This guide provides detailed information about our JavaScript Browser SDK, which is built on top of our JS SDK core modules but optimized for web browsers.
The library exports a slim
(default) and a full
entry point in UMD, CommonJS, and ES module formats, which allows you to import and use the SDK. The slim
entry point has minimal features which has a smaller footprint. The full
entry point includes the following built-in features to make it easier to use: fetch polyfill and localhost mode.
Both entry points share the same pluggable API that you can use to include more functionality optionally and keep your bundle leaner.
All of our SDKs are open source. Go to our JavaScript Browser SDK GitHub repository to see the source code.
Migrating JavaScript SDK to JavaScript Browser SDK
Refer to the Browser SDK Migration Guide if you are already using our JavaScript SDK and want to migrate to JavaScript Browser SDK to take advantage of ES modules tree-shaking in your Web application project.
Language support
The JavaScript Browser SDK supports all major browsers. While the library was built to support ES5 syntax, it depends on native support for ES6 Promise and therefore, you need to polyfill it if it's not available in your target browsers.
You must polyfill Fetch Web API if it is not available in your target browsers and you are importing the SDK from the slim entry point. For more information, refer to the Import the SDK into your project section of this guide. The full
entry point doesn't require it.
If you're looking for possible polyfill options, for Promise, check es6-promise and for Fetch, we recommend the lightweight unfetch or whatwg-fetch.
Initialization
Set up Split in your code base with the following two steps:
1. Import the SDK into your project
You can import the SDK into your project using either of the two methods below, NPM or our bundled option which we host through our CDN.
You can take advantage of both slim
and full
entry points when using NPM as you decide what to import. However, on the already bundled option, the code included is static, so we expose a different bundle for each entry point. The slim
version includes all the key functionality of the SDK and the full one includes every available pluggable module, for example, the logger or the integrations.
npm install --save @splitsoftware/splitio-browserjs
<!-- Choose the preferred script tag, you don't need both -->
<!-- Slim build, smaller footprint -->
<script src="//cdn.split.io/sdk/split-browser-0.15.0.min.js"></script>
<!-- Full build, bigger footprint but all modules are exposed and usable,
including fetch polyfill and localhost mode -->
<script src="//cdn.split.io/sdk/split-browser-0.15.0.full.min.js"></script>
2. Instantiate the SDK and create a new Split client
// Instantiate the SDK. CDN exposes a splitio object globally with a reference to
// the SplitFactory (as well as any extra modules)
var factory = splitio.SplitFactory({
core: {
authorizationKey: 'YOUR_SDK_KEY',
// key represents your internal user id, or the account id that
// the user belongs to.
// This could also be a cookie you generate for anonymous users
key: 'key'
}
});
// And get the client instance you'll use
var client = factory.client();
var SplitFactory = require('@splitsoftware/splitio-browserjs').SplitFactory;
// Or you can import the SplitFactory from the full entry point,
var SplitFactory = require('@splitsoftware/splitio-browserjs/full').SplitFactory;
// Instantiate the SDK
var factory = SplitFactory({
core: {
authorizationKey: 'YOUR_SDK_KEY',
// key represents your internal user id, or the account id that
// the user belongs to.
// This could also be a cookie you generate for anonymous users
key: 'key'
}
});
// And get the client instance you'll use
var client = factory.client();
import { SplitFactory } from '@splitsoftware/splitio-browserjs';
// Or you can import the SplitFactory from the full entry point,
import { SplitFactory } from '@splitsoftware/splitio-browserjs/full';
// Instantiate the SDK
const factory: SplitIO.ISDK = SplitFactory({
core: {
authorizationKey: 'YOUR_SDK_KEY',
// key represents your internal user id, or the account id that
// the user belongs to.
// This could also be a cookie you generate for anonymous users
key: 'key'
}
});
// And get the client instance you'll use
const client: SplitIO.IClient = factory.client();
Notice for TypeScript
With the SDK package on NPM, you get the SplitIO namespace, which contains useful types and interfaces for you to use.
Feel free to dive into the declaration files if IntelliSense is not enough.
We recommend instantiating the Split factory once as a singleton and reusing it throughout your application.
Configure the SDK with the SDK key for the Split environment that you would like to access. The SDK key is available in the Split UI, on your Admin settings page, API keys section. Select a client-side SDK API key. This is a special type of API token with limited privileges for use in browsers or mobile clients. See API keys to learn more.
Using the SDK
Basic use
When the SDK is instantiated, it starts background tasks to update an in-memory cache with small amounts of data fetched from Split servers. This process can take up to a few hundred milliseconds depending on the size of data. If the SDK is asked to evaluate which treatment to show to a customer for a specific feature flag while its in this intermediate state, it may not have the data necessary to run the evaluation. In this case, the SDK does not fail, rather, it returns the control treatment.
To make sure the SDK is properly loaded before asking it for a treatment, block until the SDK is ready, as shown below. We set the client to listen for the SDK_READY
event triggered by the SDK before asking for an evaluation.
After the SDK_READY
event fires, you can use the getTreatment
method to return the proper treatment based on the FEATURE_FLAG_NAME
and the key
variables you passed when instantiating the SDK.
Then use an if-else-if block as shown below and insert the code for the different treatments that you defined in the Split user interface. Remember the final else branch in your code to handle the client returning control.
client.on(client.Event.SDK_READY, function() {
var treatment = client.getTreatment('FEATURE_FLAG_NAME');
if (treatment == "on") {
// insert code here to show on treatment
} else if (treatment == "off") {
// insert code here to show off treatment
} else {
// insert your control treatment code here
}
});
client.on(client.Event.SDK_READY, function() {
const treatment: SplitIO.Treatment = client.getTreatment('FEATURE_FLAG_NAME');
if (treatment == "on") {
// insert code here to show on treatment
} else if (treatment == "off") {
// insert code here to show off treatment
} else {
// insert your control treatment code here
}
});
Attribute syntax
To target based on custom attributes, the SDK's getTreatment
method needs to be passed an attribute map at runtime.
In the example below, we are rolling out a feature flag to users. The provided attributes plan_type
, registered_date
, permissions
, paying_customer
, and deal_size
are passed to the getTreatment
call. These attributes are compared and evaluated against the attributes used in the rollout plan as defined in the Split user interface to decide whether to show the on
or off
treatment to this account.
