This document includes necessary information for integrating the Countly iOS SDK into in your iOS / watchOS / tvOS / macOS applications, and applies to version 21.11.0.

To access the documentation for version 20.11.3 and older, click here.

Adding the SDK to the project

To add the Countly iOS SDK into your project, you can choose one of the following options:

- Downloading the Countly iOS SDK source files directly from GitHub and adding all .h and .m files in countly-ios-sdk folder to your project on Xcode

- Cloning the Countly iOS SDK repo as a Git submodule

- Using Swift Package Manager (SPM)

- Using Carthage

- Using CocoaPods

SDK Integration

Minimal Setup

In your application delegate, import Countly.h, and add the following lines at the beginning insideapplication:didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:

#import "Countly.h"

- (BOOL)application:(UIApplication *)application didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:(NSDictionary *)launchOptions
{
    CountlyConfig* config = CountlyConfig.new;
    config.appKey = @"YOUR_APP_KEY";
    config.host = @"https://YOUR_COUNTLY_SERVER";
    [Countly.sharedInstance startWithConfig:config];

    // your code
  
    return YES;
}

func application(_ application: UIApplication, didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplicationLaunchOptionsKey: Any]?) -> Bool
{
    let config: CountlyConfig = CountlyConfig()
    config.appKey = "YOUR_APP_KEY"
    config.host = "https://YOUR_COUNTLY_SERVER"
    Countly.sharedInstance().start(with: config)
    
    // your code

    return true
}

Note: Make sure you start Countly iOS SDK on the main thread.

Set your app key and host on the CountlyConfig object. Make sure to use the App Key (under top right cog > Management > Applications), not the API Key or App ID.

If you are using Countly Enterprise trial servers, the host should be https://try.count.ly, https://us-try.count.ly or https://asia-try.count.ly. Stated simply, it should be the domain from which you are accessing your trial dashboard.

You can run your project and see the first session data immediately displayed on your Countly Server dashboard.

Additional Features

If you would like to use additional features, such as PushNotifications, CrashReporting, and AutoViewTracking, you can specify them in the features array on the CountlyConfig object before you start:

- (BOOL)application:(UIApplication *)application didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:(NSDictionary *)launchOptions
{
    CountlyConfig* config = CountlyConfig.new;
    config.appKey = @"YOUR_APP_KEY";
    config.host = @"https://YOUR_COUNTLY_SERVER";

    //You can specify additional features you want here
    config.features = @[CLYPushNotifications, CLYCrashReporting, CLYAutoViewTracking];

    [Countly.sharedInstance startWithConfig:config];

    // your code

    return YES;
}

func application(_ application: UIApplication, didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplicationLaunchOptionsKey: Any]?) -> Bool
{
    let config: CountlyConfig = CountlyConfig()
    config.appKey = "YOUR_APP_KEY"
    config.host = "https://YOUR_COUNTLY_SERVER"

    //You can specify additional features you want here
    config.features = [CLYPushNotifications, CLYCrashReporting, CLYAutoViewTracking]

    Countly.sharedInstance().start(with: config)

    // your code

    return true
}

Available additional features per platform:

iOS
  CLYPushNotifications
  CLYCrashReporting
  CLYAutoViewTracking

watchOS
  CLYCrashReporting

tvOS
  CLYCrashReporting
  CLYAutoViewTracking

macOS
  CLYPushNotifications
  CLYCrashReporting

Debug Mode

If you would like to enable the Countly iOS SDK to debug mode, which logs internal info, errors, and warnings into your console, you can set the enableDebug flag on the CountlyConfig object before starting Countly.

config.enableDebug = YES;

config.enableDebug = true

Internal logging works only for Development environment where DEBUG flag is set in target's Build Settings.

Logger Delegate

For receiving the Countly iOS SDK's internal logs even in production builds, you can set loggerDelegate property on the CountlyConfig object. If set, the Countly iOS SDK will forward its internal logs to this delegate object regardless of enableDebug initial config value.

config.loggerDelegate = self; //or any other object to act as CountlyLoggerDelegate

config.loggerDelegate = self //or any other object to act as CountlyLoggerDelegate

internalLog: method declared as required in CountlyLoggerDelegate protocol will be called with log NSString.

// CountlyLoggerDelegate protocol method
- (void)internalLog:(NSString *)log
{

}

// CountlyLoggerDelegate protocol method
func internalLog(_ log: String)
{

}

Device ID

Default Device ID

On iOS, iPadOS, and tvOS, the default device ID is the Identifier For Vendor (IDFV). On watchOS and macOS, it is a persistently stored random NSUUID string.

You can configure the device ID using the CountlyConfig object and helper methods:

Using a Custom Device ID

If you would like to use a custom device ID, you can set the deviceID property on the CountlyConfig object. If the deviceID property is not set explicitly, a default device ID will be used depending on the platform.

config.deviceID = @"customDeviceID";  //Optional custom device ID

config.deviceID = "customDeviceID"  //Optional custom device ID

Note: Once set, the device ID will be persistently stored on the device after the first app launch, and the deviceID property will be ignored on the following app launches, until the app is deleted and re-installed or a resetStoredDeviceID flag is set. For further details, please see the Resetting Stored Device ID section.

SDK Data Storage

The Countly iOS SDK uses NSUserDefaults and a simple data file named Countly.dat under NSApplicationSupportDirectory (NSCachesDirectory for tvOS).

Crash Reporting

Automatic Crash Handling

For Countly Crash Reporting, you'll need to specify CLYCrashReporting in features array on the CountlyConfig object before starting Countly.

config.features = @[CLYCrashReporting];

config.features = [CLYCrashReporting]

With this feature, the Countly iOS SDK will generate a crash report if your application crashes due to an exception and send it to the Countly Server for further inspection. If a crash report cannot be delivered to the server (e.g. no internet connection, unavailable server) at the time of the crash, the Countly iOS SDK will then store the crash report locally in order to make another attempt at a later time.

Handled Exceptions

You can manually record all handled exceptions, except for automatically reported unhandled exceptions and crashes:

NSException* myException = [NSException exceptionWithName:@"MyException" reason:@"MyReason" userInfo:@{@"key":@"value"}];

[Countly.sharedInstance recordHandledException:myException];

let myException : NSException = NSException.init(name:NSExceptionName(rawValue: "MyException"), reason:"MyReason", userInfo:["key":"value"])

Countly.sharedInstance().recordHandledException(myException)

You can also manually pass stack trace at the time of the handled exception:

NSException* myException = [NSException exceptionWithName:@"MyException" reason:@"MyReason" userInfo:@{@"key":@"value"}];

[Countly.sharedInstance recordHandledException:myException withStackTrace:[NSThread callStackSymbols]];

let myException : NSException = NSException.init(name:NSExceptionName(rawValue: "MyException"), reason:"MyReason", userInfo:["key":"value"])

Countly.sharedInstance().recordHandledException(myException, withStackTrace: Thread.callStackSymbols)

Crash Breadcrumbs

You can use the recordCrashLog: method to receive custom logs with the crash reports. Logs generated by the recordCrashLog:method are stored in a non-persistent structure and are delivered to the Countly Server only in the case of a crash.

[Countly.sharedInstance recordCrashLog:@"This is a custom crash log."];

Countly.sharedInstance().recordCrashLog("This is a custom crash log.")

There is a limit for the number of crash logs to be stored on the device. By default it is 100. You can change it using crashLogLimit property on the CountlyConfig object.

config.crashLogLimit = 500;

config.crashLogLimit = 500

If number of stored crash logs reaches the limit, SDK will start to drop oldest crash log while appending the newest one.

Crash Report Contents

A crash report includes the following information:

Default Crash Report Information

- Exception Info:
  * Exception Name
  * Exception Description
  * Stack Trace
  * Binary Images

- Device Static Info:
  * Device Type
  * Device Architecture
  * Resolution
  * Total RAM
  * Total Disk

- Device Dynamic Info:
  * Used RAM
  * Used Disk
  * Battery Level
  * Connection Type
  * Device Orientation

- OS Info:
  * OS Name
  * OS Version
  * OpenGL ES Version
  * Jailbrake State

- App Info:
  * App Version
  * App Build Number
  * Executable Name
  * Time Since App Launch
  * Background State

- Custom Info:
  * Crash logs recorded using `recordCrashLog:` method
  * Crash segmentation specified in `crashSegmentation` property

Custom Crash Segmentation

If you would like to use custom crash segmentation, you can set the optional crashSegmentation dictionary on the CountlyConfig object.

config.crashSegmentation = @{@"key":@"value"};

config.crashSegmentation = ["key":"value"]

Crash Filtering

You can set the optional crashFilter regular expression on the CountlyConfig object for filtering crash reports and preventing them from being sent to Countly Server. If a crash's name, description or any line of stack trace matches the given regular expression, it will not be sent to Countly Server.

config.crashFilter = [NSRegularExpression regularExpressionWithPattern:@".*keyword.*" options:NSRegularExpressionCaseInsensitive error:nil];

config.crashFilter = try! NSRegularExpression(pattern: ".*keyword.*", options: NSRegularExpression.Options.caseInsensitive)

PLCrashReporter

As an alternative to Countly iOS SDK's own exception and signal handling mechanism based on NSSetUncaughtExceptionHandler() and signal() functions, you can optionally use more advanced PLCrashReporter as well.

For using PLCrashReporter instead of default crash handling mechanism you can set shouldUsePLCrashReporter flag on the CountlyConfig object.

If set, Countly iOS SDK will be using PLCrashReporter dependency for creating crash reports.

config.shouldUsePLCrashReporter = YES;

config.shouldUsePLCrashReporter = true 

And PLCrashReporter framework dependency should be added to your project manually from its GitHub releases page or via CocoaPods using Countly-PL.podspec instead of default Countly.podspec.

Existence of PLCrashReporter dependency will be checked using __has_include(<CrashReporter/CrashReporter.h>) preprocessor macro.

Note: PLCrashReporter option is available only for iOS apps.

Note: Currently tested and supported PLCrashReporter version is 1.5.1.

PLCrashReporter Signal Handler Type

PLCrashReporter has two different signal handling implementations with different traits:

1) BSD: PLCrashReporterSignalHandlerTypeBSD

2) Mach: PLCrashReporterSignalHandlerTypeMach

For more information about PLCrashReporter please see: https://github.com/microsoft/plcrashreporter

By default, BSD type will be used. For using Mach type signal handler with PLCrashReporter you can set shouldUseMachSignalHandler flag on the CountlyConfig object.

config.shouldUseMachSignalHandler = YES;

config.shouldUseMachSignalHandler = true 

PLCrashReporter Callback Blocks

There is a crashOccuredOnPreviousSessionCallback block to be executed when the app is launched again following a crash which is detected by PLCrashReporter on the previous session. It has an NSDictionary parameter that represents crash report object. If shouldUsePLCrashReporter flag is not set on initial config, this block will never be executed. You can set it on the CountlyConfig object:

config.crashOccuredOnPreviousSessionCallback = ^(NSDictionary * crashReport)
{
    NSLog(@"crash report: %@", crashReport);
};

config.crashOccuredOnPreviousSessionCallback =
{
    (crashReport: [AnyHashable: Any]) in
    print("crash report: \(crashReport)")
}

And there is also another shouldSendCrashReportCallback block to be executed to decide whether the crash report detected by PLCrashReporter on the previous session should be sent to Countly Server or not. If not set, crash report will be sent to Countly Server by default. If set, crash report will be sent to Countly Server only if YES is returned. It has an NSDictionary parameter that represents crash report object. If shouldUsePLCrashReporter flag is not set on initial config, this block will never be executed. You can set it on the CountlyConfig object:

config.shouldSendCrashReportCallback = ^(NSDictionary * crashReport)
{
    NSLog(@"crash report: %@", crashReport);
    return YES;    //NO;     
};

config.shouldSendCrashReportCallback =
{
    (crashReport: [AnyHashable: Any]) in
    print("crash report: \(crashReport)")
    return true    //false
} 

Symbolication

Symbolication is the process of converting stack trace memory addresses in crash reports into human-readable, useful information, such as class/method names, file names, and line numbers.

