Inconsistent return type of createBufferSource() between platforms (Promise on Web, AudioBufferSourceNode on iOS)

[niklasdahlheimer]

Description

While following this example, I encountered an issue on Expo Web due to CORS protection on the remote audio file. To work around it, I used a local audio file via Expo assets as suggested in the example for decodeAudioDataSource().

Then I used the following code:
const playerNode = audioContext.createBufferSource();

This worked as expected on iOS, but on Web I received the following error:
Uncaught (in promise) TypeError: playerNode.connect is not a function

After some investigation, I found the root cause:

• On iOS, createBufferSource() returns an AudioBufferSourceNode.
• On Web, it returns a Promise<AudioBufferSourceNode>.

Changing the code to:
const playerNode = await audioContext.createBufferSource();
resolved the issue on both platforms.

📌 Suggestion
If this behavior is intended, it would be very helpful to document the platform-specific return type of createBufferSource()—especially since it's unexpected and can cause runtime issues.

If this is not intended, I recommend unifying the behavior so that createBufferSource() returns a consistent type across platforms.

Thanks again for the great work on this library—just wanted to flag this inconsistency to help improve the dev experience

Steps to reproduce

    const audioContext = new AudioContext();

    const buffer = await
        Asset.fromModule(require('@/assets/audio/example-music-01.mp3'))
            .downloadAsync()
            .then((asset) => {
                if (!asset.localUri) {
                    throw new Error('Failed to load audio asset');
                }
                return audioContext.decodeAudioDataSource(asset.localUri);
            })


    const playerNode = audioContext.createBufferSource();
    playerNode.buffer = buffer;
    playerNode.connect(audioContext.destination);
    playerNode.start(audioContext.currentTime);
    playerNode.stop(audioContext.currentTime + 10);

Snack or a link to a repository

https://snack.expo.dev/@niklasdahlheimer/createbuffersource-example

React Native Audio API version

0.6.5

React Native version

0.79.5

Platforms

iOS

JavaScript runtime

None

Workflow

Expo Dev Client

Architecture

Fabric (New Architecture)

Build type

Debug app & dev bundle

Device

iOS simulator

Device model

No response

Acknowledgements

Yes

[maciejmakowski2003]

Sorry for the inconvenience. I will take care of it

[maciejmakowski2003]

Will be fixed with that PR