JavaScript, Node, Deno V3.0.X

Introduction

SDK overview

Welcome to the Flagship JavaScript / TypeScript / NodeJS & Deno SDK documentation!

The following article will guide you through the steps to get Flagship up and running on your JavaScript environment (client-side or server-side) using our library with preconfigured methods to implement the Decision API or Bucketing Mode.

SDK features

That SDK version helps you :

• Set a visitor ID
• Update user context
• Assign campaigns via the Decision API or via Bucketing Mode
• Get flag
• Manage visitor consent
• Use Experience Continuity
• Activate campaigns
• Send hits to our Universal Collect
• Manage visitor cache

Prerequisites

Good to know

Getting Started

Installation

NodeJS

The SDK can be added as dependency via NPM or YARN

yarn add @flagship.io/js-sdk

npm install @flagship.io/js-sdk

Deno

Deno supports 2 methods:

• URLs for dependency management, so you just need to add the deno.land URL

import { Flagship } from "https://deno.land/x/flagship_io_js_sdk/mod.ts";

• and import maps

{
   "imports": {
      "@flagship.io/js-sdk": "https://deno.land/x/flagship_io_js_sdk/mod.ts"
   }
}

Initialization

The first step to use the SDK is to create an instance of Flagship that defines your Flagship account and targeted environment.
Here's the simplest way to initialize Flagship, including the import :

import { Flagship } from "@flagship.io/js-sdk";

Flagship.start("<ENV_ID>", "<API_KEY>");

// or

const fsInstance = Flagship.start("<ENV_ID>", "<API_KEY>");

import { Flagship } from "https://deno.land/x/flagship_io_js_sdk/mod.ts";

Flagship.start("<ENV_ID>", "<API_KEY>");

// or

const fsInstance = Flagship.start("<ENV_ID>", "<API_KEY>");

start function

Start the flagship SDK and return the Flagship instance or null if the start has failed.

• static start (envId: string, apiKey: string, config?: IFlagshipConfig): Flagship | null

Advanced Configuration

Here are all available settings you can set on the SDK.

Those settings can be setup only at the start function.

Here's the full pure example of usage :

import { Flagship, DecisionMode, LogLevel } from "@flagship.io/js-sdk";

Flagship.start("<ENV_ID>", "<API_KEY>", {
  decisionMode: DecisionMode.BUCKETING,
  fetchNow: false,
  timeout: 10,
  enableClientCache: true,
  logLevel: LogLevel.CRITICAL,
  logManager: sentryMiddleware,
  decisionApiUrl: 'https://example.com',
  pollingInterval: 100,
  activateDeduplicationTime: 0,
  hitDeduplicationTime: 0,
  initialBucketing: {},
  statusChangedCallback: function(status){
    console.log(status)
  },
  onBucketingSuccess: function(status, payload){
    console.log(status, payload)
  },
  onBucketingFail: function(error){
    console.log(error)
  },
  onBucketingUpdated: function(lastUpdate){
    console.log(lastUpdate)
  }
});

import { Flagship, DecisionMode, LogLevel } from "https://deno.land/x/flagship_io_js_sdk/mod.ts";

Flagship.start("<ENV_ID>", "<API_KEY>", {
  decisionMode: DecisionMode.BUCKETING,
  fetchNow: false,
  timeout: 10,
  enableClientCache: true,
  logLevel: LogLevel.CRITICAL,
  logManager: sentryMiddleware,
  decisionApiUrl: 'https://example.com',
  pollingInterval: 100,
  activateDeduplicationTime: 0,
  hitDeduplicationTime: 0,
  initialBucketing: {},
  statusChangedCallback: function(status){
    console.log(status)
  },
  onBucketingSuccess: function(status, payload){
    console.log(status, payload)
  },
  onBucketingFail: function(error){
    console.log(error)
  },
  onBucketingUpdated: function(lastUpdate){
    console.log(lastUpdate)
  }
});

Below the details of every attribute you can set inside the SDK config object :

Decision Mode

API Mode (by default)

When the SDK is running in API mode, the campaign assignments and targeting validation will be run through our Decision API. In this mode, each time a new Decision is required, it will create an HTTPS request to the API.
This mode is used by default for all our SDK.

