Ruby SDK

With the Ruby SDK, you can run experiments and activate feature flags on your back-end Ruby server. Integrating our SDK into your web-application 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 Ruby SDK: 3.7.0 Changelog.

SDK methods: For the full reference documentation of the Ruby SDK, see the reference section.

Developer guide

This section shows you how to integrate our SDK in a few minutes and start running experiments in your Ruby applications. Follow this tutorial to set up a simple A/B test to change the number of recommended products based on different variations.

Getting Started

Install the SDK

Install the SDK using a standard gem package, which is hosted on the official RubyGems repository. To install, run the following command:

gem install kameleoon-client-ruby

Configure the client

You provide credentials for the Ruby SDK using a configuration file, which can also be used to customize the SDK's behavior. You can start with our sample configuration file. We recommend adding this file to the default path of /etc/kameleoon/client-ruby.yaml. If you use another location, you need to pass the path as an argument to the Kameleoon::KameleoonClientFactory.Create() method during initialization. These are the available keys in the latest SDK:

client_id: a client_id is required for authentication to the Kameleoon service. Refer to API credentials for help finding your client_id.
client_secret: a client_secret is required for authentication to the Kameleoon service. Refer to API credentials for help finding your client_secret.
refresh_interval_minute: this specifies the refresh interval, in minutes, of the configuration for experiments and feature flags (the active experiments and feature flags are fetched from the Kameleoon servers). It means that once you launch an experiment, pause it, or stop it the changes can take (at most) the duration of this interval to be propagated in production to your servers. If not specified, the default interval is 60 minutes.
session_duration_minute: sets the time interval that Kameleoon stores the visitor and their associated data in memory (RAM). Note that increasing the session duration increases the amount of RAM that needs to be allocated to store visitor data. The default session duration is 30 minutes.
default_timeout_millisecond: this specifies the timeout, in milliseconds for network requests of SDK. The default value is 2 seconds. Some methods have their own parameters for timeouts, but if you do not specify them explicitly, this value is used.
tracking_interval_millisecond: this specifies the interval for tracking requests, in milliseconds. All visitors who were evaluated for any feature flag or had data flushed will be included in this tracking request, which is performed once per interval. The minimum value is 300 ms and the maximum value is 1000 ms, which is also the default value.
top_level_domain: the current top-level domain for your website. Use the format: example.com. Don't use https://, www, or other subdomains. Kameleoon uses this information to set the corresponding cookie on the top-level domain. This field is mandatory.
environment: an option specifying which feature flag configuration will be used, by default each feature flag is split into production, staging, development. If not specified, will be set to default value of production. More information
verbose_mode: boolean value (true or false) that turns on additional logging, including network requests and debug information. This field is deprecated and will be removed in SDK version 4.0.0. Use KameleoonLogger.setLogLevel instead.

note

The Kameleoon Ruby SDK uses the Automation API and follows the OAuth 2.0 client credentials flow.

Initialize the client

After you've installed the SDK into your application and configured the correct credentials (in /etc/kameleoon/client-ruby.yaml or Kameleoon::KameleoonClientConfig), you need to set up a server-side experiment in the Kameleoon App.

The next step is to create the Kameleoon client in your application code.The following code gives a clear example. A Kameleoon::KameleoonClient is a singleton object that acts as a bridge between your application and the Kameleoon platform. It includes all the methods and properties you will need to run an experiment.

note

It's the developers' responsibility to ensure proper logic of their application code within the context of A/B testing via Kameleoon. A good practice is to always assume that the current visitor can be left out of the experiment because the experiment has not yet been launched. This is actually easy to do, because this corresponds to the implementation of the default / reference variation logic, which should be done in any case. The code samples on the next paragraph show examples of such an approach.

# external settings file
require "kameleoon"

site_code = "a8st4f59bj"

kameleoon_client = Kameleoon::KameleoonClientFactory.create(site_code)

kameleoon_client = Kameleoon::KameleoonClientFactory.create(site_code, config_path: '/etc/kameleoon/client-ruby.yaml')

# internal KameleoonClientConfig object
require 'kameleoon'
require 'kameleoon/kameleoon_client_config'

kameleoon_config = Kameleoon::KameleoonClientConfig.new(
    'client-id', # required
    'client-secret', # required
    refresh_interval_minute: configuration_refresh_interval, # (in minutes) optional, default: 60 minutes
    session_duration_minute: session_duration, # (in minutes) optional, default: 30 minutes
    default_timeout_millisecond: default_timeout, # (in milliseconds) optional, default: 2000 milliseconds
    tracking_interval_millisecond: tracking_interval, # (in milliseconds) optional (1000 ms by default)
    environment: environment, # optional, possible values: "production" / "staging" / "development" / "staging", default: "production"
    top_level_domain: 'example.com',
    verbose_mode: verbose_mode # optional, default: false
)
kameleoon_client = Kameleoon::KameleoonClientFactory.create(site_code, config: kameleoon_config)

If you use Ruby on Rails, we recommend you to initialize the Kameleoon client at server start-up, in the application.rb file.

require_relative 'boot'
require 'rails/all'
require 'kameleoon'
Bundler.require(*Rails.groups)

module App
    class Application < Rails::Application
    # Initialize configuration defaults for originally generated Rails version.
        config.load_defaults 6.1
        if defined?(Rails::Server)
            config.after_initialize do
                site_code = 'a8st4f59bj'
                kameleoon_config = Kameleoon::KameleoonClientConfig.new('client-id', 'client-secret')
                config.kameleoon_client = Kameleoon::KameleoonClientFactory.create(site_code, config: kameleoon_config)
            end
        end
    end
end

You can then access the Kameleoon client in your controllers:

class YourController < ApplicationController
    def index
        kameleoon_client = App::Application.config.kameleoon_client
        # Your controller code, using the kameleoon_client
    end
end

Activating a feature flag

Assigning a unique ID to a user

To assign a unique ID to a user, you can use the get_visitor_code() method. If a visitor code doesn’t exist (from the request headers cookie), the method generates a random unique ID or uses a default_visitor_code that you would have generated. The ID is then set in a response headers cookie.

If you are using Kameleoon in Hybrid mode, calling the get_visitor_code() method ensures that the unique ID (visitor code) is shared between the application file (kameleoon.js) and the SDK.

Retrieving a flag configuration

To implement a feature flag in your code, you must first create the feature flag in your Kameleoon account.

To determine the status or variation of a feature flag for a specific user, you should use the get_variation() or feature_active?() method to retrieve the configuration based on the feature_key.

The get_variation() method handles both simple feature flags with ON/OFF states and more complex flags with multiple variations. The method retrieves the appropriate variation for the user by checking the feature rules, assigning the variation, and returning it based on the feature_key and visitor_code.

The feature_active?() method can be used if you want to retrieve the configuration of a simple feature flag that has only an ON or OFF state, as opposed to more complex feature flags with multiple variations or targeting options.

If your feature flag has associated variables (such as specific behaviors tied to each variation) get_variation() also enables you to access the Variation object, which provides details about the assigned variation and its associated experiment. This method checks whether the user is targeted, finds the visitor’s assigned variation, and saves it to storage. When track=true, the SDK will send the exposure event to the specified experiment on the next tracking request, which is automatically triggered based on the SDK’s tracking_interval_millisecond. By default, this interval is set to 1000 milliseconds (1 second).

The get_variation() method allows you to control whether tracking is done. If track=false, no exposure events will be sent by the SDK. This is useful if you prefer not to track data through the SDK and instead rely on client-side tracking managed by the Kameleoon engine, for example. Additionally, setting track=false is helpful when using the get_variations() method, where you might only need the variations for all flags without triggering any tracking events. If you want to know more about how tracking works, view this article

Adding data points to target a user or filter / breakdown visits in reports

To target a user, ensure you've added relevant data points to their profile before retrieving the feature variation or checking if the flag is active. Use the add_data() method to add these data points to the user's profile.

To retrieve data points that have been collected on other devices or to access past data points about a user (which would have been collected client-side if you are using Kameleoon in Hybrid mode), use the get_remote_visitor_data() method. This method asynchronously fetches data from our servers. However, it is important you call get_remote_visitor_data() before retrieving the variation or checking if the feature flag is active, as this data might be required to assign a user to a given variation of a feature flag.

