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iOS SDK

With the Kameleoon iOS (Swift) SDK, you can run experiments and activate feature flags on native mobile iOS applications. Integrating our SDK into your Swift apps is easy, and its footprint (memory and network usage) is low.

Getting started: For help getting started, see the developer guide.

Changelog: Latest version of the Swift SDK: 4.4.2 Changelog.

Reference​

This is the full reference documentation for the Kameleoon iOS (Swift) SDK.

Initialization​

Once you have installed the SDK in your application, the first step is to initialize Kameleoon. All of your application's interactions with the SDK, such as triggering an experiment, are accomplished using this Kameleoon client object.

create()​

Call this method before any others to initialize the SDK. This method is in KameleoonClientFactory. This creates an instance of KameleoonClient to manage all interactions between the SDK and your app.

You can customize the behavior of the SDK (for example, the environment, the credentials, and so on) by providing a configuration object. Otherwise, the SDK tries to find your configuration file and uses it instead.

let visitorCode = "visitorCode"
let siteCode = "a8st4f59bj"
do {
    // pass client configuration as an argument
    let config = try KameleoonClientConfig(
        clientId: "clientId", // optional
        clientSecret: "clientSecret", // optional
        refreshIntervalMinute: 15, // optional, 60 minutes by default
        dataExpirationIntervalMinute: 60*24*365, // optional, `Data.distantFuture` by default
        defaultTimeoutMillisecond: 10_000, // optional, 10_000 milliseconds by default
        environment: "staging" // optional
    )
    let kameleoonClient = try KameleoonClientFactory.create(
        sitecode: siteCode,
        visitorCode: visitorCode, // optional
        config: config // optional
    )
} catch KameleoonError.visitorCodeInvalid {
  // Provided visitor code is invalid
} catch KameleoonError.siteCodeIsEmpty {
  // Indicates that provided site code is empty
} catch {
    // Unexpected error occurred
}

do {
    // read client configuration from a file 'kameleoon-client-swift.plist'
    // visitor code isn't provided, so SDK generates a random visitor code which will be used in the future
    let kameleoonClient = KameleoonClientFactory.create(siteCode: siteCode)
} catch KameleoonError.visitorCodeInvalid {
  // Provided visitor code is invalid
} catch KameleoonError.siteCodeIsEmpty {
  // Indicates that provided site code is empty
} catch {
    // Unexpected error occurred
}

ready()​

For mobile SDKs, the initialization of the Kameleoon Client is not immediate. The SDK needs to perform a server call to retrieve the current configuration for all active experiments. Check if the SDK is ready by calling this method before triggering an experiment. Alternatively, you can use the runWhenReady() method with a callback.

let ready = kameleoonClient.ready
Return value​
NameTypeDescription
readyBoolBoolean representing the status of the SDK (true if fully initialized, false if not ready to be used).

runWhenReady()​

For mobile SDKs, the initialization of the Kameleoon Client is not immediate. The SDK needs to perform a server call to retrieve the current configuration for all active experiments. The runWhenReady() method of the KameleoonClient class allows you to pass a callback that will be executed as soon as the SDK is ready for use. It also allows you to specify a timeout.

The lambda given as the second argument to this method must have the signature (Bool) -> Void. The lambda will be called with the value true once the Kameleoon client is ready, and should contain code that triggers an experiment and implements variations. The lambda will be called with the value false if the specified timeout happens before the client is fully initialized. When this occurs, you can implement the "reference" variation, as the user will be excluded from the experiment entirely if a timeout takes place.

kameleoonClient.runWhenReady(1000) { success in
    if (success)
    {
        let variationKey = try? kameleoonClient.getFeatureVariationKey(my_feature_key)
        if variationKey == "off" {
            // This is the default / reference number of products to display
            recommendedProductsNumber = 2
        } else if variationKey == "on" {
            // We are changing number of recommended products for this variation to 8
            recommendedProductsNumber = 8
        }
    }
    else
    {
        variationKey = "off"
        recommendedProductsNumber = 2
    }
}

Feature flags and variations​

Arguments​
NameTypeDescription
timeoutIntTimeout (in milliseconds). This field is optional. If not provided, it will use the default value of 10000 milliseconds.
callback(Bool) -> VoidCallback object. This field is required. It is a lambda expression that will get a Bool argument representing whether the Kameleoon Client became ready before the timeout was reached.

isFeatureActive()​

  • 📨 Sends Tracking Data to Kameleoon
note

This method was previously named activateFeature, which was removed in SDK version 4.0.0.

