---
modificationDate: January 15, 2026
title: DocumentPicker
description: A library that provides access to the system's UI for selecting documents from the available providers on the user's device.
sourceCodeUrl: 'https://github.com/expo/expo/tree/main/packages/expo-document-picker'
packageName: 'expo-document-picker'
iconUrl: '/static/images/packages/expo-document-picker.png'
platforms: ['android', 'ios', 'web', 'expo-go']
---

<AgentInstructions>

## Submitting Feedback

If this page contains errors, outdated information, or gaps that blocked you from completing a task, report it so the docs can be improved:

curl -X POST https://api.expo.dev/v2/feedback/docs-send -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d '{"url":"/versions/unversioned/sdk/document-picker/","feedback":"🤖 Agent feedback: <specific, actionable description>"}'

Only submit when you have something specific and actionable to report.

</AgentInstructions>

> This is documentation for the next SDK version. For up-to-date documentation, see the [latest version](/versions/latest/sdk/document-picker) (SDK 55).

# Expo DocumentPicker

A library that provides access to the system's UI for selecting documents from the available providers on the user's device.
Android, iOS, Web, Included in Expo Go

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](/llms.txt). Use this file to discover all available pages.

`expo-document-picker` provides access to the system's UI for selecting documents from the available providers on the user's device.

## Installation

```sh
npx expo install expo-document-picker
```

If you are installing this in an [existing React Native app](/bare/overview), make sure to [install `expo`](/bare/installing-expo-modules) in your project.

## Configuration in app config

You can configure `expo-document-picker` using its built-in [config plugin](/config-plugins/introduction) if you use config plugins in your project ([Continuous Native Generation (CNG)](/workflow/continuous-native-generation)). The plugin allows you to configure various properties that cannot be set at runtime and require building a new app binary to take effect. If your app does **not** use CNG, then you'll need to manually configure the library.

### Example app.json with config plugin

If you want to enable [iCloud storage features](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/bundleresources/entitlements/com_apple_developer_icloud-services), set the `expo.ios.usesIcloudStorage` key to `true` in the [app config](/workflow/configuration) file as specified [configuration properties](/versions/unversioned/config/app#usesicloudstorage).

Running [EAS Build](/build/introduction) locally will use [iOS capabilities signing](/build-reference/ios-capabilities) to enable the required capabilities before building.

```json
{
  "expo": {
    "plugins": [
      [
        "expo-document-picker",
        {
          "iCloudContainerEnvironment": "Production"
        }
      ]
    ]
  }
}
```

### Configurable properties

| Name | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `iCloudContainerEnvironment` | `undefined` | Only for: iOS. Sets the iOS `com.apple.developer.icloud-container-environment` entitlement used for AdHoc iOS builds. Possible values: `Development`, `Production`. [Learn more](https://github.com/expo/eas-cli/issues/693). |
| `kvStoreIdentifier` | `undefined` | Only for: iOS. Overrides the default iOS `com.apple.developer.ubiquity-kvstore-identifier` entitlement, which uses your Apple Team ID and bundle identifier. This may be needed if your app was transferred to another Apple Team after enabling iCloud storage. |

Are you using this library in an existing React Native app?

Apps that don't use [EAS Build](/build/introduction) and want [iCloud storage features](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/bundleresources/entitlements/com_apple_developer_icloud-services) must [manually configure](/build-reference/ios-capabilities#manual-setup) the [**iCloud service with CloudKit support**](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/bundleresources/entitlements/com_apple_developer_icloud-container-environment) for their bundle identifier.

If you enable the **iCloud** capability through the [Apple Developer Console](/build-reference/ios-capabilities#apple-developer-console), then be sure to add the following entitlements in your `ios/[app]/[app].entitlements` file (where `dev.expo.my-app` if your bundle identifier):

```xml
<key>com.apple.developer.icloud-container-identifiers</key>
<array>
    <string>iCloud.dev.expo.my-app</string>
</array>
<key>com.apple.developer.icloud-services</key>
<array>
    <string>CloudDocuments</string>
</array>
<key>com.apple.developer.ubiquity-container-identifiers</key>
<array>
    <string>iCloud.dev.expo.my-app</string>
</array>
<key>com.apple.developer.ubiquity-kvstore-identifier</key>
<string>$(TeamIdentifierPrefix)dev.expo.my-app</string>
```

Apple Developer Console also requires an **iCloud Container** to be created. When registering the new container, you are asked to provide a description and identifier for the container. You may enter any name under the description. Under the identifier, add `iCloud.<your_bundle_identifier>` (same value used for `com.apple.developer.icloud-container-identifiers` and `com.apple.developer.ubiquity-container-identifiers` entitlements).

