React Native Voice

🎤 React Native Voice Recognition library for iOS and Android (Online and Offline Support)

Features

• ✅ New Architecture Support - Works with Fabric and TurboModules
• ✅ Bridgeless Mode - Full support for React Native's Bridgeless mode
• ✅ React Native 0.76+ - Tested and working with the latest RN versions
• ✅ Cross-platform - Works on both iOS and Android
• ✅ Online and Offline - Supports both online and offline speech recognition

Installation

yarn add @react-native-voice/voice

# or

npm install @react-native-voice/voice --save

iOS Setup

cd ios && pod install

Android Setup

No additional setup required - autolinking handles everything.

Usage

import Voice from '@react-native-voice/voice';

// Set up event handlers
Voice.onSpeechStart = () => console.log('Speech started');
Voice.onSpeechEnd = () => console.log('Speech ended');
Voice.onSpeechResults = (e) => console.log('Results:', e.value);
Voice.onSpeechPartialResults = (e) => console.log('Partial:', e.value);
Voice.onSpeechError = (e) => console.log('Error:', e.error);

// Start listening
await Voice.start('en-US');

// Stop listening
await Voice.stop();

// Clean up
await Voice.destroy();

Full Example

import React, { useEffect, useState, useCallback } from 'react';
import { View, Text, Button } from 'react-native';
import Voice from '@react-native-voice/voice';

function SpeechToText() {
  const [results, setResults] = useState([]);
  const [isListening, setIsListening] = useState(false);

  useEffect(() => {
    Voice.onSpeechStart = () => setIsListening(true);
    Voice.onSpeechEnd = () => setIsListening(false);
    Voice.onSpeechResults = (e) => setResults(e.value ?? []);
    Voice.onSpeechError = (e) => console.error(e.error);

    return () => {
      Voice.destroy().then(Voice.removeAllListeners);
    };
  }, []);

  const startListening = async () => {
    try {
      await Voice.start('en-US');
    } catch (e) {
      console.error(e);
    }
  };

  const stopListening = async () => {
    try {
      await Voice.stop();
    } catch (e) {
      console.error(e);
    }
  };

  return (
    <View>
      <Text>{isListening ? '🎤 Listening...' : 'Press Start'}</Text>
      <Text>{results.join(' ')}</Text>
      <Button title="Start" onPress={startListening} />
      <Button title="Stop" onPress={stopListening} />
    </View>
  );
}

API

Method	Description	Platform
Voice.isAvailable()	Check if speech recognition is available	Android, iOS
Voice.start(locale)	Start listening for speech	Android, iOS
Voice.stop()	Stop listening	Android, iOS
Voice.cancel()	Cancel speech recognition	Android, iOS
Voice.destroy()	Destroy the recognizer instance	Android, iOS
Voice.removeAllListeners()	Remove all event listeners	Android, iOS
Voice.isRecognizing()	Check if currently recognizing	Android, iOS
Voice.getSpeechRecognitionServices()	Get available speech engines	Android only

Events

Event	Description	Data
onSpeechStart	Speech recognition started	{ error: false }
onSpeechEnd	Speech recognition ended	{ error: false }
onSpeechResults	Final results received	{ value: ['recognized text'] }
onSpeechPartialResults	Partial results (live)	{ value: ['partial text'] }
onSpeechError	Error occurred	{ error: { code, message } }
onSpeechVolumeChanged	Volume/pitch changed	{ value: number }
onSpeechRecognized	Speech was recognized	{ isFinal: boolean }

Permissions

Android

Add to AndroidManifest.xml:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO" />

The library automatically requests permission when starting recognition.

iOS

Add to Info.plist:

<key>NSMicrophoneUsageDescription</key>
<string>This app needs microphone access for speech recognition</string>
<key>NSSpeechRecognitionUsageDescription</key>
<string>This app needs speech recognition access</string>

Platform Notes

Android

• Auto-stops after user stops speaking
• Requires Google Search app for speech recognition on most devices
• Check available services with Voice.getSpeechRecognitionServices()

iOS

• Does NOT auto-stop - call Voice.stop() when done
• Speech recognition only works on physical devices (not simulators)
• Requires iOS 10+

Expo Support

This library requires custom native code and cannot be used with Expo Go. Use a development build or eject.

Add to your app.json:

{
  "expo": {
    "plugins": ["@react-native-voice/voice"]
  }
}

Troubleshooting

Module Resolution Error: react-is cannot be resolved

If you see an error about react-is module resolution:

# Install react-is explicitly
yarn add react-is
# or
npm install react-is

Then clear Metro cache:

npx react-native start --reset-cache

See TROUBLESHOOTING.md for more details.

Android: No speech recognition services found

Install the Google Search app from Play Store.

iOS: Speech recognition not working on simulator

Use a physical iOS device - simulators don't support speech recognition.

Events not firing

Make sure you set up event handlers before calling Voice.start().

Contributors

• @asafron
• @BrendanFDMoore
• @brudny
• @chitezh
• @ifsnow
• @jamsch
• @misino
• @Noitidart
• @ohtangza & @hayanmind
• @rudiedev6
• @tdonia
• @wenkesj

License

MIT