Bucketing Mode

When the SDK is running in Bucketing mode, the SDK downloads all the campaigns configurations at once in a single bucketing file so that variation assignment can be computed client-side by the SDK. This bucketing file is stored in cache and will only be downloaded again when campaign configurations are modified in the Flagship interface. Learn more

DecisionMode is an enum defined decision type

import { DecisionMode } from "@flagship.io/js-sdk";

//const mode = DecisionMode.DECISION_API;
const mode = DecisionMode.BUCKETING;

Flagship.start("<ENV_ID>", "<API_KEY>", {
  decisionMode:mode
});

import { DecisionMode } from "https://deno.land/x/flagship_io_js_sdk/mod.ts";

//const mode = DecisionMode.DECISION_API;
const mode = DecisionMode.BUCKETING;

Flagship.start("<ENV_ID>", "<API_KEY>", {
  decisionMode:mode
});

LogLevel

LogLevel is an enum defined the level of log to receive

import { LogLevel } from "@flagship.io/js-sdk";

const level = LogLevel.ERROR;

Flagship.start("<ENV_ID>", "<API_KEY>", {
  logLevel:level
});

import { LogLevel } from "https://deno.land/x/flagship_io_js_sdk/mod.ts";

const level = LogLevel.ERROR;

Flagship.start("<ENV_ID>", "<API_KEY>", {
  logLevel:level
});

IFlagshipLogManager

The aims of this Interface is to define methods that an object must have in order to receive Flagship SDK logs

interface IFlagshipLogManager {
  emergency(message: string, tag: string): void;
  alert(message: string, tag: string): void;
  critical(message: string, tag: string): void;
  error(message: string, tag: string): void;
  warning(message: string, tag: string): void;
  notice(message: string, tag: string): void;
  info(message: string, tag: string): void;
  debug(message: string, tag: string): void;
  log(level: LogLevel, message: string, tag: string): void;
}

Usage :

import { LogLevel, Flagship } from "@flagship.io/js-sdk";

const customLog = {
  emergency(message, tag) {
    this.log(LogLevel.EMERGENCY, message, tag);
  },

  alert(message, tag) {
    this.log(LogLevel.ALERT, message, tag);
  },

  critical(message, tag) {
    this.log(LogLevel.CRITICAL, message, tag);
  },

  error(message, tag) {
    this.log(LogLevel.ERROR, message, tag);
  },

  warning(message, tag) {
    this.log(LogLevel.WARNING, message, tag);
  },

  notice(message, tag) {
    this.log(LogLevel.NOTICE, message, tag);
  },

  info(message, tag) {
    this.log(LogLevel.INFO, message, tag);
  },

  debug(message, tag) {
    this.log(LogLevel.DEBUG, message, tag);
  },

  log(level, message, tag) {
    console.log(`[${LogLevel[level]}] [${tag}] : ${message}`);
  },
};

Flagship.start("<ENV_ID>", "<API_KEY>", {
  logManager: customLog,
  logLevel: LogLevel.ALL
});

import { LogLevel, Flagship } from "https://deno.land/x/flagship_io_js_sdk/mod.ts";

const customLog = {
  emergency(message, tag) {
    this.log(LogLevel.EMERGENCY, message, tag);
  },

  alert(message, tag) {
    this.log(LogLevel.ALERT, message, tag);
  },

  critical(message, tag) {
    this.log(LogLevel.CRITICAL, message, tag);
  },

  error(message, tag) {
    this.log(LogLevel.ERROR, message, tag);
  },

  warning(message, tag) {
    this.log(LogLevel.WARNING, message, tag);
  },

  notice(message, tag) {
    this.log(LogLevel.NOTICE, message, tag);
  },

  info(message, tag) {
    this.log(LogLevel.INFO, message, tag);
  },

  debug(message, tag) {
    this.log(LogLevel.DEBUG, message, tag);
  },

  log(level, message, tag) {
    console.log(`[${LogLevel[level]}] [${tag}] : ${message}`);
  },
};

Flagship.start("your_env_id", "your_api_key", {
  logManager: customLog,
  logLevel: LogLevel.ALL,
  fetchNow: false,
  timeout: 2,
});

FlagshipStatus

FlagshipStatus is an enum defining the different status of Flagship SDK

import { FlagshipStatus } from "@flagship.io/js-sdk";

const status = FlagshipStatus.READY;

import { FlagshipStatus } from "https://deno.land/x/flagship_io_js_sdk/mod.ts";

const status = FlagshipStatus.READY;

statusChangedCallback

The statusChangedCallback function has one argument

onBucketingSuccess

The onBucketingSuccess function has one argument with the following shape:

onBucketingFail

The onBucketingFail function has one argument

onBucketingUpdated

The onBucketingUpdated function has one argument

onUserExposure

The onUserExposure function has one argument with the following shape:

UserExposureType shape

type UserExposureInfo = {
  flagData: {
    key: string
    value: unknown
    metadata: IFlagMetadata
  },
  visitorData: {
    visitorId: string
    anonymousId: string|null
    context: Record<string, string|number|boolean>
  }
 }

