How to Fix React-Native Image Uploads to S3: From Blob JSON to Actual Image

Discover how to resolve the issue of uploading images via `React-Native` to S3, ensuring proper image file formats instead of Blob JSON.
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How to Fix React-Native Image Uploads to S3: From Blob JSON to Actual Image

If you're working with React-Native and need to upload images to Amazon S3, you might encounter a frustrating problem: instead of successfully uploading your image, you receive a Blob JSON object that doesn't render as an image. This common issue plagues many developers. Fortunately, we have a straightforward solution to help you overcome this obstacle.

The Problem: Blob JSON Instead of Image Files

When using libraries like react-native-image-picker, it’s expected that an image file will be ready for upload to S3 directly via a pre-signed URL. However, users report situations where the image is uploaded as Blob JSON instead. Here's a concise breakdown of the situation:

Error Description: When trying to upload an image using a pre-signed URL, the response is a JSON object instead of a valid image file.

Technical Background: The image data is in a Blob format that includes metadata such as filename, size, and type, but fails to represent the actual image content, leading to failure on the S3 side.

In the provided case, the developer supplied a code snippet and a request to fix the upload issues while ensuring they have the right permissions configured.

The Solution: Switching from Axios to Fetch

After investigating the issues and coding logic, the resolution turned out to be quite simple. The primary change you need to make is to swap out the axios library in the function handling image uploads with the native fetch method.

Step-by-Step Implementation

Identify Your save Function: First, locate the function responsible for making the PUT request to your S3 bucket.

Initial Code Example:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Refactor the Code: Replace the axios call with a fetch request, which is tailored to handle Blob data more effectively.

Revised Code Example:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Benefits of Using Fetch Over Axios

Native Integration: The fetch API is built into JavaScript, which can provide more direct behavior with certain types of data such as Blobs.

Better Compatibility: When dealing with binary file uploads, fetch tends to be more reliable as compared to axios, especially when in combination with Blob data.

Wrapping Up

By following this simple fix, you should now be able to upload images from your React-Native application to AWS S3 without issues involving Blob JSON responses. This change not only simplifies your upload process but also ensures you're utilizing browser-native capabilities effectively.

If you encounter any further issues, ensure that you have the correct configurations for permissions, and consider exploring other library alternatives or settings related to react-native-image-picker.

Happy coding!