The getTreatment
method has a number of variations that are described below. Each of these additionally has a variation that takes an attributes argument, which can defines attributes of the following types: strings, numbers, dates, booleans, and sets. The proper data type and syntax for each are:
- Strings: Use type String.
- Numbers: Use type Number.
-
Dates: Use type Date and express the value in
milliseconds since epoch
.
Note: Milliseconds since epoch is expressed in UTC. If your date or date-time combination is in a different timezone, first convert it to UTC, then transform it to milliseconds since epoch. - Booleans: Use type Boolean.
- Sets: Use type Array.
var attributes = {
// date attributes are handled as `millis since epoch`
registered_date: new Date('YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm:ss.sssZ').getTime(),
// this string will be compared against a list called `plan_type`
plan_type: 'growth',
// this number will be compared agains a const value called `deal_size`
deal_size: 10000,
// this boolean will be compared against a const value called `paying_customer`
paying_customer: true,
// this array will be compared against a set called `permissions`
permissions: ["read", "write"]
};
var treatment = client.getTreatment('FEATURE_FLAG_NAME', attributes);
if (treatment === 'on') {
// insert on code here
} else if (treatment === 'off') {
// insert off code here
} else {
// insert control code here
}
const attributes: SplitIO.Attributes = {
// date attributes are handled as `millis since epoch`
registered_date: new Date('YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm:ss.sssZ').getTime(),
// this string will be compared against a list called `plan_type`
plan_type: 'growth',
// this number will be compared agains a const value called `deal_size`
deal_size: 10000,
// this array will be compared against a set called `permissions`
permissions: [‘read’, ‘write’]
};
const treatment: SplitIO.Treatment = client.getTreatment('FEATURE_FLAG_NAME', attributes);
if (treatment === 'on') {
// insert on code here
} else if (treatment === 'off') {
// insert off code here
} else {
// insert control code here
}
You can pass your attributes in exactly this way to the client.getTreatments
method.
Binding attributes to the client
Attributes can optionally be bound to the client at any time during the SDK lifecycle. These attributes are stored in memory and used in every evaluation to avoid the need to keep the attribute set accessible through the whole app. When an evaluation is called, the attributes provided (if any) at evaluation time are combined with the ones that are already loaded into the SDK memory, with the ones provided at function execution time taking precedence. This enables those attributes to be overridden or hidden for specific evaluations.
An attribute is considered valid if it follows one of the types listed below:
- String
- Number
- Boolean
- Array
The SDK validates these before storing them and if there are invalid or missing values, possibly indicating an issue, the methods return the boolean false
and do not update any value.
To use these methods, refer to the example below:
var attributes = {
registered_date: new Date('YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm:ss.sssZ').getTime(),
plan_type: 'growth',
deal_size: 10000,
paying_customer: true,
permissions: ["read", "write"]
};
// set attributes returns true unless there is an issue storing it
var result = client.setAttributes(attributes);
// set one attribute and returns true unless there is an issue storing it
var result = client.setAttribute('paying_customer', false);
// Get an attribute
var plan_type = client.getAttribute('plan_type');
// Get all attributes
var stored_attributes = client.getAttributes();
// Remove an attribute
var result = client.removeAttribute('permissions');
// Remove all attributes
var result = client.clearAttributes();
Multiple evaluations at once
In some instances, you may want to evaluate treatments for multiple feature flags at once. Use the different variations of getTreatments
from the Split client to do this.
-
getTreatments
: Pass a list of the feature flag names you want treatments for. -
getTreatmentsByFlagSet
: Evaluate all flags that are part of the provided set name and are cached on the SDK instance. -
getTreatmentsByFlagSets
: Evaluate all flags that are part of the provided set names and are cached on the SDK instance.
// Getting treatments by feature flag names
var flagNames = ['FEATURE_FLAG_NAME_1', 'FEATURE_FLAG_NAME_2'];
var treatments = client.getTreatments(flagNames);
// Getting treatments by set
treatments = client.getTreatmentsByFlagSet('frontend');
// Getting treatments for the union of multiple sets
var flagSets = ['frontend', 'client_side'];
treatments = client.getTreatmentsByFlagSets(flagSets);
// treatments have the following form:
// {
// FEATURE_FLAG_NAME_1: 'on',
// FEATURE_FLAG_NAME_2: 'visa'
// }
// Getting treatments by feature flag names
const flagNames = ['FEATURE_FLAG_NAME_1', 'FEATURE_FLAG_NAME_2'];
let treatments: SplitIO.Treatments = client.getTreatments(flagNames);
// Getting treatments by set
treatments = client.getTreatmentsByFlagSet('frontend');
// Getting treatments for the union of multiple sets
const flagSets = ['frontend', 'client_side'];
treatments = client.getTreatmentsByFlagSets(flagSets);
// treatments have the following form:
// {
// FEATURE_FLAG_NAME_1: 'on',
// FEATURE_FLAG_NAME_2: 'visa'
// }
Get treatments with configurations
To leverage dynamic configurations with your treatments, you should use the getTreatmentWithConfig
method.