To learn more about available targeting conditions, read our detailed article on the subject.

Additionally, the data points you add to the visitor profile will be available when analyzing your experiments, allowing you to filter and break down your results by factors like device and browser. Kameleoon Hybrid mode automatically collects a variety of data points on the client-side, making it easy to break down your results based on these pre-collected data points. See the complete list here.

If you need to track additional data points beyond what's automatically collected, you can use Kameleoon's Custom Data feature. Custom Data allows you to capture and analyze specific information relevant to your experiments. Don't forget to call the flush() method to send the collected data to Kameleoon servers for analysis.

note

To ensure your results are accurate, it's recommended to filter out bots by using the UserAgent data type.

Tracking goal conversions

When a user completes a desired action (such as making a purchase), it is recorded as a conversion. To track conversions, use the track_conversion() method and provide the required visitor_code and goal_id parameters.

The conversion tracking request will be sent along with the next scheduled tracking request, which the SDK sends at regular intervals (defined by tracking_interval_millisecond). If you prefer to send the request immediately, use the flush() method with the parameter instant=true.

Sending events to analytics solutions

To track conversions and send exposure events to your customer analytics solution, you must first implement Kameleoon in Hybrid mode. Then, use the get_engine_tracking_code() method.

The get_engine_tracking_code() method retrieves the unique tracking code required to send exposure events to your analytics solution. Using this method allows you to record events and send them to your desired analytics platform.

Cross-device experimentation

To support visitors who access your app from multiple devices, Kameleoon allows you to synchronize previously collected visitor data across each of the visitor's devices and reconcile their visit history across devices through cross-device experimentation. We recommend reading our article on cross-device experimentation for more information on how Kameleoon handles data across devices and detailed use cases.

Synchronizing custom data across devices

Although custom mapping synchronization is used to align visitor data across devices, it is not always necessary. Below are two scenarios where custom mapping sync is not required:

Same user ID across devices If the same user ID is used consistently across all devices, synchronization is handled automatically without a custom mapping sync. It is enough to call the get_remote_visitor_data() method when you want to sync the data collected between multiple devices.

Multi-server instances with consistent IDs In complex setups involving multiple servers (for example, distributed server instances), where the same user ID is available across servers, synchronization between servers (with get_remote_visitor_data()) is sufficient without additional custom mapping sync.

Customers who need additional data can refer to the get_remote_visitor_data() method description for further guidance. In the below code, it is assumed that the same unique identifier (in this case, the visitor_code, which can also be referred to as userId) is used consistently between the two devices for accurate data retrieval.

note

If you want to sync collected data in real time, you need to choose the scope Visitor for your custom data.

Device A
# In this example Custom data with index `90` was set to "Visitor" scope on Kameleoon Platform.
VISITOR_SCOPE_CUSTOM_DATA_INDEX = 90

kameleoon_client.add_data(visitor_code, CustomData.new(VISITOR_SCOPE_CUSTOM_DATA_INDEX, 'your data'))
kameleoon_client.flush(visitor_code)

Device B
# Before working with the data, call the `get_remote_visitor_data` method.
kameleoon_client.get_remote_visitor_data(visitor_code)

# After that the SDK on Device B will have an access to CustomData of Visitor scope defined on Device A.
# So "your data" will be available for targeting and tracking for the visitor.

Using custom data for session merging

Cross-device experimentation allows you to combine a visitor's history across each of their devices (history reconciliation). History reconciliation allows you to merge different visitor sessions into one. To reconcile visit history, you can use CustomData to provide a unique identifier for the visitor. For more information, see our dedicated documentation.

After cross-device reconciliation is enabled, calling get_remote_visitor_data() with the parameter userId retrieves all known data for a given user.

Sessions with the same identifier will always be shown the same variation in an experiment. In the Visitor view of your experiment's results pages, these sessions will appear as a single visitor.

The SDK configuration ensures that associated sessions always see the same variation of the experiment. However, there are some limitations regarding cross-device variation allocation. We've outlined these limitations here.

Follow the activating cross-device history reconciliation guide to set up your custom data on the Kameleoon platform.

Afterwards, you can use the SDK normally. The following methods that may be helpful in the context of session merging:

get_remote_visitor_data() with added UniqueIdentifier(true) - to retrieve data for all linked visitors.
track_conversion() or flush() with added UniqueIdentifier(true) data - to track some data for specific visitor that is associated with another visitor.

tip

As the custom data you use as the identifier must be set to Visitor scope, you need to use cross-device custom data synchronization to retrieve the identifier with the get_remote_visitor_data() method on each device.

Here's an example of how to use custom data for session merging.

# In this example, `91` represents the index of the Custom Data configured as a unique identifier on Kameleoon Platform.
MAPPING_INDEX = 91
FEATURE_KEY = 'ff123'

# 1. Before the visitor is authenticated

# Retrieve the variation for an unauthenticated visitor.
# Assume `anonymous_visitor_code` is the randomly generated ID for that visitor.
anonymous_variation = kameleoon_client.get_variation(anonymous_visitor_code, FEATURE_KEY)

# 2. After the visitor is authenticated

# Assume `user_id` is the visitor code of the authenticated visitor.
kameleoon_client.add_data(anonymous_visitor_code, CustomData.new(MAPPING_INDEX, user_id))
kameleoon_client.flush(anonymous_visitor_code, instant: true)

# Indicate that `user_id` is a unique identifier.
kameleoon_client.add_data(user_id, UniqueIdentifier.new(True))

# 3. After the visitor has been authenticated

# Retrieve the variation for the `user_id`, which will match the anonymous visitor code's variation.
user_variation = kameleoon_client.get_variation(user_id, FEATURE_KEY)
is_same_variation = user_variation.key == anonymous_variation.key # true

# The `user_id` and `anonymous_visitor_code` are now linked and tracked as a single visitor.
kameleoon_client.track_conversion(user_id, 123, 10.0)

# Also, the linked visitors will share all fetched remote visitor data.
kameleoon_client.get_remote_visitor_data(user_id)

In this example, we have an application with a login page. Since we don't know the user ID at the moment of login, we use an anonymous visitor identifier generated by the get_visitor_code() method. After the user logs in, we can associate the anonymous visitor with the user ID and use it as a unique identifier for the visitor.

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 this SDK supports, see use visit history to target users.

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

Logging

The SDK generates logs to reflect various internal processes and issues.

Log levels

The SDK supports configuring limiting logging by a log level.

require 'kameleoon/logging/kameleoon_logger'

# The `NONE` log level allows no logging.
Kameleoon::Logging::KameleoonLogger.log_level = Kameleoon::Logging::LogLevel::NONE

# The `ERROR` log level allows to log only issues that may affect the SDK's main behaviour.
Kameleoon::Logging::KameleoonLogger.log_level = Kameleoon::Logging::LogLevel::ERROR

# The `WARNING` log level allows to log issues which may require an attention.
# It extends the `ERROR` log level.
# The `WARNING` log level is a default log level.
Kameleoon::Logging::KameleoonLogger.log_level = Kameleoon::Logging::LogLevel::WARNING

# The `INFO` log level allows to log general information on the SDK's internal processes.
# It extends the `WARNING` log level.
Kameleoon::Logging::KameleoonLogger.log_level = Kameleoon::Logging::LogLevel::INFO

# The `DEBUG` log level allows to log extra information on the SDK's internal processes.
# It extends the `INFO` log level.
Kameleoon::Logging::KameleoonLogger.log_level = Kameleoon::Logging::LogLevel::DEBUG

Custom handling of logs

The SDK writes its logs to the console output by default. This behaviour can be overridden.

note

Logging limiting by a log level is performed apart from the log handling logic.

require 'logger'
require 'kameleoon/logging/logger'

module Kameleoon
  class CustomLogger < Kameleoon::Logging::Logger
    def initialize
      @internal_logger = Logger.new(STDOUT)
    end

    def log(level, message)
      case level
      when Kameleoon::Logging::LogLevel::ERROR
        @internal_logger.error(message)
      when Kameleoon::Logging::LogLevel::WARNING
        @internal_logger.warn(message)
      when Kameleoon::Logging::LogLevel::INFO
        @internal_logger.info(message)
      when Kameleoon::Logging::LogLevel::DEBUG
        @internal_logger.debug(message)
      end
    end
  end
end


# Log level filtering is applied separately from log handling logic.
# The custom logger will only accept logs that meet or exceed the specified log level.
# Ensure the log level is set correctly.
Kameleoon::Logging::KameleoonLogger.log_level = Kameleoon::Logging::LogLevel::DEBUG # Optional, defaults to `Kameleoon::Logging::LogLevel::WARNING`.
Kameleoon::Logging::KameleoonLogger.logger = CustomLogger.new

Reference

This is a full reference documentation of the Ruby SDK.

