Photos

The photos bridge shows the system photo picker, and browses the photo library — pages, thumbnails and full-size exports — as files in a file root.

Install and register

dotnet add package Shiny.AppDeviceBridge.Photos

builder.UseAppDeviceBridge(
    bridge => bridge.AddPhotosBridge(),
    webApp => { /* … */ }
);

Client	C#	TypeScript
IPhotosBridge	AddPhotosBridgeClient()	PhotosBridge

Details

Topic	Details
Picker	POST photos/pick shows the system photo picker — no permission needed — and copies what the user chose into a file root (cache by default) under photos/. The answer lists each as a { root, path } the page reads through the files bridge. An empty list means the user cancelled. Every head has a picker.
Library	browse every photo on the device, newest first: GET photos/library?offset=&limit= (200 at most), GET photos/library/{id}/thumbnail?size= for a JPEG that fits a square (32–1024 px), and POST photos/library/{id}/export to copy the original into a file root. It needs access — POST photos/access — and answers 403 without it.
Platforms	PhotoKit on iOS, Mac Catalyst and macOS; MediaStore on Android; the user’s Pictures folder on Windows. Linux has no photo library, so the library endpoints return 501 there.
Platform setup	NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription on Apple platforms, plus the com.apple.security.personal-information.photos-library entitlement where the app is sandboxed. READ_MEDIA_IMAGES on Android 13 and later, READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE before.

From the page

Picked and exported photos are copied into a file root, so the page reads them through the files bridge like any other file.

import { PhotosBridge, FilesBridge } from "@shinyorg/appdevicebridge";

const photos = new PhotosBridge();
const picked = await photos.pick({ limit: 3, root: "cache" });   // the system picker, no permission needed

const files = new FilesBridge();
for (const p of picked) {
    const blob = await files.readBytes(p.file.root, p.file.path);
    gallery.append(Object.assign(new Image(), { src: URL.createObjectURL(blob) }));
}

Requests

GET/_bridge/photosWhat works here, and whether the app has library access — without prompting.POST/_bridge/photos/accessRequests photo library access.POST/_bridge/photos/pickShows the system photo picker and copies what the user chose into a file root.GET/_bridge/photos/libraryA page of the photo library, newest first.GET/_bridge/photos/library/{id}/thumbnailA JPEG thumbnail that fits a square of size pixels, 32–1024.POST/_bridge/photos/library/{id}/exportCopies a library photo at full size into a file root.

GET/_bridge/photos#

What works here, and whether the app has library access — without prompting.

C#IPhotosBridge.GetStatusAsyncTSPhotosBridge.getStatus

Response

200 PhotoStatus

PhotoStatus · 3 fields

pickerSupported	boolean	Whether the system photo picker is available.
librarySupported	boolean	Whether the photo library can be browsed here.
libraryAccess	AccessState	Library access. Restricted is a limited selection the user chose on iOS or Android.

POST/_bridge/photos/access#

Requests photo library access.

C#IPhotosBridge.RequestAccessAsyncTSPhotosBridge.requestAccess

Response

200 PhotoAccessResult

PhotoAccessResult · 1 field

access

AccessState

POST/_bridge/photos/pick#

Shows the system photo picker and copies what the user chose into a file root. Empty when the user cancels. Not every platform enforces limit.

C#IPhotosBridge.PickAsyncTSPhotosBridge.pick

Body

application/json · PhotoPickRequest

PhotoPickRequest · 2 fields

limit	number	How many the user may choose, 1–50.
root	string	The file root the photos are copied into.

Response

200 PhotoFile[]

PhotoFile · 4 fields

file	BridgeFile	Where it is: read it through the files bridge.
fileName	string	The name it had on the device, where the platform says.
contentType	string | null
size	number

GET/_bridge/photos/library#

A page of the photo library, newest first. Fails with 403 without library access.

C#IPhotosBridge.GetLibraryAsyncTSPhotosBridge.getLibrary

Parameter	In	Type
offset	query	number	optional
limit	query	number	optional

Response

200 PhotoPage

PhotoPage · 4 fields

items	LibraryPhoto[]
offset	number
limit	number
hasMore	boolean	Whether another page follows.

Errors

403Forbidden

GET/_bridge/photos/library/{id}/thumbnail#

A JPEG thumbnail that fits a square of size pixels, 32–1024.

C#IPhotosBridge.GetThumbnailAsyncTSPhotosBridge.getThumbnail

Parameter	In	Type
id	path	string	required
size	query	number	optional

Response

200 Binary content — Blob in TypeScript, Stream / byte[] in C#

POST/_bridge/photos/library/{id}/export#

Copies a library photo at full size into a file root.

C#IPhotosBridge.ExportAsyncTSPhotosBridge.export

Parameter	In	Type
id	path	string	required

Body

application/json · PhotoExportRequest

PhotoExportRequest · 1 field

root

string

The file root the photo is copied into.

Response

200 PhotoFile

PhotoFile · 4 fields

file	BridgeFile	Where it is: read it through the files bridge.
fileName	string	The name it had on the device, where the platform says.
contentType	string | null
size	number

Events

This bridge raises no events — everything it does is a request and its response.

Types

JSON property names are camelCase and enums travel as their names. A ? marks a property the payload may omit;| null one that may be null.

PhotoStatusobject#

pickerSupported	boolean	Whether the system photo picker is available.
librarySupported	boolean	Whether the photo library can be browsed here.
libraryAccess	AccessState	Library access. Restricted is a limited selection the user chose on iOS or Android.

AccessStateenum#

Where a permission stands. Reported by every bridge that needs one; the names match Shiny's own.

"Unknown""NotSupported""NotSetup""Disabled""Restricted""Denied""Available"

PhotoAccessResultobject#

access

AccessState

PhotoPickRequestobject#

limit?	number	How many the user may choose, 1–50.
root?	string	The file root the photos are copied into.

PhotoFileobject#

A photo copied into a file root.

file	BridgeFile	Where it is: read it through the files bridge.
fileName	string	The name it had on the device, where the platform says.
contentType	string | null
size	number

BridgeFileobject#

A file the page can reach through the files bridge: a named root and a path inside it. Bridges that take or return a file use this, so nothing reaches the page that /_bridge/files would not also serve.

root	string
path	string

PhotoPageobject#

items	LibraryPhoto[]
offset	number
limit	number
hasMore	boolean	Whether another page follows.

LibraryPhotoobject#

A photo in the library.

id	string	Pass to getThumbnail and export.
createdAt	string | null
width	number
height	number
fileName	string | null

PhotoExportRequestobject#

root?

string

The file root the photo is copied into.

Security

These routes sit under AppDeviceBridgePolicies.Bridges like every other bridge: callers on this device by default. See Security.