Prerequisites

Nosmai Effects SDK for React Native installed
React Native 0.81.5 and React 19.1, or Expo SDK 54 custom native build
New Architecture enabled
Android API 24 or iOS 15 on a physical arm64 device
A Nosmai licence key for the current platform
Native camera permissions configured

1. Request native permission

Android hosts own the runtime camera prompt. The iOS bridge asks when camera authorization is undetermined, but NSCameraUsageDescription must still exist.

2. Mount the native preview

Mount one Fabric preview and record when its native view exists:

<NosmaiCameraView
  style={{ flex: 1 }}
  cameraPosition="front"
  mirror
  onLayout={() => setViewMounted(true)}
  onReady={() => {
    void NosmaiCameraSdk.setSkinSmoothing(0.4);
  }}
  onError={(error) => {
    console.error(error.code, error.message);
  }}
/>

3. Initialize and start processing

Start only after the preview has mounted. Select the key for the current native application:

useEffect(() => {
  if (!viewMounted) return;

  const licenseKey = Platform.select({
    android: ANDROID_LICENSE_KEY,
    ios: IOS_LICENSE_KEY,
    default: '',
  });

  const start = async () => {
    const accepted = await NosmaiCameraSdk.initialize(licenseKey);
    if (!accepted) {
      throw new Error('Nosmai initialization was not accepted');
    }

    await NosmaiCameraSdk.configureCamera({ position: 'front' });
    await NosmaiCameraSdk.startProcessing();
  };

  void start().catch(console.error);

  return () => {
    void NosmaiCameraSdk.cleanup();
  };
}, [viewMounted]);

Replace the documentation constants with application-owned runtime configuration. The view must be mounted before startProcessing() and another camera controller must not own the device.

4. Run the native build

Android:

yarn android

iOS physical device:

yarn ios --device

For Expo SDK 54, use npx expo run:android or npx expo run:ios --device after prebuild. Expo Go is not supported.

Package example app

For a complete runnable implementation, open the React Native package example app. This example matches the documented Expo 54 and React Native 0.81 New Architecture compatibility line. Add the verified Android AAR and your own app-bound platform licence keys before running it on a physical device.

Verify it worked

You should see a full-size camera preview and the status Camera ready with skin smoothing. The skin-smoothing level is 0.4. Navigate away and confirm the operating-system camera indicator turns off after cleanup.

Common errors

Error	Cause	Fix
`E_NOT_INITIALIZED`	A camera or effect method ran before successful initialization	Await `initialize` before configuration and processing
`E_NO_PREVIEW`	Processing started before a Fabric preview owned the session	Mount `NosmaiCameraView` and start only after its layout callback
`E_CAMERA_PERMISSION`	Android runtime camera permission is missing	Request `PermissionsAndroid.PERMISSIONS.CAMERA` before initialization
`E_CAMERA_DEVICE`	Camera2 reported a device error, often because another controller still owns the camera	Dispose or stop the other camera session before opening Nosmai
`E_PROCESSING_START`	Native preview or pipeline could not start	Keep one mounted view, inspect the preceding native error, and retry after cleanup

React Native quickstart