defaults to `true`.
  thumbnailSize: const ThumbnailSize.square(200), // Preferred value.
  thumbnailFormat: ThumbnailFormat.jpeg, // Defaults to `jpeg`.
);

final Widget imageFromProvider = Image(
  image: AssetEntityImageProvider(
    yourAssetEntity,
    isOriginal: false,
    thumbnailSize: const ThumbnailSize.square(200),
    thumbnailFormat: ThumbnailFormat.jpeg,
  ),
);

Get asset files

There are several file getters and methods with an AssetEntity:

• .file
• .fileWithSubtype
• .originFile
• .originFileWithSubtype
• .loadFile

These getters and methods will fetch different types of file related to that asset. Read their comment (documentation) to know their abilities.

Additionally, you can use the raw plugin method PhotoManager.plugin.getFullFile with more parameters.

Obtain "Live Photos"

This plugin supports obtain live photos and filtering them:

Filtering only "Live Photos"

This is supported when filtering only image.

final List<AssetPathEntity> paths = await PhotoManager.getAssetPathList(
  type: RequestType.image,
  filterOption: FilterOptionGroup(onlyLivePhotos: true),
);

Or you can use the CustomSqlFilter to obtain live photos:

final List<AssetPathEntity> paths = await PhotoManager.getAssetPathList(
  type: RequestType.image,
  filterOption: CustomFilter.sql(
  where: '${CustomColumns.base.mediaType} = 1'
      ' AND '
      '${CustomColumns.darwin.mediaSubtypes} & (1 << 3) = (1 << 3)',
  ),
);

Obtain the video from "Live Photos"

final AssetEntity entity = livePhotoEntity;

// To play Live Photo's video.
final String? mediaUrl = await entity.getMediaUrl();

// Get files for normal displays like thumbnails.
final File? imageFile = await entity.file;
final File? videoFile = await entity.fileWithSubtype;

// Get files for the raw displays like detail preview.
final File? originImageFile = await entity.originFile;
final File? originVideoFile = await entity.originFileWithSubtype;

// Additionally, you can convert Live Photo's (on iOS) video file
// from `mov` to `mp4` using:
final File? convertedFile = await entity.loadFile(
  isOriginal: true,
  withSubtye: true,
  darwinFileType: PMDarwinAVFileType.mp4,
);

Include hidden assets (iOS only)

Beginning with iOS 16, users can require authentication to view the hidden album, and the user setting is true by default. When this setting is enabled, the system doesn't return hidden assets in standard queries.

This plugin now supports including hidden assets in the results on iOS platforms through the includeHiddenAssets option:

Using with FilterOptionGroup

final FilterOptionGroup filterOption = FilterOptionGroup(
  // other options...
  includeHiddenAssets: true, // Set to true to include hidden assets
);

// Use the filter option when getting assets
final List<AssetPathEntity> paths = await PhotoManager.getAssetPathList(
  filterOption: filterOption,
);

Using with CustomFilter

final filter = CustomFilter.sql(
  where: '${CustomColumns.base.width} > 100',
  // other options...
);
filter.includeHiddenAssets = true; // Set to true to include hidden assets

// Use the filter when getting assets
final int count = await PhotoManager.getAssetCount(filterOption: filter);

Note: This option only takes effect on iOS platforms. On other platforms, it will be ignored. If the user has enabled authentication for the hidden album on iOS 16+ (which is the default), third-party apps won't be able to access hidden assets even if this option is set to true.

Limitations

Android 10 media location permission

Due to the privacy policy issues on Android 10, it is necessary to grant the location permission to obtain the original data with the location info and the EXIF metadata.

If you want to use the location permission, add the ACCESS_MEDIA_LOCATION permission to your manifest.

Usage of the original data

The originFile and originBytes getter will return the original data of an entity. However, there are some cases that the original data is invalid in Flutter. Here are some common cases:

• HEIC files are not fully supported across platforms. We suggest you to upload the JPEG file (.file if the file is HEIC) in order to keep a consistent behavior between multiple platforms. See flutter/flutter#20522 for more detail.
• Videos will only be obtained in the original format, not the exported/composited format, which might cause some behavior difference when playing videos.