Initialization

create()

kameleoon_config = Kameleoon::KameleoonClientConfig.new('client-id', 'client-secret')
kameleoon_client = Kameleoon::KameleoonClientFactory.create('a8st4f59bj', config: kameleoon_config)

kameleoon_client = Kameleoon::KameleoonClientFactory.create('a8st4f59bj', config_path: '/etc/kameleoon/client-ruby.yaml')

The starting point for using the SDK is the initialization step. All interactions with the SDK are done through an object named Kameleoon::KameleoonClient, therefore you need to create this object.

Arguments

Name	Type	Description
site_code	String	This is a unique key of the Kameleoon project you are using with the SDK. This field is mandatory.
configuration_file_path	String	Path to the SDK configuration file. This field is optional and set to `/etc/kameleoon/client-ruby.yaml` by default.
config	Kameleoon::KameleoonClientConfig	Configuration SDK object that you can pass instead of using a configuration file. This field is optional.

Exceptions thrown

Type	Description
Kameleoon::Exception::SiteCodeIsEmpty	Exception indicating that the specified site code is empty string which is invalid value.

wait_init()

kameleoon_client = Kameleoon::KameleoonClientFactory.create('a8st4f59bj')

if kameleoon_client.wait_init
    # The SDK has been initialized, you can fetch a feature flag / experiment configuration here.
end

wait_init awaits the initialization of the Kameleoon client. This method allows you to check if the client has been successfully initialized before proceeding with other operations.

Return value

Type	Description
Bool	`true` if the Kameleoon client instance was successfully initialized, otherwise `false`.

Feature flags and variations

feature_active?()

📨 Sends Tracking Data to Kameleoon (depending on the track parameter)

visitor_code = kameleoon_client.get_visitor_code(cookies)

feature_key = "new_checkout"
has_new_checkout = false

begin
    has_new_checkout = kameleoon_client.feature_active?(visitor_code, feature_key)
    # disabling tracking
    has_new_checkout = kameleoon_client.feature_active?(visitor_code, feature_key, track: false)
rescue Kameleoon::Exception::FeatureNotFound
    # The user will not be counted into the experiment, but should see the reference variation
    has_new_checkout = false
end

if has_new_checkout
    # Implement new checkout code here
end

note

Previously named: activate_feature - removed since SDK version 3.0.0.

This method takes a visitor_code and feature_key as mandatory arguments to check if the specified feature will be active for a given user.

If such a user has never been associated with this feature flag, the SDK returns a boolean value randomly (true if the user should have this feature or false if not). If a user with a given visitor_code is already registered with this feature flag, it will detect the previous FeatureFlag value.

You have to make sure that proper error handling is set up in your code as shown in the example to the right to catch potential exceptions.

If you specify a visitor_code, the feature_active? method uses the visitor_code as the unique visitor identifier, which is useful for cross-device experimentation. When you specify a visitor_code and set the is_unique_identifier parameter to true, the SDK links the flushed data to the visitor associated with the specified identifier.

note

The parameter is_unique_identifier is deprecated. Please use UniqueIdentifier instead.

The is_unique_identifier can also 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.

Arguments

Name	Type	Description
visitor_code	String	Unique identifier of the user. This field is mandatory.
feature_key	String	Key of the feature you want to expose to a user. This field is mandatory.
is_unique_identifier (Deprecated)	Boolean	When set to `true`, the SDK links the flushed data with the visitor associated with the specified identifier.
track	Boolean	An optional parameter to enable or disable tracking of the feature evaluation (`true` by default).

Return value

Type	Description
Boolean	Value of the feature that is registered for a given visitor_code.

Exceptions thrown

Type	Description
Kameleoon::Exception::FeatureNotFound	Exception indicating that the requested feature ID has not been found in the internal configuration of the SDK. This is usually normal and means that the feature flag has not yet been activated on Kameleoon's side (but code implementing the feature is already deployed on the web-application's side).
Kameleoon::Exception::VisitorCodeInvalid	Exception indicating that the provided visitor code is not valid (empty, or longer than 255 characters).

get_variation()

📨 Sends Tracking Data to Kameleoon (depending on the track parameter)

Retrieves the Variation assigned to a given visitor for a specific feature flag.

This method takes a visitor_code and feature_key as mandatory arguments. The track argument is optional and defaults to true.

It returns the assigned Variation for the visitor. If the visitor is not associated with any feature flag rules, the method returns the default Variation for the given feature flag.

Ensure that proper error handling is implemented in your code to manage potential exceptions.

note

The default variation refers to the variation assigned to a visitor when they do not match any predefined delivery rules for a feature flag. In other words, it is the fallback variation applied to all users who are not targeted by specific rules. It's represented as the variation in the "Then, for everyone else..." section in a management interface.

feature_key = "new_checkout"

begin
  variation = kameleoon_client.get_variation(visitor_code, feature_key)
  # disabling tracking
  variation = kameleoon_client.get_variation(visitor_code, feature_key, track: false)
rescue Kameleoon::Exception::FeatureNotFound
  # The error has happened, the feature flag isn't found in current configuration
rescue Kameleoon::Exception::FeatureEnvironmentDisabled
  # The feature flag is disabled for the environment
rescue Kameleoon::Exception::VisitoCodeInvalid
  # The visitor code you passed to the method is invalid and can't be accepted by SDK
end

# Fetch a variable value for the assigned variation
title = variation.variables['title'].value

case variation.key
when 'on'
  # Main variation key is selected for visitorCode
when 'alternative_variation'
  # Alternative variation key
else
  # Default variation key
end

Arguments

Name	Type	Description	Default
visitor_code (required)	`String`	Unique identifier of the user.
feature_key (required)	`String`	Key of the feature you want to expose to a user.
track (optional)	`Bool`	An optional parameter to enable or disable tracking of the feature evaluation.	`true`

Return value

Type	Description
`Variation`	An assigned variation to a given visitor for a specific feature flag.

Exceptions thrown

Type	Description
`VisitorCodeInvalid`	Exception indicating that the provided visitor code is not valid. It is either empty or longer than 255 characters.
`FeatureNotFound`	Exception indicating that the requested feature key wasn't found in the internal configuration of the SDK. This usually means that the feature flag is not activated in the Kameleoon app (but code implementing the feature is already deployed on your application).
`FeatureEnvironmentDisabled`	Exception indicating that feature flag is disabled for the visitor's current environment (for example, production, staging, or development).

get_variations()

📨 Sends Tracking Data to Kameleoon (depending on the track parameter)

Retrieves a map of Variation objects assigned to a given visitor across all feature flags.

This method iterates over all available feature flags and returns the assigned Variation for each flag associated with the specified visitor. It takes visitor_code as a mandatory argument, while only_active and track are optional.

If only_active is set to true, the method get_variations() will return feature flags variations provided the user is not bucketed with the off variation.
The track parameter controls whether or not the method will track the variation assignments. By default, it is set to true. If set to false, the tracking will be disabled.

The returned map consists of feature flag keys as keys and their corresponding Variation as values. If no variation is assigned for a feature flag, the method returns the default Variation for that flag.

Proper error handling should be implemented to manage potential exceptions.

note

begin
  variations = kameleoon_client.get_variations(visitor_code)
  # only active variations
  variations = kameleoon_client.get_variations(visitor_code, only_active: true)
  # disable tracking
  variations = kameleoon_client.get_variations(visitor_code, track: false)
rescue Kameleoon::Exception::VisitorCodeInvalid
  # Handle exception
end

Arguments

Name	Type	Description	Default
visitor_code (required)	`String`	Unique identifier of the user.
only_active (optional)	`Bool`	An optional parameter indicating whether to return variations for active (`true`) or all (`false`) feature flags.	`false`
track (optional)	`Bool`	An optional parameter to enable or disable tracking of the feature evaluation.	`true`

Return value

Type	Description
`Hash`	Map that contains the assigned `Variation` objects of the feature flags using the keys of the corresponding features.

