Step 1. Create an input

An input is the original source of the data you want to track. This could be a website, mobile app, or even a data feed from another platform. The mParticle SDK you use depends on your input.

In this tutorial, we’ll use the iOS SDK. However, before we can fully integrate the SDK into our app we need to create the input in our mParticle account.

1.1 Create an input

1. Navigate to https://app.mparticle.com/ and log in. Depending on your location, you might need to log into mParticle via a specific pod URL. For a full list of these URLs view Data Hosting Locations.
2. In the left nav bar, click Setup, then click Inputs. You’ll see a list of supported platforms.
3. Select iOS.

4. Click Issue Keys.
5. Copy your new key and secret before clicking Close.

1.2 Initialize the SDK

The iOS SDK is initialized in an MParticleOptions object. When initializing the SDK, you must include both your API key and secret generated when setting up an iOS input in mParticle.

The Higgs Shop initializes the SDK in the file core-sdk-samples/higgs-shop-sample-app/HiggsShopSampleApp/AppDelegate.swift:

func makeOptions() -> MParticleOptions? {
    guard let key = getConfigInfo("MPARTICLE_KEY"),
            let secret = getConfigInfo("MPARTICLE_SECRET") else {
                AppDelegate.shouldShowCredsAlert = true
                log("Error: No mParticle key and secret were found")
                return nil
            }
    if key == "REPLACEME" || secret == "REPLACEME" {
        AppDelegate.shouldShowCredsAlert = true
        if let value = getOverrideConfig("IS_UITEST") {
            if value == "YES" {
                AppDelegate.shouldShowCredsAlert = false
            }
        }
    }
    let options = MParticleOptions(key: key, secret: secret)
    if let logLevel = parseLogLevel(getConfigInfo("MPARTICLE_LOGLEVEL")) {
        // Log level is set to .none by default--you should use a preprocessor directive to ensure it is only set for your non-App Store build configurations (e.g. Debug, Enterprise distribution, etc)
        #if DEBUG
        options.logLevel = logLevel
        #endif
    }
    options.customLogger = { (message: String) in
        self.log("Custom Higgs Logs - \(message)")
    }
    if let autoTracking = parseBool(getConfigInfo("MPARTICLE_AUTOTRACKING")) {
        if autoTracking == false {
            options.automaticSessionTracking = false
            options.shouldBeginSession = false
            Self.eventsBeginSessions = false
        }
    }
    if let sessionTimeout = parseDouble(getConfigInfo("MPARTICLE_SESSIONTIMEOUT")) {
        options.sessionTimeout = sessionTimeout
    }
    if let proxyDelegate = parseBool(getConfigInfo("MPARTICLE_PROXYDELEGATE")) {
        if proxyDelegate == false {
            // If you are disabling App Delegate proxying, you will need to manually forward certain App Delegate methods.
            // See our docs here: https://docs.mparticle.com/developers/sdk/ios/configuration/#uiapplication-delegate-proxy
            options.proxyAppDelegate = false
        }
    }
    return options
}

Notice that when the Higgs Shop sample app initializez the SDK, some options (like the log level, key, and secret) are defined in environment variables which can be changed by editing the scheme in Xcode.

1.3 Insert your API key and secret

The Higgs Shop sample app defines environment variables for your API key and secret in a scheme. To add your API key and secret to the sample app:

1. Open HiggsShopSampleApp.xcodeproj in Xcode.
2. From your computer’s menu bar, click Product > Scheme > Edit Scheme….

3. Make sure Run is selected in the left nav bar of the modal. Click Arguments.
4. Under Environment Variables replace the text REPLACEME with your API key and secret for the variables named MPARTICLE_KEY and MPARTICLE_SECRET.

5. Click Close.

1.4 iOS SDK configuration settings

The SDK includes configuration settings so you can customize your integration. There are two that you should be aware of at this stage:

Environment

Data sent from your app to mParticle is labeled as either Development or Production. By default, the sample app is configured to label all data as Development. Since you are setting up a development environment to learn how the iOS SDK works, do not change this setting.

If you were to release an iOS app to the public with an mParticle integration, you can change the environment to Production by editing the scheme:

1. Select Product > Scheme > Edit Scheme… in the menu bar.
2. With Run selected in the left nav bar of the modal, click Info.
3. In the Build Configuration dropdown, select Release. Click Close.

Log level

You can set your log level to VERBOSE or ERROR depending on the level of detail you want printed to the console when running your app. By default, the sample app is configured with the VERBOSE log level. Do not change this setting when following this tutorial.

Learn more about iOS SDK log level settings in Getting Started.

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