To activate a feature toggle, call this method. This method accepts featureKey as a required argument to check if the specified feature will be active for a visitor.

If a visitor has never been associated with this feature flag, this method returns a random boolean value (true if the user should be shown this feature, otherwise false). If the visitor is already registered with this feature flag, this method returns the previous featureFlag value.

Make sure to implement error handling as shown in the example code to catch potential exceptions.

let featureKey = "new_checkout"
var hasNewCheckout = false

do {
    hasNewCheckout = try kameleoonClient.isFeatureActive(featureKey: featureKey)
} catch {
    switch error {
        case KameleoonError.sdkNotReady:
            // Exception indicating that the SDK has not completed its initialization yet.
            hasNewCheckout = false
        case KameleoonError.Feature.notFound:
            // The feature key is not yet in the configuration file that has been fetched by the SDK.
            hasNewCheckout = false
        default:
            // Any other error
            hasNewCheckout = false
    }
}

if hasNewCheckout
{
  // Implement new checkout code here
}
Arguments​
NameTypeDescription
featureKeyStringThe key of the feature you want to expose to a user. This field is required.
Return value​
TypeDescription
BoolValue of the feature that is registered for the visitor.
Exceptions thrown​
TypeDescription
KameleoonError.sdkNotReadyException indicating that the SDK is not fully initialized yet.
KameleoonError.Feature.notFoundException indicating that the requested feature ID has not been found in the internal configuration of the SDK. This usually means that the feature flag has not yet been activated on Kameleoon's side (but code implementing the feature is already deployed in the web-application).

getFeatureVariationKey()​

  • 📨 Sends Tracking Data to Kameleoon

Use this method to get the feature variation key for a specific user. This method takes a featureKey as required argument to retrieve the variation key for the specified user.

If the visitor has never been associated with this feature flag, the SDK returns a randomly assigned variation key (according to the feature flag rules). If the visitor is already registered with this feature flag, this method returns the previous variation key. If the visitor does not match any of the rules, the default variation you defined in the Kameleoon app will be returned.

Make sure you set up proper error handling as shown in the example code to catch potential exceptions.

let featureKey = "new_checkout"
var variationKey = ""

do {
    variationKey = try kameleoonClient.getFeatureVariationKey(featureKey: featureKey)
    switch variationKey {
        case "variation 1":
            // The visitor has been bucketed with variation 1 key
        case "variation 2":
            // The visitor has been bucketed with variation 1 key
        default:
            //The visitor has been bucketed with the default variation or is part of the unallocated traffic sample
    }
} catch {
    switch error {
        case KameleoonError.sdkNotReady:
            // Exception indicating that the SDK has not completed its initialization yet.
        case KameleoonError.Feature.notFound:
            // The feature key is not yet in the configuration file that has been fetched by the SDK. Trigger the old checkout for this visitor.
        case KameleoonError.Feature.environmentDisabled:
            // The feature flag is disabled for the environment
        default:
            // Any other error
    }
}

getFeatureList()​

To get the list of feature flag keys that are currently available to the SDK, call this method.

Return value​
TypeDescription
[String]List of feature flag keys
Example code​
let allFeatureList = kameleoonClient.getFeatureList()

getActiveFeatureList()​

note

This method is deprecated and will be removed in SDK version 5.0.0. Use getActiveFeatures instead.

To get the list of feature flag keys currently available and active for the visitor.

Return value​
TypeDescription
[String]List of feature flag keys which are active for the visitor
Example code​
let activeFeatureFlags = kameleoonClient.getActiveFeatureList()

getActiveFeatures()​

getActiveFeatures method retrieves information about the active feature flags that are available for the specified visitor code.