Use case example

• Integrate Flagship with Mixpanel
• Integrate Flagship with Segment.com

Learn more about getting flags

onLog

The onLog function has 3 arguments

import { LogLevel, Flagship } from "@flagship.io/js-sdk";


Flagship.start("<ENV_ID>", "<API_KEY>", {
  logLevel: LogLevel.ALL,
  onLog: (level, tag, message) => {
    console.log(`[${LogLevel[level]}] [${tag}] : ${message}`);
  }
});

Other Flagship methods

getStatus function

Return current status of Flagship SDK. seeFlagshipStatus

• getStatus (): FlagshipStatus
• static getStatus (): FlagshipStatus

getConfig function

Return the current config used by the SDK. see configuration attribute

• getConfig (): IFlagshipConfig
• static getConfig (): IFlagshipConfig

getVisitor function

Return the last visitor created and saved or return undefined if no visitor has been saved. see newVisitor.

• getVisitor ():Visitor|undefined
• static getVisitor ():Visitor|undefined

import { Flagship } from "@flagship.io/js-sdk";

const fsInstance = Flagship.start("<ENV_ID>", "<API_KEY>");
const status = fsInstance.getStatus();

//or

const status = Flagship.getStatus();

import { Flagship } from "https://deno.land/x/flagship_io_js_sdk/mod.ts";

const fsInstance = Flagship.start("<ENV_ID>", "<API_KEY>");
const status = fsInstance.getStatus();

//or

const status = Flagship.getStatus();

Create a visitor

The Visitor instance is an object that contains everything related to your visitor, its data but also the Decision of Flagship.

By creating a new visitor, you be able to set all the data relevant for Flagship to take a Decision and know your visitor, this includes :

• Visitor ID
• Visitor Context
• GDPR Consent
• Authenticated or not (See Experience Continuity Feature)

The visitor context is a dataset (object) that defines your current visitor.
This dataset is sent to Flagship for targeting purposes (use-case assignment) but also to enrich your reporting with Context Filters.
You may have to sync with your team to know what data is useful for them to have into Flagship reporting.

By default, depending on IFlagshipConfig, this will automatically trigger a Decision of Flagship and will be available through the getFlag method

import { Flagship } from "@flagship.io/js-sdk";

const fsInstance = Flagship.start("<ENV_ID>", "<API_KEY>");

const fsVisitor = fsInstance.newVisitor({
  visitorId: "<VISITOR_ID>",
  context: {
   // <CONTEXT_KEY>: <CONTEXT_KEY>,
  }
});

// or 

const fsVisitor = Flagship.newVisitor({
  visitorId: "<VISITOR_ID>",
  context: {
   // <CONTEXT_KEY>: <CONTEXT_KEY>,
  }
});

import { Flagship } from "https://deno.land/x/flagship_io_js_sdk/mod.ts";

const fsInstance = Flagship.start("<ENV_ID>", "<API_KEY>");

const fsVisitor = fsInstance.newVisitor({
  visitorId: "<VISITOR_ID>",
  context: {
   // <CONTEXT_KEY>: <CONTEXT_KEY>,
  }
});

// or 

const fsVisitor = Flagship.newVisitor({
  visitorId: "<VISITOR_ID>",
  context: {
   // <CONTEXT_KEY>: <CONTEXT_KEY>,
  }
});

Let's take an example:
if you want to enable a specific feature to all your VIPs user,
you'll need to add this data as an attribute into the visitor context (key-value pair) in the visitor context: isVIP: true.
Based on your targeting criteria defined in your use-case (isVIP === true), Flagship will take the Decision and show your feature to visitors that at least contains isVIP in their context and for which isVIP is equal to true.

import { Flagship } from "@flagship.io/js-sdk";

const fsInstance = Flagship.start("<ENV_ID>", "<API_KEY>");

const fsVisitor = fsInstance.newVisitor({
  visitorId: "<VISITOR_ID>",
  isAuthenticated: true,
  hasConsented: true,
  context: {
    isVIP: true,
    country: "NL",
    loginProvider: "Google"
  }
});

import { Flagship } from "https://deno.land/x/flagship_io_js_sdk/mod.ts";

const fsInstance = Flagship.start("<ENV_ID>", "<API_KEY>");

const fsVisitor = fsInstance.newVisitor({
  visitorId: "<VISITOR_ID>",
  isAuthenticated: true,
  hasConsented: true,
  context: {
    isVIP: true,
    country: "NL",
    loginProvider: "Google"
  }
});

newVisitor function

Creates and returns a new Visitor or null if the SDK hasn't started successfully.

