Images - React Native Skia

Images are essential for creating rich visual experiences. React Native Skia provides powerful tools for loading, displaying, and manipulating images from various sources.

Loading Images

useImage Hook

The useImage hook is the primary way to load images. It returns an SkImage instance or null while loading.

import { useImage } from "@shopify/react-native-skia";

// From JavaScript bundle
const image1 = useImage(require("./assets/oslo.jpg"));

// From network
const image2 = useImage("https://picsum.photos/200/300");

// From native bundle (Android/iOS)
const image3 = useImage("Logo");

Error Handling

The hook provides an optional error handler:

const image = useImage(
  require("./assets/photo.jpg"),
  (error) => {
    console.error("Failed to load image:", error);
  }
);

MakeImageFromEncoded

Create images from encoded data:

import { Skia } from "@shopify/react-native-skia";

// From base64 string
const data = Skia.Data.fromBase64(
  "iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAYAAAAfFcSJAAAADUlEQVR42mP8/5+hHgAHggJ/PchI7wAAAABJRU5ErkJggg=="
);
const image = Skia.Image.MakeImageFromEncoded(data);

MakeImage

Create images from raw pixel data:

import { Skia, AlphaType, ColorType } from "@shopify/react-native-skia";

// Create a 256x256 image with custom pixels
const pixels = new Uint8Array(256 * 256 * 4);
pixels.fill(255);

let i = 0;
for (let x = 0; x < 256; x++) {
  for (let y = 0; y < 256; y++) {
    pixels[i++] = (x * y) % 255; // Red
    pixels[i++] = x % 255;        // Green
    pixels[i++] = y % 255;        // Blue
    pixels[i++] = 255;            // Alpha
  }
}

const data = Skia.Data.fromBytes(pixels);
const image = Skia.Image.MakeImage(
  {
    width: 256,
    height: 256,
    alphaType: AlphaType.Opaque,
    colorType: ColorType.RGBA_8888,
  },
  data,
  256 * 4 // bytes per row
);

Image Component

The Image component displays images on the canvas.

Props

Name	Type	Description
image	`SkImage`	The image instance to display
x	`number`	Left position of the destination
y	`number`	Top position of the destination
width	`number`	Width of the destination
height	`number`	Height of the destination
fit	`Fit`	How the image fits in the rectangle (default: `contain`)
sampling	`Sampling`	Sampling method for quality control

Basic Example

import { Canvas, Image, useImage } from "@shopify/react-native-skia";

const ImageDemo = () => {
  const image = useImage(require("./assets/oslo.jpg"));
  
  if (!image) {
    return null; // Still loading
  }
  
  return (
    <Canvas style={{ flex: 1 }}>
      <Image 
        image={image} 
        fit="contain" 
        x={0} 
        y={0} 
        width={256} 
        height={256} 
      />
    </Canvas>
  );
};

Fit Modes

Control how images fit within their bounds:

contain

Fits the entire image within the bounds, maintaining aspect ratio:

<Image image={image} fit="contain" x={0} y={0} width={256} height={256} />

cover

Covers the entire bounds, may crop the image:

<Image image={image} fit="cover" x={0} y={0} width={256} height={256} />

fill

Stretches the image to fill the bounds:

<Image image={image} fit="fill" x={0} y={0} width={256} height={256} />

fitWidth

Scales to match width, maintains aspect ratio:

<Image image={image} fit="fitWidth" x={0} y={0} width={256} height={256} />

fitHeight

Scales to match height, maintains aspect ratio:

<Image image={image} fit="fitHeight" x={0} y={0} width={256} height={256} />

scaleDown

Like contain, but never scales up:

<Image image={image} fit="scaleDown" x={0} y={0} width={256} height={256} />

none

No fitting applied, uses image’s natural size:

<Image image={image} fit="none" x={0} y={0} width={256} height={256} />

Sampling Options

Control image quality and performance:

Cubic Sampling (Best Quality)

Use cubic sampling for high-quality rendering:

import { Canvas, Image, useImage, CubicSampling } from "@shopify/react-native-skia";

const HighQuality = () => {
  const image = useImage(require("./assets/photo.jpg"));
  
  return (
    <Canvas style={{ flex: 1 }}>
      <Image
        image={image}
        fit="contain"
        x={0}
        y={0}
        width={256}
        height={256}
        sampling={CubicSampling}
      />
    </Canvas>
  );
};

Custom Cubic Sampling

import { Canvas, Image, useImage } from "@shopify/react-native-skia";

const CustomCubic = () => {
  const image = useImage(require("./assets/photo.jpg"));
  
  return (
    <Canvas style={{ flex: 1 }}>
      <Image
        image={image}
        fit="contain"
        x={0}
        y={0}
        width={256}
        height={256}
        sampling={{ B: 0, C: 0.5 }}
      />
    </Canvas>
  );
};

Filter and Mipmap Modes

import { Canvas, Image, useImage, FilterMode, MipmapMode } from "@shopify/react-native-skia";

const FilterExample = () => {
  const image = useImage(require("./assets/photo.jpg"));
  
  return (
    <Canvas style={{ flex: 1 }}>
      {/* Nearest filter - fastest, lowest quality */}
      <Image
        image={image}
        x={0}
        y={0}
        width={128}
        height={128}
        sampling={{ filter: FilterMode.Nearest, mipmap: MipmapMode.None }}
      />
      