In order to symbolicate memory addresses, the dSYM files for each build need to be uploaded to the Countly Server.

Automatic dSYM Uploading

For Automatic dSYM Uploading, you can use the countly_dsym_uploader script in the Countly iOS SDK.

To do so, go to the Build Phases section of your app target and click on the plus ( + ) icon on the top left, then choose New Run Script Phasefrom the list.

Then, add the following snippet:

COUNTLY_DSYM_UPLOADER=$(/usr/bin/find $SRCROOT -name "countly_dsym_uploader.sh" | head -n 1)
sh "$COUNTLY_DSYM_UPLOADER" "https://YOUR_COUNTLY_SERVER" "YOUR_APP_KEY"

Next, select the checkboxRun script only when installing.

Note: Do not forget to replace your server and app key.

By default, Xcode will generate dSYM files for the Release build configuration, and the countly_dsym_uploader script will handle the uploading automatically. You can check for the results on the Report Navigator within Xcode. If the dSYM upload has completed successfully, you will see the[Countly] dSYM upload successfully completed.message.

If there are any errors while uploading the dSYM file, you can also see these error messages in the Report Navigator. Some of the possible error reasons include: the dSYM file not being created due to build configurations, the dSYM file being created at a non-default location, wrong App ID and/or Countly Server address, or network unavailability.

Manual dSYM Uploading

In case of an error with Automatic dSYM Uploading, or if you would like to upload your dSYM files manually, you can use our guide for Manual dSYM Uploading here. You will also need to use Manual dSYM Uploading if Bitcode is enabled while uploading your app to App Store Connect.

Bitcode Enabled Apps

If Bitcode is enabled in your project while uploading your app to App Store Connect, Apple re-compiles your app to optimize it for specific devices. When Apple re-compiles your app, a new dSYM file is generated for the new build, and the dSYM file on your machine will not work for symbolication. So, you will need to receive this new dSYM file manually, then upload it to the Countly Server. In order to get the new dSYM file, you can use App Store Connect or Xcode Organizer.

Using App Store Connect: 1. Login to App Store Connect. 2. Go to the Activitytab. 3. Select your app's Version and Build 4. Under General Information click on Download dSYM. 5. If the downloaded file does not have any extension, add .zip and unarchive to see its content.

Using Xcode: 1. Open Organizer in Xcode. 2. Go to the Archives tab. 3. Select your app from the list on the left and select the archive. 4. Click on Download dSYMs.... 5. Xcode inserts the downloaded .dSYM files into the selected archive.

For more information regarding downloading dSYM files from Apple, please see Apple's documentation here.

After you receive your dSYM file from Apple, you can use our Manual dSYM Uploading guide.

How to Use Symbolication

Once your dSYM file has been uploaded to the Countly Server, you can symbolicate your crash reports coming from that build on the Crashespanel of your Countly Server.

A crash report symbolicated stack trace appears as follows:

Before symbolication:

YourAppName                               0x000000010006e174 YourAppName + 156020
YourAppName                               0x000000010006d060 YourAppName + 151648
YourAppName                               0x000000010006ad34 YourAppName + 142644

After symbolication:

-[MHViewController countlyProductionTest] (in YourAppName) (MHViewController.m:620)
-[MHViewController transitionToMahya] (in YourAppName) (MHViewController.m:443)
-[MHViewController textFieldShouldReturn:] (in YourAppName) (MHViewController.m:210)

For more information about how to use the Symbolication feature on the Countly Server, please see our Symbolication documentation here.

Events

Here is a quick summary on how to use event recording methods:

Recording Events

We have recorded an event named purchase with different scenarios in the examples below:

• purchase event occurred 1 time

[Countly.sharedInstance recordEvent:@"purchase"];

Countly.sharedInstance().recordEvent("purchase")

• purchase event occurred 3 times

[Countly.sharedInstance recordEvent:@"purchase" count:3];

Countly.sharedInstance().recordEvent("purchase", count:3)

• purchase event occurred 1 times with the total amount of 3.33

[Countly.sharedInstance recordEvent:@"purchase" sum:3.33];

Countly.sharedInstance().recordEvent("purchase", sum:3.33)

• purchase event occurred 3 times with the total amount of 9.99

[Countly.sharedInstance recordEvent:@"purchase" count:3 sum:9.99];

Countly.sharedInstance().recordEvent("purchase", count:3, sum:3.33)

• purchase event occurred 1 time from country : Germany, on app_version : 1.0

NSDictionary* dict = @{@"country":@"Germany", @"app_version":@"1.0"};

[Countly.sharedInstance recordEvent:@"purchase" segmentation:dict];

let dict : Dictionary<String, String> = ["country":"Germany", "app_version":"1.0"]

Countly.sharedInstance().recordEvent("purchase", segmentation:dict)

• purchase event occurred 2 times from country : Germany, on app_version : 1.0

NSDictionary* dict = @{@"country":@"Germany", @"app_version":@"1.0"};

[Countly.sharedInstance recordEvent:@"purchase" segmentation:dict count:2];

let dict : Dictionary<String, String> = ["country":"Germany", "app_version":"1.0"]

Countly.sharedInstance().recordEvent("purchase", segmentation:dict, count:2)

• purchase event occurred 2 times with the total amount of 6.66, from country: Germany, on app_version : 1.0

NSDictionary* dict = @{@"country":@"Germany", @"app_version":@"1.0"};

[Countly.sharedInstance recordEvent:@"purchase" segmentation:dict count:2 sum:6.66];

let dict : Dictionary<String, String> = ["country":"Germany", "app_version":"1.0"]

Countly.sharedInstance().recordEvent("purchase", segmentation:dict, count:2, sum:6.66)

Timed Events

In the examples below, we recorded a timed event called level24 to track how long it takes to complete:

• level24 started

[Countly.sharedInstance startEvent:@"level24"];

Countly.sharedInstance().startEvent("level24")

• level24 ended

[Countly.sharedInstance endEvent:@"level24"];

Countly.sharedInstance().endEvent("level24")

Additionally, you can provide more information, such as the segmentation, count, and sum while ending an event.

• level24 ended 1 time with the total point of 34578, from country : Germany, on app_version : 1.0

NSDictionary* dict = @{@"country":@"Germany", @"app_version":@"1.0"};

[Countly.sharedInstance endEvent:@"level24" segmentation:dict count:1 sum:34578];

let dict : Dictionary<String, String> = ["country":"Germany", "app_version":"1.0"]

Countly.sharedInstance().endEvent("level24", segmentation:dict, count:1, sum:34578)

The duration of the event will be calculated automatically when the endEvent method is called.

You can also cancel a started timed event using cancelEvent method:

[Countly.sharedInstance cancelEvent:@"level24"];

Countly.sharedInstance().cancelEvent("level24")

Or, if you are measuring the duration of an event yourself, you can record it directly as follows:

• level24 took 344 seconds to complete:

[Countly.sharedInstance recordEvent:@"level24" duration:344];

Countly.sharedInstance().recordEvent("level24", duration:344)

Additionally, you can provide more information such as the segmentation, count, and sum.

• level24 took 344 seconds to complete 2 times with the total point of 34578, from country : Germany, on app_version : 1.0

NSDictionary* dict = @{@"country":@"Germany", @"app_version":@"1.0"};

[Countly.sharedInstance recordEvent:@"level24" segmentation:dict count:2 sum:34578 duration:344];

let dict : Dictionary<String, String> = ["country":"Germany", "app_version":"1.0"]

Countly.sharedInstance().recordEvent("level24", segmentation:dict, count:2, sum:34578, duration:344)

Sessions

Automatic Session Tracking

By default, the Countly iOS SDK tracks sessions automatically and sends the begin_sessionrequest upon initialization, the end_session request when the app goes to the background, and the begin_session request again when the app comes back to the foreground. In addition, the Countly iOS SDK automatically sends a periodical (60 sec by default) update session request while the app is in the foreground.

Manual Sessions

You can set the manualSessionHandling flag on the CountlyConfig object before starting Countly to handle sessions manually.

config.manualSessionHandling = YES;

config.manualSessionHandling = true

If the manualSessionHandling flag is set, the Countly iOS SDK does not send the previously mentioned requests automatically, meaning you will need to manually call the beginSession, updateSession and endSession methods after you start Countly, depending on your own definition of a session.

[Countly.sharedInstance beginSession];
[Countly.sharedInstance updateSession];
[Countly.sharedInstance endSession];

Countly.sharedInstance().beginSession()
Countly.sharedInstance().updateSession()
Countly.sharedInstance().endSession()

Update Session Period

You can specify the updateSessionPeriod on the CountlyConfig object before starting Countly. It is used for session updating and periodically sending queued events to the server. If the updateSessionPeriod is not explicitly set, the default setting will be at 60 seconds for iOS, tvOS & macOS, and 20 seconds for watchOS.

config.updateSessionPeriod = 300;

config.updateSessionPeriod = 300

View Tracking

Automatic Views

For Countly Auto View Tracking, you will need to specify CLYAutoViewTracking in features array on the CountlyConfig object before starting Countly.

config.features = @[CLYAutoViewTracking];

config.features = [CLYAutoViewTracking]

After this step, the Countly iOS SDK will automatically track appeared and disappeared views. It simply intercepts the viewDidAppear: method of the UIViewControllerclass and reports which view is displayed with the view's name and duration. If the view controller's title property is set, the reported view's name will be the value of the title property. Otherwise, it will be the view controller's class name.

You can temporarily enable or disable Auto View Tracking using the isAutoViewTrackingActive property.

Countly.sharedInstance.isAutoViewTrackingActive = NO;

Countly.sharedInstance.isAutoViewTrackingActive = false

If the Auto View Tracking feature is not enabled upon initial configuration, enabling or disabling this property at a later time will have no effect. It will always be disabled.

Automatic View Exceptions

Following system view controllers will be excluded by default from auto tracking, as they are not visible views but rather structural controllers:

UINavigationController
UIAlertController
UIPageViewController
UITabBarController
UIReferenceLibraryViewController
UISplitViewController
UIInputViewController
UISearchController
UISearchContainerViewController
UIApplicationRotationFollowingController
MFMailComposeInternalViewController
MFMailComposeInternalViewController
MFMailComposePlaceholderViewController
UIInputWindowController
_UIFallbackPresentationViewController
UIActivityViewController
UIActivityGroupViewController
_UIActivityGroupListViewController
_UIActivityViewControllerContentController
UIKeyboardCandidateRowViewController
UIKeyboardCandidateGridCollectionViewController
UIPrintMoreOptionsTableViewController
UIPrintPanelTableViewController
UIPrintPanelViewController
UIPrintPaperViewController
UIPrintPreviewViewController
UIPrintRangeViewController
UIDocumentMenuViewController
UIDocumentPickerViewController
UIDocumentPickerExtensionViewController
UIInterfaceActionGroupViewController
UISystemInputViewController
UIRecentsInputViewController
UICompatibilityInputViewController
UIInputViewAnimationControllerViewController
UISnapshotModalViewController
UIMultiColumnViewController
UIKeyCommandDiscoverabilityHUDViewController

In addition to these default exceptions, you can manually add your own exception view controllers using the addExceptionForAutoViewTracking:method by passing the view controller class name or title:

[Countly.sharedInstance addExceptionForAutoViewTracking:NSStringFromClass(MyViewController.class)];
//or
[Countly.sharedInstance addExceptionForAutoViewTracking:@"MyViewControllerTitle"];

Countly.sharedInstance().addException(forAutoViewTracking:String.init(utf8String: object_getClassName(MyViewController.self))!)