This method should always be called after the Flagship SDK has started.

• static newVisitor (params: INewVisitor): Visitor | null

• newVisitor (params: INewVisitor): Visitor | null

This method has only one argument with the following shape:

Flag data shape:

🚧

• When both initialCampaigns and initialFlags are provided, only initialFlags will be used.
• User context keys must have a type of string
• User context values must have a type of string, boolean, number
• User context keys and values are case sensitive

Updating the visitor context

The user context is a property dataset that defines the current user of your app. This dataset is sent and used as targeting criteria for campaign assignment.

The following method from the Visitor instance allows you to set new context values matching the given keys.

//... import code

Flagship.start("your_env_id", "your_api_key");

const visitor = Flagship.newVisitor({
  visitorId: "your_visitor_id",
  context: { age: 31, isVip: true },
});

visitor.updateContext({ lastPurchaseDate: 1615384464 });

updateContext function

Update the visitor context values, matching the given keys, used for targeting.

A new context value associated with this key will be created if there is no previous matching value.

• public updateContext(context: Record<string, string | number | boolean>): void

It has one argument :

context property

This property returns all the visitor's current context as an object

• get context () : Record<string, string | number | boolean>

clearContext function

Clear the actual visitor context

• clearContext(): void

🚧

• User context keys must have a type of string
• User context values must have a type of string, bool, numeric
• User context keys and values are case sensitive

update context with predefined keys of context

import { Flagship, DEVICE_LOCALE, OS_NAME } from "@flagship.io/js-sdk";

Flagship.start("your_env_id", "your_api_key");

const visitor = Flagship.newVisitor({
  visitorId: "your_visitor_id",
  context: { age: 31, isVip: true },
});

visitor.updateContext({
  [DEVICE_LOCALE]: "fr",
  [OS_NAME]: "Ubuntu",
});

import { Flagship, DEVICE_LOCALE, OS_NAME } from "https://deno.land/x/flagship_io_js_sdk/mod.ts";

Flagship.start("your_env_id", "your_api_key");

const visitor = Flagship.newVisitor({
  visitorId: "your_visitor_id",
  context: { age: 31, isVip: true },
});

visitor.updateContext({
  [DEVICE_LOCALE]: "fr",
  [OS_NAME]: "Ubuntu",
});

Learn more about predefined keys of context

Managing visitor campaigns

Fetching Flags

The fetchFlags() method of the Visitor instance, according to Decision Mode, will either automatically call the Flagship Decision API to run campaign assignments according to the current user context and retrieve applicable flags,
or check bucketing file, validate campaigns targeting the visitor, assign a variation and retrieve applicable flags

These flags are then stored in the SDK and updated asynchronously when fetchFlags() is called.

//... import code

Flagship.start("your_env_id", "your_api_key");

const visitor = Flagship.newVisitor({
  visitorId: "your_visitor_id",
  context: { key: "value" },
});

visitor.fetchFlags().then(() => {
  //ready to use all features from the SDK
});

fetchFlags function

In DecisionApi Mode this function calls the Flagship Decision API to run campaign assignments according to the current user context and retrieve applicable flags.

In bucketing Mode, it checks bucketing file, validates campaigns targeting the visitor, assigns a variation and retrieve applicable flags

• fetchFlags(): Promise<void>

Event listeners

The Visitor instance includes event listeners to help you handle the SDK.

❗️

Before using any function from Visitor, it is important that you have listened the ready event to ensure everything is working properly and your visitor is up to date with campaigns assignment.

Getting flags

Once the campaign has been assigned and fetched, all the flags are stored in the SDK. You can retrieve them using the following functions from the Visitor instance:

//...import code

Flagship.start("your_env_id", "your_api_key");

const visitor = Flagship.newVisitor({
  visitorId: "your_visitor_id",
  context: { isVip: true },
});

visitor.on("ready",  (error) => {
  if (error) {
    //do some stuff
    return;
  }

  //Get flag displayVipFeature
  const flag = visitor.getFlag("displayVipFeature", false);

  //do some stuff
});

visitor.fetchFlags();

getFlag function

Return a Flag object by its key. If no flag match the given key an empty flag will be returned. Call exists() to check if the flag has been found.

• getFlag<T>(key:string, defaultValue: T):IFlag<T>

🚧

• Default value must be one of the following type : string, number, boolean, object, array or null.
• When the defaultValue is null, no type checking will be performed

Getting flags current values

getValue function

To retrieve flag current value, simply call getValue() method of the Flag object.