## Using with `expo-file-system`

When using `expo-document-picker` with [`expo-file-system`](/versions/unversioned/sdk/filesystem), it's not always possible for the file system to read the file immediately after the `expo-document-picker` picks it.

To allow the `expo-file-system` to read the file immediately after it is picked, you'll need to ensure that the [`copyToCacheDirectory`](/versions/unversioned/sdk/document-picker#documentpickeroptions) option is set to `true`.

## API

```js
import * as DocumentPicker from 'expo-document-picker';
```

## Component

### `getDocumentAsync`

Supported platforms: Android, iOS, Web.

Type: React.[Element](https://www.typescriptlang.org/docs/handbook/jsx.html#function-component)<[DocumentPickerOptions](#documentpickeroptions)\>

Display the system UI for choosing a document. By default, the chosen file is copied to [the app's internal cache directory](/versions/unversioned/sdk/filesystem#filesystemcachedirectory).

> **Notes for Web:** The system UI can only be shown after user activation (e.g. a `Button` press). Therefore, calling `getDocumentAsync` in `componentDidMount`, for example, will **not** work as intended. The `cancel` event will not be returned in the browser due to platform restrictions and inconsistencies across browsers.

## Types

### `DocumentPickerAsset`

Supported platforms: Android, iOS, Web.

| Property | Type | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| base64(optional) | `string` | Supported platforms: Web. Base64 string of the file. |
| file(optional) | [File](#file) | Supported platforms: Web. `File` object for the parity with web File API. |
| lastModified | `number` | Timestamp of last document modification. [Web API specs](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/File/lastModified) The lastModified provides the last modified date of the file as the number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch (January 1, 1970 at midnight). Files without a known last modified date return the current date. |
| mimeType(optional) | `string` | Document MIME type. |
| name | `string` | Document original name. |
| size(optional) | `number` | Document size in bytes. |
| uri | `string` | A URI to the local document file. |

### `DocumentPickerCanceledResult`

Supported platforms: Android, iOS, Web.

Type representing canceled pick result.

| Property | Type | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| assets | `null` | Always `null` when the request was canceled. |
| canceled | `true` | Always `true` when the request was canceled. |
| output(optional) | `null` | Supported platforms: Web. Always `null` when the request was canceled. |

### `DocumentPickerOptions`

Supported platforms: Android, iOS, Web.

| Property | Type | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| base64(optional) | `boolean` | Supported platforms: Web. If `true`, asset url is base64 from the file If `false`, asset url is the file url parameter. Default: `true` |
| copyToCacheDirectory(optional) | `boolean` | Supported platforms: Android, iOS. If `true`, the picked file is copied to [`FileSystem.CacheDirectory`](/versions/unversioned/sdk/filesystem#filesystemcachedirectory), which allows other Expo APIs to read the file immediately. This may impact performance for large files, so you should consider setting this to `false` if you expect users to pick particularly large files and your app does not need immediate read access. Default: `true` |
| multiple(optional) | `boolean` | Allows multiple files to be selected from the system UI. Default: `false` |
| type(optional) | `string | string[]` | The [MIME type(s)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_type) of the documents that are available to be picked. It also supports wildcards like `'image/*'` to choose any image. To allow any type of document you can use `'*/*'`. Default: `'*/*'` |

### `DocumentPickerResult`

Supported platforms: Android, iOS, Web.

Literal Type: `union`

Type representing successful and canceled document pick result.

Acceptable values are: [DocumentPickerSuccessResult](#documentpickersuccessresult) | [DocumentPickerCanceledResult](#documentpickercanceledresult)

### `DocumentPickerSuccessResult`

Supported platforms: Android, iOS, Web.

Type representing successful pick result.

| Property | Type | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| assets | [DocumentPickerAsset[]](#documentpickerasset) | An array of picked assets. |
| canceled | `false` | If asset data have been returned this should always be `false`. |
| output(optional) | [FileList](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/FileList) | Supported platforms: Web. `FileList` object for the parity with web File API. |