Long retrieving duration with file on iOS

There are several I/O methods in this library targeting AssetEntity, typically they are:

• All methods named with file.
• AssetEntity.originBytes.

File retrieving and caches are limited by the sandbox mechanism on iOS. An existing PHAsset doesn't mean the file located on the device. In generally, a PHAsset will have three status:

• isLocallyAvailable equals true, also cached: Available for obtain.
• isLocallyAvailable equals true, but not cached: When you call I/O methods, the resource will first cache into the sandbox, then available for obtain.
• isLocallyAvailable equals false: Typically this means the asset exists, but it's saved only on iCloud, or some videos that not exported yet. In this case, the best practise is to use the PMProgressHandler to provide a responsive user interface.

Entities change notify

Plugin will post entities change events from native, but they will include different contents. See the logs folder for more recorded logs.

To register a callback for these events, use PhotoManager.addChangeCallback to add a callback, and use PhotoManager.removeChangeCallback to remove the callback, just like addListener and removeListener methods.

After you added/removed callbacks, you can call PhotoManager.startChangeNotify method to enable to notify, and PhotoManager.stopChangeNotify method to stop notify.

import 'package:flutter/services.dart';

void changeNotify(MethodCall call) {
  // Your custom callback.
}

/// Register your callback.
PhotoManager.addChangeCallback(changeNotify);

/// Enable change notify.
PhotoManager.startChangeNotify();

/// Remove your callback.
PhotoManager.removeChangeCallback(changeNotify);

/// Disable change notify.
PhotoManager.stopChangeNotify();

Filtering

Filtering assets are also supported by the plugin. Below methods have the filterOption argument to define the conditions when obtaining assets.

• PhotoManager
  • getAssetPathList (Accessible with AssetPathEntity.filterOption)
  • getAssetCount
  • getAssetListRange
  • getAssetListPaged
• AssetPathEntity
  • constructor (not recommended to use directly)
  • fromId
  • obtainPathFromProperties (not recommended to use directly)

There are two implementations of filters:

• FilterOptionGroup
• CustomFilter

FilterOptionGroup

The FilterOptionGroup is the only implementation before v2.6.0.

final FilterOptionGroup filterOption = FilterOptionGroup(
  imageOption: FilterOption(
    sizeConstraint: SizeConstraint(
      maxWidth: 10000,
      maxHeight: 10000,
      minWidth: 100,
      minHeight: 100,
      ignoreSize: false,
    ),
  ),
  videoOption: FilterOption(
    durationConstraint: DurationConstraint(
      min: Duration(seconds: 1),
      max: Duration(seconds: 30),
      allowNullable: false,
    ),
  ),
  createTimeCondition: DateTimeCondition(
    min: DateTime(2020, 1, 1),
    max: DateTime(2020, 12, 31),
  ),
  orders: [
    OrderOption(
      type: OrderOptionType.createDate,
      asc: false,
    ),
  ],
  /// Include hidden assets in the results (iOS only)
  includeHiddenAssets: false,
  /// other options
);

CustomFilter

NOTE: The CustomFilter is still a newbie of the plugin that introduced in v2.6.0, please help us to improve it by submitting issues if you've met any related problems.

CustomFilter provides flexible filtering conditions, and it's targeting host platforms. The usages of the filter are more look close to native integrations, which is a SQL-like filter.

The SQL columns name on Android and Darwin (iOS/macOS) are different, you'll need to use CustomColumns.base, CustomColumns.android and CustomColumns.darwin to get the columns name correctly.

An example for how to construct a CustomFilter:

CustomFilter createFilter() {
  final filter = CustomFilter.sql(
    where: '${CustomColumns.base.width} > 100 AND ${CustomColumns.base.height} > 200',
    orderBy: [OrderByItem.desc(CustomColumns.base.createDate)],
  );
  // Include hidden assets in the results (iOS only)
  filter.includeHiddenAssets = true;
  return filter;
}

Advanced CustomFilter

AdvancedCustomFilter is a subclass of CustomFilter, it has builder methods to help create the filter.

