Android SDK reference

This reference guide documents all of the methods available in the Android SDK, and explains in detail how these methods work. If you want to dig even deeper, our SDKs are open source. To learn more, view the source on GitHub or the generated Javadocs. Additionally you can clone and run a sample application that uses this SDK.

Getting started

Building on top of our Getting Started guide, the following steps will get you started with using the LaunchDarkly SDK in your Android application.

To get started, declare a dependency on the LaunchDarkly Android SDK.

1implementation 'com.launchdarkly:launchdarkly-android-client-sdk:3.0.0'
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The SDK uses AndroidX from Jetpack. For projects not currently using AndroidX, a migration guide is available here.

Next, import the LaunchDarkly client in your application code.

1import com.launchdarkly.sdk.*;
2import com.launchdarkly.sdk.android.*;
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Once the SDK is installed, create a single, shared instance of LDClient. Specify your mobile key here so that your application is authorized to connect to LaunchDarkly and retrieve flag values for your application and environment.

The following example shows the simplest way to create the client. It will block for up to five seconds until the latest feature flags are retrieved from LaunchDarkly.

1LDConfig ldConfig = new LDConfig.Builder()
2    .mobileKey("YOUR_MOBILE_KEY")
3    .build();
4
5LDUser user = new LDUser.Builder("user key")
6    .email("fake@example.com")
7    .build();
8
9LDClient ldClient = LDClient.init(this.getApplication(), ldConfig, user, 5);
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However, calling blocking code from the main thread in an Android app is not a best practice. The preferred method is shown below. It allows you to use the client immediately. Flags from the previous launch of the app are stored on the device and retrieved for immediate use. The client still connects in the background and continually updates itself with the latest flags.

1LDClient ldClient = LDClient.init(this.getApplication(), ldConfig, user, 0);
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Using ldClient, you can check which variation a particular user receives for a given feature flag.

1boolean showFeature = ldClient.boolVariation(flagKey, true);
2if (showFeature) {
3    // application code to show the feature
4}
5else {
6    // the code to run if the feature is off
7}
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When your application is about to terminate, shut down ldClient. This ensures that the client releases any resources it is using, and that any pending analytics events are delivered to LaunchDarkly. If your application quits without this shutdown step, you may not see your requests and users on the dashboard, because they are derived from analytics events. This is something you only need to do once.

1ldClient.close();
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Data collection

To learn more about data collection within this SDK and implications on submissions to the Apple App Store, read Apple App Store data collection policy.

Supported features

This SDK supports the following features:

• Configuration
• Evaluating flags
• Flag evaluation reasons
• Flushing events
• Getting all flags
• Identifying and changing users
• Logging configuration
• Monitoring SDK status
• Multiple environments
• Offline mode
• Sending custom events
• Subscribing to flag changes
• User configuration