This method will return an object with the structure below:
var TreatmentResult = {
String treatment;
String config; // or null if there is no config for the treatment
}
type TreatmentResult = {
treatment: string,
config: string | null
};
As you can see from the object structure, the config is a stringified version of the configuration JSON defined in the Split user interface. If there is no configuration defined for a treatment, the SDK returns null
for the config parameter. This method takes the exact same set of arguments as the standard getTreatment
method. See below for examples on proper usage:
var treatmentResult = client.getTreatmentWithConfig('FEATURE_FLAG_NAME', attributes);
var configs = JSON.parse(treatmentResult.config);
var treatment = treatmentResult.treatment;
if (treatment === 'on') {
// insert on code here and use configs here as necessary
} else if (treatment === 'off') {
// insert off code here and use configs here as necessary
} else {
// insert control code here
}
const treatmentResult: SplitIO.TreatmentWithConfig = client.getTreatmentWithConfig('FEATURE_FLAG_NAME', attributes);
const configs = JSON.parse(treatmentResult.config);
const treatment = treatmentResult.treatment;
if (treatment === 'on') {
// insert on code here and use configs here as necessary
} else if (treatment === 'off') {
// insert off code here and use configs here as necessary
} else {
// insert control code here
}
If you need to get multiple evaluations at once, you can also use the getTreatmentsWithConfig
methods. These methods take the exact same arguments as the getTreatments methods but return a mapping of feature flag names to TreatmentResults instead of strings. Example usage below:
// Getting treatments by feature flag names
var flagNames = ['FEATURE_FLAG_NAME_1', 'FEATURE_FLAG_NAME_2'];
var treatmentResults = client.getTreatmentsWithConfig(flagNames);
// Getting treatments by set
treatmentResults = client.getTreatmentsWithConfigByFlagSet('frontend');
// Getting treatments for the union of multiple sets
var flagSets = ['frontend', 'client_side'];
treatmentResults = client.getTreatmentsWithConfigByFlagSets(flagSets);
// treatmentResults will have the following form:
// {
// FEATURE_FLAG_NAME_1: {treatment: 'on',
// config: "{ 'color' : 'red'}}",
// FEATURE_FLAG_NAME_2: {treatment: 'v2',
// config: "{ 'copy' : 'better copy'}}",
// }
// Getting treatments by feature flag names
const flagNames = ['FEATURE_FLAG_NAME_1', 'FEATURE_FLAG_NAME_2'];
let treatmentResults: SplitIO.TreatmentsWithConfig = client.getTreatmentsWithConfig(flagNames);
// Getting treatments by set
treatmentResults = client.getTreatmentsWithConfigByFlagSet('frontend');
// Getting treatments for the union of multiple sets
const flagSets = ['frontend', 'client_side'];
treatmentResults = client.getTreatmentsWithConfigByFlagSets(flagSets);
// treatmentResults will have the following form:
// {
// FEATURE_FLAG_NAME_1: {treatment: 'on',
// config: "{ 'color' : 'red'}}",
// FEATURE_FLAG_NAME_2: {treatment: 'v2',
// config: "{ 'copy' : 'better copy'}}",
// }
Shutdown
Call the client.destroy()
method before letting a process using the SDK exit, as this method gracefully shuts down the Split SDK by stopping all background threads, clearing caches, closing connections, and flushing the remaining unpublished impressions.
// You can just destroy and remove the variable reference and move on:
user_client.destroy();
user_client = null;
// destroy() returns a promise, so if you want to, for example,
// navigate to another page without losing impressions, you
// can do that once the promise resolves.
user_client.destroy().then(function() {
user_client = null;
document.location.replace('another_page');
});
After destroy()
is called and finishes, any subsequent invocations to getTreatment
/getTreatments
or manager methods result in control
or empty list, respectively.
Important!
A call to the destroy()
method also destroys the factory object. When creating new client instance, first create a new factory instance.
Track
Use the track
method to record any actions your customers perform. Each action is known as an event
and corresponds to an event type
. Calling track
through one of our SDKs or via the API is the first step to getting experimentation data into Split and allows you to measure the impact of your feature flags on your users’ actions and metrics. Learn more about using track events in Split.
In the examples below, you can see that the .track()
method can take up to four arguments. The proper data type and syntax for each are:
- TRAFFIC_TYPE: The traffic type of the key in the track call. The expected data type is String. You can only pass values that match the names of traffic types that you have defined in your instance of Split.
-
EVENT_TYPE: The event type that this event should correspond to. The expected data type is String. Full requirements on this argument are:
- Contains 63 characters or fewer.
- Starts with a letter or number.
- Contains only letters, numbers, hyphen, underscore, or period.
- This is the regular expression we use to validate the value:
[a-zA-Z0-9][-_\.a-zA-Z0-9]{0,62}
- VALUE: (Optional) The value to be used in creating the metric. This field can be sent in as null or 0 if you intend to purely use the count function when creating a metric. The expected data type is Integer or Float.
- PROPERTIES: (Optional) An object of key value pairs that can be used to filter your metrics. Learn more about event property capture. Split currently supports three types of properties: strings, numbers, and booleans.
The track
method returns a boolean value of true
or false
to indicate whether or not the SDK was able to successfully queue the event to be sent back to Split's servers on the next event post. The SDK returns false
if the current queue size is equal to the config set by eventsQueueSize
or if an incorrect input to the track
method has been provided.
In the case that a bad input has been provided, you can read more about our SDK's expected behavior
// The expected parameters are:
var queued = client.track('TRAFFIC_TYPE', 'EVENT_TYPE', eventValue, { properties });
// Example with both a value and properties
var properties = {package : "premium", admin : true, discount : 50};
var queued = client.track('user', 'page_load_time', 83.334, properties);
// Example with only properties
var properties = {package : "premium", admin : true, discount : 50};
var queued = client.track('user', 'page_load_time', null, properties);
// The expected parameters are:
const queued: boolean = client.track('TRAFFIC_TYPE', 'EVENT_TYPE', eventValue, , { properties });
// Example with both a value and properties
const properties = {package : "premium", admin : true, discount : 50};
const queued = client.track('user', 'page_load_time', 83.334, properties);
// Example with only properties
const properties = {package : "premium", admin : true, discount : 50};
const queued = client.track('user', 'page_load_time', null, properties);
Configuration
The SDK has a number of knobs for configuring performance. Each knob is tuned to a reasonable default. However, you can override the value while instantiating the SDK. The parameters available for configuration are shown below.