Exceptions thrown

Type	Description
`VisitorCodeInvalid`	Exception indicating that the provided visitor code is not valid. It is either empty or longer than 255 characters.

get_feature_variation_key()

📨 Sends Tracking Data to Kameleoon

note

This method is deprecated and will be removed in SDK version 4.0.0. Use get_variation() instead.

visitor_code = kameleoon_client.get_visitor_code(cookies)

feature_key = "feature_key"
variation_key = ""

begin
    variation_key = kameleoon_client.get_feature_variation_key(visitor_code, feature_key)
    case variation_key
    when 'on'
        # main variation key is selected for visitorCode
    when 'alternative_variation'
        # alternative variation key
    else
        # default variation key
    end
rescue Kameleoon::Exception::FeatureNotFound
    # The user will not be counted into the experiment, but should see the reference variation
rescue Kameleoon::Exception::VisitorCodeInvalid
    # The visitor code which you passed to the method isn't valid and can't be accepted by SDK
rescue Kameleoon::Exception::FeatureEnvironmentDisabled
    # The feature is disabled for the environment
end

To get feature variation key, call the get_feature_variation_key method of our SDK.

This method takes a visitor_code and feature_key as mandatory arguments to get variation key for a given user.

If such a user has never been associated with this feature flag, the SDK returns a variation key randomly (according to the feature flag rules). If a user with a given visitor_code is already registered with this feature flag, it will detect the previous variation key value. If the user does not match any of the rules, the default value will be returned, which we can define in your customer's account.

You have to make sure that proper error handling is set up in your code as shown in the example to the right to catch potential exceptions.

If you specify a visitor_code, the get_feature_variation_key method uses the visitor_code as the unique visitor identifier, which is useful for cross-device experimentation. When you specify a visitor_code and set the is_unique_identifier parameter to true, the SDK links the flushed data to the visitor associated with the specified identifier.

note

The parameter is_unique_identifier is deprecated. Please use UniqueIdentifier instead.

Arguments

Name	Type	Description
visitor_code	string	Unique identifier of the user. This field is mandatory.
feature_key	string	Key of the feature you want to expose to a user. This field is mandatory.
is_unique_identifier (Deprecated)	Boolean	When `true`, the SDK links the flushed data with the visitor associated with the specified identifier.

Return value

Type	Description
string	Variation key of the feature flag that is registered for a given visitor_code.

Exceptions thrown

Type	Description
Kameleoon::Exception::FeatureNotFound	Exception indicating that the requested feature ID has not been found in the internal configuration of the SDK. This is usually normal and means that the feature flag has not yet been activated on Kameleoon's side (but code implementing the feature is already deployed on the web-application's side).
Kameleoon::Exception::FeatureEnvironmentDisabled	Exception indicating that feature flag is disabled for the visitor's current environment (for example, production, staging, or development).
Kameleoon::Exception::VisitorCodeInvalid	Exception indicating that the provided visitor code is not valid (empty, or longer than 255 characters).

get_feature_list()

feature_list = kameleoon_client.get_feature_list

Returns a list of feature flag keys currently available for the SDK.

Return value

Type	Description
`Array`	List of feature flag keys

get_active_feature_list_for_visitor()

active_feature_flag_list = kameleoon_client.get_active_feature_list_for_visitor(visitor_code)

note

This method is deprecated and will be removed in SDK version 4.0.0. Use get_active_features() instead.

This method takes only input parameters: visitorCode. Result contains only active feature flags for a given visitor.

Arguments

Name	Type	Description
visitor_code	String	Unique identifier of the user. This field is mandatory.

Return value

Type	Description
Array	List of feature flag keys which are active for a given visitor_code

Exceptions thrown

Type	Description
Kameleoon::Exception::VisitorCodeInvalid	Exception indicating that the provided visitor code is not valid (empty, or longer than 255 characters).

get_active_features()

note

This method is deprecated and will be removed in SDK version 4.0.0. Use get_variations() instead.

active_features = kameleoon_client.get_active_features(visitor_code)

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

Arguments

Name	Type	Description
visitor_code	String	Unique identifier of the user. This field is mandatory.

Return value

Type	Description
Hash	A hash that contains the assigned variations of the active features using the active feature IDs as keys.

Exceptions thrown

Type	Description
Kameleoon::Exception::VisitorCodeInvalid	Exception indicating that the provided visitor code is not valid (empty, or longer than 255 characters).

set_forced_variation()

The method allows you to programmatically assign a specific Variation to a user, bypassing the standard evaluation process. This is especially valuable for controlled experiments where the usual evaluation logic is not required or must be skipped. It can also be helpful in scenarios like debugging or custom testing.

When a forced variation is set, it overrides Kameleoon's real-time evaluation logic. Processes like segmentation, targeting conditions, and algorithmic calculations are skipped. To preserve segmentation and targeting conditions during an experiment, set force_targeting=false instead.

info

Simulated variations always take precedence in the execution order. If a simulated variation calculation is triggered, it will be fully processed and completed first.

A forced variation is treated the same as an evaluated variation. It is tracked in analytics and stored in the user context like any standard evaluated variation, ensuring consistency in reporting.

The method may throw exceptions under certain conditions (e.g., invalid parameters, user context, or internal issues). Proper exception handling is essential to ensure that your application remains stable and resilient.

caution

It’s important to distinguish forced variations from simulated variations:

Forced variations: Are specific to an individual experiment.
Simulated variations: Affect the overall feature flag result.

experiment_id = 9516
begin
  # Forcing the variation "on" for the experiment 9516 for the visitor
  kameleoon_client.set_forced_variation(visitor_code, experiment_id, 'on')

  # Forcing the variation "on" while preserving segmentation and targeting conditions during the experiment
  kameleoon_client.set_forced_variation(visitor_code, experiment_id, 'on', force_targeting: false)

  # Resetting the forced variation for the experiment 9516 for the visitor
  kameleoon_client.set_forced_variation(visitor_code, experiment_id, nil)
rescue Kameleoon::Exception::KameleoonError => ex
  # Handling the exception
end

Arguments

Name	Type	Description	Default
visitor_code (required)	`String`	Unique identifier of the user.
experiment_id (required)	`Integer`	Experiment Id that will be targeted and selected during the evaluation process.
variation_key (required)	`String \| NilClass`	Variation Key corresponding to a `Variation` that should be forced as the returned value for the experiment. If the value is `nil`, the forced variation will be reset.
force_targeting (optional)	`Bool`	Indicates whether targeting for the experiment should be forced and skipped (`true`) or applied as in the standard evaluation process (`false`).	`true`

Exceptions thrown

Type	Description
`VisitorCodeInvalid`	Exception indicating that the provided visitor code is not valid. It is either empty or longer than 255 characters.
`FeatureExperimentNotFound`	Exception indicating that the requested experiment id has not been found in the SDK's internal configuration. This is usually normal and means that the rule's corresponding experiment has not yet been activated on Kameleoon's side.
`FeatureVariationNotFound`	Exception indicating that the requested variation key(id) has not been found in the internal configuration of the SDK. This is usually normal and means that the variation's corresponding experiment has not yet been activated on Kameleoon's side.

info

In most cases, you only need to handle the basic error, KameleoonError, as demonstrated in our example. However, if you need to respond to different types of errors, you can handle each one separately based on your requirements. Additionally, for enhanced reliability, you can also handle general language errors by including StandardError.

