Learn how to integrate IMG.LY’s video editor for React Native into your app and how to leverage its capabilities best.

Updated September 2026.

Why Add a Video Editor to Your React Native App?

Video content is solidifying its status as the most engaging form of digital media. Platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts have made video consumption and creation an engrained habit with billions of users. You can harness this trend by adding a video editor to your app significantly enhancing user engagement and retention.

React Native, with its ability to create cross-platform applications from a single codebase, is a perfect match for IMG.LY’s CreativeEditor SDK Video Editor. It ensures seamless performance on iOS and Android, powered by the same unified graphics engine across platforms.

Whether your app focuses on social media, marketing, or eCommerce, integrating a video editor empowers users with a creative tool set while elevating the overall experience.

Getting Started: Integrating the Video Editor in React Native

Requirements

Before diving into the integration, ensure your environment meets these requirements:

  • React Native: 0.73+
  • iOS: 16+
  • Swift: 6.3.1 (Xcode 26.4.1)
  • Android: 7.0+ (Android SDK 24)

To get started, add the @imgly/editor-react-native package to your project. In an Expo app, use npx expo install @imgly/editor-react-native instead:

npm install @imgly/editor-react-native

Expo apps need useFrameworks set to dynamic (recommended) or static for iOS through the expo-build-properties plugin, or CocoaPods fails on the IMGLYEditorModule pod. The same plugin carries the minimum Android SDK of 24 and the iOS deployment target of 16.4, which is what a new Expo project already sets. The setup guides for Expo and React Native CLI projects list every setting.

Setting Up the Editor

Once the package is installed, initialize the editor by importing the necessary modules and creating an instance of EditorSettingsModel. You do not need a CE.SDK license key to try it: without one the editor runs in evaluation mode and exports carry a watermark. Start a free trial to get one and set it as license in the settings.

Here’s how to set up and launch the video editor:

import IMGLYEditor, {
  EditorPreset,
  EditorSettingsModel,
} from '@imgly/editor-react-native';

export const openVideoEditor = async (): Promise<void> => {
  const settings = new EditorSettingsModel();

  // No source, so the editor starts empty. The third argument selects the preset.
  const result = await IMGLYEditor.openEditor(
    settings,
    undefined,
    EditorPreset.VIDEO
  );

  if (result === null) {
    // The user closed the editor without exporting
    return;
  }

  // Handle the exported video here
  console.log(result);
};

This launches the editor with the Video Editor preset, enabling users to trim, cut, and enhance their videos with filters, text overlays, stickers, and music.

The editor loads its engine assets from the IMG.LY CDN, which is meant for development. For production, serve the assets from your own servers.

Use Cases: Building a TikTok-Like Experience

Now that the video editor is integrated into your React Native app, let’s explore some key use cases and how to configure the editor to support them.

Short-Form Video Creation

For apps targeting TikTok-style short-form video content, prioritize features that simplify the editing process:

  • Timeline Control: Allow users to trim clips and sync overlays like stickers or music.
  • Filters & Effects: Offer filters to let users add certain moods to their videos with themes like retro, high contrast, or pastel tones.
  • Text & Stickers: Add captions and playful stickers for videos that are often consumed on mute.
  • Music & Audio: Let users add soundtracks or sound effects, with a library of trending music for inspirational background music.
  • Video Templates: Provide ready-made templates that users can customize for specific occasions or themes.

This setup allows influencers and brands to create professional-looking videos that they can share across social media platforms with ease.

Influencers and Marketing

If your app serves influencers or businesses, the ability to create polished, on-brand videos is key. Features to consider:

  • Branded Templates: Pre-designed templates aligned with specific brand aesthetics, simplifying content creation for marketing campaigns.
  • Watermarks: Add brand logos or watermarks to videos, ensuring creators and brands maintain visibility.

These features empower influencers and businesses to quickly generate content that’s ready for distribution across platforms.

E-commerce and User-Generated Content

Video editing is a powerful tool for e-commerce apps, enabling sellers and customers to create engaging product demos, unboxing videos, reviews and tutorials. Features like trimming, filters, and music tools make it easy to produce compelling content that enhances the shopping experience.

For example:

  • Vendors can create promotional videos for products.
  • Customers can share authentic reviews or tutorials, increasing trust and boosting sales.

Customization Options with CreativeEditor SDK

The React Native plugin offers a range of customization options to adapt the editor to your app’s needs. You configure them in native code, with Swift for iOS and Kotlin for Android:

  • UI Customization: Change themes, colors, and layouts to match your app’s branding.
  • Video Presets: Configure presets for specific use cases, such as limiting video length or optimizing for a particular resolution.
  • Custom Assets: Add unique filters, stickers, and fonts to create a personalized experience for your audience.
  • Templates: Use the CreativeEditor SDK Web UI to create custom templates, saved with an explicit scene mode, enabling users to start with professional-grade designs.

Let an agent help

CE.SDK ships an MCP server that exposes the current documentation to AI coding tools, so an assistant can look up the real API during a session rather than reconstructing it from training data. That is worth wiring up before you start, particularly given how often the package version moves. CE.SDK also publishes Agent Skills that load the documentation into coding agents. Background in Introducing IMG.LY Agent Skills.

Conclusion

Integrating a video editor into your React Native app will improve your UX, and help boost engagement, retention, and potential distribution of your product, whether you’re building a social media platform, an influencer tool, or an e-commerce app.
With CreativeEditor SDK, you can create a TikTok-like video editing experience or offer specialized tools for businesses and creators.

By following the steps in this guide, you can empower your users to create professional-quality video content directly within your app. Explore the full capabilities of the SDK in the React Native documentation and the mobile video SDK overview, and get started today.

Shipping on more than React Native? We have equivalent guides for React, Vue.js, Angular, and Flutter.

Stay tuned for updates, and don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.

Thanks for reading!

FAQ

Does the IMG.LY video editor work with Expo? Yes. Install it with npx expo install @imgly/editor-react-native and set useFrameworks to dynamic (recommended) or static for iOS through the expo-build-properties plugin, which also carries the minimum Android SDK and iOS deployment target settings.

How do I open the video editor instead of the design editor in React Native? Pass EditorPreset.VIDEO as the third argument of IMGLYEditor.openEditor. Without a preset, the editor opens with the design preset.

What are the minimum requirements for the React Native video editor? React Native 0.73, iOS 16 and Android 7.0 (Android SDK 24).

Can I customize the editor from JavaScript? Customization is handled in native code, with Swift for iOS and Kotlin for Android. From JavaScript, you pass the settings, an optional source, the preset and optional metadata for your native code when you open the editor.

Can I try the SDK before buying a license? Yes. Without a license key the editor runs in evaluation mode and exports carry a watermark. Start a free trial to get one and set it as license in the settings.

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