What is the best approach for retrieving an image efficiently with Angular HttpClient?

My backend currently sends back an image in response. When I access this backend through a browser, the image is displayed without any issues.

The response type being received is 'image/jpeg'.

Now, I am exploring different methods to fetch this image using Angular HttpClient.

If I simply make a GET call, I notice that the image is successfully downloaded in the Network tab of the browser.

However, when attempting to retrieve the image with Angular, I encounter an error:

https://i.sstatic.net/wwoan.png

The code snippet looks like this:

import { Injectable } from '@angular/core';
import { HttpClient, HttpHeaders } from '@angular/common/http';
import { Observable } from 'rxjs';

@Injectable({
  providedIn: 'root'
})
export class ThumbnailService {
  private thumbnailUrl = 'http://localhost:8080/thumbnail';

  constructor(private http: HttpClient) { }

  public findOne(classifiedId: number): Observable<any> {
    const httpOptions = {
      headers: new HttpHeaders({
        'Accept': 'image/jpeg',
      })
    };
    return this.http.get<any>(`${this.thumbnailUrl}/${classifiedId}`, httpOptions);
  }
}

Upon investigation...

  • Angular seems to be trying to parse the response as JSON due to the specified responseType
  • There are multiple method overloads available for parsing responses based on their types
  • Even when trying to use Blob as the return type:
import { Injectable } from '@angular/core';
import { HttpClient, HttpHeaders } from '@angular/common/http';
import { Observable } from 'rxjs';

@Injectable({
  providedIn: 'root'
})
export class ThumbnailService {
  private thumbnailUrl = 'http://localhost:8080/thumbnail';

  constructor(private http: HttpClient) { }

  public findOne(classifiedId: number): Observable<any> {
    const httpOptions = {
      headers: new HttpHeaders({
        'Accept': 'image/jpeg',
      })
    };
    return this.http.get<Observable<Blob>>(`${this.thumbnailUrl}/${classifiedId}`, httpOptions);
  }
}

I still face the same issue.

It appears that the Blob type has certain expectations which my current setup does not meet...

Is there a simpler way to fetch an image using Angular HttpClient? Could there be something crucial that I am overlooking?

When I set the headers and responseType together, it leads to a compilation error - regardless if the response type is any or Blob:

Argument of type '{ headers: HttpHeaders; responseType: string; }' is not assignable to parameter of type '{ headers?: HttpHeaders | { [header: string]: string | string[]; }; observe?: "body"; params?: HttpParams | { [param: string]: string | string[]; }; reportProgress?: boolean; responseType?: "json"; withCredentials?: boolean; }'. Types of property 'responseType' are incompatible. Type 'string' is not assignable to type '"json"'.

Answer №1

Make sure you are not just type casting to Blob, but actually parsing it as a Blob. If you want angular to properly parse it as a Blob, you need to set the responseType accordingly.

import { Injectable } from '@angular/core';
import { HttpClient, HttpHeaders } from '@angular/common/http';
import { Observable } from 'rxjs';

@Injectable({
  providedIn: 'root'
})
export class ThumbnailService {
  private thumbnailUrl = 'http://localhost:8080/thumbnail';

  constructor(private http: HttpClient) { }

  public findOne(classifiedId: number): Observable<any> {
    const httpOptions = {
      headers: new HttpHeaders({
        'Accept': 'image/jpeg',
      }),
      responseType: 'blob' // This informs angular to parse it as a blob, default is json
    };
    return this.http.get<Observable<Blob>>(`${this.thumbnailUrl}/${classifiedId}`, httpOptions);
  }
}

Check out an example on StackBlitz

Answer №2

To retrieve the BLOB in the response, you must include a responseType parameter in the HTTP get method call. To see the different variations of the Angular HttpClient get method, visit this link: Http Get-Angular and refer to overload#5.

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