Variables

get_feature_variable()

📨 Sends Tracking Data to Kameleoon

note

This method is deprecated and will be removed in SDK version 4.0.0. Use get_variation() instead.

visitor_code = kameleoon_client.get_visitor_code(cookies)

feature_key = "feature_key"
variation_key = ""
variable_name = "variable_name"

begin
    variable_value = kameleoon_client.get_feature_variable(visitor_code, feature_key, variable_name)
    # your custom code depending of variable_value, e.g.
    case variable_value
    when 'value-1'
        # your custom code if variable == 'value-1'
    when 'value-2'
        # your custom code if variable == 'value-2'
    end
rescue Kameleoon::Exception::FeatureNotFound
    # The user will not be counted into the experiment, but should see the reference variation
rescue Kameleoon::Exception::FeatureVariableNotFound
    # Requested variable not defined on Kameleoon's side
rescue Kameleoon::Exception::FeatureEnvironmentDisabled
    # The feature is disabled for the environment
rescue Kameleoon::Exception::VisitorCodeInvalid
    # The visitor code which you passed to the method isn't valid and can't be accepted by SDK
end

note

Previously named: obtain_feature_variable - deprecated since SDK version 2.1.0 and will be removed in a future releases.

To get variable of variation key associated with a user, call the get_feature_variable method of our SDK.

This method takes a visitor_code, feature_key and variable_name as mandatory arguments to get a variable of variation key for a given user.

If such a user has never been associated with this feature flag, the SDK returns a variable value of variation key randomly (according to the feature flag rules). If a user with a given visitor_code is already registered with this feature flag, it will detect the variable value for previous associated variation. If the user does not match any of the rules, the variable of default value will be returned.

You have to make sure that proper error handling is set up in your code as shown in the example to the right to catch potential exceptions.

If you specify a visitor_code, the get_feature_variable method uses the visitor_code as the unique visitor identifier, which is useful for cross-device experimentation. When you specify a visitor_code and set the is_unique_identifier parameter to true, the SDK links the flushed data with the visitor associated with the specified identifier.

note

The parameter is_unique_identifier is deprecated. Please use UniqueIdentifier instead.

Arguments

Name	Type	Description
visitor_code	string	Unique identifier of the user. This field is mandatory.
feature_key	string	Key of the feature you want to expose to a user. This field is mandatory.
variable_name	string	Name of the variable you want to get a value. This field is mandatory.
is_unique_identifier (Deprecated)	Boolean	When `true`, the SDK links the flushed data with the visitor associated with the specified identifier.

Return value

Type	Description
any	Value of variable of variation that is registered for a given visitor_code for this feature flag. Possible types: boolean, number, string, hash

Exceptions thrown

Type	Description
Kameleoon::Exception::FeatureNotFound	Exception indicating that the requested feature ID has not been found in the internal configuration of the SDK. This is usually normal and means that the feature flag has not yet been activated on Kameleoon's side (but code implementing the feature is already deployed on the web-application's side).
Kameleoon::Exception::FeatureEnvironmentDisabled	Exception indicating that feature flag is disabled for the visitor's current environment (for example, production, staging, or development).
Kameleoon::Exception::VisitorCodeInvalid	Exception indicating that the provided visitor code is not valid (empty, or longer than 255 characters).
Kameleoon::Exception::FeatureVariableNotFound	Exception indicating that the requested variable has not been found. Check that the variable's key matches the one in your code.

get_feature_variation_variables()

note

This method is deprecated and will be removed in SDK version 4.0.0. Use get_variation() instead.

featureKey := "test_feature_variables"
variationKey := "on"

begin
    data = kameleoon_client.get_feature_variation_variables(feature_key, variable_key)
rescue Kameleoon::Exception::FeatureNotFound
    # The feature is not yet activated on Kameleoon's side
rescue Kameleoon::Exception::FeatureVariationNotFound
    # Requested variation not defined on Kameleoon's side
rescue Kameleoon::Exception::FeatureEnvironmentDisabled
    # The feature is disabled for the environment
end

To retrieve the all feature variables, call the get_feature_variation_variables method of our SDK. A feature variables can be changed easily via our web application.

This method takes feature_key and variation_key as mandatory arguments. It will return the data with the object type, as defined on the web interface. Throws an error (FeatureNotFound) if the requested feature flag has not been found in the client configuration of the SDK. If variation key isn't found the method throws (FeatureVariationNotFound) error.

Arguments

Name	Type	Description
feature_key	string	Key of the feature flag you want to obtain. This field is mandatory.
variation_key	string	Key of the variation you want to obtain. This field is mandatory.

Return value

Type	Description
Hash	Data associated with this feature flag and variation. The values can be a String, Boolean, Number or Hash (depending on the type defined on the web interface).

Exceptions thrown

Type	Description
Kameleoon::Exception::FeatureNotFound	Exception indicating that the requested feature ID has not been found in the internal configuration of the SDK. This is usually normal and means that the feature flag has not yet been activated on Kameleoon's side (but code implementing the feature is already deployed on the web-application's side).
Kameleoon::Exception::FeatureEnvironmentDisabled	Exception indicating that feature flag is disabled for the visitor's current environment (for example, production, staging, or development).
Kameleoon::Exception::FeatureVariationNotFound	Exception indicating that the requested variation ID has not been found in the internal configuration of the SDK. This is usually normal and means that the variation's corresponding experiment has not yet been activated on Kameleoon's side.

Visitor data

get_visitor_code()

note

Previously named: obtain_visitor_code - removed since SDK version 3.0.0.

Call the get_visitor_code helper method to obtain the Kameleoon visitor_code for the current visitor. This is important when using Kameleoon in a mixed front-end and back-end environment, where user identification accuracy must be guaranteed. The implementation logic is as follows:

First, check for a kameleoonVisitorCode cookie or query parameter associated with the current HTTP request. If found, use this as the visitor identifier.
If no cookie or parameter is found, check for the default_visitor_code argument. If found, use this as the identifier. This allows our customers to use their own identifiers as visitor codes, should they wish to. This can have the added benefit of matching Kameleoon visitors with their own users without any additional look-ups in a matching table.
If no cookie, paramater, or argument is found, randomly generate a unique identifier.

In all cases, the server-side (via HTTP header) kameleoonVisitorCode cookie is set with the value. In later visits, the identifier that you sets is the the value returned by the method.

For more information, refer to this article.

note

If you provide your own visitor_code, its uniqueness must be guaranteed on your end - the SDK cannot check it. Also note that the length of visitor_code is limited to 255 characters. Any excess characters will throw an exception.

info

The get_visitor_code() method allows you to set simulated variations for a visitor. When cookies (from a request or document) contain the key kameleoonSimulationFFData, the standard evaluation process is bypassed. Instead, the method directly returns a Variation based on the provided data.

Examples of kameleoonSimulationFFData usage:

kameleoonSimulationFFData={"featureKey":{"expId":10,"varId":20}}: Simulates the variation with varId of experiment expId for the given featureKey.
kameleoonSimulationFFData={"featureKey":{"expId":0}}: Simulates the default variation (defined in the Then, for everyone else in Production, serve section) for the given featureKey.

⚠️ To ensure proper functionality, the cookie value must be encoded as a URI component using a method such as encodeURIComponent.

It’s important to distinguish simulated variations from forced variations:

Simulated variations: Affect the overall feature flag result.
Forced variations: Are specific to an individual experiment.

visitor_code = kameleoon_client.get_visitor_code(cookies)

visitor_code = kameleoon_client.get_visitor_code(cookies, default_visitor_code)

Arguments

Name	Type	Description
cookies	Hash	Cookies on the current HTTP request should be passed, as a Hash object (`{:cookie_name => cookie_value}`). If you use Rails, you can directly pass the cookies variable. This field is mandatory.
default_visitor_code	String	This parameter will be used as the visitor_code if no existing kameleoonVisitorCode cookie is found on the request. This field is optional, and by default a random visitor_code will be generated.

Return value

Type	Description
String	A visitor_code that will be associated with this particular user and should be used with most of the methods of the SDK.

add_data()

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

The add_data() 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().

The track_conversion() method also sends out any previously associated data, just like the flush(). The same holds true for get_variation() and get_variations() 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 index.

require "kameleoon"
require "kameleoon/data"

visitor_code = kameleoon_client.get_visitor_code(cookies)

kameleoon_client.add_data(visitor_code, Kameleoon::Browser.new(Kameleoon::BrowserType::CHROME))
kameleoon_client.add_data(
    visitor_code,
    Kameleoon::PageView.new("https://url.com", "title", [3]),
    Kameleoon::Interest.new(0)
)
kameleoon_client.add_data(visitor_code, Kameleoon::Conversion.new(32, 10, false))

Arguments

Name	Type	Description
visitor_code (required)	`String`	Unique identifier of the user.
data (required)	`*Data`	Collection of Kameleoon data types.