Return value​
TypeDescription
[String: Types.Variation]A dictionary that contains the visitor's assigned variations for each active feature using the keys of the corresponding active features.
Example code​
let activeFeatures = kameleoonClient.getActiveFeatures()

Feature variables​

getFeatureVariable()​

  • 📨 Sends Tracking Data to Kameleoon
note

This method was previously named obtainFeatureVariable(), which was removed in SDK version 4.0.0.

Call this method to get the feature variable of a variation key associated with a user.

This method takes featureKey, and variableKey as required arguments to get the variable of the variation key for a given user.

If a visitor has never been associated with this feature flag, the SDK returns a variable value for the variation key that it randomly assigns according to the feature flag rules. If the user is already registered with this feature flag, the SDK returns the variable value for previously associated variation. If the user does not match any of the rules, the default variable is returned.

String featureKey = "myFeature"
String variableKey = "myVariable"

try {
    let variable = kameleoonClient.getFeatureVariable(featureKey: featureKey, variableKey: variableKey)
    // your custom code depending of variableValue
} catch {
    switch error {
        case KameleoonError.sdkNotReady:
            // Exception indicating that the SDK has not completed its initialization yet.
        case KameleoonError.Feature.notFound:
            // The Feature Key is not yet in the configuration file that has been fetched by the SDK. Trigger the old checkout for this visitor.
        case KameleoonError.Feature.environmentDisabled:
            // The feature flag is disabled for the environment
        case KameleoonError.Feature.variableNotFound:
            // Exception indicating that the requested variable has not been found. Check that the variable's key matches the one in your code.

        default:
            // Any other error
    }
}
Arguments​
NameTypeDescription
featureKeyStringIdentification key of the feature you want to retrieve. This field is required.
variableKeyStringName of the variable you want to get a value for. This field is required.
Return value​
TypeDescription
AnyData associated with this feature flag. The values can be Int, String, Bool or Dictionary (depending on the type defined on the web interface).
Exceptions thrown​
TypeDescription
KameleoonError.sdkNotReadyException indicating that the SDK is not fully initialized yet.
KameleoonError.Feature.notFoundException indicating that the requested feature ID has not been found in the internal configuration of the SDK. This usually means that the feature flag has not yet been activated on Kameleoon's side (but code implementing the feature is already deployed in the web-application).
KameleoonException.Feature.environmentDisabledException indicating that the feature flag is disabled for the visitor's current environment (for example, production, staging, or development).
KameleoonError.Feature.variableNotFoundException indicating that the requested variable wasn't found. Check that the variable's key in the Kameleoon app matches the one in your code.

getFeatureVariationVariables()​

note

This method was previously named: getFeatureAllVariables, which was removed in SDK version 4.0.0 release.

To retrieve all of the variables for a feature, call this method. You can modify your feature variables in the Kameleoon app.

This method takes one argument, featureKey. It returns the data with the [String: Any] type, as defined on the web interface. It will throw an exception (KameleoonError.Feature.notFound) if the requested feature has not been found in the internal configuration of the SDK.

let featureKey = "myFeature"
let variationKey = "on"

do {
    allVariables = try kameleoonClient.getFeatureVariationVariables(featureKey: featureKey, variationKey: variationKey);
} catch KameleoonError.Feature.notFound {
    // The feature is not yet activated on Kameleoon's side
} catch KameleoonError.Feature.environmentDisabled {
    // The feature flag is disabled for the environment
} catch  {
    // This is a generic Exception handler that will handle all exceptions.
}
Arguments​
NameTypeDescription
featureKeyStringIdentification key of the feature you want to retrieve. This field is required.
variationKeyStringThe key of the variation you want to retrieve. This field is required.
Return value​
TypeDescription
[String: Any]Data associated with this feature flag. The values can be Int, String, Bool or Dictionary (depending on the type defined on the web interface).
Exceptions thrown​
TypeDescription
KameleoonError.sdkNotReadyException indicating that the SDK is not fully initialized yet.
KameleoonError.Feature.notFoundException indicating that the requested feature ID has not been found in the internal configuration of the SDK. This usually means that the feature flag has not been activated in the Kameleoon app (but code implementing the feature is already deployed in the web application).
KameleoonException.Feature.environmentDisabledException indicating that the feature flag is disabled for the visitor's current environment (for example, production, staging, or development).
KameleoonError.Feature.variationNotFoundException indicating that the requested variation key has not been found in the internal configuration of the SDK. This means that the feature flag has not yet been retrieved by the SDK. This may happen if the SDK is in polling mode.
Example code​
let featureKey = "myFeature"
let variationKey = "on"

