flutter_branch_sdk

This is a Flutter plugin that implemented Branch SDK (https://branch.io).

Branch.io helps mobile apps grow with deep links that power referral systems, sharing links and invites with full attribution and analytics.

Supports both Android and iOS.

• Android - Branch SDK Version >= 5.0.3 Android Version History
• iOS - Branch SDK Version >= 0.36.0 iOS Version History

Implemented functions in plugin:

• Test Branch Integration
• Track users
• Enable / Disable User Tracking
• Get First and Last Parameters
• Generate Deep Link for Branch Universal Object (BUO)
• Show Share Sheet for Branch Universal Object (BUO)
• List BUO on Search / Remove BUO from Search
• Register view
• Track User Actions and Events
• Init Branch Session and Deep Link
• Referral rewards

Note: This plugin not work with FlutterFragmentActivity

Getting Started

Configure Branch Dashboard

• Register Your App
• Complete the Basic integration in Branch Dashboard

For details see:

• iOS - only section: Configure Branch
• Android - only section: Configure Branch Dashboard

Configure Platform Project

Android Integration

Follow the steps on the page https://help.branch.io/developers-hub/docs/android-basic-integration#configure-app, session Configure app:

• Add Branch to your AndroidManifest.xml

iOS Integration

Follow the steps on the page https://help.branch.io/developers-hub/docs/ios-basic-integration#configure-bundle-identifier, from session Configure bundle identifier:

• Configure bundle identifier
• Configure associated domains
• Configure entitlements
• Configure Info.plist
• Confirm app prefix

Note 1: Branch SDK 0.32.0 requires at least iOS 9.0.
Update the minimum version in the project, in the section "Deployment Info" -> "Target".

Note 2: In Info.plist not add branch_key live and test at the same time.
Use only branch_key and update as needed.

Installation

To use the plugin, add flutter_branch_sdk as a dependency in your pubspec.yaml file.

How to use

Test Branch Integration

Test your Branch Integration by calling:

FlutterBranchSdk.validateSDKIntegration();

Check logs to make sure all the SDK Integration tests pass.

Example of log:

------------------- Initiating Branch integration verification --------------------------- ... 
1. Verifying Branch instance creation ... 
Passed
2. Checking Branch keys ... 
Passed
3. Verifying application package name ... 
Passed
4. Checking Android Manifest for URI based deep link config ... 
Passed
5. Verifying URI based deep link config with Branch dash board. ... 
Passed
6. Verifying intent for receiving URI scheme. ... 
Passed
7. Checking AndroidManifest for AppLink config. ... 
Passed
8. Verifying any supported custom link domains. ... 
Passed
9. Verifying default link domains integrations. ... 
Passed
10. Verifying alternate link domains integrations. ... 
Passed
Passed
--------------------------------------------
Successfully completed Branch integration validation. Everything looks good!
 
Great! Comment out the 'validateSDKIntegration' line in your app. Next check your deep link routing.
Append '?bnc_validate=true' to any of your app's Branch links and click it on your mobile device (not the Simulator!) to start the test.
For instance, to validate a link like:
https://<yourapp>.app.link/NdJ6nFzRbK
click on:
https://<yourapp>.app.link/NdJ6nFzRbK?bnc_validate=true

Make sure to comment out or remove validateSDKIntegration in your production build.

Initialize Branch and read deep link

    StreamSubscription<Map> streamSubscription = FlutterBranchSdk.initSession().listen((data) {
      if (data.containsKey("+clicked_branch_link") &&
          data["+clicked_branch_link"] == true) {
         //Link clicked. Add logic to get link data
         print('Custom string: ${data["custom_string"]}');
      }
    }, onError: (error) {
      PlatformException platformException = error as PlatformException;
      print(
          'InitSession error: ${platformException.code} - ${platformException.message}');
    });

Retrieve Install (Install Only) Parameters

If you ever want to access the original session params (the parameters passed in for the first install event only), you can use this line. This is useful if you only want to reward users who newly installed the app from a referral link

    Map<dynamic, dynamic> params = await FlutterBranchSdk.getFirstReferringParams();

Retrieve session (install or open) parameters

These session parameters will be available at any point later on with this command. If no parameters are available then Branch will return an empty dictionary. This refreshes with every new session (app installs AND app opens).

    Map<dynamic, dynamic> params = await FlutterBranchSdk.getLatestReferringParams();

Create content reference

The Branch Universal Object encapsulates the thing you want to share.