Configuration | Description | Default value |
---|---|---|
core.labelsEnabled | Enable impression labels from being sent to Split cloud. Labels may contain sensitive information. | true |
startup.readyTimeout | Maximum amount of time in seconds to wait before firing the SDK_READY_TIMED_OUT event |
10 |
startup.requestTimeoutBeforeReady | The SDK has two main endpoints it uses /splitChanges and /mySegments that it hits to get ready. This config sets how long (in seconds) the SDK will wait for each request it makes as part of getting ready. | 5 |
startup.retriesOnFailureBeforeReady | How many retries on /splitChanges and /mySegments we will do while getting the SDK ready | 1 |
startup.eventsFirstPushWindow | Use to set a specific timer (expressed in seconds) for the first push of events, starting on SDK initialization. | 10 |
scheduler.featuresRefreshRate | The SDK polls Split servers for changes to feature roll-out plans. This parameter controls this polling period in seconds. | 60 |
scheduler.segmentsRefreshRate | The SDK polls Split servers for changes to segment definitions. This parameter controls this polling period in seconds. | 60 |
scheduler.impressionsRefreshRate | The SDK sends information on who got what treatment at what time back to Split servers to power analytics. This parameter controls how often this data is sent to Split servers. The parameter should be in seconds. | 300 |
scheduler.impressionsQueueSize | The max amount of impressions we queue. If the queue is full, the SDK flushes the impressions and resets the timer. | 30000 |
scheduler.eventsPushRate | The SDK sends tracked events to Split servers. This setting controls that flushing rate in seconds. | 60 |
scheduler.eventsQueueSize | The max amount of events we queue. If the queue is full, the SDK flushes the events and reset the timer. | 500 |
scheduler.telemetryRefreshRate | The SDK caches diagnostic data that it periodically sends to Split servers. This configuration controls how frequently this data is sent back to Split servers (in seconds). | 3600 seconds (1 hour) |
sync.splitFilters | Filter specific feature flags to be synced and evaluated by the SDK. This is formed by a type string property and a list of string values for the given criteria. Using the types 'bySet' (recommended, flag sets are available in all tiers) or 'byName', pass an array of strings defining the query. If empty or unset, all feature flags are downloaded by the SDK. | [] |
sync.impressionsMode | This configuration defines how impressions (decisioning events) are queued on the SDK. Supported modes are OPTIMIZED, NONE, and DEBUG. In OPTIMIZED mode, only unique impressions are queued and posted to Split; this is the recommended mode for experimentation use cases. In NONE mode, no impression is tracked in Split and only minimum viable data to support usage stats is, so never use this mode if you are experimenting with that instance impressions. Use NONE when you want to optimize for feature flagging only use cases and reduce impressions network and storage load. In DEBUG mode, ALL impressions are queued and sent to Split; this is useful for validations. This mode doesn't impact the impression listener which receives all generated impressions locally. | OPTIMIZED |
sync.enabled | Controls the SDK continuous synchronization flags. When true , a running SDK processes rollout plan updates performed in the Split user interface (default). When false , it fetches all data upon init, which ensures a consistent experience during a user session and optimizes resources when these updates are not consumed by the app. |
true |
sync.requestOptions.getHeaderOverrides | A callback function that can be used to override the Authentication header or append new headers to the SDK's HTTP(S) requests. | undefined |
streamingEnabled | Boolean flag to enable the streaming service as default synchronization mechanism. In the event of an issue with streaming, the SDK will fallback to the polling mechanism. If false, the SDK will poll for changes as usual without attempting to use streaming. | true |
storage | Pluggable storage instance to be used by the SDK as a complement to in memory storage. Only supported option today is InLocalStorage . Read more here. |
In memory storage |
debug | Either a boolean flag, string log level or logger instance for activating SDK logs. See logging for details. | false |
userConsent | User consent status used to control the tracking of events and impressions. Possible values are GRANTED , DECLINED , and UNKNOWN . See User consent for details. |
GRANTED |
To set each of the parameters defined above, use the following syntax:
var sdk = SplitFactory({
startup: {
readyTimeout: 10, // 10 sec
eventsFirstPushWindow: 10 // 10 sec
},
core: {
authorizationKey: 'YOUR_SDK_KEY',
key: 'YOUR_KEY'
},
scheduler: {
featuresRefreshRate: 5, // 5 sec
segmentsRefreshRate: 60, // 60 sec
impressionsRefreshRate: 300, // 300 sec
impressionsQueueSize: 30000, // 30000 items
eventsPushRate: 60, // 60 sec
eventsQueueSize: 500, // 500 items
telemetryRefreshRate: 3600 // 1 hour
},
sync: {
splitFilters: [{
type: 'bySet',
values: ['frontend']
}],
impressionsMode: 'OPTIMIZED'
},
debug: false
});
const sdk: SplitIO.ISDK = SplitFactory({
startup: {
readyTimeout: 10, // 10 sec
eventsFirstPushWindow: 10 // 10 sec
},
core: {
authorizationKey: 'YOUR_SDK_KEY',
key: 'YOUR_KEY'
},
scheduler: {
featuresRefreshRate: 5, // 5 sec
segmentsRefreshRate: 60, // 60 sec
impressionsRefreshRate: 300, // 300 sec
impressionsQueueSize: 30000, // 30000 items
eventsPushRate: 60, // 60 sec
eventsQueueSize: 500, // 500 items
telemetryRefreshRate: 3600 // 1 hour
},
sync: {
splitFilters: [{
type: 'bySet',
values: ['frontend']
}],
impressionsMode: 'OPTIMIZED'
},
debug: false
});
Configuring LocalStorage cache for the SDK
To use the pluggable InLocalStorage
option of the SDK and be able to cache flags for subsequent loads in the same browser, you need to pass it to the SDK config on its storage
option.
This InLocalStorage
function accepts an optional object with options described below:
Configuration | Description | Default value |
---|---|---|
prefix | An optional prefix for your data, to avoid collisions. | SPLITIO |
These pluggable caches are always available on NPM, but if using the CDN you need the full bundle. Refer to the Import the SDK into your project section for more information.
var factory = window.splitio.SplitFactory({
core: {
authorizationKey: 'YOUR_SDK_KEY',
key: 'key'
},
// Same as SplitFactory, InLocalStorage is exposed on the global splitio object
storage: window.splitio.InLocalStorage({
prefix: 'MY_PREFIX'
})
});
// Now use the SDK as usual
var client = factory.client();
import { SplitFactory, InLocalStorage } from '@splitsoftware/splitio-browserjs';
const factory: SplitIO.ISDK = SplitFactory({
core: {
authorizationKey: 'YOUR_SDK_KEY',
key: 'key'
},
storage: InLocalStorage({
prefix: 'MY_PREFIX'
})
});
// Now use the SDK as usual
const client = factory.client();
Localhost mode
For testing, a developer can put code behind feature flags on their development machine without the SDK requiring network connectivity. To achieve this, the Split SDK can be started in localhost mode (aka off-the-grid or offline mode). In this mode, the SDK neither polls nor updates Split servers. Instead, it uses an in-memory data structure to determine what treatments to show to the logged in customer for each of the features.