Exceptions

Type	Description
`VisitorCodeInvalid`	Exception indicating that the provided visitor code is not valid. It is either empty or longer than 255 characters.

flush()

📨 Sends Tracking Data to Kameleoon

require "kameleoon"
require "kameleoon/data"

visitor_code = kameleoon_client.get_visitor_code(cookies)

kameleoon_client.add_data(visitor_code, Kameleoon::Browser.new(Kameleoon::BrowserType::CHROME))
kameleoon_client.add_data(
    visitor_code,
    Kameleoon::PageView.new("https://url.com", "title", [3]),
    Kameleoon::Interest.new(0)
)
kameleoon_client.add_data(visitor_code, Kameleoon::Conversion.new(32, 10, false))

kameleoon_client.flush(visitor_code) # Interval tracking (most performant way for tracking)

kameleoon_client.flush(visitor_code, instant: true) # Instant tracking

# if you operate with unique ID
kameleoon_client.add_data(Kameleoon::UniqueIdentifier.new(true))
kameleoon_client.flush(visitor_code)

flush() takes the Kameleoon data associated with the visitor, then sends a tracking request along with all of the data that were added previously using the add_data method, that has not yet been sent when calling one of these methods. flush() is non-blocking as the server call is made asynchronously.

flush() allows you to control when the data associated with a given visitor_code is sent to our servers. For instance, if you call add_data() a dozen times, it would be inefficient to send data to the server after each time add_data() is invoked, so all you have to do is call flush() once at the end.

If you specify a visitor_code, the flush() method uses it as the unique visitor identifier, which is useful for cross-device experimentation. When you specify a visitor_code and set the is_unique_identifier parameter to true, the SDK links the flushed data with the visitor associated with the specified identifier.

note

The parameter is_unique_identifier is deprecated. Please use UniqueIdentifier instead.

Arguments

Name	Type	Description
visitor_code	String	Unique identifier of the user. This field is mandatory.
is_unique_identifier	Boolean	When `true`, the SDK links the flushed data with the visitor associated with the specified identifier.
instant	Boolean	Boolean flag indicating whether the data should be sent instantly (`true`) or according to the scheduled tracking interval (`false`). This field is optional.

get_remote_data()

kameleoon_client.get_remote_data('test') # default timeout
kameleoon_client.get_remote_data('test', 1000) # 1000 milliseconds timeout
begin
    kameleoon_client.get_remote_data('test')
rescue => e
    #catch error
end

note

Previously named: retrieve_data_from_remote_source - removed since SDK version 3.0.0.

The get_remote_data() method allows you to retrieve data (according to a key passed as argument) for specified siteCode (specified in Kameleoon::KameleoonClientFactory.create()) stored on a remote Kameleoon server. Usually data will be stored on our remote servers via the use of our Data API. This method, along with the availability of our highly scalable servers for this purpose, provides a convenient way to quickly store massive amounts of data that can be later retrieved for each of your visitors / users.

Arguments

Name	Type	Description
key	String	The key that the data you try to get is associated with. This field is mandatory.
timeout	Integer	Timeout (in milliseconds). This parameter specifies the maximum amount of time the method can block to wait for a result. This field is optional, if not provided, it will use the `default_timeout` value from configuration file or 2000 milliseconds if it's not specified in the file.

Return value

Type	Description
Hash	Hash object associated with retrieving data for specific key.

Exceptions thrown

Type	Description
Error	Error indicating that the request timed out or retrieved data can't be parsed with `JSON.parse()` method

get_remote_visitor_data()

get_remote_visitor_data() is an asynchronous method for retrieving Kameleoon Visits Data for the visitor_code from the Kameleoon Data API. The method adds the data to storage for other methods to use when making targeting decisions.

Data obtained using this method plays an important role when you want to:

use data collected from other devices.
access a user's history, such as previously visited pages during past visits.
use data that is only accessible on the client-side, like datalayer variables and goals that only convert on the front-end.

Read this article for a better understanding of possible use cases.

caution

By default, get_remote_visitor_data() automatically retrieves the latest stored custom data with scope=Visitor and attaches them to the visitor without the need to call the method add_data(). It is particularly useful for synchronizing custom data between multiple devices.

note

The parameter is_unique_identifier is deprecated. Please use UniqueIdentifier instead.

Using parameters in get_remote_visitor_data()

The get_remote_visitor_data() method offers flexibility by allowing you to define various parameters when retrieving data on visitors. Whether you're targeting based on goals, experiments, or variations, the same approach applies across all data types.

For example, let's say you want to retrieve data on visitors who completed a goal "Order transaction". You can specify parameters within the get_remote_visitor_data() method to refine your targeting. For instance, if you want to target only users who converted on the goal in their last five visits, you can set the previous_visit_amount parameter to 5 and conversions to true.

The flexibility shown in this example is not limited to goal data. You can use parameters within the get_remote_visitor_data() method to retrieve data on a variety of visitor behaviors.

Arguments

Name	Type	Description
visitor_code	String	The visitor code for which you want to retrieve the assigned data. This field is mandatory.
timeout	Integer	Timeout (in milliseconds). This parameter specifies the maximum amount of time the method can block to wait for a result. This field is optional, if not provided, it will use the `default_timeout` value from configuration file or 2000 milliseconds if it's not specified in the file.
add_data	Boolean	A boolean indicating whether the method should automatically add retrieved data for a visitor. If not specified, the default value is true. This field is optional.
filter	`Kameleoon::Types::RemoteVisitorDataFilter`	Filter that specifies which data should be retrieved from visits. By default, only `CustomData` is retrieved from the current and latest previous visit (`RemoteVisitorDataFilter.new(previousVisitAmount: 1, currentVisit: true, customData: true)` or `RemoteVisitorDataFilter.new`). Other filters parameters are set to `false`. This field is optional.
is_unique_identifier (Deprecated)	Boolean	An optional parameter for specifying if the visitorCode is a unique identifier. If not provided, the default value is `false`. The field is optional.

note

Here is the list of available Kameleoon::Types::RemoteVisitorDataFilter options:

Name	Type	Description	Default
previousvisit_amount (_optional)	`Integer`	Number of previous visits to retrieve data from. Number between `1` and `25`	`1`
currentvisit (_optional)	`Boolean`	If true, current visit data will be retrieved	`true`
customdata (_optional)	`Boolean`	If true, custom data will be retrieved.	`true`
pageviews (_optional)	`Boolean`	If true, page data will be retrieved.	`false`
geolocation (optional)	`Boolean`	If true, geolocation data will be retrieved.	`false`
device (optional)	`Boolean`	If true, device data will be retrieved.	`false`
browser (optional)	`Boolean`	If true, browser data will be retrieved.	`false`
operatingsystem (_optional)	`Boolean`	If true, operating system data will be retrieved.	`false`
conversions (optional)	`Boolean`	If true, conversion data will be retrieved.	`false`
experiments (optional)	`Boolean`	If true, experiment data will be retrieved.	`false`
kcs (optional)	`Boolean`	If true, Kameleoon Conversion Score (KCS) will be retrieved. Requires the AI Predictive Targeting add-on	`false`
visitorcode (_optional)	`Boolean`	If true, Kameleoon will retrieve the `visitorCode` from the most recent visit and use it for the current visit. This is necessary if you want to ensure that the visitor, identified by their `visitorCode`, always receives the same variant across visits for Cross-device experimentation.	`true`

Return value

Type	Description
Array	An array of data assigned to the given visitor.

