Keeping a local copy of the picked files

keepLocalCopy makes the file available in the app's storage. The behavior is different on iOS and Android:

Android

This method opens an InputStream pointing to the picked content:// uri (from both Open and Import modes) and stores its bytes into a file - i.e. it can be used to "convert" a content:// Uri into a local file. This file's location is determined by the destination parameter.

It also "converts" virtual files (such as Google docs or sheets) into local files.

iOS

On iOS, keepLocalCopy is only supported for the Import mode at the moment.

Calling this method is strongly recommended, though not strictly necessary, as the file is already temporarily available in a location in the app's sandbox when it is picked. However, iOS appears to delete the file rather soon after it is returned to your app.

keepLocalCopy is useful if you need to prevent / delay the file being deleted by the system (by moving it to the app's Documents / Cache directory, respectively).

To prevent deletion, call keepLocalCopy() and pass destination: "documentDirectory". This moves the file from the temporary location it is in when it is picked, into Documents directory, where the file lives until the app is uninstalled.

---

note

For each call of keepLocalCopy, a new unique directory is created in the app's storage, and the files are placed into it.

This way, the files are isolated and subsequent calls to keepLocalCopy with the same file names do not overwrite the previous files.

When writing to the filesystem, path traversal vulnerability is prevented. Writing files outside the intended destination will error.

Also note that for some common use cases, such as uploading the picked file to a server, you may not need to call keepLocalCopy. This will be clarified in a later docs update.

Example: keeping a local copy of the picked file

import { pick, keepLocalCopy } from '@react-native-documents/picker'
return (
  <Button
    title="single file import, and ensure it is available in the local storage"
    onPress={async () => {
      try {
        const [{ name, uri }] = await pick()

        const [copyResult] = await keepLocalCopy({
          files: [
            {
              uri,
              fileName: name ?? 'fallback-name',
            },
          ],
          destination: 'documentDirectory',
        })
        if (copyResult.status === 'success') {
          // do something
        }
      } catch (err) {
        // see error handling
      }
    }}
  />
)