//...import code

Flagship.start("your_env_id", "your_api_key");

const visitor = Flagship.newVisitor({
  visitorId: "your_visitor_id",
  context: { isVip: true },
});

visitor.on("ready", (error) => {
  if (error) {
    //do some stuff
    return;
  }

  //Get flag displayVipFeature
  const flagValue = visitor.getFlag("displayVipFeature", false).getValue();

  //do some stuff
});

visitor.fetchFlags();

• getValue(userExposed : boolean) : T function

Returns the value from the assigned campaign variation or the Flag default value if the Flag does not exist, or if types are different.

Getting flags campaigns metadata

metadata property

You may need to send campaign IDs or variation IDs to a third party for reporting and/or analytics purposes. It is possible to retrieve campaigns metadata for a specific Flag.

//...import code

Flagship.start("your_env_id", "your_api_key");

const visitor = Flagship.newVisitor({
  visitorId: "your_visitor_id",
  context: { isVip: true },
});

visitor.on("ready", (error) => {
  if (error) {
    //do some stuff
    return;
  }

  //Get flag displayVipFeature
  const campaignMetada = visitor.getFlag("displayVipFeature", false).metadata;

  //do some stuff
});

visitor.fetchFlags();

• metadata:IFlagMetadata

Return the campaign information metadata or an empty object if the Flag doesn't exist or if the default value type does not correspond to the Flag type in Flagship.

interface IFlagMetadata{
    campaignId:string
    variationGroupId:string
    variationId: string
    isReference: boolean
    campaignType: string
    slug?:string|null
}

Report a Flag exposition

userExposed function

By default when the method getValue() is called, The SDK considers that the user have seen the effets of your Flag, unless you pass false to getValue(). In this case you will have to call userExposed().

There are two ways for exposing a user to a flag:

1. Pass an userExposed=true parameter to the getValue() method.
2. Use the following userExposed() method from the Flag instance.

//...import code

Flagship.start("your_env_id", "your_api_key");

const visitor = Flagship.newVisitor({
  visitorId: "your_visitor_id",
  context: { isVip: true },
});

visitor.on("ready", (error) => {
  if (error) {
    //do some stuff
    return;
  }

  //Get flag displayVipFeature
  const flag = visitor.getFlag("displayVipFeature", false);
  const value = flag.getValue(false);
  
  //Report a flag exposition
  flag.userExposed();

  //do some stuff
});

visitor.fetchFlags();

• userExposed(): Promise<void>

Tells Flagship the user have been exposed and have seen this flag. This will increment the visits for the current variation on your campaign reporting. No user exposition will be sent if the Flag doesn't exist or if the default value type do not correspond to the Flag type in Flagship.

Check if a Flag exists

exists function

This method will return true if a Flag exists in Flagship

• exists(): boolean

//...import code

Flagship.start("your_env_id", "your_api_key");

const visitor = Flagship.newVisitor({
  visitorId: "your_visitor_id",
  context: { isVip: true },
});

visitor.on("ready", (error) => {
  if (error) {
    //do some stuff
    return;
  }

  const isDisplayVipFeature = visitor.getFlag("displayVipFeature", false).exists();

  //do some stuff
});

visitor.fetchFlags();

Managing visitor consent

The Visitor class provides a method to let you manage visitor consent for data privacy usage. When False, campaign activation and hits will be disabled.
There are 2 ways to set visitor consent :

1. Set hasConsented key to true when creating a new visitor
2. Use setConsent method of visitor instance

//... import code

Flagship.start("your_env_id", "your_api_key");

const visitor = Flagship.newVisitor({
  visitorId: "your_visitor_id",
  hasConsented: true, // set hasConsented to true
  context: { isVip: true },
});

// or use setConsent method
visitor.setConsent(true);

setConsent function

Set if visitor has consented for protected data usage.

• setConsent(hasConsented: boolean): void

hasConsented property

Return True if the visitor has consented for private data usage, otherwise return False.

• hasConsented: boolean

Experience Continuity

Dealing with anonymous and logged-in users, Experience continuity allows you to maintain consistency between sessions and devices.

🚧

Make sure that the Experience continuity option is enabled on the Flagship platform before using those methods.

Authenticate

There are 2 ways to authenticate a visitor:

1. Set key isAuthenticated to true when creating a new visitor
2. Use authenticate method of Visitor instance

Authenticate anonymous visitor

• authenticate(visitorId: string): void

🚧

Because we have changed the visitor data, we have to call the fetchFlags method after calling this one to update the decision from Flagship.

The targeting / Flags could be different for the visitor.