do {
    allVariables = try kameleoonClient.getFeatureVariationVariables(featureKey: featureKey, variationKey: variationKey);
} catch KameleoonError.Feature.notFound {
    // The feature is not yet activated on Kameleoon's side
} catch KameleoonError.Feature.environmentDisabled {
    // The feature flag is disabled for the environment
} catch  {
    // This is a generic Exception handler that will handle all exceptions.
}

Goals​

trackConversion()​

  • 📨 Sends Tracking Data to Kameleoon

Use this method to track conversions. This method requires goalId to track conversion on this particular goal. In addition, this method also accepts revenue as a third optional argument to track revenue.

The trackConversion() method doesn't return any value. This method is non-blocking as the server call is made asynchronously.

let goalId = 83023
kameleoonClient.trackConversion(goalId: goalId, revenue: 10.0)
Arguments​
NameTypeDescription
goalIdIntID of the goal. This field is required.
revenueFloatRevenue of the conversion. This field is optional.
Errors thrown​
TypeDescription
KameleoonError.sdkNotReadyError indicating that the SDK has not completed its initialization yet.
Example code​
let goalId = 83023
kameleoonClient.trackConversion(goalId: goalId, revenue: 10.0)

Events​

updateConfigurationHandler()​

The updateConfigurationHandler() method allows you to handle the event when configuration has updated data. It takes one input argument handler. The handler that will be called when the configuration is updated using a real-time configuration event.

kameleoonClient.addData(CustomData(id: 20, values: "true", "20"))
kameleoonClient.addData(Conversion(goalId: 32, revenue: 10.0, negative: false))
kameleoonClient.flush()
Arguments​
NameTypeDescription
handlerOptional<(() -> Void)>The handler that will be called when the configuration is updated using a real-time configuration event.
kameleoonClient.updateConfigurationHandler {
  // configuration was updated
}

Visitor data​

getRemoteData()​

Use this method to retrieve data from a remote Kameleoon server based on your active siteCode and the key argument (or the active visitorCode if you omit the key). The visitorCode and siteCode are specified in KameleoonClientFactory.create. You can quickly and conveniently store data on our highly scalable remote servers using the Kameleoon Data API. Your application can then retrieve the data using this method.

note

Since a server call is required, this mechanism is asynchronous, and you must pass a completionHandler as an argument to the method.

struct Test1: Decodable {
  let value: String

  private enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey {
    case value = "json_value"
  }
}

kameleoonClient.getRemoteData(key: "test") { (result: Result<Test1, Error>) in
    switch result {
        case .success(let test1):
            // test1 is a decoded value for Test1 type
        case .failure:
            // error represents with informaion about request's failure
    }
}

kameleoonClient.getRemoteData(key: "test") { (data: Result<Data, Error>) in
    switch result {
        case .success(let data):
            if let json = try JSONSerialization.jsonObject(with: data) as? [String: Any] {
                print(json)
            }
        case .failure:
            // error represents with informaion about request's failure
    }
}

getRemoteVisitorData()​

The getRemoteVisitorData() method retrieves the data assigned to a visitor for the siteCode specified in KameleoonClientFactory.create(), which is stored on a remote Kameleoon server. Optionally, this method can automatically add the retrieved data for the visitor (with to addData parameter). The data is usually stored on our remote servers using the Kameleoon Data API. This method combined with the availability of our highly scalable servers provides a convenient way to quickly store large amounts of data that you can later retrieve for each of your visitors.