    BranchUniversalObject buo = BranchUniversalObject(
      canonicalIdentifier: 'flutter/branch',
      title: 'Flutter Branch Plugin',
      imageUrl: 'https://flutter.dev/assets/flutter-lockup-4cb0ee072ab312e59784d9fbf4fb7ad42688a7fdaea1270ccf6bbf4f34b7e03f.svg',
      contentDescription: 'Flutter Branch Description',
      keywords: ['Plugin', 'Branch', 'Flutter'],
      publiclyIndex: true,
      locallyIndex: true,
      contentMetadata: BranchContentMetaData()..addCustomMetadata('custom_string', 'abc')
          ..addCustomMetadata('custom_number', 12345)
          ..addCustomMetadata('custom_bool', true)
          ..addCustomMetadata('custom_list_number', [1,2,3,4,5 ])
          ..addCustomMetadata('custom_list_string', ['a', 'b', 'c']),
    );

Create link reference

• Generates the analytical properties for the deep link
• Used for Create deep link and Share deep link

    BranchLinkProperties lp = BranchLinkProperties(
        channel: 'facebook',
        feature: 'sharing',
        stage: 'new share',
      tags: ['one', 'two', 'three']
    );
    lp.addControlParam('url', 'http://www.google.com');
    lp.addControlParam('url2', 'http://flutter.dev');

Create deep link

Generates a deep link within your app

    BranchResponse response =
        await FlutterBranchSdk.getShortUrl(buo: buo, linkProperties: lp);
    if (response.success) {
      print('Link generated: ${response.result}');
    } else {
        print('Error : ${response.errorCode} - ${response.errorMessage}');
    }

Show Share Sheet deep link

Will generate a Branch deep link and tag it with the channel the user selects. Note: For Android additional customization is possible

    BranchResponse response = await FlutterBranchSdk.showShareSheet(
        buo: buo,
        linkProperties: lp,
        messageText: 'My Share text',
        androidMessageTitle: 'My Message Title',
        androidSharingTitle: 'My Share with');

    if (response.success) {
      print('showShareSheet Sucess');
    } else {
      print('Error : ${response.errorCode} - ${response.errorMessage}');
    }

List content on Search

• For Android list BUO links in Google Search with App Indexing
• For iOs list BUO links in Spotlight

Enable automatic sitemap generation on the Organic Search page of the Branch Dashboard. Check the Automatic sitemap generation checkbox.

    bool success = await FlutterBranchSdk.listOnSearch(buo: buo);
    print(success);

Remove content from Search

Privately indexed Branch Universal Object can be removed

    bool success = await FlutterBranchSdk.removeFromSearch(buo: buo);
    print('Remove sucess: $success');

Register Event VIEW_ITEM

Mark the content referred by this object as viewed. This increment the view count of the contents referred by this object.

FlutterBranchSdk.registerView(buo: buo);

Tracking User Actions and Events

Use the BranchEvent interface to track special user actions or application specific events beyond app installs, opens, and sharing. You can track events such as when a user adds an item to an on-line shopping cart, or searches for a keyword, among others. The BranchEvent interface provides an interface to add contents represented by BranchUniversalObject in order to associate app contents with events. Analytics about your app's BranchEvents can be found on the Branch dashboard, and BranchEvents also provide tight integration with many third party analytics providers.

BranchEvent eventStandart = BranchEvent.standardEvent(BranchStandardEvent.ADD_TO_CART);
FlutterBranchSdk.trackContent(buo: buo, branchEvent: eventStandart);

You can use your own custom event names too:

BranchEvent eventCustom = BranchEvent.customEvent('Custom_event');
FlutterBranchSdk.trackContent(buo: buo, branchEvent: eventCustom);

Extra event specific data can be tracked with the event as well:

    eventStandart.transactionID = '12344555';
    eventStandart.currency = BranchCurrencyType.BRL;
    eventStandart.revenue = 1.5;
    eventStandart.shipping = 10.2;
    eventStandart.tax = 12.3;
    eventStandart.coupon = 'test_coupon';
    eventStandart.affiliation = 'test_affiliation';
    eventStandart.eventDescription = 'Event_description';
    eventStandart.searchQuery = 'item 123';
    eventStandart.adType = BranchEventAdType.BANNER;
    eventStandart.addCustomData(
        'Custom_Event_Property_Key1', 'Custom_Event_Property_val1');
    eventStandart.addCustomData(
        'Custom_Event_Property_Key2', 'Custom_Event_Property_val2');
    FlutterBranchSdk.trackContent(buo: buo, branchEvent: eventStandart);

You can register logs in BranchEvent without Branch Universal Object (BUO) for tracking and analytics:

BranchEvent eventStandart = BranchEvent.standardEvent(BranchStandardEvent.ADD_TO_CART);
FlutterBranchSdk.trackContentWithoutBuo(branchEvent: eventStandart);

You can use your own custom event names too:

BranchEvent eventCustom = BranchEvent.customEvent('Custom_event');
FlutterBranchSdk.trackContentWithoutBuo(branchEvent: eventCustom);

Track users

Sets the identity of a user (email, ID, UUID, etc) for events, deep links, and referrals

//login
FlutterBranchSdk.setIdentity('user1234567890');

//logout
FlutterBranchSdk.logout();

//check if user is identify
 bool isUserIdentified = await FlutterBranchSdk.isUserIdentified();

Enable or Disable User Tracking

If you need to comply with a user's request to not be tracked for GDPR purposes, or otherwise determine that a user should not be tracked, utilize this field to prevent Branch from sending network requests. This setting can also be enabled across all users for a particular link, or across your Branch links.