//or

Countly.sharedInstance().addException(forAutoViewTracking:"MyViewControllerTitle")

Added view controller class name or titles will be ignored by Auto View Tracking and their appearances and disappearances will not be reported. Adding an already added view controller class name or title a second time will have no effect.

Furthermore, you can manually remove added exception view controllers using the removeExceptionForAutoViewTracking method by passing the view controller class name or title:

[Countly.sharedInstance removeExceptionForAutoViewTracking:NSStringFromClass(MyViewController.class)];
//or
[Countly.sharedInstance removeExceptionForAutoViewTracking:@"MyViewControllerTitle"];

Countly.sharedInstance().removeException(forAutoViewTracking:String.init(utf8String: object_getClassName(MyViewController.self))!)

//or

Countly.sharedInstance().removeException(forAutoViewTracking:"MyViewControllerTitle")

Removing an already removed (or not yet added) view controller class name or title again will have no effect.

Manual View Recording

In addition to Auto View Tracking, you can manually record the appearance of a view using the recordView:method with the view's name:

[Countly.sharedInstance recordView:@"MyView"];

Countly.sharedInstance().recordView("MyView")

When you record another view at a later time, the duration of the previous view will be calculated, and the view tracking event will be recorded automatically.

You can also specify the custom segmentation key-value pairs while recording views:

[Countly.sharedInstance recordView:@"MyView" segmentation:@{@"key": @"value"}];

Countly.sharedInstance().recordView("MyView", segmentation: ["key": "value"])

Device ID Management

Changing Device ID

You can use the setNewDeviceID:onServer method to change the device ID on runtime after you start Countly. You can either allow the device to be counted as a new device or merge existing data on the server.

If theonServer bool is set, the old device ID on the server will be replaced with the new one, and data associated with the old device ID will be merged automatically.

[Countly.sharedInstance setNewDeviceID:@"new_device_id" onServer:YES];
//replace and merge on server

Countly.sharedInstance().setNewDeviceID("new_device_id", onServer:true)
//replace and merge on server

Otherwise, if onServer bool is not set, the device will be counted as a new device on the server. And given all consents will be cancelled.

[Countly.sharedInstance setNewDeviceID:@"new_device_id" onServer:NO];
//no replace and merge on server, device will be counted as new

Countly.sharedInstance().setNewDeviceID("new_device_id", onServer:false)
//no replace and merge on server, device will be counted as new

Note: To switch back to the default device ID, you can pass CLYDefaultDeviceID.

Temporary Device ID

You can use temporary device ID mode for keeping all requests on hold until the real device ID is set later. It can be enabled by setting deviceID on initial configuration asCLYTemporaryDeviceID:

config.deviceID = CLYTemporaryDeviceID;

config.deviceID = CLYTemporaryDeviceID

Or by passing as an argument for deviceID parameter on setNewDeviceID:onServermethod any time:

[Countly.sharedInstance setNewDeviceID:CLYTemporaryDeviceID onServer:NO];

Countly.sharedInstance().setNewDeviceID(CLYTemporaryDeviceID, onServer:false)

Note: When passing CLYTemporaryDeviceID for deviceID parameter, argument for onServerparameter does not matter.

As long as the device ID value is CLYTemporaryDeviceID, the SDK will be in temporary device ID mode and all requests will be on hold, but they will be persistently stored.

When in temporary device ID mode, method calls for presenting feedback widgets and updating remote config will be ignored.

Later, when the real device ID is set using setNewDeviceID:onServer method, all requests which have been kept on hold until that point will start with the real device ID:

[Countly.sharedInstance setNewDeviceID:@"real_device_id" onServer:NO];

Countly.sharedInstance().setNewDeviceID("real_device_id", onServer:false)

Note: When setting real device ID while the current device ID is CLYTemporaryDeviceID, argument for the onServer parameter does not matter.

Retrieving Current Device ID

You can use deviceIDmethod to get current device ID:

[Countly.sharedInstance deviceID];

Countly.sharedInstance().deviceID()

It can be used for handling data export and/or removal requests as part of your app's data privacy compliance.

You can use deviceIDType method which returns a CLYDeviceIDType to get current device ID type:

[Countly.sharedInstance deviceIDType];

Countly.sharedInstance().deviceIDType()

Device ID type can be one of the following:
CLYDeviceIDTypeCustom : Custom device ID set by app developer.
CLYDeviceIDTypeTemporary : Temporary device ID.
CLYDeviceIDTypeIDFV : Default device ID type used by the SDK on iOS and tvOS.
CLYDeviceIDTypeNSUUID : Default device ID type used by the SDK on watchOS and macOS.

Resetting Stored Device ID

In order to handle device ID changes for logged-in and logged-out users, the device ID specified in the CountlyConfig object of the deviceID property (or the default device ID, if not specified) will be persistently stored as well as the device ID passed to the setNewDeviceID:onServermethod at any time upon the first app launch. By this point, until you delete and re-install the app, the Countly iOS SDK will continue to use the stored device ID and ignore the deviceID property. So, if you set the deviceID property to something different upon future app launches during development, it will have no effect. In this case, you can set the resetStoredDeviceID flag on the CountlyConfig object in order to reset the stored device ID. This will reset the initially stored device ID and the Countly iOS SDK will work as if it is the first app launch.

config.resetStoredDeviceID = YES;

config.resetStoredDeviceID = true

After you start Countly once with the resetStoredDeviceID flag while developing, you can remove that line. The resetStoredDeviceID flag is not meant for production. It is only for debugging purposes while performing development and not being able to delete and re-install the app.

Push Notifications

Setting up APNs Authentication

First, you will need to acquire Push Notification credentials from Apple using one of the following methods:

A) APNs Auth Key (preferred)
B) Universal (Sandbox + Production) Certificate

A) Getting an APNs Auth Key

APNs Auth Key is the preferred authentication method on APNs for a number of reasons, including less issues faced during configuration and the fact that it can reuse the same connection with multiple apps.

First go to the Create a New Key section on the Apple Developer website to get an APNs Auth Key.

Check the APNs option and create your key.

Then download your key and store it in a safe place, you won't be able to download it again.
You'll also need some identifiers to upload a key file to Countly:

• Key ID (filled automatically if you kept the original Auth Key filename, otherwise visible on the key details panel)

• Team ID (see Membership section)

• Bundle ID (see App IDs section)

B) Getting APNs Universal (Sandbox + Production) Certificate

Please go to the Certificates section on the Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles page on the Apple Developer website. Click the plus sign and select the Apple Push Notification service SSL (Sandbox & Production) type. Follow the instructions. Once you are done, download it and double click to add it to your Keychain.

Next, you'll need to export your push certificate into p12 format. Please open the Keychain Access app, select the login keychain, and the My Certificates category. Search for your app ID and find the certificate starting with the Apple Push Services. Select both the certificate and its private key as shown in the screenshot below. Right click and choose Export 2 items... and save it. You're free to name the p12 file as you wish and to set up a passphrase or leave it empty.

Once you’ve downloaded your Auth Key or exported your certificate, you will need to upload it to your Countly Server. Please go to Management > Applications > Your App. Click on Edit and upload your Auth Key or exported certificate under the APN Credentials section.

After filling all the required fields, click the Validate button. Countly will check the validity of the credentials by initiating a test connection to the APNs. If validation succeeds, click Save changes.

Configuring iOS app

Using Countly Push Notifications on iOS apps is pretty straightforward. First, integrate the Countly iOS SDK as usual, if you still have yet to do so.

Then, under the Capabilities section of Xcode, enable Push Notifications and the Remote notifications Background Mode for your target, as shown in the screenshot below:

Now, start Countly in the application:didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:method of your app with the following configuration. Do not forget to specify CLYPushNotifications in the featuresarray on the CountlyConfigobject. Then you'll need to ask for user's permission for push notifications using the Countly askForNotificationPermission method at any point in the app. The Countly iOS SDK will automatically handle the rest. No need to call any other method for registering when a device token is generated, or a push notification is received.

#import "Countly.h"

- (BOOL)application:(UIApplication *)application didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:(NSDictionary *)launchOptions
{
    //Start Countly with CLYPushNotifications feature as follows
    CountlyConfig* config = CountlyConfig.new;
    config.appKey = @"YOUR_APP_KEY";
    config.host = @"https://YOUR_COUNTLY_SERVER";
    config.features = @[CLYPushNotifications];
//  config.pushTestMode = CLYPushTestModeDevelopment;
    [Countly.sharedInstance startWithConfig:config];


    //Ask for user's permission for Push Notifications (not necessarily here)
    //You can do this later at any point in the app after starting Countly
    [Countly.sharedInstance askForNotificationPermission];

    // your code

    return YES;
}

func application(_ application: UIApplication, didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplicationLaunchOptionsKey: Any]?) -> Bool
{
    //Start Countly with CLYPushNotifications feature as follows
    let config: CountlyConfig = CountlyConfig()
    config.appKey = "YOUR_APP_KEY"
    config.host = "https://YOUR_COUNTLY_SERVER"
    config.features = [CLYPushNotifications]
//  config.pushTestMode = CLYPushTestModeDevelopment
    Countly.sharedInstance().start(with: config)

    //Ask for user's permission for Push Notifications (not necessarily here)
    //You can do this later at any point in the app after starting Countly
    Countly.sharedInstance().askForNotificationPermission()

    // your code

    return true
}

Note: Ensure you code-sign your application using the explicit Provisioning Profile specific to your app's bundleID with an aps-environment key in it. You can get it from the iOS Provisioning Profiles section of the Apple Developer website. Be advised, wildcard (*) profiles or profiles aps-environment key do not work with APNs, and the device can not receive a push token.

Note: Please make sure you do not set UNUserNotificationCenter.currentNotificationCenter's delegate manually, as Countly iOS SDK will be acting as the delegate.

Note: To see how to send push notifications using the Countly Server, please check our Push Notifications documentation.

Deep links

When you send a push notification with custom actions buttons, you can redirect users to any custom page or view in your app by specifying deep links as custom actions button URLs. To do so, you will first need to create a URL scheme (e.g. : myapp://) in your project.

To do so, select your app target in Xcode and open the Info tab. Then, open the URL Types section by clicking the horizontal arrow, and click the plus + sign there.

Enter an identifier (preferably in reverse domain format) into the Identifier field and enter your app's URL scheme (without ://part) into the URL Schemes field. Optionally, you can set an Icon. You can leave the Role field as whatever its default value is. When you are done, you can confirm that your new URL scheme has been added to your app's Info.plist file. It should look like this:

After setting up the URL scheme, you should add the application:openURL:options: method to your app delegate:

- (BOOL)application:(UIApplication *)app openURL:(NSURL *)url options:(NSDictionary<UIApplicationOpenURLOptionsKey, id> *)options
{
    //handle URL here to navigate to custom views

    return YES;
}

func application(_ app: UIApplication, open url: URL, options: [UIApplicationOpenURLOptionsKey : Any] = [:]) -> Bool
{
    //handle URL here to navigate to custom views

    return true
}

If your app's deployment target is lower than iOS9, you should add the application:openURL:sourceApplication:annotation: method instead:

- (BOOL)application:(UIApplication *)application openURL:(NSURL *)url sourceApplication:(nullable NSString *)sourceApplication annotation:(id)annotation
{
    //handle URL here to navigate to custom views

    return YES;
}

func application(_ application: UIApplication, open url: URL, sourceApplication: String?, annotation: Any) -> Bool
{
    //handle URL here to navigate to custom views

    return true
}

Then in this method, you can check the passed url for custom view navigation using thescheme and host properties. For example, if you set the custom action button URLs as countly://productA and countly://productB, you can use something similar to this snippet:

if ([url.scheme isEqualToString: @"countly"])
{
    if ([url.host isEqualToString: @"productA"])
    {
        // present view controller for Product A;
    }
    else if ([url.host isEqualToString: @"productB"])
    {
        // present view controller for Product B;
    }

   // or you can use host property directly
}

if (url.scheme == "countly")
{
    if (url.host == "productA")
    {
        // present view controller for Product A;
    }
    else if (url.host == "productB")
    {
        // present view controller for Product B;
    }

    // or you can use host property directly
}

When users tap on the custom action buttons, the Countly iOS SDK will open the specified URLs with your app's scheme. Following this, the related method you added to your app's delegate will be called.