Unauthenticate

This function change authenticated Visitor to anonymous visitor

• unauthenticate(): void

🚧

Because we have changed the visitor datas, we have to call the fetchFlags method after calling this one to update the decision from Flagship.

The targeting / Flags could be different for the visitor.

Code example

Let's assume basic scenario to understand how things work:

1. Your visitor arrives on your app for the first time.

We need to initialize the visitor but as we don't know anything about this visitor, we'll create a random visitor id or let the SDK do it for us. You can also specify some visitor context if necessary.

const visitor = Flagship.newVisitor({
  context: { key: "value" }
});

Here we don't set visitorId property so the SDK has auto-created an id for our visitor.

Regardless of how it has been set, the actual visitor id will be what we call the anonymous id.

2. Your visitor is signing in.

To tell the SDK about this status modification, you'll have to call the authenticate function which takes the required visitor id as argument.

// Example 
// You fetch the visitor_id from your DB
// let visitorId = db.getUserId();

visitor.authenticate(visitorId);

// Since your visitor has changed (is now logged-in)
// You have to check if the proper targeting and flags are set

visitor.fetchFlags()

The visitor is updated as authenticated, keeping the previous variations from campaigns that are still matched and thus gives you same flags as before being logged in.

📘

Keep in mind that if the visitor also has its context changed, you might still have changes on flags as your visitor might target new campaigns.

3. Your visitor decides to sign out.

If you want to keep the same visitor experience, then you should do:

visitor.unauthenticate();

// Since your visitor has changed (is now logged-out)
// You have to check if the proper targeting and flags are set

visitor.fetchFlags();

Final implementation example

// Create a visitor 

const visitor = Flagship.newVisitor({
  context: { key: "value" }
});

// Call the authenticate function

visitor.authenticate(visitorId);

// Fetch the flags to update the visitor decision

visitor.fetchFlags();

// ... Do things ....

// If you want to unauthenticate the visitor 

visitor.unauthenticate();

// Fetch the flags to update the visitor decision

visitor.fetchFlags();

Other visitor instance member

getFlagsDataArray function

Return an array of all flags data fetched for the current visitor.

• getFlagsDataArray():FlagDTO[]

getAllFlagsData function

The getAllFlagsData method returns a Promise<object> containing all the data for all the campaigns associated with the current visitor.

The object resolved by the promise has the same shape as the Decision API response (normal mode).

• getAllFlagsData(activate : boolean) : Promise<{ visitorId: string; campaigns: CampaignDTO[];}>

The function takes the following arguments:

getFlagsDataForCampaign function

Useful to request the data for a specific campaign.

• getModificationsForCampaign(campaignId: string, activate: boolean): Promise<{visitorId: string; campaigns: CampaignDTO[];}>;

The function takes the following arguments:

Hit Tracking

This section helps you track your users in your application and learn how to build hits in order to feed your reports. For more information about our measurement protocol, read our Universal Collect documentation.

There are five different types of Hits available:

• Page
• Screen
• Transaction
• Item
• Event

HitType

import { HitType } from "@flagship.io/js-sdk";

const page = HitType.PAGE;

import { HitType } from "https://deno.land/x/flagship_io_js_sdk/mod.ts";

const page = HitType.PAGE;

They must all be built and sent with the following function from the Visitor instance:

import { Flagship, HitType } from "@flagship.io/js-sdk";

Flagship.start("your_env_id", "your_api_key");

const visitor = Flagship.newVisitor({
  visitorId: "your_visitor_id",
  hasConsented: true, // set hasConsented to true
  context: { isVip: true },
});

visitor.sendHit({
  type: HitType.PAGE,
  documentLocation: "https://localhost",
});

//or

visitor.sendHits([
  {
    type: HitType.PAGE,
    documentLocation: "https://localhost",
  },
  {
    type: HitType.SCREEN,
    documentLocation: "home",
  },
]);

import { Flagship, HitType } from "https://deno.land/x/flagship_io_js_sdk/mod.ts";

Flagship.start("your_env_id", "your_api_key");

const visitor = Flagship.newVisitor({
  visitorId: "your_visitor_id",
  hasConsented: true, // set hasConsented to true
  context: { isVip: true },
});

visitor.sendHit({
  type: HitType.PAGE,
  documentLocation: "https://localhost",
});

//or

visitor.sendHits([
  {
    type: HitType.PAGE,
    documentLocation: "https://localhost",
  },
  {
    type: HitType.SCREEN,
    documentLocation: "home",
  },
]);

sendHit function

Send Hit to Flagship servers for reporting.

• sendHit (hit: IHit): Promise<void>

sendHits function

Send Hits to Flagship servers for reporting.

