system_asset_picker

A modern Flutter plugin that leverages Android's native Photo Picker UI to select images and videos without requiring storage permissions. This plugin provides a clean, system-native experience that complies with Play Store guidelines while offering powerful media selection capabilities.

🎬 Demo

App Demo

🌟 Features

  • ✅ No Storage Permissions Required - Uses Android's built-in Photo Picker (Android 11+) and scoped storage
  • 🎨 Native Photo Picker UI - Beautiful, system-native gallery interface
  • 📸 Single & Multiple Image Selection - Pick one or many images with customizable limits
  • 🎥 Video Selection with Size Limits - Pick videos with configurable size restrictions
  • 🔄 Combined Media Selection - Select both images and videos together
  • 📷 Camera Support - Direct camera access for capturing new photos/videos
  • 🚀 Play Store Compliant - No broad storage permissions needed
  • ⚡ Performant - Efficient handling of large media files

🎯 Why This Package?

Popular packages like image_picker, file_picker and some other packages have limitations:

  • They often require READ_MEDIA_IMAGES and READ_MEDIA_VIDEO permissions
  • Play Store may reject apps using these permissions without "broad usage" justification
  • They don't provide the modern, native Photo Picker UI
  • Limited control over video size restrictions

system_asset_picker solves all these issues while providing a superior user experience.

📋 Requirements

  • Minimum SDK: Android API 21 (Android 5.0)
  • Recommended: Android API 30+ (Android 11+) for full Photo Picker support
  • Flutter: 2.5.0 or higher

🚀 Installation

Add this to your pubspec.yaml:

dependencies:
  system_asset_picker: ^1.0.0

Then run:

flutter pub get

📱 Platform Setup

Android

Update your android/app/build.gradle:

android {
    compileSdkVersion 34 // or higher
    
    defaultConfig {
        minSdkVersion 21
        targetSdkVersion 34
    }
}

No permissions required in AndroidManifest.xml! 🎉

The plugin automatically handles scoped storage and Photo Picker access.

💻 Usage

Import the Package

import 'package:system_asset_picker/system_asset_picker.dart';

Check Photo Picker Availability


bool isAvailable = await
SystemAssetPicker.isPhotoPickerAvailable
();if
(
isAvailable) {
print('Photo Picker is available on this device');
}

Pick a Single Image

// From gallery
XFile? image = await
SystemAssetPicker.pickImage
();

// From camera
XFile? image = await
SystemAssetPicker.pickImage
(
source: ImageSource.camera
);

if (image != null) {
print('Selected image: ${image.path}');
}

Pick Multiple Images


List<String> imagePaths = await
SystemAssetPicker.pickMultipleImages
(
maxItems: 10, // Maximum number of images
);

print('Selected ${imagePaths
.
length
}
 images
'
);

Pick a Single Video

// From gallery
XFile? video = await
SystemAssetPicker.pickVideo
();

// From camera
XFile? video = await
SystemAssetPicker.pickVideo
(
source: ImageSource.camera
);

if (video != null) {
print('Selected video: ${video.path}');
}

Pick Multiple Videos with Size Limit


List<String> videoPaths = await
SystemAssetPicker.pickMultipleVideos
(
maxItems: 5, // Maximum number of videos
maxVideoSizeMB: 50, // Maximum size per video in MB
);

print('Selected ${videoPaths.length} videos');

Pick Images and Videos Together


List<String> mediaPaths = await
SystemAssetPicker.pickImagesAndVideos
(
maxItems: 10, // Maximum total items
maxVideoSizeMB: 100, // Maximum size per video in MB
);

// Process mixed media
for (String path in mediaPaths) {
if (path.toLowerCase().endsWith('.mp4') ||
path.toLowerCase().endsWith('.mov')) {
print('Video: $path');
} else {
print('Image: $path');
}
}

📖 Complete Example

import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:system_asset_picker/system_asset_picker.dart';
import 'dart:io';

class MediaPickerScreen extends StatefulWidget {
  @override
  _MediaPickerScreenState createState() => _MediaPickerScreenState();
}

class _MediaPickerScreenState extends State<MediaPickerScreen> {
  List<String> _selectedMedia = [];