      {/* Linear filter - better quality */}
      <Image
        image={image}
        x={128}
        y={0}
        width={128}
        height={128}
        sampling={{ filter: FilterMode.Linear, mipmap: MipmapMode.Linear }}
      />
    </Canvas>
  );
};

Image Instance Methods

Once loaded, SkImage instances provide useful methods:

Dimensions

const width = image.width();
const height = image.height();
const info = image.getImageInfo();

Encoding

Export images to various formats:

// As bytes (PNG by default)
const bytes = image.encodeToBytes();

// As JPEG with quality
const jpegBytes = image.encodeToBytes(ImageFormat.JPEG, 90);

// As base64 string
const base64 = image.encodeToBase64();
const jpegBase64 = image.encodeToBase64(ImageFormat.JPEG, 80);

Reading Pixels

// Read all pixels
const pixels = image.readPixels();

// Read a region
const regionPixels = image.readPixels(10, 10, {
  width: 100,
  height: 100,
  alphaType: AlphaType.Premul,
  colorType: ColorType.RGBA_8888,
});

Creating Shaders

import { TileMode } from "@shopify/react-native-skia";

// With filter options
const shader = image.makeShaderOptions(
  TileMode.Repeat,
  TileMode.Repeat,
  FilterMode.Linear,
  MipmapMode.None
);

// With cubic sampling
const cubicShader = image.makeShaderCubic(
  TileMode.Clamp,
  TileMode.Clamp,
  0,
  0.5
);

Advanced Techniques

Image Clipping

import { Canvas, Image, useImage, Circle } from "@shopify/react-native-skia";

const ClippedImage = () => {
  const image = useImage(require("./assets/photo.jpg"));
  
  return (
    <Canvas style={{ flex: 1 }}>
      <Circle cx={128} cy={128} r={100}>
        <Image image={image} fit="cover" x={0} y={0} width={256} height={256} />
      </Circle>
    </Canvas>
  );
};

Image Transformations

import { Canvas, Group, Image, useImage } from "@shopify/react-native-skia";

const TransformedImage = () => {
  const image = useImage(require("./assets/photo.jpg"));
  
  return (
    <Canvas style={{ flex: 1 }}>
      <Group transform={[{ rotate: Math.PI / 4 }]}>
        <Image image={image} x={0} y={0} width={256} height={256} />
      </Group>
    </Canvas>
  );
};

Image with Effects

import { Canvas, Image, useImage, Blur, ColorMatrix } from "@shopify/react-native-skia";

const ImageWithEffects = () => {
  const image = useImage(require("./assets/photo.jpg"));
  
  return (
    <Canvas style={{ flex: 1 }}>
      <Image image={image} x={0} y={0} width={256} height={256}>
        <Blur blur={5} />
        <ColorMatrix
          matrix={[
            0.95, 0, 0, 0, 0.05,
            0.65, 0, 0, 0, 0.15,
            0.15, 0, 0, 0, 0.5,
            0, 0, 0, 1, 0,
          ]}
        />
      </Image>
    </Canvas>
  );
};

Performance Tips

Cache loaded images with useImage
Use appropriate sampling modes for your use case
Consider image dimensions - smaller is faster
Preload images when possible
Use fitWidth or fitHeight when appropriate
Optimize image formats (WebP, JPEG) before bundling

Common Patterns

Conditional Rendering

const ImageDemo = () => {
  const image = useImage(require("./assets/photo.jpg"));
  
  return (
    <Canvas style={{ flex: 1 }}>
      {image && (
        <Image image={image} x={0} y={0} width={256} height={256} />
      )}
    </Canvas>
  );
};

Multiple Images

const Gallery = () => {
  const image1 = useImage(require("./assets/photo1.jpg"));
  const image2 = useImage(require("./assets/photo2.jpg"));
  
  return (
    <Canvas style={{ flex: 1 }}>
      {image1 && <Image image={image1} x={0} y={0} width={128} height={128} />}
      {image2 && <Image image={image2} x={128} y={0} width={128} height={128} />}
    </Canvas>
  );
};

Getting Started

Canvas

Shapes

Paint & Styling

Shaders

Images & Media

Text

Effects

Animations

Advanced

​Loading Images

​useImage Hook

​Error Handling

​MakeImageFromEncoded

​MakeImage

​Image Component

​Props

​Basic Example

​Fit Modes

​contain

​cover

​fill

​fitWidth

​fitHeight

​scaleDown

​none

​Sampling Options

​Cubic Sampling (Best Quality)

​Custom Cubic Sampling

​Filter and Mipmap Modes

​Image Instance Methods

​Dimensions

​Encoding

​Reading Pixels

​Creating Shaders

​Advanced Techniques

​Image Clipping

​Image Transformations

​Image with Effects

​Performance Tips

​Common Patterns

​Conditional Rendering

​Multiple Images

​See Also

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