• sendHits (hits: IHit[]): Promise<void>

Hit common optional parameters

import { HitType } from "@flagship.io/js-sdk";

visitor.sendHit({
  type: HitType.PAGE,
  documentLocation: "https://localhost",
  userIp: "127.0.0.1",
  screenResolution: "800X600",
  locale: "fr",
  sessionNumber: "1234",
});

import { HitType } from "https://deno.land/x/flagship_io_js_sdk/mod.ts";

visitor.sendHit({
  type: HitType.PAGE,
  documentLocation: "https://localhost",
  userIp: "127.0.0.1",
  screenResolution: "800X600",
  locale: "fr",
  sessionNumber: "1234",
});

Page

This hit should be sent each time a visitor arrives on a new page.

import { HitType } from "@flagship.io/js-sdk";

visitor.sendHit({
  type: HitType.PAGE, //or "PAGEVIEW"
  documentLocation: "https://www.my_domain_com/my_page",
});

import { HitType } from "https://deno.land/x/flagship_io_js_sdk/mod.ts";

visitor.sendHit({
  type: HitType.PAGE, //or "PAGEVIEW"
  documentLocation: "https://www.my_domain_com/my_page",
});

• A hit of type Page has this following structure:

Screen

This hit should be sent each time a visitor arrives on an interface on client side.

import { HitType } from "@flagship.io/js-sdk";

visitor.sendHit({
  type: HitType.SCREEN, //or "SCREENVIEW"
  documentLocation: "home_screen",
});

import { HitType } from "https://deno.land/x/flagship_io_js_sdk/mod.ts";

visitor.sendHit({
  type: HitType.SCREEN, //or "SCREENVIEW"
  documentLocation: "home_screen",
});

• A hit of type Screen has this following structure:

Transaction

This hit should be sent when a user complete a Transaction.

import { HitType } from "@flagship.io/js-sdk";

visitor.sendHit({
  type: HitType.TRANSACTION, //or "TRANSACTION"
  transactionId: "#12345",
  affiliation: "affiliation",
  taxes: 19.99,
  currency: "USD",
  couponCode: "code",
  itemCount: 1,
  shippingMethod: "road",
  shippingCosts: 5,
  paymentMethod: "credit_card",
  totalRevenue: "199.99",
});

import { HitType } from "https://deno.land/x/flagship_io_js_sdk/mod.ts";

visitor.sendHit({
  type: HitType.TRANSACTION, //or "TRANSACTION"
  transactionId: "#12345",
  affiliation: "affiliation",
  taxes: 19.99,
  currency: "USD",
  couponCode: "code",
  itemCount: 1,
  shippingMethod: "road",
  shippingCosts: 5,
  paymentMethod: "credit_card",
  totalRevenue: "199.99",
});

A hit of type TRANSACTION has this following structure:

Item

This hit is used to link an item with a transaction. It must be sent after the corresponding transaction hit.

import { HitType } from "@flagship.io/js-sdk";

visitor.sendHit({
  type: HitType.ITEM, //or "ITEM"
  transactionId: "#12345",
  productName: "product",
  productSku: "sku123",
  itemPrice: 199.99,
  itemQuantity: 1,
  itemCategory: "test",
});

import { HitType } from "https://deno.land/x/flagship_io_js_sdk/mod.ts";

visitor.sendHit({
  type: HitType.ITEM, //or "ITEM"
  transactionId: "#12345",
  productName: "product",
  productSku: "sku123",
  itemPrice: 199.99,
  itemQuantity: 1,
  itemCategory: "test",
});

A hit of type ITEM has this following structure:

📘

The Item hit isn't available yet in the Flagship reporting view.

Event

This hit can be used for any event (e.g. Add To Cart click, newsletter subscription).

import { HitType, EventCategory } from "@flagship.io/js-sdk";

visitor.sendHit({
  type: HitType.EVENT, //or "EVENT"
  category: EventCategory.USER_ENGAGEMENT, // or EventCategory.ACTION_TRACKING
  action: "click",
  label: "label",
  value: 100,
});

import { HitType, EventCategory } from "https://deno.land/x/flagship_io_js_sdk/mod.ts";

visitor.sendHit({
  type: HitType.EVENT, //or "EVENT"
  category: EventCategory.USER_ENGAGEMENT, // or EventCategory.ACTION_TRACKING
  label: "label",
  value: 100,
});

A hit of type EVENT has this following structure:

Managing visitor cache

The aims of the cache management is the response to the following problematic:

• Re-allocation in bucketing mode :

In bucketing mode, the SDK will always keep visitor in variation where he was allocated first, in case of the customer or the dynamic allocation has changed the traffic allocation. Indeed in bucketing mode the assignation is made on local device so changing campaign allocation in the platform would make the visitors see different campaigns.

