Remote Files

The library can download and preview files from remote URLs. Just pass a URL as the uri parameter.

await ExpoQuickLook.previewFile({
  uri: 'https://example.com/document.pdf',
});

How It Works

When a URL is detected (starting with http:// or https://):

1. The file is downloaded to a temporary location
2. The filename is inferred from the URL path or Content-Disposition header
3. The file is previewed using the native viewer
4. Temporary files are cleaned up automatically

Platform Behavior

	iOS	Android
Download location	Temp directory	Cache directory
Cleanup	Automatic	Automatic
Progress indication	Native loading UI	Native loading UI

Error Handling

If the download fails, the promise rejects with an error:

try {
  await ExpoQuickLook.previewFile({
    uri: 'https://example.com/document.pdf',
  });
} catch (error) {
  // Network error, 404, timeout, etc.
  console.error('Preview failed:', error.message);
}

Common errors:

• Network error — device is offline or URL is unreachable
• HTTP error — server returned 4xx/5xx status
• Invalid file — downloaded content isn't a previewable file

URLs Without File Extensions

If the URL doesn't contain a file extension (e.g., an API endpoint), the library uses the Content-Disposition header to determine the filename. This works automatically:

// No .pdf in the URL — filename comes from Content-Disposition header
await ExpoQuickLook.previewFile({
  uri: 'https://api.example.com/documents/123/download',
});

For authenticated API endpoints, see Authenticated Downloads.