branch_io_cli gem

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

Using Fastlane?

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

Getting started

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.

Experimental: Install using Homebrew

brew tap jdee/tap
brew install branch_io_cli

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

Getting help

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

Shell completion

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.

Bash

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

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

Zsh

Add to ~/.zshrc:

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

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

Commands

Setup command

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.

Prerequisites

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.

Options

Option	Description	Env. var.
-h, --help	Prints a list of commands or help for each command
-v, --version	Prints the current version of the CLI
-t, --trace	Prints a stack trace when exceptions are raised
-L, --live-key key_live_xxxx	Branch live key	BRANCH_LIVE_KEY
-T, --test-key key_test_yyyy	Branch test key	BRANCH_TEST_KEY
-D, --domains example.com,www.example.com	Comma-separated list of custom domain(s) or non-Branch domain(s)	BRANCH_DOMAINS
--app-link-subdomain myapp	Branch app.link subdomain, e.g. myapp for myapp.app.link	BRANCH_APP_LINK_SUBDOMAIN
-U, --[no-]uri-scheme [myurischeme[://]]	Custom URI scheme used in the Branch Dashboard for this app	BRANCH_URI_SCHEME
-s, --setting [BRANCH_KEY_SETTING]	Use a custom build setting for the Branch key (default: Use Info.plist)	BRANCH_SETTING
--[no-]test-configurations [config1,config2]	List of configurations that use the test key with a user-defined setting (default: Debug configurations)	BRANCH_TEST_CONFIGURATIONS
--xcodeproj MyProject.xcodeproj	Path to an Xcode project to update	BRANCH_XCODEPROJ
--target MyAppTarget	Name of a target to modify in the Xcode project	BRANCH_TARGET
--podfile /path/to/Podfile	Path to the Podfile for the project	BRANCH_PODFILE
--cartfile /path/to/Cartfile	Path to the Cartfile for the project	BRANCH_CARTFILE
--carthage-command bootstrap --no-use-binaries	Command to run when installing from Carthage (default: update --platform ios)	BRANCH_CARTHAGE_COMMAND
--frameworks AdSupport,CoreSpotlight,SafariServices	Comma-separated list of system frameworks to add to the project	BRANCH_FRAMEWORKS
--[no-]pod-repo-update	Update the local podspec repo before installing (default: yes)	BRANCH_POD_REPO_UPDATE
--[no-]validate	Validate Universal Link configuration (default: yes)	BRANCH_VALIDATE
--[no-]force	Update project even if Universal Link validation fails (default: no)	BRANCH_FORCE
--[no-]add-sdk	Add the Branch framework to the project (default: yes)	BRANCH_ADD_SDK
--[no-]patch-source	Add Branch SDK calls to the AppDelegate (default: yes)	BRANCH_PATCH_SOURCE
--commit [message]	Commit the results to Git if non-blank	BRANCH_COMMIT
--[no-]confirm	Enable or disable many prompts (default: yes)	BRANCH_CONFIRM

Examples

Test without validation (can use dummy keys and domains)

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

Use both live and test keys

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

Use custom or non-Branch domains

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

Avoid pod repo update

br setup --no-pod-repo-update

Install using carthage bootstrap

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

Validate command

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.

Options

Option	Description	Env. var.
-h, --help	Prints a list of commands or help for each command
-v, --version	Prints the current version of the CLI
-t, --trace	Prints a stack trace when exceptions are raised
-L, --live-key key_live_xxxx	Branch live key expected in project	BRANCH_LIVE_KEY
-T, --test-key key_test_yyyy	Branch test key expected in project	BRANCH_TEST_KEY
-D, --domains example.com,www.example.com	Comma-separated list of domains expected to be configured in the project (Branch domains or non-Branch domains) (default: [])	BRANCH_DOMAINS
--xcodeproj MyProject.xcodeproj	Path to an Xcode project to validate	BRANCH_XCODEPROJ
--target MyAppTarget	Name of a target to validate in the Xcode project	BRANCH_TARGET
--configurations Debug,Release	Comma-separated list of configurations to validate (default: all)	BRANCH_CONFIGURATIONS
--[no-]universal-links-only	Validate only the Universal Link configuration (default: no)	BRANCH_UNIVERSAL_LINKS_ONLY
--[no-]confirm	Enable or disable many prompts (default: yes)	BRANCH_CONFIRM

Examples

Ensure project has at least one correctly configured Branch key and domain

br validate

Ensure project is correctly configured for certain Branch keys

br validate -L key_live_xxxx -T key_test_yyyy

Ensure project is correctly configured to use specific domains

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

Validate only Universal Link configuration

br validate --universal-links-only

Report command

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.

Options

Option	Description	Env. var.
-h, --help	Prints a list of commands or help for each command
-v, --version	Prints the current version of the CLI
-t, --trace	Prints a stack trace when exceptions are raised
--workspace MyProject.xcworkspace	Path to an Xcode workspace	BRANCH_WORKSPACE
--xcodeproj MyProject.xcodeproj	Path to an Xcode project	BRANCH_XCODEPROJ
--scheme MyProjectScheme	A scheme from the project or workspace to build	BRANCH_SCHEME
--target MyProjectTarget	A target to build	BRANCH_TARGET
--configuration Debug/Release/CustomConfigName	The build configuration to use (default: Scheme-dependent)	BRANCH_CONFIGURATION
--sdk iphoneos	Passed as -sdk to xcodebuild (default: iphonesimulator)	BRANCH_SDK
--podfile /path/to/Podfile	Path to the Podfile for the project	BRANCH_PODFILE
--cartfile /path/to/Cartfile	Path to the Cartfile for the project	BRANCH_CARTFILE
--[no-]clean	Clean before attempting to build (default: yes)	BRANCH_CLEAN
-H, --[no-]header-only	Write a report header to standard output and exit (default: no)	BRANCH_HEADER_ONLY
--[no-]pod-repo-update	Update the local podspec repo before installing (default: yes)	BRANCH_POD_REPO_UPDATE
-o, --out ./report.txt	Report output path (default: ./report.txt)	BRANCH_REPORT_PATH
--[no-]confirm	Enable or disable many prompts (default: yes)	BRANCH_CONFIRM

Examples

Show general project information without building

br report -H

Perform a full build and report all errors to report.txt

br report

Don't clean before building

br report --no-clean

Env command

branch_io env [OPTIONS]
br env [OPTIONS]

Output information about CLI environment.

Options

Option	Description	Env. var.
-h, --help	Prints a list of commands or help for each command
-v, --version	Prints the current version of the CLI
-t, --trace	Prints a stack trace when exceptions are raised
-c, --[no-]completion-script	Get the path to the completion script for this shell (default: no)	BRANCH_COMPLETION_SCRIPT
-s, --shell zsh	Specify shell for completion script	SHELL
-V, --[no-]verbose	Generate verbose output (default: no)	BRANCH_VERBOSE

Examples

Show CLI environment

br env

Get completion script for zsh

br env -cs zsh

Examples

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

Rake task

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