Android

Migrate your Android app from Branch.io to Grovs for deep linking, link generation, event tracking, and more.

Overview

This guide will help you migrate from Branch.io to Grovs for deep linking, universal link handling, event tracking, and more within your Android applications.

Prerequisites

You already have a Grovs account and have integrated the Grovs SDK into your project.
- If not, refer to the Grovs SDK integration guide for instructions on adding the SDK using Gradle.
Your app previously used Branch.io, and you are now transitioning to Grovs.

Key Steps in Migration

To ensure full functionality, you'll need to replace Branch.io methods with their Grovs equivalents. Below are the detailed steps.

1. Initialization

Branch.io

Branch.io initialization typically occurs in the onCreate() method of your Application class:

Kotlin

class MainApplication : Application() {
    override fun onCreate() {
        super.onCreate()
        Branch.getAutoInstance(this)
    }
}

Grovs

Grovs SDK initialization is done using the Grovs.configure() method in your Application class:

Kotlin

class MainApplication : Application() {
    override fun onCreate() {
        super.onCreate()
        Grovs.configure(application = this, apiKey = "your-api-key", useTestEnvironment = false)
        Grovs.setDebug(Grovs.DebugLevel.INFO) // Optional
    }
}

2. Universal Links and URL Handling

You will handle deep links directly in your Activity or BroadcastReceiver.

Branch.io

Kotlin

override fun onNewIntent(intent: Intent) {
    super.onNewIntent(intent)
    this.intent = intent
}
 
override fun onStart() {
    super.onStart()
    Branch.sessionBuilder(this).withCallback { branchUniversalObject, linkProperties, error ->
        if (error != null) {
            // Error
        } else {
            // Handle the deep link
        }
    }.withData(this.intent.data).init()
}

Grovs

Grovs handles deep links in a similar way by calling Grovs.onNewIntent():

Kotlin

override fun onNewIntent(intent: Intent?) {
    super.onNewIntent(intent)
    Grovs.onNewIntent(intent)
}
 
override fun onStart() {
    super.onStart()
    Grovs.onStart()
}

Then you can listen for deeplinks using:

Kotlin

Grovs.setOnDeeplinkReceivedListener(this) { link, payload ->
    // Handle the deep link
}

Kotlin

Grovs.Companion::openedLinkDetails.flow.collect { deeplinkDetails ->
    // Handle the deep link
}

3. Generating Links

Branch.io

Branch.io uses BranchUniversalObject to generate links:

Kotlin

val buo = BranchUniversalObject()
    .setCanonicalIdentifier("item/12345")
    .setTitle("Welcome to My App!")
    .setContentDescription("Some social description.")
    .setContentImageUrl("https://example.com/image.jpg")
 
buo.generateShortUrl(this) { url, error ->
    if (error == null) {
        // Link created
    } else {
        // Error
    }
}

Grovs

Grovs simplifies this with a direct method:

Kotlin

Grovs.generateLink(title = "Welcome to My App!",
                   subtitle = "Some social description.",
                   imageURL = "https://www.example.com/images/social_preview.png",
                   listener = { link, error ->
                       link?.let { link ->
                           // Link created
                       }
                       error?.let { error ->
                           // Error
                       }
                   })

Or using Kotlin coroutines:

Kotlin

try {
    val link = Grovs.generateLink(title = "Welcome to My App!",
                                  subtitle = "Some social description.",
                                  imageURL = "https://www.example.com/images/social_preview.png")
} catch (e: GrovsException) {
    // Handle generation error
}

4. Retrieving Referrals or Attribution Data

Branch.io

Branch.io retrieves user referrals or attribution data via:

Kotlin

Branch.getInstance().getLatestReferringParams(object : Branch.ReferringParamsCallback() {
    override fun onSuccess(referringParams: Map<String, String>) {
        // Handle referring params
    }
})

Grovs

Grovs does the same thing using the following method:

Kotlin

Grovs.Companion::openedLinkDetails.flow.collect { deeplinkDetails ->
    // Handle the deep link
}

5. User Identification and Attributes

Branch.io

To identify a user and associate metadata with their events:

Kotlin

Branch.getInstance().setIdentity("user123")
Branch.getInstance().setRequestMetadataKey("name", "Alice Smith")
Branch.getInstance().setRequestMetadataKey("tier", "Premium")

Grovs

In Grovs, user identification and attributes are set directly via properties:

Kotlin

Grovs.identifier = "user123"
Grovs.attributes = hashMapOf(
    "name" to "Alice Smith",
    "tier" to "Premium"
)

Notes for Migration

Smooth transition: Grovs can work alongside Branch. In some cases it might make sense to keep both integrations for a period to have a smooth transition.
Simplified SDK: Grovs is designed for minimal boilerplate and faster integration in Android apps while keeping the configurations one click away in the dashboard.