Arguments​
NameTypeDescription
filterTypes.RemoteVisitorDataFilterFilter that selects which data (see table below) should be retrieved from visit history. By default, getRemoteVisitorData retrieves CustomData from the current and latest previous visit (new RemoteVisitorDataFilter(1, true, true, false, false, false) or new RemoteVisitorDataFilter()). All other filters parameters default to false. This field is optional.
addDataBoolA boolean indicating whether the method should automatically add the retrieved data for a visitor. This field is optional. The default value is true.
completion(Result<[KameleoonData], Error>) -> VoidA closure that takes an Result<[KameleoonData], Error> parameter to handle the result. Confirms that the data has been added to the visitor. If addData is false, it only indicates the value was retrieved.

Here is the list of available Types.RemoteVisitorDataFilter options:

NameTypeDescriptionDefault
previousVisitAmount (optional)IntNumber of previous visits to retrieve data from. Number between 1 and 251
currentVisit (optional)BoolIf true, current visit data will be retrievedtrue
customData (optional)BoolIf true, custom data will be retrieved.true
conversions (optional)BoolIf true, conversion data will be retrieved.false
experiments (optional)BoolIf true, experiment data will be retrieved.false
geolocation (optional)BoolIf true, geolocation data will be retrieved.false
kcs (optional)BoolIf true, KCS heat data will be retrieved.false
Example code​

// Visitor data will be fetched and automatically added
kameleoonClient.getRemoteVisitorData { result in
    switch result {
        case .success(let visitorData):
            // visitorData represents all data which was retrieved and added for the visitor
        case .failure:
            // error contains information about the reason for the request failure
    }
}

// If you only want to fetch data and add it yourself manually, set addData == `false`
kameleoonClient.getRemoteVisitorData(addData: false) { result in
    switch result {
        case .success(let visitorData):
            // visitorData represents all data which was retrieved but not added for the visitor
        case .failure:
            // error contains information about the reason for the request failure
    }
}

// If you want to fetch custom list of data types
let filter = Types.RemoteVisitorDataFilter(
    previousVisitAmount: 25, currentVisit: true, conversions: true, experiments: true, geolocation: true
)
kameleoonClient.getRemoteVisitorData(filter: filter) { result in
    switch result {
        case .success(let visitorData):
            // visitorData represents all data which was retrieved and added for the visitor
        case .failure:
            // error contains information about the reason for the request failure
    }
}
Arguments​
NameTypeDescription
filterTypes.RemoteVisitorDataFilterFilter that selects which data should be retrieved from visit history. By default, getRemoteVisitorData retrieves CustomData from the current and latest previous visit (new RemoteVisitorDataFilter(1, true, true, false, false, false) or new RemoteVisitorDataFilter()). All other filters parameters default to false. This field is optional.
addDataBoolA boolean indicating whether the method should automatically add the retrieved data for a visitor. This field is optional. The default value is true.
completion(Result<[KameleoonData], Error>) -> VoidA closure that takes an Result<[KameleoonData], Error> parameter to handle the result. Confirms that the data has been added to the visitor. If addData is false, it only indicates the value was retrieved.
note

Here is the list of available Types.RemoteVisitorDataFilter options:

NameTypeDescriptionDefault
previousVisitAmount (optional)IntNumber of previous visits to retrieve data from. Number between 1 and 251
currentVisit (optional)BoolIf true, current visit data will be retrievedtrue
customData (optional)BoolIf true, custom data will be retrieved.true
conversions (optional)BoolIf true, conversion data will be retrieved.false
experiments (optional)BoolIf true, experiment data will be retrieved.false
geolocation (optional)BoolIf true, geolocation data will be retrieved.false
kameleoonClient.getVisitorWarehouseAudience(customDataIndex: 10) { result in
    switch result {
        case .success(let customData):
            // Data was added. You can access the data from the `customData` value.
        case .failure:
            // error contains information about failure of request
    }
}

// If you need to specify a warehouse key
kameleoonClient.getVisitorWarehouseAudience(
    warehouseKey: "warehouseKey",
    customDataIndex: 10)
{ result in
    switch result {
        case .success(let customData):
            // Data was added. You can access the data from the `customData` value.
        case .failure:
            // error contains information about failure of request
    }
}

addData()​

The addData() method adds targeting data to storage so other methods can use the data to decide whether or not to target the current visitor.