  Future<void> _pickMedia() async {
    try {
      final paths = await SystemAssetPicker.pickImagesAndVideos(
        maxItems: 10,
        maxVideoSizeMB: 50,
      );

      setState(() {
        _selectedMedia = paths;
      });

      ScaffoldMessenger.of(context).showSnackBar(
        SnackBar(content: Text('Selected ${paths.length} items')),
      );
    } catch (e) {
      ScaffoldMessenger.of(context).showSnackBar(
        SnackBar(content: Text('Error: $e')),
      );
    }
  }

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Scaffold(
      appBar: AppBar(title: Text('Media Picker')),
      body: Column(
        children: [
          ElevatedButton(
            onPressed: _pickMedia,
            child: Text('Pick Images & Videos'),
          ),
          Expanded(
            child: GridView.builder(
              gridDelegate: SliverGridDelegateWithFixedCrossAxisCount(
                crossAxisCount: 3,
                crossAxisSpacing: 4,
                mainAxisSpacing: 4,
              ),
              itemCount: _selectedMedia.length,
              itemBuilder: (context, index) {
                return Image.file(
                  File(_selectedMedia[index]),
                  fit: BoxFit.cover,
                );
              },
            ),
          ),
        ],
      ),
    );
  }
}

🎨 API Reference

SystemAssetPicker

Method Parameters Return Type Description
pickImage() source (optional) Future<XFile?> Pick a single image from gallery or camera
pickVideo() source (optional) Future<XFile?> Pick a single video from gallery or camera
pickMultipleImages() maxItems (required) Future<List<String>> Pick multiple images with limit
pickMultipleVideos() maxItems, maxVideoSizeMB Future<List<String>> Pick multiple videos with size limit
pickImagesAndVideos() maxItems, maxVideoSizeMB Future<List<String>> Pick mixed media with limits
isPhotoPickerAvailable() None Future<bool> Check if Photo Picker is available

Parameters

  • maxItems: Maximum number of items that can be selected
  • maxVideoSizeMB: Maximum size per video in megabytes (default: 100MB)
  • source: ImageSource.gallery or ImageSource.camera (default: gallery)

🔒 Privacy & Permissions

This plugin is designed with privacy in mind:

  • ✅ No READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission needed
  • ✅ No READ_MEDIA_IMAGES permission needed
  • ✅ No READ_MEDIA_VIDEO permission needed
  • ✅ Uses Android's scoped storage and Photo Picker APIs
  • ✅ Fully compliant with Google Play Store policies

The plugin only accesses files that the user explicitly selects through the system UI.

📊 Supported Android Versions

Android Version API Level Photo Picker Functionality
Android 13+ 33+ Native Full native Photo Picker with all features
Android 11-12 30-32 Fallback Uses ACTION_GET_CONTENT with file type filters
Android 5-10 21-29 Fallback Basic file picker with MIME type filtering

⚠️ Limitations

  • Photo Picker UI is only available on Android 11+ (API 30+)
  • On older Android versions, a basic file picker is used
  • Videos exceeding the size limit will be filtered out with a toast notification
  • Camera functionality requires camera hardware on the device

🐛 Troubleshooting

Photo Picker Not Showing

Problem: Photo Picker doesn't appear on device

Solution: Ensure your device is running Android 11+ (API 30+). Check availability:


bool available = await
SystemAssetPicker.isPhotoPickerAvailable
();

Video Size Limit Not Working

Problem: Large videos are not being filtered

Solution: Ensure you're passing maxVideoSizeMB parameter:

await
SystemAssetPicker.pickMultipleVideos
(
maxItems
:
5
,
maxVideoSizeMB
:
50
, // Add this parameter
);

Images Not Displaying

Problem: Selected images show error icon

Solution: Verify file paths are accessible and files exist:

for (String path in paths) {
final file = File(path);
if (await file.exists()) {
print('File exists: $path');
}
}

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request. For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

💬 Support

If you find this package helpful, please:

  • ⭐ Star the repository
  • 🐛 Report issues on GitHub
  • 💡 Suggest new features
  • 📢 Share with other developers

🔗 Links

👨‍💻 Author

Created and maintained by Your Name

Made with ❤️ for the Flutter community

Libraries

system_asset_picker
system_asset_picker_method_channel
system_asset_picker_platform_interface