Define the feature flags you want to use in the features
object map. All getTreatment
calls for a feature flag now only return the one treatment (and config, if defined) that you have defined in the map.
Any feature that is not provided in the features
map returns the control treatment if the SDK was asked to evaluate them.
You can use the additional configuration parameters below when instantiating the SDK in localhost
mode.
Configuration | Description | Default value |
---|---|---|
scheduler.offlineRefreshRate | The refresh interval for the mocked features treatments. | 15 |
features | A fixed mapping of which treatment to show for our mocked features. | {} By default we have no mocked features. |
sync.localhostMode | A module required to execute localhost mode only when using the slim entry point. | undefined |
To use the SDK in localhost mode, replace the SDK key on authorizationKey
property with 'localhost'
, as shown in the example below. Note that you can define in the features
object a feature flag name and its treatment directly or use a map to define both a treatment and a dynamic configuration.
If you define just a string as the value for a feature flag name, any config returned by our SDKs are always null. If you use a map, we return the specified treatment and the specified config (which can also be null).
When using the default slim entry point of the library, you must also pass a module called LocalhostFromObject
to the config. This module is only available when importing from NPM, and not included in the slim CDN bundle. If desired, you can use the full entry point to avoid this step.
<script src="//cdn.split.io/sdk/split-browser-0.15.0.full.min.js"></script>
var sdk = splitio.SplitFactory({
core: {
authorizationKey: 'localhost'
},
features: {
'reporting_v2': 'on', // example with just a string value for the treatment
'billing_updates': { treatment: 'visa', config: '{ "color": "blue" }' }, // example of a defined config
'show_status_bar': { treatment: 'off', config: null } // example of a null config
},
scheduler: {
offlineRefreshRate: 15 // 15 sec
}
});
var client = sdk.client();
// The following code will be evaluated once the engine finishes the initialization
client.on(client.Event.SDK_READY, function() {
// The sentence below will return 'on'
var t1 = client.getTreatment('reporting_v2')
// The sentence below will return an object with the structure of: {treatment:'visa',config:'{ "color":"blue" }'}
var t2 = client.getTreatmentWithConfig('billing_updates')
// The sentence below will return 'control' because that feature does not exist
var t3 = client.getTreatmentWithConfig('navigation_bar_changes')
});
import { SplitFactory, LocalhostFromObject } from '@splitsoftware/splitio-browserjs';
const sdk: SplitIO.ISDK = SplitFactory({
core: {
authorizationKey: 'localhost'
},
features: {
'reporting_v2': 'on', // example with just a string value for the treatment
'billing_updates': { treatment: 'visa', config: '{ "color": "blue"}' } // example of a defined config
'show_status_bar': { treatment: 'off', config: null } // example of a null config
},
scheduler: {
offlineRefreshRate: 15 // 15 sec
},
sync: {
localhostMode: LocalhostFromObject()
}
});
const client: SplitIO.IClient = sdk.client();
// The following code will be evaluated once the engine finishes the initialization
client.on(client.Event.SDK_READY, () => {
// The sentence below will return 'on'
const t1: SplitIO.Treatment = client.getTreatment('reporting_v2');
// The sentence below will return an object with the structure of: {treatment:'visa',config:'{ "color":"blue" }'
const t2: SplitIO.Treatment = client.getTreatmentWithConfig('billing_updates');
// The sentence below will return 'control' because that feature does not exist
const t3: SplitIO.Treatment = client.getTreatmentWithConfig('navigation_bar_changes');
});
You can then change the feature flags as necessary for your testing, by mutating the properties of the features
object you've provided. The SDK simulates polling for changes every offlineRefreshRate
seconds, and will emit an SDK_UPDATE
event if the mocked features have changed.
// The SDK keeps a reference to the `features` object map, so you can mutate the object as follows to emit SDK_UPDATE events:
config.features['reporting_v2'] = 'off'; // update reporting_v2
config.features['reporting_v3'] = 'off'; // add reporting_v3
delete config.features['reporting_v2']; // delete reporting_v2
// In case you need to update the whole mock object, you can replace the internal reference from the factory:
factory.settings.features = { 'reporting_v3': 'off' };
// But don't do it on the passed configuration, as the SDK will not reference the new object:
config.features = { 'reporting_v3': 'off' }; // Will not emit SDK_UPDATE
Manager
Use the Split Manager to get a list of features available to the Split client. To instantiate a Manager in your code base, use the same factory that you used for your client:
var factory = SplitFactory({
core: {
authorizationKey: 'YOUR_SDK_KEY',
// the key can be the logged in
// user id, or the account id that
// the logged in user belongs to.
// The type of customer (user, account, custom)
// is chosen during Split's sign-up process.
key: 'key'
}
});
var manager = factory.manager();
manager.once(manager.Event.SDK_READY, function() {
// Once it's ready, use the manager
});
const factory: SplitIO.ISDK = SplitFactory({
core: {
authorizationKey: 'YOUR_SDK_KEY',
// the key can be the logged in
// user id, or the account id that
// the logged in user belongs to.
// The type of customer (user, account, custom)
// is chosen during Split's sign-up process.
key: 'key'
}
});
const manager: SplitIO.IManager = factory.manager();
manager.once(manager.Event.SDK_READY, function() {
// Once it's ready, use the manager
});
The Manager has the following methods available:
/**
* Returns the feature flag registered within the SDK that matches this name.
*
* @return SplitView or null.
*/
var splitView = manager.split('name-of-feature-flag');
/**
* Retrieves all the feature flags that are currently registered within the SDK.
*
* returns a List of SplitViews.
*/
var splitViewsList = manager.splits();
/**
* Returns the names of all feature flags registered within the SDK.
*
* @return a List of Strings of the features' names.
*/
var splitNamesList = manager.names();
/**
* Returns the feature flag registered within the SDK that matches this name.
*
* @return SplitView or null.
*/
const splitView: SplitIO.SplitView = manager.split('name-of-feature-flag');
/**
* Retrieves all the feature flags that are currently registered within the SDK.
*
* returns a List of SplitViews.