The addData() method does not return any value and does not interact with Kameleoon back-end servers on its own. Instead, all the declared data is saved for future transmission using the flush method. This approach reduces the number of server calls made, as the data is typically grouped into a single server call that is triggered the flush. Note that the trackConversion method also sends out any previously associated data, just like the flush method. The same is true for getFeatureVariationKey and getFeatureVariable methods if an experimentation rule is triggered.

tip

Each visitor can only have one instance of associated data for most data types. However, CustomData is an exception. Visitors can have one instance of associated CustomData per customDataIndex.

Arguments​
NameTypeDescription
dataKameleoonData... or [KameleoonData]One or more values conforming to the KameleoonData protocol.
Errors thrown​
TypeDescription
KameleoonError.sdkNotReadyError indicating that the SDK is not fully initialized yet.
Example code​
kameleoonClient.addData(CustomData(id: 20, values: "true", "20"))
kameleoonClient.addData(Conversion(goalId: 32, revenue: 10.0, negative: false))

kameleoonClient.addData([
    CustomData(id: 20, values: "true", "20"),
    Conversion(goalId: 32)
])

flush()​

  • 📨 Sends Tracking Data to Kameleoon

Data associated with the current user via addData() method is not sent immediately to the server. It is stored and accumulated until it is sent by the trackConversion() method or the flush() method. This allows the developer to exactly control when the data is flushed to our servers. For instance, if you call the addData() method a dozen times, it would waste resources to send data to the server after each addData() invocation, when you can simply call flush() once at the end.

The flush() method doesn't return any value. This method is non-blocking as the server call is made asynchronously.

Arguments​
NameTypeDescription
completionHandlerOptional<(Bool) -> Void>Callback object. This field is optional. It is a lambda expression that will asynchronously get called with a Bool argument representing whether the flush() call succeeded or not.
Errors thrown​
TypeDescription
KameleoonError.sdkNotReadyError indicating that the SDK has not completed its initialization yet.
kameleoonClient.addData(CustomData(id: 20, values: "true", "20"))
kameleoonClient.addData(Conversion(goalId: 32, revenue: 10.0, negative: false))
kameleoonClient.flush()

setLegalConsent()​

You must use this method to specify whether the visitor has given legal consent to use their personal data. Setting the legalConsent parameter to false limits the types of data that you can include in tracking requests. This helps you adhere to legal and regulatory requirements while responsibly managing visitor data. You can find more information on personal data in the consent management policy.

Arguments​
NameTypeDescription
legalConsentbooleanA boolean value representing the legal consent status. true indicates the visitor has given legal consent, false indicates the visitor has never provided, or has withdrawn, legal consent. This field is required.
Example code​
kameleoonClient.setLegalConsent(true)

Data types​

This section lists the data types supported by Kameleoon. We provide several standard data types as well as the CustomData type that allows you to define custom data types.

Conversion​

Store information about conversion events.

NameTypeDescription
goalIDStringID of the goal. This field is required.
revenueFloatConversion revenue. This field is optional.
negativeBoolDefines if the revenue is positive or negative. This field is optional.
Example code​
try? kameleoonClient.addData(Conversion(goalId: 32, revenue: 10.0, negative: false))

CustomData​

Define your own custom data types in the Kameleoon app or the Data API and use them from the SDK.

NameTypeDescription
indexIntThe index a (a unique ID) of the custom data to store. This field is required.
valueStringValue of the custom data to store. This field is required.
valuesString... or [String]Value(s) of the custom data to store.
note

You can find the index (ID) for your custom data in the Kameleoon app, in the Custom data configuration page. Be careful: this index starts at 0, so the first custom data you create for a given site has an ID value of 0, not 1.

Example code​
try? kameleoonClient.addData(CustomData(id: 1, value: "some custom value"))

try? kameleoonClient.addData(CustomData(id: 1, value: "first value", "second value"))

try? kameleoonClient.addData(CustomData(id: 1, values: ["first value", "second value"]))

Device​

Store information about the user's device.

