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Instrumentation via OneAgent SDK for Android

Use the OneAgent SDK for Android to report additional details about the user sessions in your mobile app. The OneAgent SDK for Android allows you to create custom actions, report errors, tag specific users, and more. The sections below explain how to enable these capabilities.

You can use the OneAgent SDK in Java and Kotlin.

Start OneAgent

If you've disabled auto-start with the autoStart.enabled property or you're using standalone manual instrumentation instead of auto-instrumentation, start OneAgent manually in the Application.onCreate method. Use the Dynatrace.startup(Application, Configuration) API method.

java
public class YourApplication extends Application { @Override public void onCreate() { super.onCreate(); // provide the application context as parameter Dynatrace.startup(this, new DynatraceConfigurationBuilder("<YourApplicationID>", "<ProvidedBeaconUrl>") ... // additional configuration .buildConfiguration()); } }
kotlin
class YourApplication : Application() { override fun onCreate() { super.onCreate() // provide the application context as parameter Dynatrace.startup(this, DynatraceConfigurationBuilder("<YourApplicationID>", "<ProvidedBeaconUrl>") ... // additional configuration .buildConfiguration()) } }

If you need to start OneAgent at a later stage, use the Dynatrace.startup(Activity, Configuration) API method. You have to provide the active Activity as a parameter so that OneAgent can immediately monitor it.

java
Dynatrace.startup(yourActiveActivity, new DynatraceConfigurationBuilder("<YourApplicationID>", "<ProvidedBeaconUrl>") ... // additional configuration .buildConfiguration());
kotlin
Dynatrace.startup(yourActiveActivity, DynatraceConfigurationBuilder("<YourApplicationID>", "<ProvidedBeaconUrl>") ... // additional configuration .buildConfiguration())
Start OneAgent in OneAgent for Android versions 8.229 and earlier

OneAgent for Android versions 8.229 and earlier

If you've disabled auto-start with the autoStart.enabled property or you're using standalone manual instrumentation instead of auto-instrumentation, start OneAgent manually in the Application.onCreate method.

java
public class YourApplication extends Application { @Override public void onCreate() { super.onCreate(); Dynatrace.startup(this, new DynatraceConfigurationBuilder("<YourApplicationID>", "<ProvidedBeaconUrl>") ... // additional configuration .buildConfiguration()); } }
kotlin
class YourApplication : Application() { override fun onCreate() { super.onCreate() Dynatrace.startup(this, DynatraceConfigurationBuilder("<YourApplicationID>", "<ProvidedBeaconUrl>") ... // additional configuration .buildConfiguration()) } }

If your app supports Direct Boot, ensure that Dynatrace.startup is never called from a Direct Boot aware component. Also see Adjust communication with OneAgent SDK for Android to make sure that OneAgent can transmit data to the Dynatrace Cluster.

Configure OneAgent

Use the DynatraceConfigurationBuilder class to customize OneAgent settings.

java
new DynatraceConfigurationBuilder("<YourApplicationID>", "<ProvidedBeaconURL>") .withUserOptIn(true) .withCrashReporting(true) .buildConfiguration();
kotlin
DynatraceConfigurationBuilder("<YourApplicationID>", "<ProvidedBeaconURL>") .withUserOptIn(true) .withCrashReporting(true) .buildConfiguration()

If you use a combination of manual and auto-instrumentation, the auto-instrumentation injects a Dynatrace.startup call into the Application.onCreate method. In this case, the injected Dynatrace.startup call is called before your manual Dynatrace.startup call, so your manual configuration is ignored.

Use the autoStart.enabled property to deactivate the auto-start feature from the auto-instrumentation. You can then define a manual Dynatrace.startup call. In this case, you can override the values pre-configured from the auto-instrumentation.

User action monitoring

With user action monitoring, you can define and report custom actions. You can then enrich these custom actions using the following monitoring operations:

  • Create a child action
  • Report an event
  • Report a value
  • Report an error
  • Attach a web request to the user action

Custom actions are different from the user actions created with the Dynatrace Android Gradle plugin. OneAgent does not automatically add additional events, such as web requests, to custom actions or close custom actions. However, when OneAgent shuts down or has to start a new session, it closes all open custom actions.

Create custom actions

You can create custom actions and enhance them with additional information. If custom actions are not closed explicitly, OneAgent closes them and sends them to the Dynatrace Cluster.