*/
const splitViewsList: SplitIO.SplitViews = manager.splits();
/**
* Returns the names of all feature flags registered within the SDK.
*
* @return a List of Strings of the features' names.
*/
const splitNamesList: SplitIO.SplitNames = manager.names();
The SplitView
object referenced above has the following structure:
type SplitView = {
name: string,
trafficType: string,
killed: boolean,
treatments: Array<string>,
changeNumber: number,
configs: {
[treatmentName: string]: string
},
defaultTreatment: string,
sets: Array<string>
}
Listener
Split SDKs send impression data back to Split servers periodically and as a result of evaluating feature flags. To additionally send this information to a location of your choice, define and attach an impression listener. For that purpose, the SDK's configurations have a parameter called impressionListener
where an implementation of ImpressionListener
could be added. This implementation must define the logImpression
method and it receives data in the following schema.
Name | Type | Description |
---|---|---|
impression | Object | Impression object that has the feature, key, treatment, label, etc. |
attributes | Object | A map of attributes passed to getTreatment /getTreatments (if any). |
sdkLanguageVersion | String | The version of the SDK. In this case the language is browserjs plus the version currently running. |
Note
There are two additional keys on this object, ip
and hostname
. They are not captured on the client side but kept for consistency.
Implement custom impression listener
The following is an example of how to implement a custom impression listener:
function logImpression(impressionData) {
// do something with the impression data.
}
var factory = SplitFactory({
core: {
authorizationKey: 'YOUR_SDK_KEY',
key: 'key'
},
impressionListener: {
logImpression: logImpression
}
});
class MyImprListener implements SplitIO.IImpressionListener {
logImpression(impressionData: SplitIO.ImpressionData) {
// do something with impressionData
}
}
const factory: SplitIO.ISDK = SplitFactory({
core: {
authorizationKey: 'YOUR_SDK_KEY',
key: 'key'
},
impressionListener: {
logImpression: new MyImprListener()
}
});
An impression listener is called asynchronously from the corresponding evaluation, but is almost immediate.
Even though the SDK does not fail if there is an exception in the listener, do not block the call stack.
Logging
To trim as many bits as possible from the user application builds, we divided the logger in implementations that contain the log messages for each log level: ErrorLogger
, WarnLogger
, InfoLogger
, and DebugLogger
. Higher log level options contain the messages for the lower ones, with DebugLogger containing them all. To enable descriptive SDK logging, you need to plug in a logger instance as shown below:
import { SplitFactory, DebugLogger } from '@splitsoftware/splitio-browserjs';
const sdk: SplitIO.ISDK = SplitFactory({
core: {
authorizationKey: 'YOUR_SDK_KEY',
key: 'key'
},
debug: DebugLogger() // other options are `InfoLogger`, `WarnLogger` and `ErrorLogger`
});
var splitio = require('@splitsoftware/splitio-browserjs');
var sdk = splitio.SplitFactory({
core: {
authorizationKey: 'YOUR_SDK_KEY',
key: 'key'
},
debug: splitio.DebugLogger() // other options are `InfoLogger`, `WarnLogger` and `ErrorLogger`
});
var sdk = splitio.SplitFactory({
core: {
authorizationKey: 'YOUR_SDK_KEY',
key: 'key'
},
debug: splitio.DebugLogger() // Only the full UMD bundle includes `DebugLogger`, `InfoLogger`, `WarnLogger` and `ErrorLogger` modules in the `splitio` namespace.
});
You can also enable the SDK logging via a boolean or log level value as debug
settings, and change it dynamically by calling the SDK Logger API. However, in any case where the proper logger instance is not plugged in, instead of a human readable message, you'll get a code and optionally some params for the log itself. While these logs would be enough for the Split support team, if you find yourself in a scenario where you need to parse this information, you can check the constant files in our javascript-commons repository (where you have tags per version if needed) under the logger folder.
import { SplitFactory } from '@splitsoftware/splitio-browserjs';
const sdk: SplitIO.ISDK = SplitFactory({
core: {
authorizationKey: 'YOUR_SDK_KEY',
key: 'key'
},
debug: true // other options are 'ERROR', 'WARN', 'INFO' and 'DEBUG
});
// Or you can use the Logger API methods which have an immediate effect.
sdk.Logger.setLogLevel('WARN'); // Acceptable values are: 'DEBUG', 'INFO', 'WARN', 'ERROR', 'NONE'
sdk.Logger.enable(); // equivalent to `setLogLevel('DEBUG')`
sdk.Logger.disable(); // equivalent to `setLogLevel('NONE')`
var splitio = require('@splitsoftware/splitio-browserjs');
var sdk = splitio.SplitFactory({
core: {
authorizationKey: 'YOUR_SDK_KEY',
key: 'key'
},
debug: true // other options are 'ERROR', 'WARN', 'INFO' and 'DEBUG
});
// Or you can use the Logger API methods which have an immediate effect.
sdk.Logger.setLogLevel('WARN'); // Acceptable values are: 'DEBUG', 'INFO', 'WARN', 'ERROR', 'NONE'
sdk.Logger.enable(); // equivalent to `setLogLevel('DEBUG')`
sdk.Logger.disable(); // equivalent to `setLogLevel('NONE')`
SDK logging can also be globally enabled via a localStorage value by opening your DevTools console and typing the following:
// Acceptable values are 'DEBUG', 'INFO', 'WARN', 'ERROR' and 'NONE'
// Other acceptable values are 'on', 'enable' and 'enabled', which are equivalent to 'DEBUG' log level
localStorage.splitio_debug = 'on' <enter>
Advanced use cases
This section describes advanced use cases and features provided by the SDK.
Instantiate multiple SDK clients
Split supports the ability to release based on multiple traffic types. For example, with traffic types, you can release to users
in one feature flag and accounts
in another. If you are unfamiliar with using multiple traffic types, refer to the Traffic type guide for more information.
Each SDK client is tied to one specific customer ID at a time, so if you need to roll out feature flags by different traffic types, instantiate multiple SDK clients, one for each traffic type. For example, you may want to roll out the feature user-poll
by users
and the feature account-permissioning
by accounts
.