Rich Media

Rich push notifications allow you to send image, video, or audio attachments as well as customized action buttons on iOS10+. You will need to set up the Notification Service Extension to use it.

While the main project file is selected, please click the Editor > Add Target... menu in Xcode, and add a Notification Service Extension target.

Use the Product Name field of the Notification Service Extension target as you wish (for example: CountlyNSE) and ensure the Team is also selected.

Note: If Xcode asks a question about activating the scheme for a newly added Notification Service Extension target, you can select Cancel.

Under the Build Phases > Compile Sources section of a newly added extension target, click the+ sign.

Select CountlyNotificationService.m from the list.

Note: If you cannot see the CountlyNotificationService.m file because you are using CocoaPods or Carthage for integration, please locate it yourself (probably under the Pods folder) and add it to your project manually.

Then find the NotificationService.m file (NotificationService.swift in Swift projects) in the extension target. It is a default template file added automatically by Xcode. Import CountlyNotificationService.h inside this file.

#import "CountlyNotificationService.h"

// No need to import files for Swift projects

Then add the following line at the end of the didReceiveNotificationRequest:withContentHandler: method as shown below:

- (void)didReceiveNotificationRequest:(UNNotificationRequest *)request withContentHandler:(void (^)(UNNotificationContent * _Nonnull))contentHandler
{
    self.contentHandler = contentHandler;
    self.bestAttemptContent = [request.content mutableCopy];

    //delete existing template code, and add this line
    [CountlyNotificationService didReceiveNotificationRequest:request withContentHandler:contentHandler];
}

override func didReceive(_ request: UNNotificationRequest, withContentHandler contentHandler: @escaping (UNNotificationContent) -> Void)
{
    self.contentHandler = contentHandler
    bestAttemptContent = (request.content.mutableCopy() as? UNMutableNotificationContent)

    //delete existing template code, and add this line
    CountlyNotificationService.didReceive(request, withContentHandler: contentHandler);
}

Note: Please ensure you also configure the App Transport Security setting in the extension's Info.plist file just as with the main application. Otherwise, media attachments from non-https sources cannot be loaded.

Note: Please ensure you check that the Deployment Target version of the extension target is 10, not 10.3 (or whatever minor version Xcode set automatically). Otherwise, users running iOS versions lower than the Deployment Target value will not be able to get rich push notifications.

Provisional Permission for Push Notifications (iOS 12+ only)

iOS12 has a new feature called Provisional Permission for push notifications, and it is granted by default for all users. Without showing the notification permission dialog and without requiring users to accept anything, it allows you to send notifications to the users.

However, these notifications vary slightly, they do not actually notify the users. There are no alerts, no banners, no sounds, no badges. Nothing informing the users at the moment of notification delivery. Instead, these notifications go directly to the Notification Center and they silently pile up in the list. Only when the user goes to the Notification Center and checks the list does he/she become aware of them.

To utilize Provisional Permission for push notifications (while requesting for notification permission types), you pass a new type, called UNAuthorizationOptionProvisional.

UNAuthorizationOptions authorizationOptions = UNAuthorizationOptionProvisional;

[Countly.sharedInstance askForNotificationPermissionWithOptions:authorizationOptions completionHandler:^(BOOL granted, NSError *error)
{
    NSLog(@"granted: %d", granted);
    NSLog(@"error: %@", error);
}];

let authorizationOptions : UNAuthorizationOptions = [.provisional]

Countly.sharedInstance().askForNotificationPermission(options: authorizationOptions, completionHandler:
{ (granted : Bool, error : Error?) in
    print("granted: \(granted)")
    print("error: \(error)")
})

If this is the only notification permission type for which you ask, there will be no permission dialog and it will be granted by default. Then, later on, the Notification Center users can swipe on these provisional notifications and cancel the provisional permission anytime they please. The notification permission level then changes to the UNAuthorizationStatusDenied from the UNAuthorizationStatusProvisional state. This functions is a kind of opt-out.

How Push Notifications Work in Countly

When a push notification is received, the Countly iOS SDK handles everything automatically.

First, it checks if the notification payload has the Countly specific dictionary (c key) and the notification ID inside it (ikey). If the Countly specific dictionary is present, it processes the notification. Otherwise, it does nothing. In both cases, the Countly iOS SDK forwards the notification to the default application delegate implementation for manual handling.

The processing of the notification payload depends on the iOS version, the application’s status (background or foreground) at the time of notification reception, and the notification payload's content.

If there is a media attachment or custom action buttons, the Notification Service Extension handles everything automatically. Users can view these notifications via their device’s 3D Touch or by swiping up on older devices.

When the app is not in the foreground, it waits for the user's interaction (e.g. tapping the actual notification or one of the custom action buttons). After the user's interaction, it automatically records a specific event indicating that that user has opened the push notification. If the user tapped one of the custom action buttons, it also records another specific event with button index segmentation and redirects them to the specified URL for that action.

When the app is in foreground, it uses UNNotificationPresentationOptionAlert mode on iOS10+ to present a default notification banner and it uses the system UIAlertController on older iOS versions and directly records push-opened events.

You can view the detailed flow in this chart (download the chart for a larger view):

Advanced Setup

Test Mode

For Development builds (where the project is code signed with an iOS Development Provisioning Profile), you should set pushTestModeas CLYPushTestModeDevelopmenton CountlyConfig object.

config.pushTestMode = CLYPushTestModeDevelopment;

config.pushTestMode = CLYPushTestModeDevelopment

For TestFlight or AdHoc Distribution builds (where the project is code signed with an iOS Distribution Provisioning Profile), you should set pushTestModeas CLYPushTestModeTestFlightOrAdHocon CountlyConfig object.

config.pushTestMode = CLYPushTestModeTestFlightOrAdHoc;

config.pushTestMode = CLYPushTestModeTestFlightOrAdHoc

So, you can send test push notifications to test devices on Countly Server Create Message screen.

Note: For App Store production builds, no need to set pushTestModeon CountlyConfig object at all.

Disabling Alerts Shown by Notifications

To disable messages from automatically being shown by the CLYPushNotifications feature while the app is in the foreground, you can set the doNotShowAlertForNotifications flag on the CountlyConfig object. If set, no message will be displayed by using the default system UI in the app, but push-open events will be recorded automatically.

config.doNotShowAlertForNotifications = YES;

config.doNotShowAlertForNotifications = true

Manually Handling Notifications

If you would like to do additional custom work when a push notification is received, all you need to do is implement the default push-related methods in your application delegate (e.g. AppDelegate.m). After finishing its internal work, the Countly iOS SDK will push forward the related method calls to the default implementations on the application delegate.

Please ensure you do not set theUNUserNotificationCenter.currentNotificationCenter's delegate manually, as the Countly iOS SDK will be acting as the delegate. All you need to do is directly add theUNUserNotificationCenterDelegate methods to your application delegate class.

Inside the push notification userInfodictionary you can find all the necessary information under the Countly Payload dictionary specified by the c (kCountlyPNKeyCountlyPayload) key. The array of the custom action buttons is specified by theb (kCountlyPNKeyButtons) key here, and each custom action button's title and action URL is specified by thet (kCountlyPNKeyActionButtonTitle) and l (kCountlyPNKeyActionButtonURL) keys, respectively. Here is an example of the Countly Push Notification Payload:

{
  "aps":
  {
    "alert": "this is notification text",
    //or     {"title": "title string", "body": "message string"}, //if title is set separately
        "sound": "sound_name", //if sound is set
        "badge": 123, //if badge is set
        "content-available": 1, //if data only flag is set
        "mutable-content": 1, //if buttons or media attachment is set
  },

  "c":
  {
    "i": "100001", //notification ID
    "l": "https://example.com/defaultlink", //if default link is set
        "a": "https://rich.media.url.jpg", //if media attachment is  set
    "b": //if buttons is set
    [
      {
        "t": "Custom Action Button Title 1", //button title
        "l": "https://example.com/test1", //button link
      },
      {
        "t": "Custom Action Button Title 2",
        "l": "https://example.com/test2",
      },
    ],
  },

  //any other custom data if set
}

You can create your own custom UI to display notification messages and custom action buttons according to your needs, along with URLs to redirect users when action is taken. Once users take action by clicking your custom buttons, you will need to manually report this event using this method:

NSDictionary* userInfo;     // notification dictionary
NSInteger buttonIndex = 1;  // clicked button index
                            // 1 for first action button
                            // 2 for second action button
                            // 0 for default action
[Countly.sharedInstance recordActionForNotification:userInfo clickedButtonIndex:buttonIndex];

let userInfo : Dictionary<String, AnyObject> = Dictionary() // notification dictionary
let buttonIndex : Int = 1  // clicked button index
                           // 1 for first action button
                           // 2 for second action button
                           // 0 for default action

Countly.sharedInstance().recordAction(forNotification:userInfo, clickedButtonIndex:buttonIndex)

Always Sending Push Tokens

Thanks to iOS’ Remote Notification Background Mode, silent push notifications can be sent to users who have not given notification permission. However, the Countly iOS SDK does not send push tokens to the server by default from users who have not given permission for notifications. You can change this by setting the sendPushTokenAlways flag on the CountlyConfig object. If set, push tokens from all users, regardless of their notification permission status, will be sent to the Countly Server and these users will be listed as possible recipients on the Create Message screen of the Countly Dashboard. Be advised; these users can not be notified by an alert, sound, or badge. This is useful only for sending data via silent notifications.

config.sendPushTokenAlways = YES;

config.sendPushTokenAlways = true

Notification Permission with Preferred Types and Callback

As asking for users’ permission for push notifications differ by iOS versions, the Countly iOS SDK has a one-liner convenience method, askForNotificationPermission, which does this for both iOS10 and older versions. It simply asks for a user's permission for all available notification types. However, if you need to specify which notification types your app will use (alert, badge, sound) or if you need a callback to see a user's response to the permission dialog, you can use theaskForNotificationPermissionWithOptions:completionHandler: method.

UNAuthorizationOptions authorizationOptions = UNAuthorizationOptionBadge | UNAuthorizationOptionSound | UNAuthorizationOptionAlert;

[Countly.sharedInstance askForNotificationPermissionWithOptions:authorizationOptions completionHandler:^(BOOL granted, NSError *error)
{
    NSLog(@"granted: %d", granted);
    NSLog(@"error: %@", error);
}];

let authorizationOptions : UNAuthorizationOptions = [.badge, .alert, .sound]

Countly.sharedInstance().askForNotificationPermission(options: authorizationOptions, completionHandler:
{ (granted : Bool, error : Error?) in
    print("granted: \(granted)")
    print("error: \(error)")
})

Custom Alert Sounds

The playing of notification sounds is handled by iOS, so all limitations would also be dictated by it. At the time of writing, audio data formats supported by iOS are: Linear PCM, MA4 (IMA/ADPCM), µLaw, aLaw. And that data needs to be packaged in aiff, wav, or caf file formats.

More information can be found here under "Preparing Custom Alert Sounds" section.