NameTypeDescription
deviceDeviceList of devices: phone, tablet, desktop. This field is required.
Example code​
try? kameleoonClient.addData(Device.desktop);

Geolocation​

Geolocation contains the visitor's geolocation details.

note

Each visitor can only have one Geolocation. Adding a second Geolocation instance overwrites the first one.

NameTypeDescription
countrystringThe country of the visitor. This field is required.
regionstringThe region of the visitor. This field is optional.
citystringThe city of the visitor. This field is optional.
postalCodestringThe postal code of the visitor. This field is optional.
latitudefloatThe latitudinal coordinate for the position of the visitor. Coordinate number represents decimal degrees (a double that can be negative). This field is optional.
longitudefloatThe longitudinal coordinate for the position of the visitor. Provide the coordinate number in decimal degrees (a double that can be negative). This field is optional.
kameleoonClient.addData(Geolocation(country: "France", region: "Île-de-France", city: "Paris"));

Developer guide​

Follow these steps to install and configure the Kameleoon iOS SDK in your application for the first time.

Getting started​

Starter kit​

If you're just getting started with Kameleoon, we provide a starter kit and a demo application to test out the SDK and learn how it works. The starter kit includes a fully configured app with examples that demonstrate how you might use the SDK methods in your app. You can find the starter kit, the demo application and detailed instructions on how to use it at Starter-Kit for iOS.

Prerequisites​

  • Use Swift version 5.0 or higher on the iOS platform. There is no planned support for earlier iOS applications (including earlier Swift versions and Objective-C apps). We provide a Universal Framework version compatible both with x86_64 (for the iOS Simulator) and ARM (for production deployment into the App Store).

Installation​

You can install the iOS SDK using CocoaPods or Swift Package Manager:

With CocoaPods, paste the following code in your Podfile and replace YOUR_TARGET_NAME with the value for your app:

# Podfile
use_frameworks!

target 'YOUR_TARGET_NAME' do
  pod 'kameleoonClient'
end

Then, in a command prompt, in the Podfile directory, run the install command:

pod install

Additional configuration​

To customize the SDK behavior, create a kameleoon-client-swift.plist configuration file in the root directory of your Xcode project. For example:

<project_root>/kameleoon-client-swift.plist
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>environment</key>
    <string>staging</string>
    <key>refresh_interval_minute</key>
    <integer>60</integer>
</dict>
</plist>

These are the keys you can set:

  • refresh_interval_minute (optional): Specifies the frequency, in minutes, that active experiments and feature flags are fetched from the Kameleoon servers. The initial fetch is performed on the first application launch and subsequent fetches are processed at the defined refresh interval. Once you launch an experiment, pause the experiment, or stop the experiment, the change won't propagate to each of your visitors' iOS devices until their next refresh. This means if you set the refresh interval to 30 minutes, it may take up to 30 minutes before all devices receive the update. If not specified, the default interval is 60 minutes.
  • data_expiration_interval_minute: Designates the predefined time period, in minutes, that the SDK stores the visitor and their associated data. Each data instance is evaluated individually. This allows you to set the amount of time the SDK saves the data before automatically deleting it. If no interval is specified, the SDK does not automatically delete data from the device. The default value is Date.distantFuture.
  • default_timeout_millisecond: Specifies the timeout, in milliseconds, for network requests from the SDK. Set the value to 30000 ms (30 seconds) or more if you do not have a stable connection. The default value is 10000 ms. Some methods have an additional parameter that you can use to override the default timeout for that particular method. If you do not specify the timeout for a method explicitly, the SDK uses this default value.
  • environment (optional): For customers using multi-environment experimentation and feature flagging, this option specifies which feature flag configuration to use. By default, each feature flag has the options production, staging, development. If not specified, the default value is production. More information.
  • is_unique_identifier (optional): Indicates that the specified visitorCode is a unique identifier. If not provided, the default value is false.
note

If you specify a visitorCode and set the isUniqueIdentifier parameter to true, the SDK methods use the visitorCode value as the unique visitor identifier, which is useful for cross-device experimentation. The SDK links the flushed data with the visitor that is associated with the specified identifier.

