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Camera Capturer

The CameraCapturer class provides camera video capture functionality for iOS, macOS, tvOS, and visionOS platforms. It handles device selection, format selection, camera switching, and multitasking camera access.

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Creating a Camera Track

The simplest way to create a camera track is using the convenience method: 
let cameraTrack = LocalVideoTrack.createCameraTrack()
With custom options: 
let options = CameraCaptureOptions(
    position: .front,
    dimensions: .h720_169,
    fps: 30
)
let cameraTrack = LocalVideoTrack.createCameraTrack(
    name: "camera",
    options: options
)

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Camera Capture Options

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CameraCaptureOptions

Configure camera capture behavior with the following properties:
PropertyTypeDefaultDescription
deviceTypeAVCaptureDevice.DeviceType?nilPreferred device type (not available on visionOS)
deviceAVCaptureDevice?nilExact device to use (overrides other selection)
positionAVCaptureDevice.Position.unspecifiedCamera position (.front, .back, .unspecified)
preferredFormatAVCaptureDevice.Format?nilExact capture format to use
dimensionsDimensions.h720_169Preferred capture dimensions
fpsInt30Preferred frames per second
let options = CameraCaptureOptions(
    deviceType: .builtInWideAngleCamera,
    position: .back,
    dimensions: .h1080_169,
    fps: 60
)

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Device Management

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Listing Available Cameras

let devices = try await CameraCapturer.captureDevices()
for device in devices {
    print("Device: \(device.localizedName), Position: \(device.position)")
}

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Checking Camera Switching Support

let canSwitch = try await CameraCapturer.canSwitchPosition()
if canSwitch {
    print("Both front and back cameras available")
}

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Switching Cameras

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Toggle Between Front and Back

try await cameraCapturer.switchCameraPosition()

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Set Specific Camera Position

try await cameraCapturer.set(cameraPosition: .front)

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Update Options at Runtime

let newOptions = options.copyWith(
    dimensions: .value(.h1080_169),
    fps: .value(60)
)
try await cameraCapturer.set(options: newOptions)

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Camera Properties

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Current Device

Access the currently active camera device: 
if let device = cameraCapturer.device {
    print("Using: \(device.localizedName)")
    print("Position: \(cameraCapturer.position)")
}

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Capture Session

Access the underlying AVCaptureSession: 
let session = cameraCapturer.captureSession

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Multitasking Camera Access (iOS 16+)

On iOS 16 and later, you can enable multitasking camera access to continue capturing when your app is in the background: 
if cameraCapturer.isMultitaskingAccessSupported {
    cameraCapturer.isMultitaskingAccessEnabled = true
}

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Format Selection

The SDK automatically selects the best capture format based on your options. The selection process:
  1. If preferredFormat is specified, it’s used directly
  2. Otherwise, formats are filtered and ranked by:
    • Multi-cam support (if using multi-cam session)
    • Aspect ratio match
    • FPS support
    • Manhattan distance to target dimensions
  3. The closest matching format is selected
  4. FPS is clamped to the supported range if needed

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Custom Format Selection

import AVFoundation

let device = try await CameraCapturer.captureDevices().first!
let formats = device.formats

// Find a specific format
let format = formats.first { format in
    let dimensions = CMVideoFormatDescriptionGetDimensions(format.formatDescription)
    return dimensions.width == 1920 && dimensions.height == 1080
}

let options = CameraCaptureOptions(
    device: device,
    preferredFormat: format
)

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Multi-Camera Support (iOS/tvOS)

On devices that support multi-camera capture, the SDK can coordinate multiple camera capturers: 
// The SDK automatically handles multi-cam compatibility
// when multiple camera tracks are active
let frontCamera = LocalVideoTrack.createCameraTrack(
    options: CameraCaptureOptions(position: .front)
)
let backCamera = LocalVideoTrack.createCameraTrack(
    options: CameraCaptureOptions(position: .back)
)

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Video Processing

Apply custom video processing to camera frames: 
class CustomProcessor: VideoProcessor {
    func process(frame: VideoFrame) -> VideoFrame? {
        // Apply custom processing
        return frame
    }
}

let processor = CustomProcessor()
let track = LocalVideoTrack.createCameraTrack(
    processor: processor
)

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Platform Availability

  • iOS 13.0+
  • macOS 10.15+
  • tvOS 13.0+
  • visionOS 1.0+

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See Also

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