• Handle offline mode on client side :

With the cache enabled, the SDK will try to retrieve the latest visitor data (campaign assignations) from the cache, also will save all the failed hits and userExposed in order to resend them later.

By default the Flagship JS SDK provide a default cache manager implementation on client side. It is possible to use your own cache manager by implementing the intefaces IVisitorCacheImplementation and IHitCacheImplementation through visitorCacheImplementation and hitCacheImplementation properties of configuration.

Visitor Cache

The visitor cache is used to store the visitor data in a database through the IVisitorCacheImplementation interface which defines the methods that an object must implement in order to handle it.

interface IVisitorCacheImplementation {
    cacheVisitor(visitorId: string, Data: VisitorCacheDTO):Promise<void>
    lookupVisitor(visitorId: string): Promise<VisitorCacheDTO>
    flushVisitor(visitorId: string): Promise<void>
}

cacheVisitor function

This method is called when the SDK needs to cache visitor information in your database.

• public cacheVisitor(visitorId: string, Data: object):void

It has 2 arguments :

lookupVisitor function

This method is called when the SDK needs to get the visitor information corresponding to visitor ID from your database.

It has to return an object of type VisitorCacheDTO which follows this shape see.

• public lookupVisitor(visitorId: string): object

It has one argument :

flushVisitor function

This method is called when the SDK needs to erase the visitor information corresponding to visitor ID in your database.

It will be called every time setConsent get false.

• public flushVisitor(visitorId: string): void

It has one argument :

📘

• flushVisitor method will be called every time setConsent get false.

VisitorCacheDTO

type VisitorCacheDTO = {
  version: number;
  data: {
    visitorId: string;
    anonymousId: string | null;
    consent?: boolean;
    context?: Record<string, boolean|number|string>;
    assignmentsHistory?: Record<string, string>;
    campaigns?: Array<{
      campaignId: string;
      variationGroupId: string;
      variationId: string;
      isReference?: boolean;
      type: string;
      activated?: boolean;
      flags?: Record<string, unknown>;
    }>;
  };
};

Hit Cache

The hit cache is used to store the failed hits and userExposed in your database through the IHitCacheImplementation interface which defines the methods that an object must implement in order to handle it.

interface IHitCacheImplementation {
  cacheHit(visitorId: string, data: HitCacheDTO): Promise<void>
  lookupHits(visitorId: string):Promise<HitCacheDTO>
  flushHits(visitorId: string): Promise<void>
}

cacheHit function

This method will be called to cache visitor hits when a hit has failed to be sent if there is no internet, there has been a timeout or if the request responded with something > 2XX.

• public cacheHit(visitorId: string, data: object):void

It has 2 arguments :

lookupHits function

This method will be called to load hits corresponding to visitor ID from your database and trying to send them again in the background.

It has to return an array of type HitCacheDTO which follows this shape see.

• public lookupHits(visitorId: string):object

It has one argument :

flushHits function

This method will be called to erase the visitor hits cache corresponding to visitor ID from your database.

NOTE: It will be called every time setConsent get false.

• public flushHits(visitorId: string):void

It has one argument :

HitCacheDTO

type HitCacheLookupDTO = {
  version: number;
  data: {
    visitorId: string;
    anonymousId: string | null;
    type: HitType | "ACTIVATE";
    time: number;
    content?: Record<string, unknown>;
  };
};

📘

• flushHits method will be called every time setConsent get false.
• After lookupHits has returned the visitor hits information corresponding to visitor ID, this data must be deleted from persistent storage.
• Hits older than 4H will be ignored during the resending process.

API reference

Flagship class

• start
• newVisitor
• getStatus
• getConfig
• getVisitor

Visitor class

• updateContext
• context
• clearContext
• fetchFlags
• getFlagsDataArray
• getAllFlagsData
• getFlagsDataForCampaign
• Event listeners
• getFlag
• setConsent
• hasConsented
• Authenticate
• Unauthenticate
• sendHit
• sendHits

Flag class

• getValue
• metadata
• userexposed
• exists

Appendix

Predefined user context keys :

The Flagship SDK contains predefined user context keys.

The keys marked as Yes in the Auto-set by SDK column will be automatically set, while the ones marked as No need to be set by customer.

You can overwrite these keys at any time. The keys-value pairs will be sent to the server in the user context and can be edited in the Persona section of the Flagship platform.

📘

To overwrite the keys, use the updateContext method