@dariyd/react-native-image-description

React Native module for image classification and description using native ML capabilities:

• iOS: Vision framework's VNClassifyImageRequest for image classification
  • Optional: merge results with Google ML Kit Image Labeling (400+ labels)
• Android: ML Kit Image Labeling + GenAI Image Description API

Features

✨ Image Classification

• iOS and Android support
• iOS: Apple Vision + optional Google ML Kit merge (recommended ON for better results)
• Android: ML Kit Image Labeling base model (400+ labels)
• Configurable thresholds and result limits
• On-device, fast inference

✨ Image Description (Android Only)

• Natural language descriptions of images
• On-device GenAI model
• Model download management with progress tracking

✨ Modern Architecture

• Full React Native new architecture support (iOS TurboModule)
• TypeScript with complete type definitions
• Promise-based async API
• Backward compatible with old architecture

Installation

npm install @dariyd/react-native-image-description
# or
yarn add @dariyd/react-native-image-description

iOS Setup

cd ios && pod install

Requirements:

• iOS 15.0 or higher
• Xcode 14 or higher

Android Setup

The module will be automatically linked. No additional setup required.

Requirements:

• Android SDK 26 or higher
• Google Play Services

Usage

Basic Image Classification

import { classifyImage } from '@dariyd/react-native-image-description';

// Classify an image
const result = await classifyImage('file:///path/to/image.jpg', {
  minimumConfidence: 0.5,
  maxResults: 10
});

if (result.success) {
  result.labels.forEach(label => {
    console.log(`${label.identifier}: ${(label.confidence * 100).toFixed(1)}%`);
  });
}

// Example output:
// dog: 95.2%
// animal: 92.8%
// pet: 89.3%
// mammal: 87.1%

iOS: Vision-only vs Vision + ML Kit

By default on iOS, the module merges labels from Apple Vision and Google ML Kit Image Labeling to improve coverage. You can toggle ML Kit with iosUseMlKit:

// Vision-only (disable ML Kit on iOS)
const resVisionOnly = await classifyImage(uri, {
  minimumConfidence: 0.5,
  iosUseMlKit: false,
});

// Vision + ML Kit (default)
const resMerged = await classifyImage(uri, {
  minimumConfidence: 0.5,
  iosUseMlKit: true,
});

Runtime logs clearly indicate the source:

• Vision labels are logged as Vision label: …
• ML Kit labels are logged as ML Kit label: …
• Final summary shows Vision vs Vision and ML Kit.

Demos

iOS (Vision + ML Kit)	Android (ML Kit)

Image Description (Android Only)

Note: iOS support in iOS 26 is on the TODO list.

import {
  describeImage,
  checkDescriptionModelStatus,
  downloadDescriptionModel
} from '@dariyd/react-native-image-description';

// Check if model is available
const status = await checkDescriptionModelStatus();
console.log('Model status:', status); // 'available', 'downloadable', etc.

// Download model if needed
if (status === 'downloadable') {
  const success = await downloadDescriptionModel((progress) => {
    console.log(`Download progress: ${(progress * 100).toFixed(0)}%`);
  });
  
  if (success) {
    console.log('Model downloaded successfully!');
  }
}

// Generate description
const result = await describeImage('file:///path/to/image.jpg');

if (result.success) {
  console.log('Description:', result.description);
  // Example: "A golden retriever playing with a ball in a park"
}

Check Module Availability

import { isAvailable } from '@dariyd/react-native-image-description';

const available = await isAvailable();
if (available) {
  console.log('Image description module is ready!');
}

API Reference

classifyImage(imageUri, options?)

Classify an image and return labels with confidence scores.

Parameters:

• imageUri (string): Local file path or file:// URI to the image
• options (object, optional):
  • minimumPrecision (number): 0.0-1.0, default 0.1 (iOS only)
  • recallThreshold (number): 0.0-1.0, default 0.8 (iOS only)
  • minimumConfidence (number): 0.0-1.0, filter results by confidence
  • confidenceThreshold (number): 0.0-1.0 (Android only, default 0.5)
  • maxResults (number): Limit number of results
  • iosUseMlKit (boolean): iOS only. Merge Google ML Kit labels with Vision results. Defaults to true.

Returns: Promise<ClassificationResult>

{
  success: boolean;
  labels: Array<{
    identifier: string;
    confidence: number; // 0.0-1.0
    index?: number;
  }>;
  error?: string;
}

describeImage(imageUri, options?) (Android Only)

Generate a natural language description of an image.

Parameters:

• imageUri (string): Local file path or file:// URI to the image
• options (object, optional): Reserved for future use

Returns: Promise<DescriptionResult>

{
  success: boolean;
  description: string;
  error?: string;
  modelStatus?: 'available' | 'downloading' | 'not_available';
}

Note: On iOS, this always returns an error indicating the feature is not available.

checkDescriptionModelStatus() (Android Only)

Check the status of the GenAI description model.

Returns: Promise<ModelStatus>

Possible values:

• 'available' - Model is downloaded and ready
• 'downloadable' - Model needs to be downloaded
• 'downloading' - Model is currently downloading
• 'not_available' - Model cannot be used
• 'not_supported' - Platform doesn't support this feature (iOS)

downloadDescriptionModel(onProgress?) (Android Only)

Download the GenAI description model.

Parameters:

• onProgress (function, optional): Callback for download progress (progress: number) => void
  • progress: 0.0-1.0

Returns: Promise<boolean> - true if download succeeds

isAvailable()

Check if the module is available on the current platform.