You can do this with the example below:
var factory = SplitFactory({
core: {
authorizationKey: 'YOUR_SDK_KEY',
key: 'CUSTOMER_ACCOUNT_ID',
// Instantiate the sdk once and provide the ID for one of the
// traffic types that you plan to release to. It doesn't
// matter which you pick to start off with.
},
});
// now when you call factory.client(), the sdk creates a client
// using the Account ID and traffic type name (if any)
// you passed in during the factory creation.
var account_client = factory.client();
// to create another client for a User instead, just pass in a User ID
// This is only valid after at least one client has been initialized.
var user_client = factory.client('CUSTOMER_USER_ID');
// check treatment for user-poll and CUSTOMER_USER_ID
var user_poll_treatment = user_client.getTreatment('user-poll');
// check treatment for account-permissioning and CUSTOMER_ACCOUNT_ID
var account_permissioning_treatment = account_client.getTreatment('account-permissioning');
// track events for accounts
user_client.track('account', 'PAGELOAD', 7.86);
// or track events for users
account_client.track('user', 'ACCOUNT_CREATED');
const sdk: SplitIO.ISDK = SplitFactory({
core: {
authorizationKey: 'YOUR_SDK_KEY',
key: 'CUSTOMER_ACCOUNT_ID'
// instantiate the sdk once and provide the ID for one of the
// traffic types that you plan to release to. It doesn't
// matter which you pick to start off with.
},
});
// now when you call sdk.client(), the sdk will create a client
// using the Account ID you passed in during the factory creation.
const account_client: SplitIO.IClient = factory.client();
// to create another client for a User instead, just pass in a
// User ID to the sdk.client() method. This is only valid after
// at least one client has been initialized.
const user_client: SplitIO.IClient =
factory.client('CUSTOMER_USER_ID');
// check treatment for user-poll and CUSTOMER_USER_ID
const user_poll_treatment: SplitIO.Treatment =
user_client.getTreatment('user-poll');
// check treatment for account-permissioning and CUSTOMER_ACCOUNT_ID
const account_permissioning_treatment: SplitIO.Treatment =
account_client.getTreatment('account-permissioning');
// track events for accounts
user_client.track('account', 'PAGELOAD', 7.86);
// or track events for users
account_client.track('user', 'ACCOUNT_CREATED');
Number of SDK instances
While the SDK does not put any limitations on the number of instances that can be created, we strongly recommend keeping the number of SDKs down to one or two.
Subscribe to events
You can listen for four different events from the SDK.
-
SDK_READY_FROM_CACHE
. This event fires once the SDK is ready to evaluate treatments using a version of your rollout plan cached in localStorage from a previous session (which might be stale). If there is data in localStorage, this event fires almost immediately, since access to localStorage is fast; otherwise, it doesn't fire. -
SDK_READY
. This event fires once the SDK is ready to evaluate treatments using the most up-to-date version of your rollout plan, downloaded from Split servers. -
SDK_READY_TIMED_OUT
. This event fires if there is no cached version of your rollout plan cached in localStorage, and the SDK could not download the data from Split servers within the time specified by thereadyTimeout
configuration parameter. This event does not indicate that the SDK initialization was interrupted. The SDK continues downloading the rollout plan and fires theSDK_READY
event when finished. This delayedSDK_READY
event may happen with slow connections or large rollout plans with many feature flags, segments, or dynamic configurations. -
SDK_UPDATE
. This event fires whenever your rollout plan is changed. Listen for this event to refresh your app whenever a feature flag or segment is changed in the Split user interface.
The syntax to listen for each event is shown below:
function whenReady() {
var treatment = client.getTreatment('FEATURE_FLAG_NAME');
if (treatment === 'on') {
// insert on code
} else if (treatment === 'off') {
// insert off code
} else {
// insert control code (usually the same as default treatment)
}
}
client.once(client.Event.SDK_READY, function () {
// the client is ready to evaluate treatments according to the latest feature flag definitions
});
client.once(client.Event.SDK_READY_TIMED_OUT, function () {
// this callback will be called after the set timeout period has elapsed if and only if the client
// is not ready for that time. You can still call getTreatment()
// but it could return CONTROL.
});
client.on(client.Event.SDK_UPDATE, function () {
// fired each time the client state changes.
// For example, when a feature flag or a segment changes.
console.log('The SDK has been updated!');
});
// This event fires only using the LocalStorage option and if there's Split data stored in the browser.
client.once(client.Event.SDK_READY_FROM_CACHE, function () {
// Fired after the SDK could confirm the presence of the Split data.
// This event fires really quickly, since there's no actual fetching of information.
// Keep in mind that data might be stale, this is NOT a replacement of SDK_READY.
});
function whenReady() {
const treatment: SplitIO.Treatment = client.getTreatment('FEATURE_FLAG_NAME');
if (treatment === 'on') {
// insert on code
} else if (treatment === 'off') {
// insert off code
} else {
// insert control code (usually the same as default treatment)
}
}
// the client is ready for start making evaluations with your data
client.once(client.Event.SDK_READY, whenReady);
client.once(client.Event.SDK_READY_TIMED_OUT, () => {
// this callback will be called after 1.5 seconds if and only if the client
// is not ready for that time. You can still call getTreatment()
// but it could return CONTROL.
});
client.on(client.Event.SDK_UPDATE, () => {
// fired each time the client state change.
// For example, when a feature flag or a segment changes.
console.log('The SDK has been updated!');
});
// This event fires only using the LocalStorage option and if there's Split data stored in the browser.
client.once(client.Event.SDK_READY_FROM_CACHE, function () {
// Fired after the SDK could confirm the presence of the Split data.
// This event fires really quickly, since there's no actual fetching of information.
// Keep in mind that data might be stale, this is NOT a replacement of SDK_READY.
});
Sharing state with a pluggable storage
By default, the SDK fetches the feature flags and segments it needs to compute treatments from Split cloud, and stores it in its cache. As a result, this makes it easy to get set up with Split by instantiating the SDK, waiting for the SDK_READY
event, and starting to use it. This default execution mode, called standalone mode, is appropriate for mobile and Web apps running on the client-side. However, in a stateless environment, like many serverless or edge computing solutions, this model could lead to some performance implications.