You have to add that audio file to your application target. If you have added an audio file called "exampleSound.wav" to your project, when sending a push notification, you should enter "exampleSound.wav" inside the "Send sound" field on Countly Server push notifications dashboard.

macOS launchNotification

launchNotification property on initial configuration needs to be set in applicationDidFinishLaunching: method of macOS apps that use CLYPushNotifications feature, in order to handle app launches by push notification click.

config.launchNotification = notification;

Countly.launchNotification = notification

User Location

Setting Location

Countly allows you to send GeoLocation-based push notifications to your users. By default, the Countly Server uses the GeoIP database to deduce a user's location. However, if your app has a better mean of detecting location, you can send this information to the Countly Server by using the initial configuration properties or relevant methods.

Initial configuration properties can be set on the CountlyConfig object to be sent upon SDK initialization. These include:

• location: a CLLocationCoordinate2D struct specifying latitude and longitude
• ISOCountryCode an NSString in ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 format country code
• city an NSString specifying city name
• IP an NSString specifying an IP address in IPv4 or IPv6 format

config.location = (CLLocationCoordinate2D){35.6895,139.6917};

config.city = @"Tokyo";

config.ISOCountryCode = @"JP";

config.IP = @"255.255.255.255"

config.location = CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude:35.6895, longitude: 139.6917)

config.city = "Tokyo"

config.ISOCountryCode = "JP"

config.IP = "255.255.255.255"

GeoLocation info recording methods can also be called at any time after the Countly iOS SDK has started. Values recorded using these methods will override the values specified upon initial configuration.

[Countly.sharedInstance recordLocation:(CLLocationCoordinate2D){35.6895,139.6917}];

[Countly.sharedInstance recordCity:@"Tokyo" andISOCountryCode:@"JP"];

[Countly.sharedInstance recordIP:@"255.255.255.255"];

Countly.sharedInstance().recordLocation(CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude:33.6895, longitude:139.6917))

Countly.sharedInstance().recordCity("Tokyo", andISOCountryCode:"JP")

Countly.sharedInstance().recordIP("255.255.255.255")

Preferably you should use either location coordinate or city and country code pair.

Disabling Location

GeoLocation info can also be disabled:

[Countly.sharedInstance disableLocationInfo];

Countly.sharedInstance().disableLocationInfo;

Once disabled, you can re-enable GeoLocation info by calling the recordLocation: or recordCity:andISOCountryCode: or recordIP: method.

Remote Config

The Remote Config feature allows you to change the behavior and appearance of your applications at any time, without sending an update to the App Store by creating or updating custom key-value pairs on your Countly Server. You can also create conditions to get different values depending on user criteria. For more details, please see the Remote Config documentation.

Setting up Remote Config

Here is how you can utilize the Remote Config feature in your iOS apps:

First, you will need to enable the Remote Config feature upon initial configuration:

config.enableRemoteConfig = YES;

config.enableRemoteConfig = true

The Countly iOS SDK will automatically fetch the Remote Config keys and values from the Countly Server when launched.

You can also set a completion block on the initial configuration object to be informed about the remote config fetching process results, either with success or failure:

config.remoteConfigCompletionHandler = ^(NSError * error)
{
    if (!error)
    {
        NSLog(@"Remote Config is ready to use!");
    }
    else
    {
        NSLog(@"There was an error while fetching Remote Config:\n%@", error);
    }
};

config.remoteConfigCompletionHandler =
{ (error : Error?) in
    if (error == nil)
    {
        print("Remote Config is ready to use!")
    }
    else
    {
        print("There was an error while fetching Remote Config:\n\(error!.localizedDescription)")
    }
}

Once fetched, you can access the Remote Config values using the remoteConfigValueForKey method:

id value = [Countly.sharedInstance remoteConfigValueForKey:@"foo"];

if (value) // if value exists, you can use it as you see fit
{
        NSLog(@"Value %@", [value description]);
}
else //if value does not exist, you can set your default fallback value
{
    value = @"Default Value";
}

var value : Any? = Countly.sharedInstance().remoteConfigValue(forKey:"foo")

if (value == nil) //if value does not exist, you can set your default fallback value
{
        value = "default value"
}
else // if value exists, you can use it as you see fit
{
        print("value \(String(describing: value))")
}

The Remote Config values are stored locally on the device. This means you can access the latest fetched values even while the Countly Server is not reachable. If the Remote Config was never retrieved from the Countly Server before or after the given key was not defined, this method will return as nil, meaning you can fall back to your desired default value.

Manual Remote Config

You can also trigger the fetching and updating of Remote Config values anytime you would like:

[Countly.sharedInstance updateRemoteConfigWithCompletionHandler:^(NSError * error)
{
    if (!error)
    {
        NSLog(@"Remote Config is updated and ready to use!");
    }
    else
    {
        NSLog(@"There is an error while updating Remote Config:\n%@", error);
    }
}];

Countly.sharedInstance().updateRemoteConfig
{ (error : Error?) in
    if (error == nil)
    {
        print("Remote Config is updated and ready to use!")
    }
    else
    {
        print("There was an error while fetching Remote Config:\n\(error!.localizedDescription)")
    }
}

Filtered Value Update

You can also trigger partial updates for the Remote Config values you would like at any time. Adhere to the following in order to only update the values for the keys specified by you:

[Countly.sharedInstance updateRemoteConfigOnlyForKeys:@[@"key1", @"key2"] completionHandler:^(NSError * error)
{
    if (!error)
    {
        NSLog(@"Remote Config is updated only for given keys and ready to use!");
    }
    else
    {
        NSLog(@"There is an error while updating Remote Config:\n%@", error);
    }
}];

Countly.sharedInstance().updateRemoteConfigOnly(forKeys:["key1","key2"])
{ (error : Error?) in
    if (error == nil)
    {
        print("Remote Config is updated only for given keys ready to use!")
    }
    else
    {
        print("There was an error while fetching Remote Config:\n\(error!.localizedDescription)")
    }
}

To update the values, except for the keys specified by you, adhere to the following:

[Countly.sharedInstance updateRemoteConfigExceptForKeys:@[@"key3", @"key4"] completionHandler:^(NSError * error)
{
    if (!error)
    {
        NSLog(@"Remote Config is updated except for given keys and ready to use !");
    }
    else
    {
        NSLog(@"There is an error while updating Remote Config:\n%@", error);
    }
}];

Countly.sharedInstance().updateRemoteConfigExcept(forKeys:["key3","key4"])
{ (error : Error?) in
    if (error == nil)
    {
        print("Remote Config is updated except for given keys ready to use!")
    }
    else
    {
        print("There was an error while fetching Remote Config:\n\(error!.localizedDescription)")
    }
}

User Feedback

Ratings

Star Rating dialog

Optionally, you can set the Countly iOS SDK to automatically ask users for a 1 to 5-star rating, depending on the app launch count for each version. To do so, you will need to set the starRatingSessionCount property on the CountlyConfig object. When the total number of sessions reaches the starRatingSessionCount, an alert view asking for a 1 to 5-star rating will be displayed automatically, once for each new version of the app.

config.starRatingSessionCount = 10;

config.starRatingSessionCount = 10

If you would like the star-rating dialog to only be displayed once per app lifetime, instead of for each new version, you can set the starRatingDisableAskingForEachAppVersion flag on the CountlyConfig object.

config.starRatingDisableAskingForEachAppVersion = YES;

config.starRatingDisableAskingForEachAppVersion = true

Additionally, you can customize the star-rating dialog message using the starRatingMessage property on the CountlyConfigobject. If you do not explicitly specify this property, the message will read, "How would you rate the app?" or a corresponding localized version depending on the device language. Currently supported localizations: English, Turkish, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Czech, Latvian, and Bengali.

config.starRatingMessage = @"Please rate our app?";

config.starRatingMessage = "Please rate our app?"
config.starRatingDismissButtonTitle = "No, thanks."

Additionally, you can set the starRatingCompletionblock property on the CountlyConfigobject to be executed after the star-rating dialog has been automatically shown. The completion block has a single NSInteger parameter that indicates the 1 to 5-star rating given by the user. If the user dismissed the dialog without giving a rating, the value for this rating will be 0, and it will not be reported to the server.

config.starRatingCompletion = ^(NSInteger rating)
{
    NSLog(@"rating %d",(int)rating);
};

config.starRatingCompletion = { (rating : Int) in print("rating \(rating)") }

Additionally, you can use the askForStarRating: method to ask for a star rating anytime you would like. It displays the 1 to 5-star rating dialog manually and executes the completion block after the user's action. The completion block takes a single NSInteger parameter that indicates the 1 to 5-star rating given by the user. If the user dismissed the dialog without giving a rating, the value for this rating will be 0, and it will not be reported to the server. Manually asking for a star rating does not affect the automatically requested nature of the star rating.

[Countly.sharedInstance askForStarRating:^(NSInteger rating)
{
    NSLog(@"rating %li",(long)rating);
}];

Countly.sharedInstance().ask(forStarRating:{ (rating : Int) in print("rating \(rating)") })

Ratings Widget

You can use the Countly iOS SDK to display ratings feedback widgets configured on the Countly Server. For more information on ratings feedback widgets, please visit the Ratings widget documentation.

Here is how you can utilize ratings feedback widgets in your iOS apps:

Once you call the presentFeedbackWidgetWithID:completionHandler: method, the ratings feedback widget with the given ID will be displayed in a WKWebView, having been placed in the UIViewController.

First, the availability of the ratings feedback widget will be checked asynchronously. If the ratings feedback widget is available, it will be modally presented. Otherwise, the completionHandler will be called with an NSError. the completionHandler will also be called with nil when the ratings feedback widget is dismissed by the user.

[Countly.sharedInstance presentFeedbackWidgetWithID:@"RATINGS_FEEDBACK_WIDGET_ID" completionHandler:^(NSError* error)
{
    if (error)
        NSLog(@"Ratings feedback widget presentation failed: \n%@\n%@", error.localizedDescription, error.userInfo);
    else
        NSLog(@"Ratings feedback widget presented successfully");
}];

Countly.sharedInstance().presentFeedbackWidget(withID: "RATINGS_FEEDBACK_WIDGET_ID", completionHandler:
{ (error : Error?) in
    if (error != nil)
    {
        print("Ratings feedback widget presentation failed: \n \(error!.localizedDescription) \n \((error! as NSError).userInfo)")
    }
    else
    {
        print("Ratings feedback widget presented successfully");
    }
})

Feedback Widgets

Here is how you can utilize NPS (Net Promoter Score) and survey feedback widgets in your iOS apps: First you need to get the list of all available NPS and survey widgets:

[Countly.sharedInstance getFeedbackWidgets:^(NSArray * feedbackWidgets, NSError * error)
{
    if (error)
    {
        NSLog(@"Getting widgets list failed. Error: %@", error);
    }
    else
    {
        NSLog(@"Getting widgets list successfully completed. %@", [feedbackWidgets description]);
    }
}];
    

Countly.sharedInstance().getFeedbackWidgets
{ (feedbackWidgets: [CountlyFeedbackWidget], error) in
    if (error != nil)
    {
        print("Getting widgets list failed. \n \(error!.localizedDescription) \n \((error! as NSError).userInfo)")
    }
    else
    {
        print("Getting widgets list successfully completed. \(String(describing: feedbackWidgets))")
    }
}
    

When feedback widgets are fetched successfully, completionHandler will be executed with an array of CountlyFeedbackWidget objects. Otherwise, completionHandler will be executed with an NSError.

Calls to this method will be ignored and completionHandler will not be executed if:
- Consent for CLYConsentFeedback is not given, while requiresConsent flag is set on initial configuration.
- Current device ID is CLYTemporaryDeviceID.