Returns: Promise<boolean> - true if available

Platform Differences

iOS (Vision Framework)

Classification:

• ✅ High-accuracy classification using Vision framework
• ✅ Taxonomy labels (e.g., "dog", "animal", "pet", "mammal")
• ✅ Configurable precision/recall thresholds
• ✅ Confidence scores for all labels
• ✅ iOS 15+ required

Description:

• ❌ Natural language description not available
• 💡 Use classifyImage() for classification labels instead
• 💡 For descriptions, consider cloud solutions (OpenAI Vision API, etc.)

Android (ML Kit)

Classification:

• ✅ Fast on-device labeling with ML Kit
• ✅ 400+ entity categories
• ✅ Configurable confidence threshold
• ✅ No model download required

Description (GenAI Image Description):

• ✅ On-device GenAI descriptions via ML Kit GenAI Image Description API
• ⚠️ Only available on a limited set of supported devices (AICore/Gemini Nano required). See device support list: https://developers.google.com/ml-kit/genai#feature-device
• ⚠️ May initially report downloadable/downloading and require time on Wi‑Fi to become available
• ⚠️ API is in Beta and subject to change
• ⚠️ This feature has not been fully validated by this library across the device matrix; treat as experimental

Classification Options Explained

iOS Precision/Recall Filtering

The Vision framework provides sophisticated filtering options:

High-Recall Filter (default):

classifyImage(imageUri, {
  minimumPrecision: 0.1,
  recallThreshold: 0.8
});

• Returns more labels (broader range)
• May include some false positives
• Good for discovery and exploration

High-Precision Filter:

classifyImage(imageUri, {
  minimumPrecision: 0.9,
  recallThreshold: 0.01
});

• Returns fewer labels (more conservative)
• Higher accuracy, fewer false positives
• Good for critical applications

Android Confidence Threshold

classifyImage(imageUri, {
  confidenceThreshold: 0.7  // Only labels with 70%+ confidence
});

Example App

The example/ directory contains a full React Native app demonstrating:

• Image picker integration
• Classification with confidence visualization
• Description generation (Android)
• Model download management
• Platform-specific UI

To run the example:

# Install dependencies
yarn bootstrap

# Run on iOS
cd example && yarn ios

# Run on Android
cd example && yarn android

Performance Tips

1. Image Size: Resize large images before processing for faster results
2. Model Download: On Android, download the description model during app setup
3. Caching: Cache classification results for frequently used images
4. Batch Processing: Process multiple images sequentially, not concurrently

Troubleshooting

iOS Issues

"iOS 15.0 or later is required"

• Update your iOS deployment target to 15.0 in Xcode
• Update platform :ios in your Podfile

Classification returns empty results

• Check that the image file exists and is readable
• Verify the URI format (use file:// prefix)
• Try lowering minimumConfidence threshold

Android Issues

"Model needs to be downloaded"

• Call downloadDescriptionModel() before using describeImage()
• Ensure device has internet connection for initial download
• Check available storage space (~50MB required)

GenAI Image Description returns not_available

• Feature requires a supported device with AICore/Gemini Nano. Verify the device is listed here: https://developers.google.com/ml-kit/genai#feature-device
• Ensure Google Play services/AICore are up to date; give the device time to finish initialization on Wi‑Fi, then reboot
• Not supported on emulators or devices with unlocked bootloader

Out of memory errors

• Reduce image resolution before processing
• Process images one at a time
• Ensure proper cleanup (module handles this automatically)

ML Kit not available

• Verify Google Play Services is installed and up to date
• Check minimum SDK version is 26+
• Ensure app has internet permission in AndroidManifest.xml

React Native New Architecture

This module fully supports the React Native new architecture:

iOS

✅ Native TurboModule implementation

• Automatically detected when RCT_NEW_ARCH_ENABLED=1
• Seamless fallback to Bridge mode on old architecture
• Full CodeGen integration

Android

✅ Bridge mode with full compatibility

• Works seamlessly with newArchEnabled=true (new arch apps)
• Works with newArchEnabled=false (old arch apps)
• Uses React Native's interop layer for maximum compatibility

Comparison with Other Solutions

Feature	This Library	react-native-mlkit	react-native-text-detector
iOS Support	✅ Vision API	❌	✅
Android Support	✅ ML Kit v2	✅ ML Kit	✅
Image Classification	✅	✅	❌
Image Description	✅ Android	❌	❌
New Architecture	✅ iOS TurboModule	❌	❌
TypeScript	✅	⚠️ Partial	❌
Active Maintenance	✅	⚠️	❌

Requirements

• React Native >= 0.77.3
• iOS 15.0+
• Android SDK 26+
• Xcode 14+ (for iOS development)
• Android Studio (for Android development)

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

License

Apache-2.0 © dariyd

Acknowledgments

• iOS implementation uses Apple's Vision framework
• Android implementation uses Google ML Kit
• Inspired by @dariyd/react-native-text-recognition

Related Projects

• @dariyd/react-native-text-recognition - Text recognition using Vision and ML Kit
• react-native-vision-camera - Camera library for React Native
• react-native-image-picker - Image picker for React Native

Support

If you find this project useful, please consider:

• ⭐ Starring the repository
• 🐛 Reporting issues
• 📖 Improving documentation
• 🔧 Contributing code

Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md for a detailed list of changes.

Roadmap

• Custom Core ML model support (iOS)
• TensorFlow Lite model support (Android)
• Image similarity search
• Batch processing API
• Cloud-based description for iOS
• Video frame classification