CustomFilter createFilter() {
  final group = WhereConditionGroup()
      .and(
        ColumnWhereCondition(
          column: CustomColumns.base.width,
          value: '100',
          operator: '>',
        ),
      )
      .or(
        ColumnWhereCondition(
          column: CustomColumns.base.height,
          value: '200',
          operator: '>',
        ),
      );
  final filter = AdvancedCustomFilter()
      .addWhereCondition(group)
      .addOrderBy(column: CustomColumns.base.createDate, isAsc: false);
  return filter;
}

Classes explanations

• CustomFilter: The base class of custom filter.
• SqlCustomFilter: Creates a SQL-like filter.
• AdvancedCustomFilter: Creates an advanced filter.
  • OrderByItem: The class of ORDER BY item.
  • WhereConditionItem: The class of WHERE condition item.
    • WhereConditionGroup: Create a group of where condition.
    • TextWhereCondition: The text will not be verified if it's valid.
    • ColumnWhereCondition: The input column will be verified if it's valid.
    • DateColumnWhereCondition: Dates have different conversion methods on iOS/macOS, it helps to smoothest the platform differences.
• CustomColumns: This class contains fields for different platforms.
  • base: The common fields are included here, but please note that the "id" field is invalid in iOS and may even cause errors. It is only valid on Android.
  • android: The columns of the Android platform.
  • darwin: The columns of iOS/macOS platforms.

Here is the flow chart to explain how advanced filter works:

Cache mechanism

Cache on Android

Because Android 10 restricts the ability to access the resource path directly, image caches will be generated during I/O processes. More specifically, when the file, originFile and any other I/O getters are called, the plugin will save a file in the cache folder for further use.

Fortunately, on Android 11 and above, the resource path can be obtained directly again, but you can still use requestLegacyExternalStorage to access files in the storage without caching them. See Android 10 (Q, 29) for how to add the attribute. The attribute is not required.

Cache on iOS

iOS does not directly provide APIs to access the original files of the album. So a cached file will be generated locally into the container of the current application when you called file, originFile and any other I/O getters.

If occupied disk spaces are sensitive in your use case, you can delete it after your usage has done (iOS only).

import 'dart:io';

Future<void> useEntity(AssetEntity entity) async {
  File? file;
  try {
    file = await entity.file;
    await handleFile(file!); // Custom method to handle the obtained file.
  } finally {
    if (Platform.isIOS) {
      file?.deleteSync(); // Delete it once the process has done.
    }
  }
}

Clear caches

You can use the PhotoManager.clearFileCache() method to clear all caches that generated by the plugin. Here are caches generation on different platforms, types and resolutions.

Platform	Thumbnail	File / Origin File
Android	Yes	Yes (Android 10+)
iOS	No	Yes

Native extra configs

Android extra configs

Glide issues

If your found any conflicting issues against Glide, then you'll need to edit the android/build.gradle file:

rootProject.allprojects {
    subprojects {
        project.configurations.all {
            resolutionStrategy.eachDependency { details ->
                if (details.requested.group == 'com.github.bumptech.glide'
                        && details.requested.name.contains('glide')) {
                    details.useVersion '4.16.0'
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

See ProGuard for Glide if you want to know more about using ProGuard and Glide together.

Android 14 (API 34) extra configs

When running on Android 14 (API level 34), the following permissions needs to be added to the manifest even if your targetSdkVersion and compileSdkVersion is not 34:

<manifest>
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_MEDIA_VISUAL_USER_SELECTED" />  <!-- If you want to use the limited access feature. -->
</manifest>

Android 13 (API 33) extra configs

When running on Android 13 (API level 33), the following permissions needs to be added to the manifest even if your targetSdkVersion and compileSdkVersion is not 33:

Note: READ_MEDIA_IMAGES and READ_MEDIA_VIDEO are both required whether requesting images or videos.