Example code

    visitor_code = 'visitorCode'

    # Visitor data will be fetched and automatically added for `visitor_code`
    data_array = kameleoon_client.get_remote_visitor_data(visitor_code)  # default timeout
    data_array = kameleoon_client.get_remote_visitor_data(visitor_code, 1000)  # 1 second timeout

    # If you only want to fetch data and add it yourself manually, set `add_data` to `false`
    data_array = kameleoon_client.get_remote_visitor_data(visitor_code, add_data: false)  # default timeout
    data_array = kameleoon_client.get_remote_visitor_data(visitor_code, 1000, add_data: false)  # 1 second timeout

    # If you want to fetch custom list of data types
    filter = RemoteVisitorDataFilter(25, customData: false, conversions: true, experiments: true)
    data_array = kameleoon_client.get_remote_visitor_data(visitor_code, filter: filter)

    # If you want to the SDK link the extracted data with the visitor associated with the specified identifier.
    kameleoon_client.add_data(Kameleoon::UniqueIdentifier.new(true))
    data_array = kameleoon_client.get_remote_visitor_data(visitor_code)

get_visitor_warehouse_audience()

Retrieves all audience data associated with the visitor in your data warehouse using the specified visitor_code and warehouse_key. The warehouse_key is typically your internal user ID. The custom_data_index parameter corresponds to the Kameleoon custom data that Kameleoon uses to target your visitors. You can refer to the warehouse targeting documentation for additional details. The method returns a CustomData object, confirming that the data has been added to the visitor and is available for targeting purposes.

Arguments

Name	Type	Description
visitor_code	String	A unique visitor identification string, can't exceed 255 characters length.
custom_data_index	Integer	An integer representing the index of the custom data you want to use to target your BigQuery Audiences.
warehouse_key	String	A unique key to identify the warehouse data (usually, your internal user ID). This field is optional.
timeout	Integer	Timeout (in milliseconds). This parameter specifies the maximum amount of time to wait for a result. This field is optional. If not provided, the default value is 10000 milliseconds.

Return value

Type	Description
`Kameleoon::CustomData`	A `CustomData` instance confirming that the data has been added to the visitor.

Exceptions thrown

Type	Description
Kameleoon::Exception::VisitorCodeInvalid	Exception indicating that the provided visitor code is not valid (it is either empty or longer than 255 characters).
StandardError	Exception indicating that the request timed out or any other reason of failure.

Example code

begin
    warehouse_audience_data = kameleoon_client.
        get_visitor_warehouse_audience(visitor_code, custom_data_index)  # default timeout
    warehouse_audience_data = kameleoon_client.
        get_visitor_warehouse_audience(visitor_code, custom_data_index, 1000)  # 1 second timeout

    warehouse_audience_data = kameleoon_client.
        get_visitor_warehouse_audience(visitor_code, custom_data_index, warehouse_key: warehouse_key)  # default timeout
    warehouse_audience_data = kameleoon_client.
        get_visitor_warehouse_audience(visitor_code, custom_data_index, 1000, warehouse_key: warehouse_key)  # 1 second timeout

    # Your custom code
rescue => e
    # Handle exception
end

set_legal_consent()

visitor_code = kameleoon_client.get_visitor_code(cookies)
kameleoon_client.set_legal_consent(visitor_code, true, cookies)

You must use this method to specify whether the visitor has given legal consent to use personal data. Setting the consent 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

Name	Type	Description
visitor_code	String	The user's unique identifier. This field is required.
consent	Bool	A 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.
cookies	Hash	The HTTP response where values in the cookies will be adjusted based on the legal consent status. This field is optional.

Exceptions thrown

Type	Description
Kameleoon::Exception::VisitorCodeInvalid	Exception indicating that the provided visitor code is not valid. It is either empty or longer than 255 characters.

Goals and third-party analytics

track_conversion()

📨 Sends Tracking Data to Kameleoon

require "kameleoon"
require "kameleoon/data/page_view"
require "kameleoon/data/browser"
require "kameleoon/data/conversion"

visitor_code = kameleoon_client.get_visitor_code(cookies)
goal_id = 83023

kameleoon_client.add_data(visitor_code, Kameleoon::Browser.new(Kameleoon::BrowserType::CHROME))
kameleoon_client.add_data(visitor_code, Kameleoon::PageView.new("https://url.com", "title", [3]),
)
kameleoon_client.add_data(visitor_code, Kameleoon::Conversion.new(32, 10, false))
kameleoon_client.track_conversion(visitor_code, goal_id)

To track conversion, use the track_conversion() method. This method requires visitor_code and goal_id to track conversion on this particular goal. In addition, this method also accepts revenue as a third optional argument to track revenue. The visitor_code is usually identical to the one that was used when triggering the experiment.

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

If you specify a visitor_code, the track_conversion method uses the visitor_code as the unique visitor identifier, which is useful for cross-device experimentation. When you specify a visitor_code and set the is_unique_identifier parameter to true, the SDK links the flushed data to the visitor associated with the specified identifier.

note

The parameter is_unique_identifier is deprecated. Please use UniqueIdentifier instead.

Arguments

Name	Type	Description
visitor_code	String	Unique identifier of the user. This field is mandatory.
goal_id	Integer	ID of the goal. This field is mandatory.
revenue	Float	Revenue of the conversion. This field is optional.
is_unique_identifier (Deprecated)	Boolean	When `true`, the SDK links the flushed data with the visitor associated with the specified identifier.

get_engine_tracking_code()

Kameleoon offers built-in integrations with several analytics solutions, including Mixpanel, Google Analytics 4, and Segment. To ensure that you can track and analyze your server-side experiments, Kameleoon provides the method get_engine_tracking_code() to automatically send exposure events to the analytics solution you are using. The SDK builds a tracking code for your active analytics solution based on the experiments the visitor has triggered in the last 5 seconds. Please refer to our hybrid experimentation for more information on implementing this method.

note

You must implement both the Ruby SDK and our Kameleoon JavaScript tag to benefit from this feature. We recommend you implement the Kameleoon asynchronous tag, which you can install before your closing <body> tag in your HTML page, as it will be only used for tracking purposes.

info

The following string will be returned:

window.kameleoonQueue = window.kameleoonQueue || [];
window.kameleoonQueue.push(['Experiments.assignVariation', experiment1ID, variation1ID]);
window.kameleoonQueue.push(['Experiments.trigger', experiment1ID, true]);
window.kameleoonQueue.push(['Experiments.assignVariation', experiment2ID, variation2ID]);
window.kameleoonQueue.push(['Experiments.trigger', experiment2ID, true]);

Here, experiment1ID, experiment2ID and variation1ID, variation2ID represent the specific experiments and variations that users have been assigned to.

engine_tracking_code = kameleoon_client.get_engine_tracking_code(visitor_code)

Arguments

Name	Type	Description
visitor_code (required)	`String`	Unique identifier of the user.

Return value

Type	Desription
`String`	JavaScript code to be inserted in your page

Events

on_update_configuration()

kameleoon_client.on_update_configuration(
    // configuration was updated
)

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

Arguments

Name	Type	Description
handler	`Callable`	The handler that will be called when the configuration is updated using a real-time configuration event.

Data types

Browser

The Browser data set stored here can be used to filter experiment and personalization reports by any value associated with it.

kameleoon_client.add_data(visitor_code, Kameleoon::Browser.new(Kameleoon::BrowserType::CHROME))

kameleoon_client.add_data(visitor_code, Kameleoon::Browser.new(Kameleoon::BrowserType::SAFARI, 10.0))

Name	Type	Description
browser_type (required)	`BrowserType`	List of browsers: `CHROME`, `INTERNET_EXPLORER`, `FIREFOX`, `SAFARI`, `OPERA`, `OTHER`.
version (optional)	`Float`	Version of the browser, floating point number represents major and minor version of the browser

PageView

kameleoon_client.add_data(visitor_code, Kameleoon::PageView.new("https://url.com", "title", [3]))

Name	Type	Description
url	String	URL of the page viewed. This field is mandatory.
title	String	Title of the page viewed. This field is mandatory.
referrers	Array	Referrers of viewed pages. This field is optional.

note

The index (ID) of the referrer is available on our Back-Office, in the Acquisition channel configuration page. Be careful: this index starts at 0, so the first acquisition channel.

Conversion

kameleoon_client.add_data(visitor_code, Kameleoon::Conversion.new(32, 10, false))

Name	Type	Description
goal_id	Integer	ID of the goal. This field is mandatory.
revenue	Float	Conversion revenue. This field is optional.
negative	Boolean	Defines if the revenue is positive or negative. This field is optional.

