@capgo/capacitor-uploader

May 7, 2026 · View on GitHub

Upload files in the background with progress tracking, resumable uploads, and network-aware handling for Capacitor apps.

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Uploader Plugin

This plugin provides a flexible way to upload natively files to various servers, including S3 with presigned URLs.

Can be used in combination with the Capacitor Camera preview To upload file in reliable manner instead of reading them in buffer of webview and then upload in JS.

On the web, file paths support IndexedDB (IDB) semantic paths using the following format:
idb://[database-name]/[collection-name]/[key]
This allows seamless integration with IndexedDB for storing and retrieving files.

Documentation

The most complete doc is available here: https://capgo.app/docs/plugins/uploader/

Compatibility

Plugin versionCapacitor compatibilityMaintained
v8.*.*v8.*.*
v7.*.*v7.*.*On demand
v6.*.*v6.*.*
v5.*.*v5.*.*

Note: The major version of this plugin follows the major version of Capacitor. Use the version that matches your Capacitor installation (e.g., plugin v8 for Capacitor 8). Only the latest major version is actively maintained.

Install

npm install @capgo/capacitor-uploader
npx cap sync

Android

Add the following to your AndroidManifest.xml file:

    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.FOREGROUND_SERVICE" />

Example S3 upload

import { Uploader } from '@capgo/capacitor-uploader';

async function uploadToS3(filePath: string, presignedUrl: string, fields: Record<string, string>) {
  try {
    const { id } = await Uploader.startUpload({
      filePath: filePath,
      serverUrl: presignedUrl,
      method: 'PUT',
      parameters: fields,
      notificationTitle: 'Uploading to S3'
    });

    console.log('Upload started with ID:', id);

    // Listen for upload events
    Uploader.addListener('events', (event: UploadEvent) => {
      if (event.name === 'uploading') {
        console.log(`Upload progress: ${event.payload.percent}%`);
      } else if (event.name === 'completed') {
        console.log('Upload completed successfully');
      } else if (event.name === 'failed') {
        console.error('Upload failed:', event.payload.error);
      }
    });

  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Failed to start upload:', error);
  }
}

Example upload to a custom server

import { Uploader } from '@capgo/capacitor-uploader';

async function uploadToCustomServer(filePath: string, serverUrl: string) {
  try {
    // Start the upload
    const { id } = await Uploader.startUpload({
      filePath: filePath,
      serverUrl: serverUrl,
      method: 'POST',
      headers: {
        'Authorization': 'Bearer your-auth-token-here'
      },
      parameters: {
        'user_id': '12345',
        'file_type': 'image'
      },
      notificationTitle: 'Uploading to Custom Server',
      maxRetries: 3
    });

    console.log('Upload started with ID:', id);

    // Listen for upload events
    Uploader.addListener('events', (event) => {
      switch (event.name) {
        case 'uploading':
          console.log(`Upload progress: ${event.payload.percent}%`);
          break;
        case 'completed':
          console.log('Upload completed successfully');
          console.log('Server response status code:', event.payload.statusCode);
          break;
        case 'failed':
          console.error('Upload failed:', event.payload.error);
          break;
      }
    });

    // Optional: Remove the upload if needed
    // await Uploader.removeUpload({ id: id });

  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Failed to start upload:', error);
  }
}

// Usage
const filePath = 'file:///path/to/your/file.jpg';
const serverUrl = 'https://your-custom-server.com/upload';
uploadToCustomServer(filePath, serverUrl);

Example multi-file multipart upload

import { Uploader } from '@capgo/capacitor-uploader';

const { id } = await Uploader.startUpload({
  serverUrl: 'https://api.example.com/upload',
  method: 'POST',
  uploadType: 'multipart',
  files: [
    { filePath: 'file:///...photo1.jpg', fieldName: 'images[]', mimeType: 'image/jpeg' },
    { filePath: 'file:///...photo2.jpg', fieldName: 'images[]', mimeType: 'image/jpeg' },
  ],
  parameters: { albumId: '7' },
  headers: { Authorization: 'Bearer token' },
});
console.log('Upload started with ID:', id);

Example with Capacitor Camera preview

Documentation for the Capacitor Camera preview

  import { CameraPreview } from '@capgo/camera-preview'
  import { Uploader } from '@capgo/capacitor-uploader';


  async function record() {
    await CameraPreview.startRecordVideo({ storeToFile: true })
    await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 5000))
    const fileUrl = await CameraPreview.stopRecordVideo()
    console.log(fileUrl.videoFilePath)
    await uploadVideo(fileUrl.videoFilePath)
  }

  async function uploadVideo(filePath: string) {
    Uploader.addListener('events', (event) => {
      switch (event.name) {
        case 'uploading':
          console.log(`Upload progress: ${event.payload.percent}%`);
          break;
        case 'completed':
          console.log('Upload completed successfully');
          console.log('Server response status code:', event.payload.statusCode);
          break;
        case 'failed':
          console.error('Upload failed:', event.payload.error);
          break;
      }
    });
    try {
      const result = await Uploader.startUpload({
        filePath,
        serverUrl: 'S#_PRESIGNED_URL',
        method: 'PUT',
        headers: {
          'Content-Type': 'video/mp4',
        },
        mimeType: 'video/mp4',
      });
      console.log('Video uploaded successfully:', result.id);
    } catch (error) {
      console.error('Error uploading video:', error);
      throw error;
    }
  }