Once you get the list, you can inspect CountlyFeedbackWidget objects in it, by checking their type, ID, and name properties to decide which one to display. And when you decide, you can use present method on CountlyFeedbackWidget object to display it.

        CountlyFeedbackWidget * aFeedbackWidget = feedbackWidgets.firstObject; //assuming we want to display the first one in the list
        [aFeedbackWidget present];
    

        let aFeedbackWidget : CountlyFeedbackWidget? = feedbackWidgets?.first //assuming we want to display the first one in the list
        aFeedbackWidget?.present()
    

Optionally you can pass appear and dismiss callback blocks:

CountlyFeedbackWidget * aFeedbackWidget = feedbackWidgets.firstObject; //assuming we want to display the first one in the list
[aFeedbackWidget presentWithAppearBlock:^
{
    NSLog(@"Appeared!");
}
andDismissBlock:^
{
    NSLog(@"Dismissed!");
}];
    

let aFeedbackWidget : CountlyFeedbackWidget? = feedbackWidgets?.first //assuming we want to display the first one in the list
aFeedbackWidget?.present(appear:
{
    print("Appeared.")
},
andDismiss:
{
    print("Dismissed.")
})
    

Manual Reporting

Optionally you can fetch feedback widget data and create your own UI using:

CountlyFeedbackWidget * aFeedbackWidget = feedbackWidgets.firstObject; //assuming we want to display the first one in the list
[aFeedbackWidget getWidgetData:^(NSDictionary * widgetData, NSError * error)
{
    if (error)
    {
        NSLog(@"Getting widget data failed. Error: %@", error);
    }
    else
    {
        NSLog(@"Getting widget data successfully completed. %@", [widgetData description]);
    }
}];
    

let aFeedbackWidget : CountlyFeedbackWidget? = feedbackWidgets?.first //assuming we want to display the first one in the list
aFeedbackWidget?.getData
{ (widgetData: [AnyHashable: Any]?, error: Error?) in
    if (error != nil)
    {
        print("Getting widget data failed. Error \(error.debugDescription)")
    }
    else
    {
        print("Getting widget data successfully completed. \(String(describing: widgetData))")
    }
}    

And once you are done with your custom feedback widget UI you can record the result:

[aFeedbackWidget recordResult:resultDictionary];
// or
[aFeedbackWidget recordResult:nil]; // if user dismissed the feedback widget without completing it
    

aFeedbackWidget.recordResult(resultDictionary)
// or
aFeedbackWidget.recordResult(nil) // if user dismissed the feedback widget without completing it

For more information regarding how to structure the result dictionary, you would look here.

User Profiles

You can see detailed user information under the User Profiles section of the Countly Dashboard by recording user properties.

Default User Properties

You can record default user detail properties by adhering to the following:

//default properties
Countly.user.name = @"John Doe";
Countly.user.username = @"johndoe";
Countly.user.email = @"john@doe.com";
Countly.user.birthYear = @1970;
Countly.user.organization = @"United Nations";
Countly.user.gender = @"M";
Countly.user.phone = @"+0123456789";

//profile photo
Countly.user.pictureURL = @"https://s12.postimg.org/qji0724gd/988a10da33b57631caa7ee8e2b5a9036.jpg";
//or local image on the device
Countly.user.pictureLocalPath = localImagePath;

//save
[Countly.user save];

//default properties
Countly.user().name = "John Doe" as CountlyUserDetailsNullableString
Countly.user().username = "johndoe" as CountlyUserDetailsNullableString
Countly.user().email = "john@doe.com" as CountlyUserDetailsNullableString
Countly.user().birthYear = 1970 as CountlyUserDetailsNullableNumber
Countly.user().organization = "United Nations" as CountlyUserDetailsNullableString
Countly.user().gender = "M" as CountlyUserDetailsNullableString
Countly.user().phone = "+0123456789" as CountlyUserDetailsNullableString

//profile photo
Countly.user().pictureURL = "https://s12.postimg.org/qji0724gd/988a10da33b57631caa7ee8e2b5a9036.jpg" as CountlyUserDetailsNullableString
//or local image on the device
Countly.user().pictureLocalPath = localImagePath as CountlyUserDetailsNullableString

//save
Countly.user().save()

Note: Local images specified on the pictureLocalPath property will not be persisted exclusively. If a request fails and is retried later, the local image is expected to still be present on the exact same path. Otherwise, the upload will be aborted.

Custom User Properties

You can record custom user detail properties by adhering to the following:

//custom properties
Countly.user.custom = @{@"testkey1": @"testvalue1", @"testkey2": @"testvalue2"};

//save
[Countly.user save];

//custom properties
Countly.user().custom = ["testkey1": "testvalue1", "testkey2": "testvalue2"] as CountlyUserDetailsNullableDictionary

//save
Countly.user().save()

Custom User Property Modifiers

Also, you can use custom user property modifiers, such as the following:

[Countly.user set:@"key101" value:@"value101"];
[Countly.user setOnce:@"key101" value:@"value101"];
[Countly.user unSet:@"key101"];

[Countly.user increment:@"key102"];
[Countly.user incrementBy:@"key102" value:5];
[Countly.user multiply:@"key102" value:2];

[Countly.user max:@"key102" value:30];
[Countly.user min:@"key102" value:20];

[Countly.user push:@"key103" value:@"singlevalue"];
[Countly.user push:@"key103" values:@[@"a",@"b",@"c",@"d"]];
[Countly.user pull:@"key103" value:@"b"];
[Countly.user pull:@"key103" values:@[@"a",@"d"]];

[Countly.user pushUnique:@"key104" value:@"uniqueValue"];
[Countly.user pushUnique:@"key104" values:@[@"uniqueValue2",@"uniqueValue3"]];

//save
[Countly.user save];

Countly.user().set("key101", value:"value101")
Countly.user().setOnce("key101", value:"value101")
Countly.user().unSet("key101")

Countly.user().increment("key102")
Countly.user().increment(by:"key102", value:5)
Countly.user().multiply("key102", value:2)

Countly.user().max("key102", value:30)
Countly.user().min("key102", value:20)

Countly.user().push("key103", value:"singlevalue")
Countly.user().push("key103", values:["a","b","c","d"])
Countly.user().pull("key103", value:"b")
Countly.user().pull("key103", values:["a","d"])

Countly.user().pushUnique("key104", value:"uniqueValue")
Countly.user().pushUnique("key104", values:["uniqueValue2","uniqueValue3"])

//save
Countly.user().save()

Orientation Tracking

You can set the enableOrientationTracking flag on theCountlyConfig object before starting Countly. This flag is used for enabling automatic user interface orientation tracking. If set, user interface orientation tracking feature will be enabled and an event will be sent whenever user interface orientation changes. Orientation event will not be sent if consent for CLYConsentUserDetails is not given while requiresConsent flag is set on initial configuration. Automatic user interface orientation tracking is enabled by default. For disabling it, please set this flag to NO.

config.enableOrientationTracking = YES;

config.enableOrientationTracking = true

Application Performance Monitoring

Performance Monitoring feature allows you to analyze your application's performance on various aspects. For more details please see Performance Monitoring documentation.

Here is how you can utilize Performance Monitoring feature in your iOS apps:

First, you need to enable Performance Monitoring feature on the initial configuration:

config.enablePerformanceMonitoring = YES;

config.enablePerformanceMonitoring = true

With this, Countly iOS SDK will start measuring some performance traces automatically. Those include app start time, app foreground time, app background time. Additionally, custom traces and network traces can be manually recorded.

App Start Time

For the app start time to be recorded, you need to call appLoadingFinished method.

It calculates and records the app launch time for performance monitoring.
It should be called when the app is loaded and it successfully displayed its first user-facing view. E.g. viewDidAppear: method of the root view controller or whatever place is suitable for the app's flow. Time passed since the app has started to launch will be automatically calculated and recorded for performance monitoring. App launch time can be recorded only once per app launch. So, the second and following calls to this method will be ignored.

[Countly.sharedInstance appLoadingFinished];

Countly..sharedInstance().appLoadingFinished()

Manual Network Traces

You can record manual network traces using therecordNetworkTrace:requestPayloadSize:responsePayloadSize:responseStatusCode:startTime:endTime: method.

A network trace is a collection of measured information about a network request.
When a network request is completed, a network trace can be recorded manually to be analyzed in the Performance Monitoring feature later with the following parameters:

- traceName: A non-zero length valid string
- requestPayloadSize: Size of the request's payload in bytes
- responsePayloadSize: Size of the received response's payload in bytes
- responseStatusCode: HTTP status code of the received response
- startTime: UNIX time stamp in milliseconds for the starting time of the request
- endTime: UNIX time stamp in milliseconds for the ending time of the request

[Countly.sharedInstance recordNetworkTrace:@"/test/endpoint" requestPayloadSize:3445 responsePayloadSize:1290 responseStatusCode:200 startTime:1593418666954 endTime:1593418667384];

Countly.sharedInstance().recordNetworkTrace("/test/api", requestPayloadSize:3445, responsePayloadSize:1290, responseStatusCode:200, startTime:1593418666954, endTime:1593418667384)

Custom Traces

You can also measure any operation you want and record it using custom traces. First, you need to start a trace by using the startCustomTrace method:

[Countly.sharedInstance startCustomTrace:@"unzipping_saved_files"];

Countly.sharedInstance().startCustomTrace("unzipping_saved_files")

Then you can end it using the endCustomTrace:metrics:method, optionally passing any metrics as key-value pairs:

[Countly.sharedInstance endCustomTrace:@"unzipping_saved_files" metrics:@{@"total_file_size": @1655700}];

Countly.sharedInstance().startCustomTrace("unzipping_saved_files", metrics:["total_file_size": 1655700])

The duration of the custom trace will be automatically calculated on ending. Trace names should be non-zero length valid strings. Trying to start a custom trace with the already started name will have no effect. Trying to end a custom trace with already ended (or not yet started) name will have no effect.

You can also cancel any custom trace you started, using cancelCustomTrace:method:

[Countly.sharedInstance cancelCustomTrace:@"unzipping_saved_files"];

Countly.sharedInstance().cancelCustomTrace("unzipping_saved_files")

Additionally, if you need you can cancel all custom traces you started, using the clearAllCustomTracesmethod:

[Countly.sharedInstance clearAllCustomTraces];

Countly.sharedInstance().clearAllCustomTraces()

User Consent

For compatibility with data protection regulations, such as GDPR, the Countly iOS SDK allows developers to enable/disable any feature at any time depending on user consent. Currently, available features with consent control are as follows:

CLYConsentSessions

CLYConsentEvents

CLYConsentUserDetails

CLYConsentCrashReporting

CLYConsentPushNotifications

CLYConsentLocation

CLYConsentViewTracking

CLYConsentAttribution

CLYConsentAppleWatch

CLYConsentPerformanceMonitoring

CLYConsentFeedback

CLYConsentRemoteConfig

You should set the requiresConsent flag upon initial configuration to utilize consents.

config.requiresConsent = YES;

config.requiresConsent = true

With this flag set, the Countly iOS SDK will not automatically collect or send any data and will ignore all manual calls. Until explicit consent is given for a feature, it will remain inactive. After consent for a feature is given, it will launch immediately and remain active from that time onward.

