How to Fetch and Display Images from an API in SwiftUI

Learn how to load images from an API using SwiftUI by implementing a button action and image fetching functionality!
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This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/66081318/ asked by the user 'Abdo23' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/8177581/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/66081436/ provided by the user 'jnpdx' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/560942/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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How to Fetch and Display Images from an API in SwiftUI

If you’re building an application in SwiftUI where users can search for images via an API, you might encounter the following challenge: once your users click a button to fetch and display an image from the API, how do you ensure the image appears smoothly on the screen? In this guide, we will break down the process of loading an image from an API using a button click, and provide a clear, step-by-step approach to solve this problem.

Problem Overview

You have an app where the user inputs a search term, clicks a button to fetch an image URL from an API, but you run into issues displaying the actual image when fetched data is nil or when errors occur. Let’s explore the steps to effectively fetch and display the image.

Understanding the Components

To effectively load and display images in your SwiftUI app, we’ll work with:

@ StateObject for managing state

URLSession for API calls

UIImage for displaying the image on the screen

Swift Combine for handling asynchronous data

Step-by-Step Solution

1. Defining Your Data Model

Expand your DataModel by adding a property for holding the fetched UIImage. The updated model might look like this:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

2. Fetching the Image URL

In your fetchAPI function where you initially call your API, make sure to handle the URL and prepare for fetching the image:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

3. Fetching the Image Data

Now, create a function to fetch the actual image data from the image URL:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

4. Displaying the Image in the ContentView

In your ContentView, display the image that has been fetched:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Wrapping Up

We now have a clear implementation:

Users can input a search term.

When the button is pressed, it fetches the image URL and subsequently fetches the image.

The image is displayed if available.

Important Note

Make sure you have Combine imported at the top of your Swift file or else AnyCancellable will not be available for use.

With these steps and explanations, you should now have a solid understanding of how to fetch and display images from an API in your SwiftUI application.

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