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File Plugin 8.0.0 Released!
By: Bryan Ellis
11 Jul 2023

We are happy to announce that we have just released an update for cordova-plugin-file!

To upgrade:

cordova plugin remove cordova-plugin-file
cordova plugin add cordova-plugin-file@8.0.0

Release Highlights

Breaking Changes

  • Removed WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission

    According to the official documentation on Storage updates in Android 11, the WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission is no longer operational and does not grant access to write to external storage.

    If this permission is not allowlisted for an app that targets an API level before Build.VERSION_CODES.Q (SDK 29) this permission cannot be granted to apps.

    Although Cordova has removed this permission from the plugin by default, you can still add it back if needed by using the config-file tag in your project's config.xml file.

    Example:

      <config-file target="AndroidManifest.xml" parent="/*" xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
      <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" android:maxSdkVersion="32" />
  </config-file>

    It's important to note that other plugins used in your Cordova project may still include the WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission. To verify whether the permission is added by other plugins, you can check the merged AndroidManifest.xml file.

    The merged AndroidManifest.xml file can be found at the following location:

      platforms/android/app/build/intermediates/merged_manifest/debug/AndroidManifest.xml

    Please keep in mind that the example file path provided above is specific to debug builds. For release builds or different build variants, the file path may vary slightly.

  • Android 13+ Support

    Beginning from Android 13 (SDK 33), the READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission no longer has any effect. Instead, this permission has been replaced with more granular permissions: READ_MEDIA_IMAGES, READ_MEDIA_VIDEO, and READ_MEDIA_AUDIO.

    To adapt to this change, we have introduced these three new permissions. This ensures that the existing functionality and behavior related to reading various media file are maintained for Android 13 and higher versions.

    Furthermore, to support the new granular permissions and Android 13 (SDK 33), we have raised the minimum requirement for cordova-android to version 12.0.0. This version of Cordova-Android specifically includes the necessary updates to handle Android 13 and compile your project with the new permissions successfully.

Please report any issues you find by following the this How to File a Bug guide!

Changes Log

  • GH-534 fix(android): FileError on a content resolveLocalFileSystemURL
  • GH-566 feat(android): add READ_MEDIA_* permissions for Android 13+
  • GH-576 feat(android)!: bump cordova-android@12 requirement
  • GH-575 ci: sync github workflow with paramedic base configs
  • GH-574 chore: update @cordova/eslint-config@5.0.0 w/ fixes
  • GH-556 feat(android)!: remove WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission from plugin.xml
  • GH-554 spec(android): fix spec based on testing environment
  • GH-547 fix(types): Mark FileWriter.write to support ArrayBuffer data
  • GH-535 ci: sync workflow with paramedic
  • GH-531 dep(npm): bump package-lock v2 w/ rebuild
  • GH-529 ci(android): update java requirement for cordova-android@11