CustomData

custom_data = Kameleoon::CustomData.new(1, 'value1', 'value2')

custom_data = Kameleoon::CustomData.new({ 'id' => 1, 'values' => ['value1', 'value2'] })

kameleoon_client.add_data(visitor_code, custom_data)

Name	Type	Description
id	Integer	Index / ID of the custom data to be stored. This field is mandatory.
values	Array	Values of the custom data to be stored. This field is mandatory.

note

The index (ID) of the custom data is available on our Back-Office, in the Custom data configuration page. Be careful: this index starts at 0, so the first custom data you create for a given site will have the ID 0, not 1.

Device

kameleoon_client.add_data(visitor_code, Kameleoon::Device.new(Kameleoon::DeviceType::DESKTOP))

Name	Type	Description
device	DeviceType	List of devices: PHONE, TABLET, DESKTOP. This field is mandatory.

UserAgent

kameleoon_client.add_data(visitor_code, Kameleoon::UserAgent.new("Your User Agent"))

Name	Type	Description
value	String	The User-Agent value that will be sent with tracking requests. This field is mandatory.

Store information on the user-agent of the visitor. Server-side experiments are more vulnerable to bot traffic than client-side experiments. To address this, Kameleoon uses the IAB/ABC International Spiders and Bots List to identify known bots and spiders. Kameleoon also uses the UserAgent field to filter out bots and other unwanted traffic that could otherwise skew your conversion metrics. For more details, see the help article on bot filtering.

If you use internal bots, we suggest that you pass the value curl/8.0 of the userAgent to exclude them from our analytics.

UniqueIdentifier

If you don't add UniqueIdentifier for a visitor, visitor_code is used as the unique visitor identifier, which is useful for Cross-device experimentation. When you add UniqueIdentifier for a visitor, the SDK links the flushed data with the visitor associated with the specified identifier.

The UniqueIdentifier can also 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.

Name	Type	Description
value	Boolean	Parameter for specifying if the visitor_code is a unique identifier. This field is required.

kameleoon_client.add_data(visitorCode, Kameleoon::UniqueIdentifier.new(true))

OperatingSystem

OperatingSystem contains information about the operating system on the visitor's device.

note

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

Name	Type	Description
type	OperatingSystemType	List of types: WINDOWS, MAC, IOS, LINUX, ANDROID, WINDOWS_PHONE. This field is mandatory.

kameleoon_client.add_data(visitor_code, Kameleoon::OperatingSystem.new(Kameleoon::OperatingSystemType::ANDROID))

Cookie contains information about the cookie stored on the visitor's device.

note

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

Name	Type	Description
cookies	Hash	Hash object (`{:cookie_name => cookie_value}`) consisting of cookie keys and values. This field is mandatory.

cookie = Kameleoon::Cookie.new({ "k1" => "v1", "k2" => "v2" })
kameleoon_client.add_data(visitor_code, cookie)

Geolocation

Geolocation contains the visitor's geolocation details.

tip

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

kameleoon_client.add_data(visitor_code, Kameleoon::Geolocation.new("France", "Île-de-France", "Paris"))

Name	Type	Description
country (required)	`String`	The country of the visitor.
region (optional)	`String`	The region of the visitor.
city (optional)	`String`	The city of the visitor.
postal_code (optional)	`String`	The postal code of the visitor.
latitude (optional)	`Float`	The latitude coordinate representing the location of the visitor. Coordinate number represents decimal degrees.
longitude (optional)	`Float`	The longitude coordinate representing the location of the visitor. Coordinate number represents decimal degrees.

Returned Types

Variation

Variation contains information about the assigned variation to the visitor (or the default variation, if no specific assignment exists).

Name	Type	Description
`key`	`String`	The unique key identifying the variation.
`id`	`Integer` or `NilClass`	The ID of the assigned variation (or `nil` if it's the default variation).
`experiment_id`	`Integer` or `NilClass`	The ID of the experiment associated with the variation (or `nil` if default).
`variables`	`Hash`	A hash containing the variables of the assigned variation, keyed by variable names. This could be an empty collection if no variables are associated.

note

The Variation object provides details about the assigned variation and its associated experiment, while the Variable object contains specific details about each variable within a variation.
Ensure that your code handles the case where id or experiment_id may be nil, indicating a default variation.
The variables hash might be empty if no variables are associated with the variation.

Example code

# Retrieving the variation key
variation_key = variation.key

# Retrieving the variation id
variation_id = variation.id

# Retrieving the experiment id
experiment_id = variation.experiment_id

# Retrieving the variables map
variables = variation.variables

Variable

Variable contains information about a variable associated with the assigned variation.

Name	Type	Description
`key`	`String`	The unique key identifying the variable.
`type`	`String`	The type of the variable. Possible values: BOOLEAN, NUMBER, STRING, JSON, JS, CSS
`value`	`Object`	The value of the variable, which can be of the following types: Boolean, Integer, Float, String, Hash, Array.

Example code

# Retrieving the variables map
variables = variation.variables

# Variable type can be retrieved for further processing
type = variables["isDiscount"].type

# Retrieving the variable value by key
is_discount = variables["isDiscount"].value

# Variable value can be of different types (e.g. String)
title = variables["title"].value

Ruby SDK

Developer guide​

Getting Started​

Install the SDK​

Configure the client​

Initialize the client​

Activating a feature flag​

Assigning a unique ID to a user​

Retrieving a flag configuration​

Adding data points to target a user or filter / breakdown visits in reports​

Tracking goal conversions​

Sending events to analytics solutions​

Cross-device experimentation​

Synchronizing custom data across devices​

Using custom data for session merging​

Targeting conditions​

Logging​

Log levels​

Custom handling of logs​

Reference​

Initialization​

create()​

Arguments​

Exceptions thrown​

wait_init()​

Return value​

Feature flags and variations​

feature_active?()​

Arguments​

Return value​

Exceptions thrown​

get_variation()​

Arguments​

Return value​

Exceptions thrown​

get_variations()​

Arguments​

Return value​

Exceptions thrown​

get_feature_variation_key()​

Arguments​

Return value​

Exceptions thrown​

get_feature_list()​

Return value​

get_active_feature_list_for_visitor()​

Arguments​

Return value​

Exceptions thrown​

get_active_features()​

Arguments​

Return value​

Exceptions thrown​

set_forced_variation()​

Arguments​

Exceptions thrown​

Variables​

get_feature_variable()​

Arguments​

Return value​

Exceptions thrown​

get_feature_variation_variables()​

Arguments​

Return value​

Exceptions thrown​

Visitor data​

get_visitor_code()​

Arguments​

Return value​

add_data()​

Arguments​

Exceptions​

flush()​

Arguments​

get_remote_data()​

Arguments​

Return value​

Exceptions thrown​

get_remote_visitor_data()​

Using parameters in get_remote_visitor_data()​

Developer guide

Getting Started

Install the SDK

Configure the client

Initialize the client

Activating a feature flag

Assigning a unique ID to a user

Retrieving a flag configuration

Adding data points to target a user or filter / breakdown visits in reports

Tracking goal conversions

Sending events to analytics solutions

Cross-device experimentation

Synchronizing custom data across devices

Using custom data for session merging

Targeting conditions

Logging

Log levels

Custom handling of logs

Reference

Initialization

create()

Arguments

Exceptions thrown

wait_init()

Return value

Feature flags and variations

feature_active?()

Arguments

Return value

Exceptions thrown

get_variation()

Arguments

Return value

Exceptions thrown

get_variations()

Arguments

Return value

Exceptions thrown

get_feature_variation_key()

Arguments

Return value

Exceptions thrown

get_feature_list()

Return value

get_active_feature_list_for_visitor()

Arguments

Return value

Exceptions thrown

get_active_features()

Arguments

Return value

Exceptions thrown

set_forced_variation()

Arguments

Exceptions thrown

Variables

get_feature_variable()

Arguments

Return value

Exceptions thrown

get_feature_variation_variables()

Arguments

Return value

Exceptions thrown

Visitor data

get_visitor_code()

Arguments

Return value

add_data()

Arguments

Exceptions

flush()

Arguments

get_remote_data()

Arguments

Return value

Exceptions thrown

get_remote_visitor_data()

Using parameters in get_remote_visitor_data()

Arguments