The isUniqueIdentifier can be useful in other edge-case scenarios, such as when you can't access the anonymous visitorCode that was originally assigned to the visitor, but you do have access to an internal ID that is connected to the anonymous visitor using session merging capabilities.

Initialize the Kameleoon Client​

After you've the SDK in your application and set up the app properties, the next step is to create the Kameleoon Client. A Client is a singleton object that acts as a bridge between your application and the Kameleoon platform. It includes all the methods and properties you need to run an experiment.

import kameleoonClient

let visitorCode = "visitorCode"
let siteCode = "a8st4f59bj"
do {
    // pass client configuration as an argument
    let config = try KameleoonClientConfig(
        clientId: "clientId", // optional
        clientSecret: "clientSecret", // optional
        refreshIntervalMinute: 15, // optional, 60 minutes by default
        dataExpirationIntervalMinute: 60*24*365, // optional, `Data.distantFuture` by default
        defaultTimeoutMillisecond: 10_000, // optional, 10_000 milliseconds by default
        environment: "production", // optional
        isUniqueIdentifier: true, // optional, false by default
    )
    let kameleoonClient = try KameleoonClientFactory.create(
        siteCode: siteCode,
        visitorCode: visitorCode, // optional
        config: config // optional
    )
} catch KameleoonError.visitorCodeInvalid {
  // Provided visitor code is invalid
} catch KameleoonError.siteCodeIsEmpty {
  // Indicates that provided site code is empty
} catch {
    // Unexpected error occurred
}

do {
    // read client configuration from a file 'kameleoon-client-swift.plist'
    // visitor code isn't provided, so SDK generates a random visitor code which will be used in the future
    let kameleoonClient = try KameleoonClientFactory.create(siteCode: siteCode)
} catch KameleoonError.visitorCodeInvalid {
    // Provided visitor code is invalid
} catch {
    // Unexpected error occurred
}

The KameleoonClientFactory.create() method initializes the client, but the client is not immediately ready for use. The client must retrieve the current configuration of experiments and feature flags (along with their traffic repartition) from a Kameleoon remote server. This requires the client to have network access, which is not always available. Until the Kameleoon Client is fully ready, you should not attempt to run other methods in the Kameleoon iOS SDK. After the client fetches the first configuration of feature flags, it periodically refreshes the configuration. If the refresh fails for any reason, the Kameleoon client continues to function using the previous configuration.

You can use the .ready public getter to check if the Kameleoon client initialization is finished.

Alternatively, you can use a helper callback to encapsulate the logic of experiment triggering and variation implementation. The best approach (.ready or callback) depends on your preferences and use case. We recommend using .ready when you expect that the SDK will already be ready for use. For example, if you are running an experiment on a dialog that would be accessible only after a few seconds or minutes of navigation within the app. We recommend using the callback when there is a high probability that the SDK is still initializing when the experiment is accessible. For example, an experiment that is visible at the launch of the app should use a callback that makes the application wait until either the SDK is ready or a specified timeout has expired.

note

It's your responsibility as the app developer to ensure the client is ready before calling any methods. A good practice is to always assume that the app user should be left out of the experiment if the Kameleoon client is not yet ready. This is actually easy to do, because this corresponds to the implementation of the default reference variation logic. For example, as shown in the code sample above.

You're now ready to implement feature management and features flags. See the Reference section for details about additional methods.

Targeting conditions​

The Kameleoon SDKs support a variety of predefined targeting conditions that you can use to target users in your campaigns. For the list of conditions supported by this SDK, see use visit history to target users.

You can also use your own external data to target users.

Apple privacy compliance​

Starting May 1st, 2024, Apple requires apps that include a third-party SDK, such as the Kameleoon iOS SDK, to have a privacy manifest file for that SDK. The latest version of the SDK is code-signed, compliant, and includes a valid manifest file with the SDK. No action is required if you're using the Kameleoon iOS SDK version 4.2 or later.