To give consent for a feature, you can use the giveConsentForFeature:method by passing the feature name:

[Countly.sharedInstance giveConsentForFeature:CLYConsentSessions];
[Countly.sharedInstance giveConsentForFeature:CLYConsentEvents];

Countly.sharedInstance().giveConsent(forFeature: CLYConsentSessions)
Countly.sharedInstance().giveConsent(forFeature: CLYConsentEvents)

Or, you can give consent for more than one feature at a time using the giveConsentForFeatures:method or consents property on the CountlyConfig object, by passing the feature names as an NSArray:

[Countly.sharedInstance giveConsentForFeatures:@[CLYConsentSessions, CLYConsentEvents];

Countly.sharedInstance().giveConsent(forFeatures: [CLYConsentSessions, CLYConsentEvents])

Or, if you would like to give consent for all the features, you can use the giveConsentForAllFeaturesconvenience method:

[Countly.sharedInstance giveConsentForAllFeatures];

Countly.sharedInstance().giveConsentForAllFeatures()

The Countly iOS SDK does not persistently store the status of given consents. You are expected to handle receiving consent from end-users using proper UIs depending on your app's context. You are also expected to store them either locally or remotely. Following this step, you will need to call the ‘giving consent’ methods on each app launch, right after starting the Countly iOS SDK depending on the permissions you managed to get from the end-users.

If the end-user changes his/her mind about consents at a later time, you will need to reflect this in the Countly iOS SDK using the cancelConsentForFeature:method:

[Countly.sharedInstance cancelConsentForFeature:CLYConsentSessions];
[Countly.sharedInstance cancelConsentForFeature:CLYConsentEvents];

Countly.sharedInstance().cancelConsent(forFeature: CLYConsentSessions)
Countly.sharedInstance().cancelConsent(forFeature: CLYConsentEvents)

Or, you can cancel consent for more than one feature at a time using the cancelConsentForFeatures:method by passing the feature names as an NSArray:

[Countly.sharedInstance cancelConsentForFeatures:@[CLYConsentSessions, CLYConsentEvents];

Countly.sharedInstance().cancelConsent(forFeatures: [CLYConsentSessions, CLYConsentEvents])

Or, if you would like to cancel consent for all the features, you can use the cancelConsentForAllFeaturesconvenience method:

[Countly.sharedInstance cancelConsentForAllFeatures];

Countly.sharedInstance().cancelConsentForAllFeatures()

Once consent for a feature has been cancelled, that feature is stopped immediately and kept inactive from that point onward.

The Countly iOS SDK reports consent changes to the Countly Server, so that the Countly Server can make preparations, or clean-up on the server side as well.

Security and Privacy

You can specify extra security features on the CountlyConfig object:

Parameter Tamper Protection

You can set the optional secretSalt to be used for calculating the checksum of the request data which will be sent with each request using the &checksum256 field. You will need to set the exact same secretSalton the Countly Server. If the secretSalton the Countly Server is set, all requests would be checked for validity of the &checksum256field before being processed.

config.secretSalt = @"mysecretsalt";

config.secretSalt = "mysecretsalt"

SSL Certificate Pinning

You can use optional pinnedCertificates on the CountlyConfig object for specifying bundled certificates to be used for public key pinning. Certificates from your Countly Server must be DER encoded and should have a .der, .cer or .crt extension. They must also be added to your project and be included in the Copy Bundles Resources.

config.pinnedCertificates = @[@"mycertificate.cer"];

config.pinnedCertificates = ["mycertificate.cer"]

Using a Self Signed-Server Certificate

You can set the shouldIgnoreTrustCheck flag on theCountlyConfig object before starting Countly.

This flag is used for ignoring all SSL trust check for pinned certificates by setting server trust as an exception.

It can be used for self-signed certificates and works only for Development environment where DEBUG flag is set in target's build settings.

config.shouldIgnoreTrustCheck = YES;

config.shouldIgnoreTrustCheck = true

Other Features and Notes

Changing Host and App Key

App Key

Changing App Key

You can configure the current app key after you started the SDK using setNewAppKey:method:

[Countly.sharedInstance setNewAppKey:@"NewAppKey"];

Countly.sharedInstance().setNewAppKey("NewAppKey")

The new app key will be used for all the new requests after setting it. Requests already queued previously will keep using the old app key. Before switching to new app key, this method suspends the SDK and resumes it immediately after. The new app key needs to be a non-zero length string, otherwise the method call is ignored. recordPushNotificationToken and updateRemoteConfigWithCompletionHandler: methods may need to be manually called again after the app key change.

Replacing App Keys in Queue

You can replace different app keys in the request queue with the current app key using replaceAllAppKeysInQueueWithCurrentAppKeymethod:

[Countly.sharedInstance replaceAllAppKeysInQueueWithCurrentAppKey];

Countly.sharedInstance().replaceAllAppKeysInQueueWithCurrentAppKey()

In request queue, if there are any request whose app key is different than the current app key, these requests' app key will be replaced with the current app key.

Removing App Keys from Queue

You can remove requests whose app key is different than the current app key in the request queue using removeDifferentAppKeysFromQueuemethod:

[Countly.sharedInstance removeDifferentAppKeysFromQueue];

Countly.sharedInstance().removeDifferentAppKeysFromQueue()

Host

Changing Host

You can configure the host even after you started the SDK using setNewHost:method:

[Countly.sharedInstance setNewHost:@"https://example.com"];

Countly.sharedInstance().setNewHost("https://example.com")

Requests that are already queued before changing the host will also be using the new host. The new host needs to be a non-zero length string, otherwise it is ignored. recordPushNotificationToken and updateRemoteConfigWithCompletionHandler: methods may need to be manually called again after the host change.

You can further specify your optional settings on the CountlyConfig:

Event Send Threshold

You can specify the eventSendThreshold on the CountlyConfig object before starting Countly. It is used to send events requests to the server when the number of recorded events reaches the threshold without waiting for the next update session request. If the eventSendThreshold is not explicitly set, the default setting will be at 10 for iOS, tvOS & macOS, and 3 for watchOS.

config.eventSendThreshold = 5;

config.eventSendThreshold = 5

Stored Requests Limit

You can specify the storedRequestsLimit on the CountlyConfig object before starting Countly. It is used to limit the number of requests stored when there is a Countly Server connection problem. If your Countly Server is down, queued requests can reach excessive numbers, causing delivery problems to the server and requests stored on the device. To prevent this from happening, the Countly iOS SDK will only store requests up to the storedRequestsLimit. If the number of stored requests reaches the storedRequestsLimit, the Countly iOS SDK will start to drop the oldest requests, storing the newest ones in their place. If the storedRequestsLimit is not explicitly set, the default setting will be at 1,000.

config.storedRequestsLimit = 5000;

config.storedRequestsLimit = 5000

Maximum Key Length

You can specify the maxKeyLength on the CountlyConfig object before starting Countly.

It is used to limit the length of keys for event names, view names, APM network trace names, APM custom trace names, APM custom trace metric keys, segmentation keys, custom metric keys and custom user property keys.

Keys longer than this limit will be truncated. If not set, it will be 128 chars by default.

config.maxKeyLength = 24;

config.maxKeyLength = 24

Maximum Value Length

You can specify the maxValueLength on the CountlyConfig object before starting Countly.

It is used to limit the length of values for segmentation values, APM custom trace metric values, custom crash logs, custom metric values and custom user property values.

Values longer than this limit will be truncated. If not set, it will be 256 chars by default.

config.maxValueLength = 24;

config.maxValueLength = 24

Maximum Segmentation Values

You can specify the maxSegmentationValues on the CountlyConfig object before starting Countly.

It is used to limit the number of key-value pairs in segmentations. If there are more key-value pairs than this limit, some of them will be removed. As obviously there is no order among the keys of an NSDictionary, it is not defined which ones will be removed. If not set, it will be 30 by default.

config.maxSegmentationValues = 10;

config.maxSegmentationValues = 10

Always using the POST method

You can set the alwaysUsePOST flag on theCountlyConfig object before starting Countly. This flag is used for sending all requests using the HTTP POST method, regardless of their data size. If set, all requests will be sent using the HTTP POST method. Otherwise, only the requests with a file upload or data size of more than 2,048 bytes will be sent using the HTTP POST method.

config.alwaysUsePOST = YES;

config.alwaysUsePOST = true

Custom URLSessionConfiguration

For additional networking settings, you can optionally set a custom URLSessionConfiguration on the CountlyConfig object, to be used with all requests sent to Countly Server.

If URLSessionConfiguration is not set, NSURLSessionConfiguration's defaultSessionConfiguration will be used by default.

config.URLSessionConfiguration = NSURLSessionConfiguration.ephemeralSessionConfiguration;

config.URLSessionConfiguration = URLSessionConfiguration.ephemeral

Custom Metrics

For overriding default metrics or adding extra ones that are sent with begin_session requests, you can use customMetricsdictionary on the CountlyConfig object.

Custom metrics should be an NSDictionary, with keys and values are both NSString 's only.

config.customMetrics = @{@"key": @"value"};

config.customMetrics = ["key": "value"];

CLYMetricKeyDevice
CLYMetricKeyOS
CLYMetricKeyOSVersion
CLYMetricKeyAppVersion
CLYMetricKeyCarrier
CLYMetricKeyResolution
CLYMetricKeyDensity
CLYMetricKeyLocale
CLYMetricKeyHasWatch
CLYMetricKeyInstalledWatchApp

config.customMetrics = @{CLYMetricKeyAppVersion: @"1.2.3"};

config.customMetrics = [CLYMetricKeyAppVersion: "1.2.3"];

Attribution

You can use attributionID property on CountlyConfig object to specify IDFA for campaign attribution before starting the SDK. If set, it will be sent with every begin_session request.

config.attributionID = @"IDFA_VALUE_YOU_GET_FROM_THE_SYSTEM";

config.attributionID = "IDFA_VALUE_YOU_GET_FROM_THE_SYSTEM"

You can also use recordAttributionID: method to specify it later:

[Countly.sharedInstance recordAttributionID:@"IDFA_VALUE_YOU_GET_FROM_THE_SYSTEM"];

Countly.sharedInstance().recordAttributionID("IDFA_VALUE_YOU_GET_FROM_THE_SYSTEM")

This method overrides attributionID property specified on initial configuration, and sends an immediate request.

For obtaining IDFA please see: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/adsupport/asidentifiermanager/1614151-advertisingidentifier?language=objc

And for App Tracking Transparency permission required on iOS 14.5+ please see: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/apptrackingtransparency?language=objc

watchOS Integration

Just like iPhones and iPads, collecting and analyzing usage statistics and analytics data from an Apple Watch is the key for offering a better experience. Fortunately, the Countly iOS SDK has watchOS support. Here you can find out how to use the Countly iOS SDK in your watchOS apps:

1. First, open a new or your existing Xcode project and add a new target by clicking the + icon at the bottom of the Projects and Targets List. (You can skip to the step 4 if your project already has a Watch App, or you can visit https://apple.co/1PnD1uT for more information)

2. Select the target template WatchKit App under the watchOS > Application section. Do not choose the WatchKit App for watchOS 1. In order to keep things simple, do not include the Notification scene, Glance scene, or Complication.

3. If Xcode asks whether you would like to activate the WatchKit App scheme, click Activate.

4. Now it is time to add the Countly iOS SDK to your project. After cloning the Countly iOS SDK anywhere you would like, Drag&Drop .h and .m files in countly-sdk-ios folder into your Xcode project, and in the following dialog, please ensure the iPhone app target and WatchKit Extension target (not WatchKit App) have been selected as well as the Copy items if needed checkbox.

5. Import Countly.h into ExtensionDelegate.m

#import "Countly.h"

// No need to import files for Swift projects

6. Add the Countly starting code into the applicationDidFinishLaunching method ofExtensionDelegate.m

CountlyConfig* config = CountlyConfig.new;
config.appKey = @"YOUR_APP_KEY";
config.host = @"https://YOUR_COUNTLY_SERVER";
[Countly.sharedInstance startWithConfig:config];

let config: CountlyConfig = CountlyConfig()
config.appKey = "YOUR_APP_KEY"
config.host = "https://YOUR_COUNTLY_SERVER"
Countly.sharedInstance().start(with: config)

7. Add suspend code into the applicationWillResignActive method of ExtensionDelegate.m

[Countly.sharedInstance suspend];

Countly.sharedInstance().suspend()

8. Add resume code into the applicationDidBecomeActive method of ExtensionDelegate.m

[Countly.sharedInstance resume];

Countly.sharedInstance().resume()

9. After adding these three lines of code into the related extension delegate methods, try building the project. Everything should be OK now. If you run the watchOS app, you can see the session on your Countly dashboard.

