Roku SDK reference

This topic documents how to get started with the client-side Roku SDK, and links to reference information on all of the supported features.

Overview

This topic documents how to get started with the client-side Roku SDK, and links to reference information on all of the supported features. The Roku SDK is written in BrightScript.

LaunchDarkly’s SDKs are open source. In addition to this reference guide, we provide source, API reference documentation, and a sample application:

Resource	Location
SDK API documentation	None
Supported SDK Versions	Roku SDK
GitHub repository	roku-client-sdk
Sample application	Roku
Published module	available through GitHub releases

Get started

After you complete the Get started process, follow these instructions to start using the LaunchDarkly SDK in your Roku Application:

• Install the SDK
• Initialize the client
• (Optional) Initialize an interface to SceneGraph
• Evaluate a flag

Install the SDKWe provide releases on [Git

Hub](https://github.com/launchdarkly/roku-client-sdk/releases). Download the latest release and extract the provided files into your source tree. You may need to rename the paths inside LaunchDarklyTask.xml depending on your project structure.

For SceneGraph usage, add a LaunchDarklyTask node to your scene.

Initialize the client

To create a client instance, you need your environment’s mobile key and the context for which you want to evaluate flags. This authorizes your application to connect to a particular environment within LaunchDarkly.

The Roku SDK uses a mobile key. Keys are specific to each project and environment. They are available from Project settings, on the Environments list. To learn more about key types, read Keys.

Mobile keys are not secret and you can expose them in your client-side code without risk. However, never embed a server-side SDK key into a client-side application.

Here’s how to create the client:

Roku SDK v2.0 (BrightScript)

    ' get a reference to the task
    launchDarklyNode = m.top.findNode("my-node-name")

    ' create configuration
    config = LaunchDarklyConfig("example-mobile-key", launchDarklyNode)

    ' create a context. You'll need this context later, but you can ignore it for now.
    context = LaunchDarklyCreateContext({"key": "example-user-key", "kind": "user"})

    ' create message port
    messagePort = createObject("roMessagePort")

    ' initialize the client
    LaunchDarklySGInit(config, context)

To learn more about the specific configuration options available in this SDK, read Configuration.

It’s important to create a single client instance. The client instance maintains internal state that allows LaunchDarkly to serve feature flags without making any remote requests. Do not instantiate a new client with every request.

Initialize an interface to Scene

GraphIf you are working with SceneGraph, then for each SceneGraph component in which you want to use the Roku SDK, you need to initialize an interface to talk to the SceneGraph. This interface provides all the expected client functionality, such as evaluation.

Here’s how:

BrightScript

    ' create the scenegraph communication wrapper
    launchDarkly = LaunchDarklySG(launchDarklyNode)

Evaluate a flag

After you initialize the client, you can use it to check which variation a particular context will receive for a feature flag.

Here’s how:

BrightScript

    ' use the client
    value = launchDarkly.boolVariation("example-flag-key", false)

If you are not using the SceneGraph, then you need to poll events to drive the client in your standard event loop:

BrightScript

    while (true)

        ' do not wait forever or timers will break
        msg = wait(3000, messagePort)

        if launchDarkly.handleMessage(msg) then
            ' this message was for the client
        else
            ' handle non client messages
        end if
    end while

You must make feature flags available to mobile SDKs before the SDK can evaluate those flags. If an SDK tries to evaluate a feature flag that is not available, the context will receive the fallback value for that flag.

To make a flag available to this SDK, check the SDKs using Mobile key checkbox during flag creation, or toggle on the option in the flag’s right sidebar. To make all of a project’s flags available to this SDK by default, check the SDKs using Mobile key checkbox on your project’s Flag settings page.

Supported features

This SDK supports the following features:

• Anonymous contexts and users
• Configuration, including
  • Application metadata configuration
  • Service endpoint configuration
• Context configuration
• Evaluating flags
• Flag evaluation reasons
• Flushing events
• Getting all flags
• Identifying and changing contexts
• Logging configuration
• Monitoring SDK status
• Private attributes
• Relay Proxy configuration, using proxy mode
• Sending custom events
• Subscribing to flag changes