[Ask] Desktop browsers ignore capture behavior

[Victor1890]

Is there an existing issue for this?

• I have searched the existing issues

Have you updated React FilePond, FilePond, and all plugins?

• I have updated FilePond and its plugins

Describe the bug

I’m currently working on implementing a camera flow for both mobile and desktop environments. On mobile, everything is working as expected, but I’m trying to replicate the same functionality in the browser.

On mobile devices, everything works as expected — the camera opens correctly when using the file input. However, I’m trying to replicate the same behavior on desktop browsers, and I’m running into some confusion with how this is supposed to work.

From what I understand, mobile browsers can trigger the camera via the capture attribute, but this doesn’t seem to behave the same way on desktop.

I’d really appreciate some clarification on the following:

• Is there a recommended way to trigger camera access on desktop when using FilePond / React FilePond?
• Does FilePond provide any built-in support or plugin for handling direct camera capture in desktop browsers?
• If not, is the expected approach to integrate something like getUserMedia separately and then pass the resulting file to FilePond?
• Are there any best practices for maintaining a consistent UX between mobile and desktop in this scenario?

Reproduction

1. Create a React application and install the required dependencies:

pnpm add -E filepond react-filepond

2. Import and set up FilePond in a React component:

import { FilePond, registerPlugin } from 'react-filepond';
import 'filepond/dist/filepond.min.css';

export default function App() {
  return (
    <FilePond
      allowMultiple={false}
      acceptedFileTypes={['image/*']}
    />
  );
}

3. Add the capture attribute to try to trigger the camera:

<FilePond
  allowMultiple={false}
  acceptedFileTypes={['image/*']}
  captureMethod="camera" // 'camera' | 'microphone' | 'camcorder'
/>

Environment

- Device: Macbook Pro (2025)
- OS: IOS 26.2
- Broser: Chrome 145.0.7632.160 (Official Build) (arm64)
- React version: React 19.2.4

[rikschennink]

Hi,

Best way in these situations is to test with a plain file input, how does it function on mobile vs desktop.

Is there a recommended way to trigger camera access on desktop when using FilePond / React FilePond?

No

Does FilePond provide any built-in support or plugin for handling direct camera capture in desktop browsers?

No, but adding a camera input control is on my todo list for v5

If not, is the expected approach to integrate something like getUserMedia separately and then pass the resulting file to FilePond?

Yes, a dialog modal with a feed and capture button would be my approach.

Are there any best practices for maintaining a consistent UX between mobile and desktop in this scenario?

I'd open it fullscreen on mobile and give it a max-width / max-height so it stays visually manageable on desktop.