Now you are ready to track your watchOS app with Countly.

By the way, the session concept on watchOS is slightly different than the one on the iOS, as watchOS apps are intended for brief user interaction. So, there are two values you might need to adjust depending on your watch apps’ use cases.

• The first value is updateSessionPeriod. Its default value is 20 seconds for watchOS and 60 seconds for iOS. This value determines how often session updating requests will be sent to the server while the app is in use.
• The second value is eventSendThreshold, which is 3 for watchOS and 10 for iOS by default. The Countly iOS SDK waits for the number of recorded unique events to reach this threshold to deliver them to the server until the next session updating kicks in. Considering the fact that Apple Watch is designed to be used for short sessions, these values generally seem appropriate. However, you can change them depending on your watchOS app’s scenario.

config.updateSessionPeriod = 15;
config.eventSendThreshold = 1;

config.updateSessionPeriod = 15
config.eventSendThreshold = 1

Automatic Reference Counting (ARC)

The Countly iOS SDK uses Automatic Reference Counting (ARC). If you are integrating the Countly iOS SDK into a non-ARC project, you should add the-fobjc-arc compiler flag to all Countly iOS SDK implementation (*.m) files found under Target > Build Phases > Compile Sources.

App Transport Security (ATS)

With App Transport Security introduced in iOS 9, connections to non-HTTPS servers which does not meet some requirements will fail with the following error: Error: Error Domain=NSURLErrorDomain Code=-1022 "The resource could not be loaded because the App Transport Security policy requires the use of a secure connection.". You can see details of the requirements here. If your Countly Server instance does not meet these requirements, you can need to add the NSAppTransportSecurity key into your targets' Info.plist files, with NSAllowsArbitraryLoads or NSExceptionDomains as the value, to communicate with your Countly Server.

Swift Projects

For using Countly on Swift based projects, please ensure your Bridging Header File is configured properly for each target. Then import the Countly.h file into the Bridging Header file, after which you can seamlessly use the Countly methods in your Swift projects.

For Notification Service Extension targets, import CountlyNotificationService.h into the Bridging Header file.

You can view more details on how to create a Bridging Header file here.

Updating the Countly iOS SDK

Before upgrading to a new version of the Countly iOS SDK, do not forget to remove the existing files from your project first. Then, while adding the new Countly iOS SDK files again, please ensure you have chosen the targets correctly and select the "Copy items if needed" checkbox.

CocoaPods

You can integrate the Countly iOS SDK using CocoaPods. For more information, please see the Countly CocoaPods page. Please ensure you have the latest version of CocoaPods and your local spec repo is updated. For Notification Service Extension targets, please ensure your Podfile uses something similar to the following sub specs:

target 'MyMainApp' do
  platform :ios,'8.0'
  pod 'Countly'
end

target 'CountlyNSE' do
  platform :ios,'10.0'
  pod 'Countly/NotificationService'
end

For Swift projects with Notification Service Extension, please see: https://github.com/Countly/countly-sample-ios/issues/13#issuecomment-408652426

For Crash Reporting automatic dSYM uploading, please manually add the dSYM uploader script to your project.

Carthage

You can integrate the Countly iOS SDK using Carthage, just add the following to your project's Cartfile:

github "Countly/countly-sdk-ios"

Swift Package Manager (SPM)

You can integrate the Countly iOS SDK using Swift Package Manager (SPM) using https://github.com/Countly/countly-sdk-ios.git repository URL.

Rebranding

If you would like to rebrand the Countly iOS SDK or make it white-label, you can use this rebranding script:

https://gist.github.com/erkanyildiz/4ee00b4326bb666fac636ef74bbd8450

FAQ

This section highlights the most frequently asked questions and any troubleshooting queries you may face while integrating the Countly iOS SDK into your iOS, watchOS, tvOS, or macOS applications.

What platforms does Countly iOS SDK support?

Even though its official name is Countly iOS SDK, it supports all Apple platforms (macOS, tvOS, and watchOS), in addition to iOS. You can use the same SDK for all kinds of projects with different sets of features available for each platform. You can also see how to integrate it into your projects by checking our sample apps here.

Which features are available for each platform?

In addition to Analytics, Events, and User Profiles features, Countly iOS SDK has Push Notifications, Crash Reporting, Auto View Tracking, Remote Config, and Star-Rating features. Availability of these features for platforms are as follows:

• iOS
  Analytics, Custom Events, User Profiles, Push Notifications, Crash Reporting, Auto View Tracking, Star-Rating, Remote Config, 

• macOS
  Analytics, Custom Events, User Profiles, Push Notifications,Crash Reporting, Remote Config, 

• tvOS
  Analytics, Custom Events, User Profiles, Auto View Tracking,Crash Reporting, Remote Config, 

• watchOS
  Analytics, Custom Events, User Profiles, Crash Reporting,Remote Config, 

Can I integrate Countly iOS SDK using CocoaPods?

We keep our Countly.podspec file up-to-date, so you can integrate Countly iOS SDK using CocoaPods. But, please make sure you read our notes to avoid issues.

How can I tell which Countly iOS SDK version I am using?

You can check for kCountlySDKVersion constant in Countly iOS SDK source. It is defined as NSString* const kCountlySDKVersion = @"18.08";

What is the difference between Default Properties and Custom Properties of User Profiles?

User Profiles (only available in Enterprise Edition) has two kinds of properties: Default Properties and Custom Properties.

Default Properties are predefined fields like name, username, email, birth year, organization, gender, phone number and profile picture. They are displayed in their own place in User Profiles section. You can set them using default properties on Countly.user singleton ( Ex: Countly.user.email = @"john@doe.com"; ) and record them using [Countly.user save]; method.

Custom Properties are custom defined key-value pairs. You can set them using Countly.user.custom dictionary ( Ex: Countly.user.custom = @{@"testkey1":@"testvalue1", @"testkey2":@"testvalue2"}; ) and record them using [Countly.user save]; method as well.

In addition to this, you can use Custom Property Modifiers to set, unset or modify Custom Properties and record your changes using [Countly.user save]; method again.

For details please see User Profiles documentation.

How can I handle logged in and logged out users?

When a user logs in on your app and you have a uniquely identifiable string for that user (like user ID or email address), you can use it instead of device ID to track all info afterwards, without losing all the data generated by that user so far. You can use setNewDeviceID:onServer method ( Ex: [Countly.sharedInstance setNewDeviceID:@"user123@example.com" onServer:YES]; ). This will replace previously used device ID on device, and merge all existing data on server.

Why are events not displayed on Countly Server dashboard?

Events are queued but not sent to server until next updateSessionPeriod (60 seconds by default) or eventSendThreshold (10 by default) is reached. So, a little delay may be expecting in displaying events on Countly Server dashboard, while still seeing session data immediately.

In addition to this, Countly iOS SDK sends previously stored requests, if any, followed by a begin_session request, when it starts. If your app records any events meanwhile, these events will be queued and sent to server when all previously queued requests are successfully completed.

Is it possible to use Countly iOS SDK with another crash SDK?

In iOS there can only be one uncaught exception handler. Even though it is possible to save the previous handler and pass the uncaught exception to the previous handler as well, it is not safe to assume that it will work in all cases. We can't know how other SDKs are implemented or whether iOS will give enough time for the all the handlers to do their work before terminating the app, hence, we advise to use Countly as the only crash handler.

Why are my test crashes not reported?

If you are running your app with Xcode debugger attached while forcing a test crash, Countly iOS SDK cannot handle the crash as debugger will be intercepting. Please make sure you run your app without Xcode debugger attached.

How can I manually record push notification custom button actions?

If you have set doNotShowAlertForNotifications flag on initial configuration object to handle push notifications manually, you can create your own custom UI to show notification message and action buttons. For this, just implement - (void) application:(UIApplication *)application didReceiveRemoteNotification:(NSDictionary *)userInfo fetchCompletionHandler:(void (^)(UIBackgroundFetchResult))completionHandler method in your application's delegate. For details of handling notification manually, please see Handling Notifications Manually section.

How can I get rid of compiler warning "No rule to process file"?

If you get Warning: no rule to process file '../countly-sdk-ios/README.md' of type net.daringfireball.markdown for architecture arm64 in Xcode, it means README.md (and/or CHANGELOG.md) file is added to Build Phases > Compile Sources in your target. Please remove README.md from Compile Sources list.

How is Countly affected by Apple's App Tracking Transparency changes?

As Countly is not and has never been doing any tracking, it is not affected by Apple's App Tracking Transparency changes.

Definition of "tracking" by Apple's User Privacy and Data Use guidelines:

“Tracking” refers to linking data collected from your app about a particular end-user or device, such as a user ID, device ID, or profile, with Third-Party Data for targeted advertising or advertising measurement purposes, or sharing data collected from your app about a particular end-user or device with a data broker.

For further information please see App Privact Details section on Apple Developer website.

What is the average data size of a Countly iOS SDK request sent to Countly Server?

While there are several types of requests that Countly iOS SDK sends to Countly Server, the most common ones are:

• Begin Session Request: It is sent on every app launch (and session start after coming back from the background), and it includes basic metrics.
  An example Begin Session request (498 bytes) :

http://mycountlyserver.com/i?app_key=0000000000000000000000000000000000000000
&device_id=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000
&timestamp=1534402860000&hour=16&dow=5&tz=540
&sdk_version=18.08&sdk_name=objc-native-ios
&begin_session=1
&metrics=%7B%22_device%22%3A%22iPhone9%2C1%22%2C%22_os%22%3A%22iOS%22%2C%22_os_version%22%3A%2211.4.1%22%2C%22_locale%22%3A%22en_JP%22%2C%22_density%22%3A%22%402x%22%2C%22_resolution%22%3A%22750x1334%22%2C%22_app_version%22%3A%221.0%22%2C%20%22_carrier%22%3A%22NTT%22%7D

• Update Session Request: It is sent every 60 seconds by default, but it depends on Countly iOS SDK initial configuration.
  An example Update Session request (233 bytes) :

http://mycountlyserver.com/i?app_key=0000000000000000000000000000000000000000
&device_id=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000
&timestamp=1534402920000&hour=16&dow=5&tz=540
&sdk_version=18.08&sdk_name=objc-native-ios
&session_duration=60

• End Session Request: It is sent at the end of a session, when the app goes to background or terminates.
  An example End Session request (247 bytes) :

http://mycountlyserver.com/i?app_key=0000000000000000000000000000000000000000
&device_id=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000
&timestamp=1534402956000&hour=16&dow=5&tz=540
&sdk_version=18.08&sdk_name=objc-native-ios
&session_duration=36
&end_session=1

• Other Requests For Events, User Details, Push Notifications, Crash Reporting, View Tracking, Feedbacks, Consents, and some other features: Countly iOS SDK sends various requests with various data sizes. Frequency and size of these requests depend on Countly iOS SDK initial configuration and your app's use cases, as well as the end user.

What data metrics are collected by Countly iOS SDK?

Countly iOS SDK collects following metrics by default:

• Device Model
• Screen Resolution
• Screen Density
• OS Name
• OS Version
• App Version
• Locale Identifier
• Carrier

Further, if Apple Watch feature is enabled: - Paired Apple Watch Presence - watchOS App Install Status

Why are push notification action events not reported?

Notification action event is recorded when a user interacts with the notification and system calls didReceiveNotificationResponse: method.