Getting Started

Welcome to the SDK implementation guide!

This guide is designed to help you seamlessly integrate our SDK into your application. By following the outlined steps, you’ll be able to collect and analyze data from your app, within just a few minutes.

The SDK is shipped as a Capacitor plugin which you need to add as a dependency to your Capacitor application.

See Compatibility for more information.

Install the plugin as follows, specifying the exact version you want to install if needed:

Terminal window
npm install @contentsquare/capacitor-plugin
npx cap sync

You do not need to do anything to start the SDK. Now that the SDK is a dependency of your app, it will autostart itself when your application starts.

Start your application, and check logs for this output:

CSLIB: Contentsquare SDK 6.0.0 starting in app: com.example.testapp

Contentsquare provides logging capabilities that allow you to inspect the raw event data logged by your app in Android Studio, Xcode, or on the Contentsquare platform.

To view all logs, you must enable in-app features: logging is linked to in-app features being enabled or disabled.

To view SDK logs:

  1. Plug your Android phone into your computer (or use an emulator)
  2. Open Android Studio and start your app
  3. Open the Logcat view and select your phone or emulator
  4. Filter logs by CSLIB

In-app features are essential for your implementation, as it includes key functionalities like snapshot creation and replay configuration.

To allow Contentsquare users to enable in-app features, perform these tasks:

  1. Add the custom URL scheme in your app Info
  2. Call the SDK when the app is launched via a deeplink

1. Add the custom URL scheme in your app Info

Section titled 1. Add the custom URL scheme in your app Info

You have to allow your app to be opened via a custom URL scheme which can be done using one of the following methods:

  1. Open your project settings
  2. Select the app target
  3. Select the Info settings
  4. Scroll to URL Types
  5. Set the URL scheme to cs-$(PRODUCT_BUNDLE_IDENTIFIER)
  1. Open the Info.plist of your project

  2. Add the following snippet:

    Info.plist
    <key>CFBundleURLTypes</key>
    <array>
    <dict>
    <key>CFBundleURLSchemes</key>
    <array>
    <string>cs-$(PRODUCT_BUNDLE_IDENTIFIER)</string>
    </array>
    </dict>
    </array>
Section titled 2. Call the SDK when the app is launched via a deeplink

Depending of the project, there are multiple ways to handle the deeplink opening. Choose the method matching your project structure:

In your AppDelegate class, complete or implement the function application(app, open url:, options:) with: Contentsquare.handle(url: url)

To enable in-app features within your app, you have to first make sure your app is launched in the background. Then, follow the appropriate method described as follows.

In Contentsquare, select the Mobile icon in the menu top bar and scan the QR code with your phone.

Scan the QR Code (Android)

In Contentsquare, select the Mobile icon in the menu top bar then select your application ID, and “Copy this ADB command”.

Log Visualizer is a feature integrated into the Contentsquare SDK. As you navigate and interact with your app, it provides a live view of events detected by the SDK, visible directly on the Contentsquare platform.

  1. Start your app.
  2. Select the Mobile icon in the menu top bar then select Log Visualizer.
  3. Select the device to inspect.

At this stage, you should see an ‘App start’ or ‘App show’ event being logged.

Log visualizer Android app start

Contentsquare collects usage data from your app users. To start tracking, you need your users’ consent for being tracked.

The SDK treats users as opted-out by default.

Forward user consent with optIn(). Calling this method generates a user ID and initiates tracking.

import { ContentsquarePlugin } from '@contentsquare/capacitor-plugin';
ContentsquarePlugin.optIn();

Contentsquare aggregates the user behavior and engagement at the screen level. Start your SDK implementation by tracking key screens like the home screen, product list, product details, or conversion funnel.

Screen tracking is achieved by sending a screenview event each time a new screen is displayed on the user’s device.

import { ContentsquarePlugin } from '@contentsquare/capacitor-plugin';
ContentsquarePlugin.sendScreenName(screenName)
.catch((err) => {
// Handle error
});

Implementation recommendations

Section titled Implementation recommendations

From a functional perspective, a screenview should be triggered in the following cases:

  • When the screen appears on the device
  • When a modal or pop-up is displayed
  • When a modal or pop-up is closed, returning the user to the screen
  • When the app is brought back to the foreground (after being minimized)

It is necessary to provide a name for each screen when calling the screenview API.

As a general rule, keep distinct screen names under 100. As they are used to map your app in Contentsquare, you will want something comprehensive. The screen name length is not limited on the SDK side. However, the limit is 2083 characters on the server side.

More on screen name handling.

Testing your SDK implementation is essential to make sure data is being accurately captured and reported.

To test your setup, simulate user interactions in your app and check that the events are logged correctly in our analytics platform.

You can also use debugging tools such as Android Studio, Xcode, or Log Visualizer to monitor data transmission and ensure everything is running smoothly.

Visualize events in Contentsquare

Section titled Visualize events in Contentsquare

Use Log Visualizer to view incoming events within the Contentsquare pipeline. This allows you to monitor the stream in real time.

By simulating user activity, you see incoming screenview and gesture events.

Log visualizer Android activity

Visualize data in Contentsquare

Section titled Visualize data in Contentsquare

Open Journey Analysis in Contentsquare and visualize the user journeys main steps across your app, screen by screen.

See how to use Journey Analysis on the Help Center.

Open Session Replay in Contentsquare and replay the full user session across your app.

See how to use Session Replay on the Help Center

To explore some of these features in context, check our Capacitor sample app.

capacitor-sample-app

A sample app giving an example implementation of the Contentsquare SDK

TypeScript

While screen tracking gives an overview of user navigation, capturing session, screen, or user metadata provides a deeper understanding of the context behind user behavior.

Our SDK offers a wide range of features to enhance your implementation, including Session Replay, Error Monitoring, extended tracking capabilities, and personal data masking.

Proceed with these how-to’s to refine your implementation.