Call enterAction to start a custom action and leaveAction to close a custom action. Timing is measured automatically.

java
// start a custom action DTXAction action = Dynatrace.enterAction("Tap on Search"); // ...do some work here... // end a custom action action.leaveAction();
kotlin
// start a custom action val action = Dynatrace.enterAction("Tap on Search") // ...do some work here... // end a custom action action.leaveAction()

For a mobile custom action or a mobile autogenerated user action, the maximum name length is 250 characters.

The maximum duration of a mobile custom action is 9 minutes.

If a custom action takes longer than 9 minutes and is not closed, such an action is discarded and not reported to Dynatrace.

Create child actions

Child actions are similar to parent actions. When the parent action is closed, OneAgent automatically closes all child actions of the parent action.

Generate child actions using the Dynatrace.enterAction(String, DTXAction) method.

java
// start a parent custom action DTXAction parentAction = Dynatrace.enterAction("Tap on Search"); // ...do some work here... // start a child action DTXAction childAction = Dynatrace.enterAction("Tap on Confirm", parentAction); // ...do some work here... // end a child action childAction.leaveAction(); // ...do some work here... // end a parent custom action parentAction.leaveAction();
kotlin
// start a parent custom action val parentAction = Dynatrace.enterAction("Tap on Search") // ...do some work here... // start a child action val childAction = Dynatrace.enterAction("Tap on Confirm", parentAction) // ...do some work here... // end a child action childAction.leaveAction() // ...do some work here... // end a parent custom action parentAction.leaveAction()

For a mobile custom action or a mobile autogenerated user action, the maximum name length is 250 characters.

Cancel custom actions

OneAgent for Android version 8.231+

If you need to cancel an already created but not yet completed custom action, use the DTXAction#cancel() API call.

Canceling an action discards all data associated with it: all reported values are discarded and all child actions are canceled. Also, note that you cannot cancel a completed action.

java
// create a custom action DTXAction action = Dynatrace.enterAction("Tap on Purchase"); try { // ...do some work here... performWork(); // close the custom action. All associated data is stored and sent to Dynatrace action.leaveAction(); } catch(Exception e) { // cancel the custom action. All associated data is discarded. action.cancel(); }
kotlin
// create a custom action val action = Dynatrace.enterAction("Tap on Purchase") try { // ...do some work here... performWork() // close the custom action. All associated data is stored and sent to Dynatrace action.leaveAction() } catch (e: Exception) { // cancel the custom action. All associated data is discarded. action.cancel() }

Determine custom action state

OneAgent for Android version 8.231+

Sometimes it's helpful to know whether a custom action is still open and can be used to report data.

To check the state of a custom action, use the DTXAction#isFinished() method.

A custom action is finished when the action is:

  • Completed via DTXAction#leaveAction(), or
  • Canceled via DTXAction#cancel(), or
  • Terminated by OneAgent (for example, when OneAgent shuts down)

Note that you shouldn't interact with a finished custom action.

Custom action code sample

The following code snippet shows a sample instrumentation of the fictional method search, which makes a web request to an instrumented server and parses the received result. The following instrumentation actions are part of the code snippet:

  1. Creates a custom action
  2. Reports a value
  3. Reports a error
  4. Monitors a web request
  5. Creates a child action
java
public boolean search(String query) { // [1a] start a parent custom action DTXAction searchAction = Dynatrace.enterAction("Tap on Search"); // [2] report a value searchAction.reportValue("query", query); URL url; try { url = new URL("https://www.example.com/?query=" + query); } catch (MalformedURLException e) { // [3] report an error searchAction.reportError("invalid url", e); // [1b] end a parent custom action searchAction.leaveAction(); return false; } // [4.1] Generate a new unique tag associated with the custom action "Tap on Search" String uniqueRequestTag = searchAction.getRequestTag(); // [4.2] Generate a WebRequestTiming object based on the unique tag WebRequestTiming timing = Dynatrace.getWebRequestTiming(uniqueRequestTag); Request request = new Request.Builder() .url(url) // [4.3] Place the Dynatrace HTTP header on your web request .addHeader(Dynatrace.getRequestTagHeader(), uniqueRequestTag) .build(); // [4.4] Start web request timing before the HTTP request is sent timing.startWebRequestTiming(); try (Response response = client.newCall(request).execute()) { if (!response.isSuccessful()) { // [4.5] Stop web request timing when a connection exception occurs timing.stopWebRequestTiming(url, response.code(), response.message()); return false; } String body = response.body().string(); // [4.5] Stop web request timing when the HTTP response is received and the response body is obtained timing.stopWebRequestTiming(url, response.code(), response.message()); // [5a] start a child action DTXAction parseAction = Dynatrace.enterAction("Parse result", searchAction); parseResult(body); // [5b] end a child action parseAction.leaveAction(); return true; } catch (IOException e) { // [4.5] Stop web request timing when a connection exception occurs timing.stopWebRequestTiming(url, -1, e.toString()); return false; } finally { // [1b] end a parent custom action searchAction.leaveAction(); } }
kotlin
fun search(query: String): Boolean { // [1a] start a parent custom action val searchAction = Dynatrace.enterAction("Tap on Search") // [2] report a value searchAction.reportValue("query", query) var url: URL? = null try { url = URL("https://www.example.com/?query=$query") } catch (e: MalformedURLException) { // [3] report an error searchAction.reportError("invalid url", e) // [1b] end a parent custom action searchAction.leaveAction() return false } // [4.1] Generate a new unique tag associated with the custom action "Tap on Search" val uniqueRequestTag = searchAction.requestTag // [4.2] Generate a WebRequestTiming object based on the unique tag val timing = Dynatrace.getWebRequestTiming(uniqueRequestTag) val request = Request.Builder() .url(url) // [4.3] Place the Dynatrace HTTP header on your web request .addHeader(Dynatrace.getRequestTagHeader(), uniqueRequestTag) .build() try { // [4.4] Start web request timing before the HTTP request is sent timing.startWebRequestTiming() client.newCall(request).execute().use { response -> if (!response.isSuccessful) { // [4.5] Stop web request timing when a connection exception occurs timing.stopWebRequestTiming(url, response.code, response.message) return false } val body = response.body!!.string() // [4.5] Stop web request timing when the HTTP response is received and the response body was obtained timing.stopWebRequestTiming(url, response.code, response.message) // [5a] start a child action val parseAction = Dynatrace.enterAction("Parse result", searchAction) parseResult(body) // [5b] end a child action parseAction.leaveAction() } return true } catch (e: IOException) { // [4.5] Stop web request timing when a connection exception occurs timing.stopWebRequestTiming(url, -1, e.toString()) return false } finally { // [1b] end a parent custom action searchAction.leaveAction() } }

Custom value reporting

Using the OneAgent SDK for Android, you can report events, values, and errors. Reported events, values, and errors that are part of a user action are then displayed in the user action waterfall analysis. Reported errors (both standalone and "attached" to a user action) are also displayed on the user session details page and multidimensional User action analysis page.

Report an event

With reportEvent, you can report a specific event. The reported event must be part of a user action.

java
action.reportEvent("event_name");
kotlin
action.reportEvent("event_name")

If you want to report standalone events with lots of additional information, see Business event reporting.

Report a value

The reportValue method allows you to report key-value pairs of metadata that you can later view in the Dynatrace web UI and convert into user action and user session properties. The reported values must be part of a user action.

You can report values of the following data types:

  • int
  • long
  • double
  • string
java
// report int action.reportValue("int_value_name", 5); // report long action.reportValue("long_value_name", 5L); // report double action.reportValue("double_value_name", 5.6); // report string action.reportValue("string_value_name", "exampleValue");
kotlin
// report int action.reportValue("int_value_name", 5) // report long action.reportValue("long_value_name", 5L) // report double action.reportValue("double_value_name", 5.6) // report string action.reportValue("string_value_name", "exampleValue")

To view the reported values in the Dynatrace web UI, go to the details of the user action that should contain that metadata and scroll down to the Reported values section.

User action details page with SDK-reported values

To add action and session properties based on the reported values and then use these properties to create powerful queries, segmentations, and aggregations, see Define user action and user session properties for mobile applications.

Report an error

The reportError method is different from the reportValue method in that it's specifically identified as an error type event.

The OneAgent SDK allows you to report the following:

  • Error codes. Use the reportError(String, int) method.
  • Handled exceptions. Use the reportError(String, Throwable) method.

There are two options for reporting an error. You can report an error as part of a user action or as a standalone error, which is generated as a global event that is not tied to a specific user action.