<manifest>
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_MEDIA_IMAGES" /> <!-- If you want to read images or videos-->
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_MEDIA_VIDEO" /> <!-- If you want to read videos or images-->
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_MEDIA_AUDIO" /> <!-- If you want to read audio-->
</manifest>

Android 12 (API 31) MANAGE_MEDIA (optional)

Android 12 introduced the MANAGE_MEDIA special permission. When granted, PhotoManager.editor.deleteWithIds, moveToTrash, and favorite operations no longer show the system confirmation dialog on each call, which is useful for gallery / media management apps that perform bulk operations.

To opt in, declare the permission in your AndroidManifest.xml:

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

The user must additionally toggle the switch for your app in Settings > Apps > Special app access > Media management. There is no runtime dialog; use the APIs below to check the state and route the user to the settings page:

if (!await PhotoManager.canManageMedia()) {
  await PhotoManager.requestManageMedia();
  // Re-check canManageMedia() after the user returns from Settings.
}

Both methods return false on iOS/macOS/OpenHarmony and on Android versions below 12. READ_MEDIA_* and ACCESS_MEDIA_LOCATION remain prerequisites — MANAGE_MEDIA only suppresses the confirmation dialog.

iOS extra configs

Localized system albums name

By default, iOS will retrieve system album names only in English no matter what language has been set to devices. To change the default language, see the following steps:

• Open your iOS project (Runner.xcworkspace) using Xcode.

• Select the project "Runner" and in the localizations table, click on the + icon.

• Select the adequate language(s) you want to retrieve localized strings.

• Validate the popup screen without any modification.

• Rebuild your flutter project.

Now system albums label should display accordingly.

Note: Localize is not meant to customize albums name.

Experimental features

Warning: Features here aren't guaranteed to be fully usable across platforms and OS versions, since they involved with data modification. They can be modified/removed in any time, without following a proper version semantic.

Some APIs will make irreversible modification/deletion to data. Please be careful and implement your own test mechanism when using them.

Preload thumbnails

You can preload thumbnails for entities with specified thumbnail options using PhotoCachingManager.requestCacheAssets or PhotoCachingManager.requestCacheAssetsWithIds.

PhotoCachingManager().requestCacheAssets(assets: assets, option: option);

And you can stop in anytime by calling PhotoCachingManager().cancelCacheRequest().

Usually, when we're previewing assets, thumbnails will be loaded instantly. But sometimes we want to preload assets to make them display faster.

The PhotoCachingManager uses the PHCachingImageManager on iOS, and Glide's file cache on Android.

Delete entities

This method will delete the asset completely from your device. Use it with extra caution.

// Deleted IDs will returned, if it fails, the result will be an empty list.
// IDs of assets that do not exist are ignored.
final List<String> result = await PhotoManager.editor.deleteWithIds(
  <String>[entity.id],
);

After the deletion, you can call the refreshPathProperties method to refresh the corresponding AssetPathEntity in order to get latest fields.

Copy an entity

You can use copyAssetToPath method to "Copy" an entity from its current position to the targeting AssetPathEntity:

// Make sure your path entity is accessible.
final AssetPathEntity anotherPathEntity = anotherAccessiblePath;
final AssetEntity entity = yourEntity;
final AssetEntity? newEntity = await PhotoManager.editor.copyAssetToPath(
  asset: entity,
  pathEntity: anotherPathEntity,
); // The result could be null when the path is not accessible.

The "Copy" means differently here on Android and iOS:

• For Android, it inserts a copy of the source entity:
  • On platforms <=28, the method will copy most of the origin info.
  • On platforms >=29, some fields cannot be modified during the insertion, e.g. MediaColumns.RELATIVE_PATH.
• For iOS, it makes a shortcut thing rather than create a new physical entity.
  • Some albums are smart albums, their content is automatically managed by the system and cannot insert entities manually.

(For Android 30+, this feature is blocked by system limitations currently.)