Unlike a Web app or a traditional server process, code running in a stateless environment generally has a lifecycle that is much shorter because it is associated to the lifetime of a single HTTP request/response cycle. Therefore, for each incoming HTTP request, the code must instantiate the SDK and wait until it fetches its state before evaluating, which impacts the response latency. Also, the pricing model of serverless providers usually depends on the average duration of your code and the outgoing HTTP requests.
To optimize latency, externalize the state of the SDK in a data storage available on the same infrastructure where SDKs are instantiated and instruct the SDKs to "consume" data from that storage instead of fetching it from Split cloud. This is known as consumer mode, which has two variants, consumer and partial consumer, as illustrated in the following diagram.
Synchronizing Split data on your storage
As illustrated in the previous diagram, running the SDK in consumer mode requires an additional component for synchronizing the Split data in your storage, which is known as Synchronizer.
Consumer modes
In consumer and partial consumer modes, the SDK evaluates treatments by retrieving rollout plans from a shared data storage.
The difference between each mode is in how generated impressions and events are handled:
- In consumer mode, the SDK uses the shared storage to store impressions and events, instead of submitting them directly to Split cloud. The synchronizer is in charge of submitting this data to Split.
- In partial consumer mode, the SDK behaves as in standalone mode, submitting events and impressions to Split cloud. In this mode, configuration parameters that affects how events and impressions are submitted, such as changing a push rate or the events queue size, change the behavior of the SDK.
To instantiate an SDK working as consumer, set two configs on the root of the configuration object, mode
and storage
. Set mode
with the mode of choice, either 'consumer'
or 'consumer_partial'
. Then set storage
to a valid storage wrapper which is the adapter used to connect to the data storage.
The following shows how to configure and get treatments for a Split SDK instance in consumer or partial consumer mode:
import { SplitFactory, PluggableStorage } from '@splitsoftware/splitio-browserjs';
var config = {
mode: 'consumer', // Changing the mode to 'consumer' or 'consumer_partial' here
core: {
authorizationKey: '<your-api-key>',
key: 'key'
},
// Using the PluggableStorage function, to create an storage instance
// with a given a storage wrapper that the SDK should talk to
storage: PluggableStorage({
// Wrapper objects must implement a special interface
wrapper: MyWrapper,
// Optional prefix to prevent any kind of data collision using
// the same storage with multiple SDKs with different SDK keys
prefix: 'prefix'
})
};
var factory = SplitFactory(config);
var client = factory.client();
// Unlike standalone mode, since the storage can by async the SDK will execute its operations asynchronously and
// instead of just returning a treatment as string, it returns a Promise that will be resolved to the treatment value.
// There are two main options to call getTreatments and extract the treatment. One is the async/await syntax:
var treatment = await client.getTreatment('my-feature-comming-from-storage');
// and the other option is just using the returned promise
client.getTreatment('my-feature-comming-from-storage')
.then(treatment => {
// do something with the treatment
});
// Same as in standalone mode, you can listen to the SDK events to make sure it's ready before calling for evaluations:
client.once(client.Event.SDK_READY, function () {
// Depending on the wrapper implementation, this callback will be called immediately or once the connection with the underlying storage is stablished.
// It is recommended to wait for this event before using the SDK. Otherwise the evaluation treatment might be 'control'.
});
client.once(client.Event.SDK_READY_TIMED_OUT, function () {
// This callback will be called after the seconds set at the `startup.readyTimeout` config parameter,
// if and only if the SDK_READY event was not emitted for that time.
});
You can write your own custom storage wrapper for the Split client by extending the IPluggableStorageWrapper interface.
Storage wrapper examples
We currently maintain storage wrappers for the following technologies:
Cloudflare Durable Objects: The Durable Object wrapper is available as part of a template to help you kick-start a Cloudflare Workers project. In addition to providing the wrapper, the template demonstrates the basic setup of the Split SDK and Synchronizer.
Vercel Edge Config: The wrapper is available as an NPM package and wraps the Edge Config data store. This wrapper is used with the Split Integration for Vercel. Adding the Split integration to a Vercel project sets up the synchronization of the Edge Config data store. See the Vercel Split integration guide for more information about the integration setup.
User consent
The SDK allows you to disable the tracking of events and impressions until user consent is explicitly granted or declined.
The userConsent
configuration parameter lets you set the initial consent status of the SDK instance, and the factory method UserConsent.setStatus(boolean)
lets you grant (enable) or decline (disable) dynamic data tracking.
There are three possible initial states:
-
'GRANTED'
: The user grants consent for tracking events and impressions. The SDK sends them to Split cloud. This is the default value ifuserConsent
param is not defined. -
'DECLINED'
: The user declines consent for tracking events and impressions. The SDK does not send them to Split cloud. -
'UNKNOWN'
: The user neither grants nor declines consent for tracking events and impressions. The SDK tracks them in its internal storage, and eventually either sends them or not if the consent status is updated to'GRANTED'
or'DECLINED'
respectively.
The status can be updated at any time with the UserConsent.setStatus
factory method.
Working with user consent is demonstrated below.
var factory = SplitFactory({
core: {
authorizationKey: 'YOUR_SDK_KEY',
key: 'key'
},
// Overwrites the initial consent status of the factory instance, which is 'GRANTED' by default.
// 'UNKNOWN' status represents that the user has neither granted nor declined consent for tracking data,
// so the SDK will locally track data but not send it to Split cloud until consent is changed to 'GRANTED'.
userConsent: 'UNKNOWN'
});
// `getStatus` method returns the current consent status.
factory.UserConsent.getStatus() === factory.UserConsent.Status.UNKNOWN;
// `setStatus` method lets you update the factory consent status at any time.
// Pass `true` for 'GRANTED' and `false` for 'DECLINED'.
factory.UserConsent.setStatus(true); // Consent status changed from 'UNKNOWN' to 'GRANTED'. Data will be sent to Split cloud.
factory.UserConsent.getStatus() === factory.UserConsent.Status.GRANTED;
factory.UserConsent.setStatus(false); // Consent status changed from 'GRANTED' to 'DECLINED'. Data will not be sent to Split cloud.
factory.UserConsent.getStatus() === factory.UserConsent.Status.DECLINED;
Example apps
The following are example applications detailing how to configure and instantiate the Split JavaScript Browser SDK on commonly used platforms.
Comments
0 comments
Please sign in to leave a comment.