Extension Camera

by caffeinelabs362f51ae96f0No license2 starsListed Oct 8, 2026Updated Oct 8, 2026Repository updated today

Web-camera support.

AI-generated overview

Adds web-camera access to Caffeine AI apps via a prefabricated React hook for preview, photo capture and camera switching.

What it does: This skill documents how to integrate web-camera support into a Caffeine AI frontend using the prefabricated React hook from the @caffeineai/camera package. It covers starting and stopping the camera, showing a live preview, capturing photos as files, switching between front and back cameras, and handling permission, support and timeout errors. It also gives UI guidance such as always showing a preview and a capture button, keeping buttons disabled until initialization finishes, and giving the preview explicit non-zero dimensions.
When to use it: Use it when building a Caffeine AI web app that needs camera input, such as taking photos or scanning with the device camera. It fits frontend work where a React hook based camera preview and capture flow is required.
Requirements: Requires a Caffeine AI frontend project with the npm package @caffeineai/camera (about 0.1.1) and React. The camera hook file is prefabricated and cannot be modified. Browser camera permission is needed at runtime; no scripts are shipped.

Camera

Camera extension for Caffeine AI.

Overview

This skill adds web-camera access via a prefabricated React hook. Supports photo capture, camera switching, and error handling.

Frontend

For camera support:

There is a prefabricated React hook @caffeinelabs/camera/hooks/useCamera.ts that cannot be modified.

typescript

import { RefObject } from 'react';
export interface CameraConfig {  // Camera facing mode - 'user' for front camera, 'environment' for back camera  facingMode?: 'user' | 'environment';  // Ideal video width and height in pixels  width?: number;  height?: number;  // Image quality for capture (0-1, where 1 is highest quality)  quality?: number;  format?: 'image/jpeg' | 'image/png' | 'image/webp';}
export interface CameraError {  type: 'permission' | 'not-supported' | 'not-found' | 'unknown' | 'timeout';  message: string;}
export interface UseCameraReturn {  // Whether camera is currently active and streaming  isActive: boolean;  // Whether camera is supported in current browser (null while checking)  isSupported: boolean | null;  // Current error state, if any  error: CameraError | null;  // Whether camera is initializing, starting, switching, or stopping  isLoading: boolean;  currentFacingMode: 'user' | 'environment';    // Returns true on success  startCamera: () => Promise<boolean>;  stopCamera: () => Promise<void>;  capturePhoto: () => Promise<File | null>;  // Returns true on success  switchCamera: () => (newFacingMode?: 'user' | 'environment') : Promise<boolean>;  // Returns true on success  retry: () => Promise<boolean>;    // Ref to attach to video element for camera preview  videoRef: RefObject<HTMLVideoElement>;  // Ref to canvas element used for photo capture (can be hidden)  canvasRef: RefObject<HTMLCanvasElement>;}
export declare function useCamera(config?: CameraConfig): UseCameraReturn;

import { RefObject } from 'react';
export interface CameraConfig {  // Camera facing mode - 'user' for front camera, 'environment' for back camera  facingMode?: 'user' | 'environment';  // Ideal video width and height in pixels  width?: number;  height?: number;  // Image quality for capture (0-1, where 1 is highest quality)  quality?: number;  format?: 'image/jpeg' | 'image/png' | 'image/webp';}
export interface CameraError {  type: 'permission' | 'not-supported' | 'not-found' | 'unknown' | 'timeout';  message: string;}
export interface UseCameraReturn {  // Whether camera is currently active and streaming  isActive: boolean;  // Whether camera is supported in current browser (null while checking)  isSupported: boolean | null;  // Current error state, if any  error: CameraError | null;  // Whether camera is initializing, starting, switching, or stopping  isLoading: boolean;  currentFacingMode: 'user' | 'environment';    // Returns true on success  startCamera: () => Promise<boolean>;  stopCamera: () => Promise<void>;  capturePhoto: () => Promise<File | null>;  // Returns true on success  switchCamera: () => (newFacingMode?: 'user' | 'environment') : Promise<boolean>;  // Returns true on success  retry: () => Promise<boolean>;    // Ref to attach to video element for camera preview  videoRef: RefObject<HTMLVideoElement>;  // Ref to canvas element used for photo capture (can be hidden)  canvasRef: RefObject<HTMLCanvasElement>;}
export declare function useCamera(config?: CameraConfig): UseCameraReturn;

Usage example:

import { useCamera } from '@caffeineai/camera';
function CameraComponent() {    const {         isActive,         isSupported,         error,         isLoading,        startCamera,         stopCamera,         capturePhoto,        switchCamera,        videoRef,         canvasRef     } = useCamera({         autoStart: true,        facingMode: 'environment'     });
    if (isSupported === false) {        return <div>Camera not supported</div>;    }
    return (        <div>            <video                 ref={videoRef}                 style={{ width: '100%', height: 'auto' }}                playsInline                muted            />            <canvas ref={canvasRef} style={{ display: 'none' }} />                        {error && <div>Error: {error.message}</div>}                        <div>                <button onClick={startCamera} disabled={isLoading || isActive}>                    Start Camera                </button>                <button onClick={stopCamera} disabled={isLoading || !isActive}>                    Stop Camera                </button>                <button onClick={switchCamera} disabled={isLoading || !isActive}>                    Switch Camera                </button>                <button onClick={capturePhoto} disabled={!isActive}>                    Take Photo                </button>            </div>        </div>    );}

import { useCamera } from '@caffeineai/camera';
function CameraComponent() {    const {         isActive,         isSupported,         error,         isLoading,        startCamera,         stopCamera,         capturePhoto,        switchCamera,        videoRef,         canvasRef     } = useCamera({         autoStart: true,        facingMode: 'environment'     });
    if (isSupported === false) {        return <div>Camera not supported</div>;    }
    return (        <div>            <video                 ref={videoRef}                 style={{ width: '100%', height: 'auto' }}                playsInline                muted            />            <canvas ref={canvasRef} style={{ display: 'none' }} />                        {error && <div>Error: {error.message}</div>}                        <div>                <button onClick={startCamera} disabled={isLoading || isActive}>                    Start Camera                </button>                <button onClick={stopCamera} disabled={isLoading || !isActive}>                    Stop Camera                </button>                <button onClick={switchCamera} disabled={isLoading || !isActive}>                    Switch Camera                </button>                <button onClick={capturePhoto} disabled={!isActive}>                    Take Photo                </button>            </div>        </div>    );}

Always place a capture button on camera preview! Always show a camera preview when the user opens the camera On desktop, make sure that camera cannot be switched. Only 'environment' is working. Properly display camera error messages in the app. Do not make camera buttons clickable until the camera is fully initialized and ready. Ensure the camera preview has explicit, non-zero dimensions (fixed height, min-height, or an aspect-ratio wrapper) so it never collapses due to layout. Make the preview responsive across screen sizes (e.g., width: 100% with a stable aspect ratio).

Source and attribution

Source:caffeinelabs/skillsinskills/extension-cameraat commit362f51a

License: No license

Content belongs to its original authors. SourceWeft indexes it from a public repository.

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Extension Camera

Camera

Overview

Frontend

Source and attribution

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