API

Capacitor Uploader Plugin for uploading files with background support and progress tracking.

startUpload(...)

startUpload(options: uploadOption) => Promise<{ id: string; }>

Start uploading a file to a server.

The upload will continue in the background even if the app is closed or backgrounded. Listen to upload events to track progress, completion, or failure.

ParamTypeDescription
optionsuploadOption- Configuration for the upload

Returns: Promise<{ id: string; }>

Since: 0.0.1


removeUpload(...)

removeUpload(options: { id: string; }) => Promise<void>

Cancel and remove an ongoing upload.

This will stop the upload if it's in progress and clean up resources.

ParamTypeDescription
options{ id: string; }- Object containing the upload ID to remove

Since: 0.0.1


addListener('events', ...)

addListener(eventName: 'events', listenerFunc: (state: UploadEvent) => void) => Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

Listen for upload progress and status events.

Events are fired for:

  • Upload progress updates (with percent)
  • Upload completion (with statusCode)
  • Upload failure (with error and statusCode)
ParamTypeDescription
eventName'events'- Must be 'events'
listenerFunc(state: UploadEvent) => void- Callback function to handle upload events

Returns: Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

Since: 0.0.1


getPluginVersion()

getPluginVersion() => Promise<{ version: string; }>

Get the native Capacitor plugin version.

Returns: Promise<{ version: string; }>

Since: 0.0.1


Interfaces

uploadOption

PropTypeDescriptionDefaultSince
filePathstringThe local file path of the file to upload. Can be a file:// URL or an absolute path. If you need to upload multiple files in a single multipart request, use files.0.0.1
filesUploadFileOption[]Multiple files to upload in a single request. When provided, uploads are sent as multipart/form-data with one part per file. Use fieldName to control each part name (e.g. images[]). Note: PUT uploads (e.g. presigned S3 URLs) only support a single file.0.0.3
serverUrlstringThe server URL endpoint where the file should be uploaded.0.0.1
notificationTitlestringThe title of the upload notification shown to the user. Android only.'Uploading'0.0.1
headers{ [key: string]: string; }HTTP headers to send with the upload request. Useful for authentication tokens, content types, etc.0.0.1
method'PUT' | 'POST'The HTTP method to use for the upload request.'POST'0.0.1
mimeTypestringThe MIME type of the file being uploaded. If not specified, the plugin will attempt to determine it automatically.0.0.1
parameters{ [key: string]: string; }Additional form parameters to send with the upload request. These will be included as form data in multipart uploads.0.0.1
maxRetriesnumberThe maximum number of times to retry the upload if it fails.00.0.1
uploadType'binary' | 'multipart'The type of upload to perform. - 'binary': Uploads the file as raw binary data in the request body - 'multipart': Uploads the file as multipart/form-data'binary' when method is 'PUT', otherwise 'multipart'0.0.2
fileFieldstringThe form field name for the file when using multipart upload type. Only used when uploadType is 'multipart'. For multi-file uploads via files, this is used as the default field name when a file entry does not specify fieldName.'file'0.0.2

UploadFileOption

Configuration options for uploading a file.

PropTypeDescriptionSince
filePathstringThe local file path of the file to upload. Can be a file:// URL or an absolute path.0.0.3
fieldNamestringThe form field name for the file part when using multipart upload. If omitted, uploadOption.fileField is used (defaults to 'file').0.0.3
mimeTypestringThe MIME type of this file. If not specified, the plugin will attempt to determine it automatically.0.0.3

PluginListenerHandle

PropType
remove() => Promise<void>

UploadEvent

Event emitted during the upload lifecycle.

PropTypeDescriptionSince
name'uploading' | 'completed' | 'failed'The current status of the upload. - 'uploading': Upload is in progress - 'completed': Upload finished successfully - 'failed': Upload encountered an error0.0.1
payload{ percent?: number; error?: string; statusCode?: number; }Additional data about the upload event.0.0.1
idstringUnique identifier for this upload task.0.0.1

Credits:

For the inspiration and the code on ios: https://github.com/Vydia/react-native-background-upload/tree/master For the API definition: https://www.npmjs.com/package/cordova-plugin-background-upload-put-s3