Embrace Apple SDK

The Embrace Apple SDK instruments your iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, visionOS, and watchOS* apps to collect observability data. This project represents a shift from the previous Embrace SDK in that it adopts a more modular approach that supports the OpenTelemetry standard. We have also added features that extend OpenTelemetry to better support mobile apps.

Telemetry recorded through this SDK can be consumed on the Embrace platform for Embrace customers, but it can also be used by those who are not Embrace customers to export collected data directly to any OTel Collector, either one that they host or is hosted by other vendors. In effect, this SDK is an alternative to using the OpenTelemetry Swift SDK directly for iOS apps that want to leverage the OpenTelemetry ecosystem for observability, but also want all the advanced telemetry capture that Embrace is known for.

Currently, only Spans and Logs are supported, but other signals will be added in the future.

More documentation and examples can be found at https://embrace.io/docs/.

Features

Currently Supported Key Features

• Session capture
• Crash capture
• Network capture
• OTel trace capture
• Custom breadcrumbs
• Custom logs
• OpenTelemetry Export
• Session properties
• Automatic view tracking
• Network payload capture

Key Features Coming Soon

• Metrickit capture

Getting Started

For a more detailed walkthrough, check the GETTING_STARTED doc. You can also open the BrandGame project under Examples/BrandGame to see an app that is already setup and using the EmbraceIO package.

---

Here is a quick overview to start using the Embrace SDK. You'll need to:

1. Import the EmbraceIO module
2. Create an instance of the Embrace client by passing Embrace.Options to the setup method.
3. Call the start method on that instance

This should be done as early as possible in the runtime of your app, for instance, the UIApplicationDelegate.applicationDidFinishLaunching(_:) could be a good place.

Here is a code snippet:

import EmbraceIO
// ...

func application(_ application: UIApplication, didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplication.LaunchOptionsKey: Any]?) -> Bool {

    do {
      try Embrace.setup(options: .init(appId: "myApp"))
      try Embrace.client?.start()
    } catch {
      // Unable to start Embrace
    }

    return true
}

Its also possible to chain these calls as setup will return the Embrace.client instance:

import EmbraceIO
// ...

func application(_ application: UIApplication, didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplication.LaunchOptionsKey: Any]?) -> Bool {

    do {
      try Embrace
        .setup( .init(appId: "myApp") )
        .start()

    } catch {
      // Unable to start Embrace
    }

    return true
}

Do I have to try?

It is unlikely that the SDK will fail during startup, but it is possible. The most notable reasons are is no space left on disk to create our data stores or these data stores may have become corrupt. The interface accounts for these edge cases and will throw an error if they occur.

The Embrace.client instance will return nil if setup has never been called or if setup throws an error. Its possible to use Swift's "Optional try" in order to make this entry point as concise as possible:

import EmbraceIO
// ...

func application(_ application: UIApplication, didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplication.LaunchOptionsKey: Any]?) -> Bool {
    try? Embrace
        .setup(options: .init(appId: "myApp"))
        .start()

    // Can leverage optional behavior if desired
    let span = Embrace.client?.buildSpan("app-did-finish-launching", type: .performance)
    // ...
    span?.end()

    return true
}

What's next?

Now that you're Embrace instance is setup and started, its time to add some custom instrumentation! See the full list of features in our docs below, but here are some quick examples:

Creating a span:

let span = Embrace.client?
  .buildSpan(name: "my-custom-operation", type: .performance)
  .startSpan()

// perform `my-custom-operation`

span?.end()

Adding User data:

Embrace.client?.metadata.userEmail = "testing.email@my-org.com"
Embrace.client?.metadata.userIdentifier = "827B02FE-D868-461D-8B4A-FE7371818369"
Embrace.client?.metadata.userName = "tony.the.tester"

Prerequisites

Github

We are using our own KSCrash fork, so we need to set up Github credentials in Xcode to provide the required access.

• Go to the "Accounts" tab in "Settings" (cmd+,)
• Verify you have Github credentials saved, or click the + sign to add Github credentials.

Building and Running Tests

Open the project in Xcode by either selecting the directory or the Package.swift file itself. If opening for the first time, Xcode may take a bit to resolve the Package Dependencies and index the project.

To build the project, select the EmbraceIO-Package scheme and in the menu select Product -> Build (⌘+B).

Testing

To run tests in Xcode, select the EmbraceIO-Package scheme and in the menu select Product -> Test (⌘+U). You can also open the Test Navigator (⌘+6) and run individual tests using Xcode's UI.

There is also the bin/test command that can be used to run tests from the command line. It is recommended to pipe this through xcpretty.

bin/test | xcpretty

Linting and Guidelines

We use SwiftLint to enforce consistency and every pull request must pass a lint check to be merged.

You can install SwiftLint by following the instructions in their README. We recommend homebrew:

brew install swiftlint

Once swiftlint is in your PATH, you can run the linter:

swiftlint --fix

Using SwiftLint

Aside from the warnings and errors that will appear directly in Xcode, you can use SwiftLint to automatically correct some issues. For this first you'll need to install SwiftLint in your local environment. Follow SwiftLint's GitHub page to see all available options.

• Use swiftlint lint --strict to get a report on all the issues.
• Use swiftlint --fix to fix issues automatically when possible.

Setup pre-commit hook

We strongly recommend to use a pre-commit hook to make sure all the modified files follow the guidelines before pushing. We have provided an example pre-commit hook in .githooks/pre-commit. Note that depending on your local environment, you might need to edit the pre-commit file to set the path to swiftlint.

cp .githooks/pre-commit .git/hooks/pre-commit

Alternatives on how to setup the hook:

• Use the core.hooksPath setting to change the hooks path (git config core.hooksPath .githooks)

Troubleshooting

Github auth issues

If you cannot fetch the KSCrash dependency, you most likely have Github auth issues in Xcode.

1. Verify you have set up Github credentials in on the "Accounts" tab in "Settings"
2. Enter the passcode for your SSH key on that page if prompted to do so.
3. If you have the following in your .gitconfig, remove it since Xcode apparently does not handle this

[url "ssh://git@github.com/"]
  insteadOf = https://github.com/

To test that your changes fixed the auth issue, attempt to fetch the dependencies with "File" -> "Packages" --> "Reset package caches".

WatchOS Support

Warning

WatchOS support does not currently include the Embrace Crash Reporter. Instrumentation and observability will be possible but the SDK will not be able to collect crash reports.

Support

We appreciate any feedback you have on the SDK and the APIs that it provides.

To contribute to this project please see our Contribution Guidelines. After completing the Individual Contributor License Agreement (CLA), you'll be able to submit a feature request, create a bug report, or submit a pull request.

For urgent matters (such as outages) or issues concerning the Embrace service or UI, reach out in our Community Slack for direct, faster assistance.

License

Embrace Apple SDK is published under the Apache-2.0 license.