Contents

Saving captured photos

Add an image and other data from a photo capture to the photo library.

Overview

When you complete a photo capture with AVCapturePhotoOutput, you receive an AVCapturePhoto object that contains the image data, camera metadata, and any auxiliary images you requested, such as thumbnails or depth maps. You can retrieve this data individually from the AVCapturePhoto object. Or you can call its fileDataRepresentation() method to get a Data object that’s ready to save using the codec and file format you requested for that photo in AVCapturePhotoSettings.

After capturing a photo, use PhotoKit to add that data to the user’s photo library.

Configure properties and capabilities for your app targets

You can use PhotoKit to enable read/write access to the user’s photo library. To do so, provide a static message for the NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription key in the Info.plist file to display to the user when your app requests access.

[Image]

In macOS, you also need to enable the Photos Library Entitlement in the Signing & Capabilities tab for your app targets.

[Image]

Request permission to access the user’s photo library

Use the PHPhotoLibrary requestAuthorization(for:handler:) to request access to the photo library at an appropriate time, such as when the user first opens your app’s camera feature. Here’s an example:

var isPhotoLibraryReadWriteAccessGranted: Bool {
    get async {
        let status = PHPhotoLibrary.authorizationStatus(for: .readWrite)
        
        // Determine if the user previously authorized read/write access.
        var isAuthorized = status == .authorized
        
        // If the system hasn't determined the user's authorization status,
        // explicitly prompt them for approval.
        if status == .notDetermined {
            isAuthorized = await PHPhotoLibrary.requestAuthorization(for: .readWrite) == .authorized
        }
        
        return isAuthorized
    }
}

Use a creation request to add a photo asset

Perform these steps to receive a captured photo and save it to the photo library:

  1. Adopt the AVCapturePhotoCaptureDelegate protocol and implement its photoOutput(_:didFinishProcessingPhoto:error:) method to receive a callback for each photo delivered in a capture request.

  2. Call fileDataRepresentation() on the AVCapturePhoto object provided by the protocol method to receive a data object containing the photo image data and its attachments, such as camera metadata and auxilliary images.

  3. Create a PHAssetCreationRequest to add the photo resource.

The following code provides an example of this workflow:

func photoOutput(_ output: AVCapturePhotoOutput, didFinishProcessingPhoto photo: AVCapturePhoto, error: Error?) {
    if let error {
        print("Error processing photo: \(error.localizedDescription)")
        return
    }
    
    Task {
        await save(photo: photo)
    }
}

func save(photo: AVCapturePhoto) async {
    // Confirm the user granted read/write access.
    guard await isPhotoLibraryReadWriteAccessGranted else { return }
    
    // Create a data representation of the photo and its attachments.
    if let photoData = photo.fileDataRepresentation() {
        PHPhotoLibrary.shared().performChanges {
            // Save the photo data.
            let creationRequest = PHAssetCreationRequest.forAsset()
            creationRequest.addResource(with: .photo, data: photoData, options: nil)
        } completionHandler: { success, error in
            if let error {
                print("Error saving photo: \(error.localizedDescription)")
                return
            }
        }
    }
}

See Also

Next steps