Android (Kotlin) SDK Quickstart
4 minute read
This guide will walk you through setting up the Android (Kotlin) SDK and sending your first events to RudderStack.
Prerequisites
- You must have Android Studio installed on your system.
- Sign up for RudderStack.
- Set up a new Android (Kotlin) source in the RudderStack dashboard and note its write keyThe write key (or source write key) is a unique identifier for your source. RudderStack uses this key to send events from a source to the specified destination. .
- You will also need the data plane URLThe data plane URL is the location where events are routed and sent to the RudderStack backend for processing. You can find this URL at the top of the Connections page in your RudderStack dashboard. associated with your RudderStack workspace.
Step 1: Install Android (Kotlin) SDK
The steps covered in the below sections will help you integrate the RudderStack Android (Kotlin) SDK into your Android project:
Add dependencies
dependencies {
implementation("com.rudderstack.sdk.kotlin:android:<latest-version>")
}dependencies {
implementation 'com.rudderstack.sdk.kotlin:android:<latest-version>'
}Add the dependency to your libs.versions.toml file:
[versions]
rudderstack = "<latest-version>"
[libraries]
rudderstack-kotlin = { module = "com.rudderstack.sdk.kotlin:android", version.ref = "rudderstack" }Then, include it in your build.gradle.kts:
dependencies {
implementation(libs.rudderstack.kotlin)
}Configure Maven Central
Make sure that Maven Central is included in your settings.gradle.kts file:
pluginManagement {
repositories {
google()
mavenCentral()
gradlePluginPortal()
}
}
dependencyResolutionManagement {
repositories {
google()
mavenCentral()
}
}For Groovy (settings.gradle), add:
pluginManagement {
repositories {
google()
mavenCentral()
gradlePluginPortal()
}
}
dependencyResolutionManagement {
repositories {
google()
mavenCentral()
}
}Add the INTERNET permission
Add the following permission to your app’s AndroidManifest.xml so the SDK can send network requests:
<!-- Required: Allows access to the internet for network communication -->
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />The Android (Kotlin) SDK does not declare this permission for you. You must add it to your app manifest for the SDK to send network requests.
Step 2: Initialize the SDK
Before tracking any events, initialize the Android (Kotlin) SDK in your Application class, as shown:
import android.app.Application
import com.rudderstack.sdk.kotlin.android.Analytics
import com.rudderstack.sdk.kotlin.android.Configuration
class MyApplication : Application() {
lateinit var analytics: Analytics
override fun onCreate() {
super.onCreate()
analytics = Analytics(
configuration = Configuration(
writeKey = "WRITE_KEY",
application = this,
dataPlaneUrl = "DATA_PLANE_URL",
)
)
}
}import com.rudderstack.sdk.kotlin.android.Configuration;
import com.rudderstack.sdk.kotlin.android.javacompat.ConfigurationBuilder;
import com.rudderstack.sdk.kotlin.android.javacompat.JavaAnalytics;
public class MyApplication extends Application {
public JavaAnalytics analytics;
@Override
public void onCreate() {
super.onCreate();
Configuration configuration = new ConfigurationBuilder(this, "WRITE_KEY", "DATA_PLANE_URL")
.setTrackApplicationLifecycleEvents(true)
.setGzipEnabled(true)
.build();
analytics = new JavaAnalytics(configuration);
}
}Replace the WRITE_KEY and DATA_PLANE_URL parameters with the Android (Kotlin) source write key and the data plane URL obtained in Prerequisites.
Step 3: Identify users
You can use the identify event to identify a user and associate them with their actions. It also enables you to record any traits about them like their name, email, etc.
You can use the identify method as follows:
import kotlinx.serialization.json.buildJsonObject
import kotlinx.serialization.json.put
analytics.identify(
userId = "1hKOmRA4el9Zt1WSfVJIVo4GRlm",
traits = buildJsonObject {
put("name", "Alex Keener")
put("email", "alex@example.com")
}
)import java.util.HashMap;
HashMap<String, Object> traits = new HashMap<>();
traits.put("name", "Alex Keener");
traits.put("email", "alex@example.com");
analytics.identify("1hKOmRA4el9Zt1WSfVJIVo4GRlm", traits);Step 4: Track user actions
Once the Android (Kotlin) SDK is initialized, you can send track user actions and send them as events.
A sample track event triggered once the order is completed successfully is shown:
import kotlinx.serialization.json.buildJsonObject
import kotlinx.serialization.json.put
analytics.track(
name = "Order Completed",
properties = buildJsonObject {
put("revenue", 30)
put("currency", "USD")
}
)import java.util.HashMap;
HashMap<String, Object> properties = new HashMap<>();
properties.put("revenue", 30);
properties.put("currency", "USD");
analytics.track("Order Completed", properties);In the above snippet, the track method logs an event called Order Completed along with two event properties revenue and currency that provide additional context to the event.