Error within a user action

java
// report an error code action.reportError("error_code_name", -1); // report an exception action.reportError("exception_name", exception);
kotlin
// report an error code action.reportError("error_code_name", -1) // report an exception action.reportError("exception_name", exception)

Standalone error

You can report standalone errors via the Dynatrace class.

java
// report an error code Dynatrace.reportError("error_code_name", -1); // report an exception Dynatrace.reportError("exception_name", exception);
kotlin
// report an error code Dynatrace.reportError("error_code_name", -1) // report an exception Dynatrace.reportError("exception_name", exception)

Business event reporting

OneAgent for Android version 8.253+

With sendBizEvent, you can report business events. These are standalone events, as OneAgent sends them separately from user actions or user sessions.

For more information on business events, see Business Analytics.

java
JSONObject attributes = new JSONObject(); try { attributes.put("event.name", "Confirmed Booking"); attributes.put("screen", "booking-confirmation"); attributes.put("product", "Danube Anna Hotel"); attributes.put("amount", 358.35); attributes.put("currency", "USD"); attributes.put("reviewScore", 4.8); attributes.put("arrivalDate", "2022-11-05"); attributes.put("departureDate", "2022-11-15"); attributes.put("journeyDuration", 10); attributes.put("adultTravelers", 2); attributes.put("childrenTravelers", 0); Dynatrace.sendBizEvent("com.easytravel.funnel.booking-finished", attributes); } catch (JSONException e) { // handle exception }
kotlin
try { JSONObject().apply { put("event.name", "Confirmed Booking") put("screen", "booking-confirmation") put("product", "Danube Anna Hotel") put("amount", 358.35) put("currency", "USD") put("reviewScore", 4.8) put("arrivalDate", "2022-11-05") put("departureDate", "2022-11-15") put("journeyDuration", 10) put("adultTravelers", 2) put("childrenTravelers", 0) }.also { jsonObject-> Dynatrace.sendBizEvent("com.easytravel.funnel.booking-finished", jsonObject) } } catch (e: JSONException) { // handle exception }

Activity lifecycle monitoring

To track lifecycle events, we use the official Android ActivityLifecycleCallbacks interface. For activities, Dynatrace reports the time of each entered lifecycle state until the activity is visible; if available, the timestamps of lifecycle callbacks are displayed in the user action waterfall analysis and are marked as a Lifecycle event.

Reported lifecycle events

With lifecycle monitoring, OneAgent collects data on the following lifecycle events for the Activity class.

  • Activity display: Measures the time required to display an activity.
  • Activity redisplay: Measures the time required to redisplay a previously created activity. Two options are possible:
    • Option 1: An activity is in the Stopped mode and is not visible on the screen, and then it's Started and Resumed again.
    • Option 2: An activity is in the Paused mode and is not fully visible on the screen but partially obfuscated, and then it's Resumed again.

The timespan used for measuring the lifecycle event duration depends on the lifecycle event type and the level of Android API. When Android API level 29+ is used, we can measure the duration of lifecycle events more accurately thanks to pre- and post-lifecycle callbacks.

Lifecycle eventAndroid API 29+Android API 28 and earlierReported lifecycle callbacks
Activity displayonActivityPreCreated – onActivityPostResumedonActivityCreated – onActivityResumedonCreate
onStart
onResume
Activity redisplay,
option 1
onActivityPreStarted – onActivityPostResumedonActivityStarted – onActivityResumedonStart
onResume
Activity redisplay,
option 2
onActivityPreResumed – onActivityPostResumedNot possible to measure the durationonResume

Disable lifecycle monitoring

Activity lifecycle monitoring is turned on by default, but you can disable it with the withActivityMonitoring method.

java
new DynatraceConfigurationBuilder("<YourApplicationID>", "<ProvidedBeaconURL>") .withActivityMonitoring(false) .buildConfiguration();
kotlin
DynatraceConfigurationBuilder("<YourApplicationID>", "<ProvidedBeaconURL>") .withActivityMonitoring(false) .buildConfiguration()

Web request monitoring

The Dynatrace Android Gradle plugin automatically instruments most web requests. However, you have to manually instrument requests in the following cases:

  • When the requests of a third-party framework aren't instrumented
  • When you need to report non-HTTP(S) requests
  • If you've disabled web request monitoring

For HTTP(S) requests, never combine automatic and manual web request instrumentation. However, you can use automatic instrumentation for HTTP(S) requests and manual instrumentation for non-HTTP(S) requests.

