Vapi React Native SDK

This package lets you start Vapi calls directly in your React Native app.

📋 Table of Contents

• ⚠️ Important Notes
• 📋 Prerequisites
• 🔧 Installation
• 🚀 Quick Start
  • 1. Import and Initialize
  • 2. Set Up Event Listeners
  • 3. Start a Call
  • 4. Control the Call
• 🔧 Advanced Usage
• 🐛 Troubleshooting
• 🔗 Expo Integration
• 📚 API Reference
• 🤝 Contributing
• 📄 License
• 🆘 Support

⚠️ Important Notes

• This guide is for bare React Native projects. If you use expo build, skip to the Expo Integration
• Requires React Native 0.60+ for autolinking support
• Not compatible with Expo Go - requires custom native code
• Not compatible with TurboModules - requires newArchEnabled=false in android/gradle.properties

📋 Prerequisites

• React Native 0.60+
• Node.js 20+
• React Native CLI or @react-native-community/cli
• Xcode 14+ (for iOS development)
• Android Studio (for Android development)
• CocoaPods (for iOS dependencies)

iOS

• Minimum iOS version: 12.0
• Screen sharing: Requires iOS 14.0+

Android

• Minimum SDK: 24

⚠️ If you are running into issues with TurboModules, you might need to disable newArchEnabled in your android/gradle.properties file.

🔧 Installation

Step 1: Install Dependencies

Install @vapi-ai/react-native along with its peer dependencies:

# Install main dependencies
npm install @vapi-ai/react-native @daily-co/react-native-daily-js @react-native-async-storage/async-storage react-native-background-timer react-native-get-random-values

# Install exact WebRTC version (important for compatibility)
npm install --save-exact @daily-co/react-native-webrtc@118.0.3-daily.4

Step 2: Platform Setup

iOS Setup

1. Update the platform in your Podfile, since @daily-co/react-native-webrtc only works on iOS 12 and above:

platform :ios, '12.0'

Note: If you wish to send screen share from iOS, it only works on iOS 14 and above. In this case, use iOS 14.0 instead of iOS 12.0.

2. Install CocoaPods dependencies:

npx pod-install

3. Configure Info.plist (required to prevent crashes):

Add these keys to your ios/YourApp/Info.plist:

Key	Type	Value
NSCameraUsageDescription	String	"This app needs camera access for voice calls"
NSMicrophoneUsageDescription	String	"This app needs microphone access for voice calls"
UIBackgroundModes	Array	Item 0: voip

UIBackgroundModes is handled slightly differently and will resolve to an array. For its first item, specify the value voip. This ensures that audio will continue uninterrupted when your app is sent to the background.

To add the new rows through Xcode, open the Info.plist and add the following three rows:

Key	Type	Value
Privacy - Camera Usage Description	String	"Vapi Playground needs camera access to work"
Privacy - Microphone Usage Description	String	"Vapi Playground needs microphone access to work"
Required background modes	Array	1 item
---> Item 0	String	"App provides Voice over IP services"

If you view the raw file contents of Info.plist, it should look like this:

<dict>
    ...
    <key>NSCameraUsageDescription</key>
    <string>Vapi Playground needs camera access to work</string>
    <key>NSMicrophoneUsageDescription</key>
    <string>Vapi Playground needs microphone access to work</string>
    <key>UIBackgroundModes</key>
    <array>
        <string>voip</string>
    </array>
</dict>

Android Setup

1. Update AndroidManifest.xml - Add permissions:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CAMERA" />
<uses-feature android:name="android.hardware.camera" />
<uses-feature android:name="android.hardware.camera.autofocus"/>
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE"/>
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.MODIFY_AUDIO_SETTINGS" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WAKE_LOCK" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE"/>

2. Update build.gradle - Set minimum SDK in your top-level build.gradle file:

minSdkVersion = 24

newArchEnabled=false

(If you run into any issues, refer to Github issues like these, or the react-native-webrtc installation docs, which walk you through a more complicated process. The simpler process laid out above seems to work in a vanilla modern React Native CLI-based setup).

🚀 Quick Start

1. Import and Initialize

import Vapi from '@vapi-ai/react-native';

// Initialize with your API key
const vapi = new Vapi('your-vapi-api-key');

2. Set Up Event Listeners

vapi.on('call-start', () => {
  console.log('Call started');
});

vapi.on('call-end', () => {
  console.log('Call ended');
});

vapi.on('volume-level', (volume) => {
  console.log('Volume level:', volume);
});

vapi.on('error', (error) => {
  console.error('Vapi error:', error);
});

3. Start a Call

try {
  await vapi.start({
    model: {
      provider: 'openai',
      model: 'gpt-4o',
      messages: [
        {
          role: 'system',
          content: 'You are a helpful AI assistant.',
        },
      ],
    },
    voice: {
      provider: '11labs',
      voiceId: 'pNInz6obpgDQGcFmaJgB',
    },
    firstMessage: 'Hello! How can I help you today?',
  });
} catch (error) {
  console.error('Failed to start call:', error);
}