FlutterBranchSdk.disableTracking(false);

FlutterBranchSdk.disableTracking(true);

You can choose to call this throughout the lifecycle of the app. Once called, network requests will not be sent from the SDKs. Link generation will continue to work, but will not contain identifying information about the user. In addition, deep linking will continue to work, but will not track analytics for the user.

Set Request Meta data

Add key value pairs to all requests

FlutterBranchSdk.setRequestMetadata(requestMetadataKey, requestMetadataValue);

Set time window (in Hours) for SKAdNetwork callouts (iOS only)

By default, Branch limits calls to SKAdNetwork to within 72 hours after first install.

FlutterBranchSdk.setIOSSKAdNetworkMaxTime(24);

Apple Search Ads

Branch can help track your Apple Search Ad campaigns by fetching the search ad attribution from Apple at app install.

Add KEY branch_check_apple_ads in INFO.PLIST to enable checking for Apple Search Ads before Branch initialization.

In ios/Runner/Info.plist, you should have something like:

 	<key>branch_check_apple_ads</key>
	<true/>

Referral System Rewarding Functionality

Reward balances change randomly on the backend when certain actions are taken (defined by your rules), so you'll need to make an asynchronous call to retrieve the balance. Read more here: https://docs.branch.io/viral/referrals/#search

Get Reward Balance

Reward balances change randomly on the backend when certain actions are taken (defined by your rules), so you'll need to make call to retrieve the balance. Here is the syntax:

optional parameter: bucket - value containing the name of the referral bucket to attempt to redeem credits from

BranchResponse response =
    await FlutterBranchSdk.loadRewards();
if (response.success) {
    credits = response.result;
    print('Crédits');
} else {
    print('Credits error: ${response.errorMessage}');
}

Redeem All or Some of the Reward Balance (Store State)

Redeeming credits allows users to cash in the credits they've earned. Upon successful redemption, the user's balance will be updated reflecting the deduction.

optional parameter: bucket - value containing the name of the referral bucket to attempt to redeem credits from

BranchResponse response =
    await FlutterBranchSdk.redeemRewards(count: 5);
if (response.success) {
    print('Redeeming Credits with success');
} else {
    print('Redeeming Credits with error: ${response.errorMessage}');
}

Get Credit History

This call will retrieve the entire history of credits and redemptions from the individual user. To use this call, implement like so:

optional parameter: bucket - value containing the name of the referral bucket to attempt to redeem credits from

BranchResponse response =
    await FlutterBranchSdk.getCreditHistory();
if (response.success) {
    print('getCreditHistory with success. Records: ${(response.result as List).length}');
} else {
    print('getCreditHistory with error: ${response.errorMessage}');
}

The response will return an list of map:

[
    {
        "transaction": {
                           "date": "2014-10-14T01:54:40.425Z",
                           "id": "50388077461373184",
                           "bucket": "default",
                           "type": 0,
                           "amount": 5
                       },
        "event" : {
            "name": "event name",
            "metadata": { your event metadata if present }
        },
        "referrer": "12345678",
        "referree": null
    },
    {
        "transaction": {
                           "date": "2014-10-14T01:55:09.474Z",
                           "id": "50388199301710081",
                           "bucket": "default",
                           "type": 2,
                           "amount": -3
                       },
        "event" : {
            "name": "event name",
            "metadata": { your event metadata if present }
        },
        "referrer": null,
        "referree": "12345678"
    }
]

referrer : The id of the referring user for this credit transaction. Returns null if no referrer is involved. Note this id is the user id in a developer's own system that's previously passed to Branch's identify user API call.

referree : The id of the user who was referred for this credit transaction. Returns null if no referree is involved. Note this id is the user id in a developer's own system that's previously passed to Branch's identify user API call.

type : This is the type of credit transaction.

• 0 - A reward that was added automatically by the user completing an action or promo.
• 1 - A reward that was added manually.
• 2 - A redemption of credits that occurred through our API or SDKs.
• 3 - This is a very unique case where we will subtract credits automatically when we detect fraud.

Getting Started

See the example directory for a complete sample app using Branch SDK.

Branch Universal Object best practices

Here are a set of best practices to ensure that your analytics are correct, and your content is ranking on Spotlight effectively.

1. Set the canonicalIdentifier to a unique, de-duped value across instances of the app
2. Ensure that the title, contentDescription and imageUrl properly represent the object
3. Initialize the Branch Universal Object and call FlutterBranchSdk.registerView(buo: buo); on initState()
4. Call showShareSheet and getShortUrl later in the life cycle, when the user takes an action that needs a link
5. Call the additional object events (purchase, share completed, etc) when the corresponding user action is taken

Practices to avoid:

1. Don't set the same title, contentDescription and imageUrl across all objects.
2. Don't wait to initialize the object and register views until the user goes to share.
3. Don't wait to initialize the object until you conveniently need a link.
4. Don't create many objects at once and register views in a for loop.

Branch Documentation

Read the iOS or Android documentation for all Branch object parameters

• Android - https://help.branch.io/developers-hub/docs/android-advanced-features
• iOS - https://help.branch.io/developers-hub/docs/ios-advanced-features

Author

This project was authored by Rodrigo S. Marques. You can contact me at [email protected]