branch_io_cli gem

This is a command-line tool to integrate the Branch SDK into mobile app projects. (Currently iOS only.)

See also the Branch Fastlane plugin, which offers the same support via Fastlane.

gem install branch_io_cli

Note that this command may require sudo access if you are using the system Ruby, i.e. sudo gem install branch_io_cli.

brew tap jdee/tap
brew install branch_io_cli

Note: Prerelease versions of the CLI are only available from RubyGems for now.

branch_io -h
branch_io setup -h
branch_io validate -h
branch_io report -h
branch_io env -h

The gem also installs br as an alias for branch_io:

br -h
br setup -h
br validate -h
br report -h
br env -h

Work in progress

You can enable completion of all options in bash or zsh. The following additions should follow initialization of RVM, rbenv or chruby or setting any Ruby-related environment variables if using the system Ruby.

Add to ~/.bash_profile or ~/.bashrc:

[[ "$(which br)" == "" ]] || . $(br env -cs bash)

Add to ~/.zshrc:

[[ "$(which br)" == "" ]] || . $(br env -cs zsh)

Currently command-line completion for bash is much more extensive than for zsh.

branch_io setup [OPTIONS]
br setup [OPTIONS]

Integrates the Branch SDK into a native app project. This currently supports iOS only. It will infer the project location if there is exactly one .xcodeproj anywhere under the current directory, excluding any in a Pods or Carthage folder. Otherwise, specify the project location using the --xcodeproj option, or the CLI will prompt you for the location.

If a Podfile or Cartfile is detected, the Branch SDK will be added to the relevant configuration file and the dependencies updated to include the Branch framework. This behavior may be suppressed using --no-add-sdk. If no Podfile or Cartfile is found, and Branch.framework is not already among the project's dependencies, you will be prompted for a number of choices, including setting up CocoaPods or Carthage for the project or directly installing the Branch.framework.

By default, all supplied Universal Link domains are validated. If validation passes, the setup continues. If validation fails, no further action is taken. Suppress validation using --no-validate or force changes when validation fails using --force.

By default, this command will look for the first app target in the project. Test targets are not supported. To set up an extension target, supply the --target option.

All relevant target settings are modified. The Branch keys are added to the Info.plist, along with the branch_universal_link_domains key for custom domains (when --domains is used). For app targets, all domains are added to the project's Associated Domains entitlement. An entitlements file is also added for app targets if none is found. Optionally, if --frameworks is specified, this command can add a list of system frameworks to the target's dependencies (e.g., AdSupport, CoreSpotlight, SafariServices).

A language-specific patch is applied to the AppDelegate (Swift or Objective-C). This can be suppressed using --no-patch-source.

Before using this command, make sure to set up your app in the Branch Dashboard (https://dashboard.branch.io). See https://docs.branch.io/pages/dashboard/integrate/ for details. To use the setup command, you need:

• Branch key(s), either live, test or both
• Domain name(s) used for Branch links
• Location of your Xcode project (may be inferred in simple projects)

If using the --commit option, git is required. If not using --no-add-sdk, the pod or carthage command may be required. If not found, the CLI will offer to install and set up these command-line tools for you. Alternately, you can arrange that the relevant commands are available in your PATH.

All parameters are optional. A live key or test key, or both is required, as well as at least one domain. Specify --live-key, --test-key or both and --app-link-subdomain, --domains or both. If these are not specified, this command will prompt you for this information.

See https://github.com/BranchMetrics/branch_io_cli#setup-command for more information.

br setup -L key_live_xxxx -D myapp.app.link --no-validate

br setup -L key_live_xxxx -T key_test_yyyy -D myapp.app.link

br setup -D myapp.app.link,example.com,www.example.com

br setup --no-pod-repo-update

br setup --carthage-command "bootstrap --no-use-binaries"

branch_io validate [OPTIONS]
br validate [OPTIONS]

This command validates all Branch-related settings for a target in an Xcode project, including validation of the apple-app-site-association file from each domain. Multiple targets may be validated by running the command multiple times using the --target option. Test targets are not supported.

For each Branch key present in the Info.plist, it retrieves the settings from Branch's system. If the information cannot be retrieved (or if the branch_key is not present), an error is recorded. If the --live-key or --test-key option is present, the set of all keys used by the target must exactly match the options.

All domains and URI schemes configured for the target must include all domains and URI schemes configured for all keys used by the target. Other domains or URI schemes may also be present in the project.

This command validates all Universal Link domains configured in an application target without making any modification. It validates both Branch and non-Branch domains. Unlike web-based Universal Link validators, this command operates directly on the project. It finds the bundle and signing team identifiers in the project as well as the app's Associated Domains. It requests the apple-app-site-association file for each domain and validates the file against the project's settings.

By default, all build configurations in the project are validated. To validate a different list of configurations, including a single configuration, specify the --configurations option.

If --domains is specified, the list of Universal Link domains in the Associated Domains entitlement must exactly match this list, without regard to order, for all configurations under validation. If no --domains are provided, validation passes if at least one Universal Link domain is configured for each configuration and passes validation, and no Universal Link domain is present in any configuration that does not pass validation.

All parameters are optional.

See https://github.com/BranchMetrics/branch_io_cli#validate-command for more information.

br validate

br validate -L key_live_xxxx -T key_test_yyyy

br validate -D myapp.app.link,myapp-alternate.app.link

br validate --universal-links-only

branch_io report [OPTIONS]
br report [OPTIONS]

This command optionally cleans and then builds a workspace or project, generating a verbose report with additional diagnostic information suitable for opening a support ticket.

Use the --header-only option to output only a brief diagnostic report without building.

br report -H

br report

br report --no-clean

branch_io env [OPTIONS]
br env [OPTIONS]

Output information about CLI environment.

br env

br env -cs zsh

See the examples folder for several example projects that can be used to exercise the CLI.

You can use these commands easily with Rake:

require 'branch_io_cli/rake_task'
BranchIOCLI::RakeTask.new

This defines the tasks branch:report, branch:setup and branch:validate. Each takes a path or an array of paths for a project directory as the first argument, followed by an options Hash with keys derived from the command-line arguments. For example:

Rake::Task["branch:validate"].invoke ".", domains: %w(example.com www.example.com)

Try the following Rake tasks in this repo:

bundle exec rake setup
bundle exec rake validate
bundle exec rake report