4. Control the Call

// Mute/unmute
vapi.setMuted(true);

// Send a message
vapi.send({
  type: 'add-message',
  message: {
    role: 'user',
    content: 'Hello from React Native!',
  },
});

// End the call
vapi.stop();

🔧 Advanced Usage

Device Management

// Get available audio devices
const devices = vapi.getAudioDevices();
console.log('Available devices:', devices);

// Set specific audio device
vapi.setAudioDevice(deviceId);

// Get current device
const currentDevice = vapi.getCurrentAudioDevice();

Error Handling

vapi.on('error', (error) => {
  if (error.code === 'PERMISSION_DENIED') {
    // Handle permission errors
    Alert.alert('Permission Required', 'Please grant microphone and camera permissions');
  } else if (error.code === 'NETWORK_ERROR') {
    // Handle network errors
    Alert.alert('Network Error', 'Please check your internet connection');
  }
});

🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. Permission Denied

• Ensure you've added the required permissions to Info.plist/AndroidManifest.xml
• Request permissions at runtime on Android

2. WebRTC Version Conflicts

# If you see version conflicts, use the exact version:
npm install --save-exact @daily-co/react-native-webrtc@118.0.3-daily.3

3. CocoaPods Installation Issues

# Clean and reinstall
cd ios && rm -rf Pods Podfile.lock && pod install && cd ..

4. Metro Cache Issues

# Reset Metro cache
npx react-native start --reset-cache

5. TurboModules Issues

# Disable TurboModules
cd android && echo 'newArchEnabled=false' >> gradle.properties && cd ..

Debug Commands

# Clean iOS build
cd ios && xcodebuild clean && cd ..

# Clean Android build
cd android && ./gradlew clean && cd ..

# Reinstall dependencies
rm -rf node_modules && npm cache verify && npm install

🔗 Expo Integration

Warning: This SDK cannot be used with Expo Go. Use Expo Development Build or EAS Build.

Expo Setup

1. Install dependencies:

npx expo install @vapi-ai/react-native @daily-co/react-native-daily-js @react-native-async-storage/async-storage react-native-background-timer react-native-get-random-values
npm install --save-exact @daily-co/react-native-webrtc@118.0.3-daily.4

2. Update app.json:

{
  "expo": {
    "ios": {
      "supportsTablet": true,
      "bundleIdentifier": "com.anonymous.ReactNativeWithExpo52",
      "infoPlist": {
        "NSCameraUsageDescription": "Vapi Playground needs camera access to work",
        "NSMicrophoneUsageDescription": "Vapi Playground needs microphone access to work",
        "UIBackgroundModes": ["voip"]
      }
    },
    "android": {
      "permissions": [
        "android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO",
        "android.permission.MODIFY_AUDIO_SETTINGS",
        "android.permission.INTERNET",
        "android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE",
        "android.permission.CAMERA",
        "android.permission.SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW",
        "android.permission.WAKE_LOCK",
        "android.permission.BLUETOOTH",
        "android.permission.FOREGROUND_SERVICE",
        "android.permission.FOREGROUND_SERVICE_CAMERA",
        "android.permission.FOREGROUND_SERVICE_MICROPHONE",
        "android.permission.FOREGROUND_SERVICE_MEDIA_PROJECTION",
        "android.permission.POST_NOTIFICATIONS"
      ],
    },
    "plugins": [
      "@config-plugins/react-native-webrtc",
      "@daily-co/config-plugin-rn-daily-js",
      [
        "expo-build-properties",
        {
          "android": {
            "minSdkVersion": 24
          },
          "ios": {
            "deploymentTarget": "15.1"
          }
        }
      ]
    ]
  }
}

3. Prebuild and run:

npx expo prebuild
npx expo run:ios  # or run:android

📚 API Reference

Vapi Class

Constructor

new Vapi(apiKey: string, apiBaseUrl?: string)

Methods

• start(assistant, overrides?) - Start a voice call
• stop() - End the current call
• setMuted(muted: boolean) - Mute/unmute microphone
• isMuted() - Check if currently muted
• send(message) - Send a message during call
• getAudioDevices() - Get available audio devices
• setAudioDevice(deviceId) - Set audio device
• getCurrentAudioDevice() - Get current audio device

Events

• call-start - Call has started
• call-end - Call has ended
• volume-level - Volume level changed
• speech-start - Speech detection started
• speech-end - Speech detection ended
• message - Received message
• error - Error occurred

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Add tests
5. Submit a pull request

📄 License

MIT License Copyright (c) 2023 Vapi Labs Inc. Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions: The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software. THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

🆘 Support

• Documentation: Vapi Docs
• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Discord: Vapi Community