Features for Android only

Move an entity to another album

// Make sure your path entity is accessible.
final AssetPathEntity pathEntity = accessiblePath;
final AssetEntity entity = yourEntity;
await PhotoManager.editor.android.moveAssetToAnother(
  entity: entity,
  target: pathEntity,
);

(For Android 30+, this feature is blocked by system limitations currently.)

Remove all non-exist entities

This will remove all items (records) that's not existed locally. A record in Android MediaStore could have the corresponding file deleted. Those abnormal behaviors usually caused by operations from file manager, helper tools or adb tool. This operation is resource-consuming, Please use the await keyword to call the cleaning process before you call another one.

await PhotoManager.editor.android.removeAllNoExistsAsset();

Some operating systems will prompt confirmation dialogs for each entities' deletion, we have no way to avoid them. Make sure you're using the correct method, and your customers accept repeatedly confirmations.

Move entities to trash

await PhotoManager.editor.android.moveToTrash(list);

The method supports Android 11 and above versions. It will move the entities to trash. Throws exception when calling on Android 11-.

Features for iOS or macOS

Create a folder

PhotoManager.editor.darwin.createFolder(
  name,
  parent: parent, // The value should be null, the root path or other accessible folders.
);

Create an album

PhotoManager.editor.darwin.createAlbum(
  name,
  parent: parent, // The value should be null, the root path or other accessible folders.
);

Remove the entity entry from the album

Remove the entry of the asset from the specific album. The asset won't be deleted from the device, only removed from the album.

// Make sure your path entity is accessible.
final AssetPathEntity pathEntity = accessiblePath;
final AssetEntity entity = yourEntity;
final List<AssetEntity> entities = <AssetEntity>[yourEntity, anotherEntity];
// Remove single asset from the album.
// It'll call the list method as the implementation.
await PhotoManager.editor.darwin.removeInAlbum(
  yourEntity,
  accessiblePath,
);
// Remove assets from the album in batches.
await PhotoManager.editor.darwin.removeAssetsInAlbum(
  entities,
  accessiblePath,
);

Delete AssetPathEntity

Smart albums can't be deleted.

PhotoManager.editor.darwin.deletePath();

Darwin-only reads (AssetEntity.darwin / AssetPathEntity.darwin)

PhotoKit-specific reads are grouped under a .darwin accessor so the shared entity classes stay lean. Accessing .darwin on a non-Darwin platform throws an OSError, so guard with Platform (or only call it on iOS/macOS).

// Cloud identifiers are stable across devices sharing the same iCloud Photo
// Library (iOS 15+/macOS 12+), unlike the per-device `AssetEntity.id`.
final String? cloudId = await entity.darwin.cloudIdentifier;

// Prefer the batch call when resolving many assets; it's far more efficient
// than reading the getter in a loop. Returns a map keyed by localIdentifier.
final Map<String, String?> cloudIds =
    await PhotoManager.plugin.getCloudIdentifiers(<String>[entity.id, ...]);

// Whether the asset has edits, plus the unedited base file.
if (await entity.darwin.hasAdjustments) {
  final File? base = await entity.darwin.baseFile();
}

// Parent folders containing an album/folder, for breadcrumb navigation.
final List<AssetPathEntity> parents = await path.darwin.getParentPathList();

Update an asset's creation date

Modify the creation date of an existing asset. Returns the updated AssetEntity on success, or throws a StateError on failure.

• iOS/macOS: updates PHAsset.creationDate.
• Android Q (API 29)+: updates the MediaStore DATE_TAKEN field (unsupported on API 28 and below).

final AssetEntity updated =
    await PhotoManager.editor.darwin.updateCreationDate( // or .android
  entity: asset,
  creationDate: DateTime(2023, 1, 15, 10, 30),
);

Features for OpenHarmony

The photo library feature is disabled in OpenHarmony officially because of the security concern.

Most functions are supported except caching, and only images/videos are supported.

Feature	OpenHarmony
releaseCache	❌
clearFileCache	❌
requestCacheAssetsThumbnail	❌
getSubPathEntities	❌