To track web requests, add the x-dynatrace HTTP header with a unique value to the web request. This is required to correlate the server-side monitoring data to the corresponding mobile web request. Additionally, the timing values from the mobile side must be measured.

To monitor a web request

  1. Generate a new unique tag.
  2. Generate a WebRequestTiming object based on the tag.
  3. Place the Dynatrace HTTP header on your web request.
  4. Start web request timing before the HTTP request is sent.
  5. Stop web request timing.
    • The HTTP response is received, and the response body is obtained.
    • A connection exception occurs.

There are two types of web requests in terms of their hierarchy:

  • Requests attached to a user action

  • Standalone requests. For these requests, OneAgent automatically tries to find an appropriate user action. If it finds one, the web request is attached to the user action. The web request is only reported as a standalone web request when no appropriate user action is found.

    Currently, you cannot view standalone requests in Session segmentation.

Attach a web request to a user action

To attach a web request to a user action, generate a unique tag with the DTXAction.getRequestTag() method.

The following sample shows how to attach a synchronous OkHttp web request to the "Search request" user action.

java
URL url = new URL("https://www.example.com"); // First, create a custom action DTXAction webAction = Dynatrace.enterAction("Search request"); // [1] Generate a new unique tag associated with the user action String uniqueRequestTag = webAction.getRequestTag(); // [2] Generate a WebRequestTiming object based on the unique tag WebRequestTiming timing = Dynatrace.getWebRequestTiming(uniqueRequestTag); // Define your OkHttp request. This varies greatly depending on your implementation Request request = new Request.Builder() .url(url) // Define your headers for the OkHttp request .addHeader(yourKey1, yourValue1) .addHeader(yourKey2, yourValue2) // [3] Place the Dynatrace HTTP header on your web request .addHeader(Dynatrace.getRequestTagHeader(), uniqueRequestTag) .build(); // [4] Start web request timing before the HTTP request is sent timing.startWebRequestTiming(); try (Response response = client.newCall(request).execute()) { if (response.isSuccessful()) { // handle response String body = response.body().string(); } // [5.1] Stop web request timing when the HTTP response is received and the response body was obtained timing.stopWebRequestTiming(url, response.code(), response.message()); } catch (IOException e) { // [5.2] Stop web request timing when a connection exception occurs timing.stopWebRequestTiming(url, -1, e.toString()); // user-defined exception handling } finally { // Lastly, end the custom action webAction.leaveAction(); }
kotlin
val url = URL("https://www.example.com") // First, create a custom action val webAction = Dynatrace.enterAction("Search request") // [1] Generate a new unique tag associated with the user action val uniqueRequestTag = webAction.requestTag // [2] Generate a WebRequestTiming object based on the unique tag val timing = Dynatrace.getWebRequestTiming(uniqueRequestTag) // Define your OkHttp request. This varies greatly depending on your implementation val request = Request.Builder() .url(url) // Define your headers for the OkHttp request .addHeader(yourKey1, yourValue1) .addHeader(yourKey2, yourValue2) // [3] Place the Dynatrace HTTP header on your web request .addHeader(Dynatrace.getRequestTagHeader(), uniqueRequestTag) .build() try { // [4] Start web request timing before the HTTP request is sent timing.startWebRequestTiming() client.newCall(request).execute().use { response -> if (response.isSuccessful) { // handle response val body = response.body!!.string() } // [5.1] Stop web request timing when the HTTP response is received and the response body was obtained timing.stopWebRequestTiming(url, response.code, response.message) } } catch (e: IOException) { // [5.2] Stop web request timing when a connection exception occurs timing.stopWebRequestTiming(url, -1, e.toString()) // user-defined exception handling } finally { // Lastly, end the custom action webAction.leaveAction() }
Attach an asynchronous OkHttp web request to a user action
java
final URL url = new URL("https://www.example.com"); // First, create a custom action final DTXAction webAction = Dynatrace.enterAction("Search request"); // [1] Generate a new unique tag associated with the user action String uniqueRequestTag = webAction.getRequestTag(); // [2] Generate a WebRequestTiming object based on the unique tag final WebRequestTiming timing = Dynatrace.getWebRequestTiming(uniqueRequestTag); // Define your OkHttp request. This varies greatly depending on your implementation Request request = new Request.Builder() .url(url) // Define your headers for the OkHttp request .addHeader(yourKey1, yourValue1) .addHeader(yourKey2, yourValue2) // [3] Place the Dynatrace HTTP header on your web request .addHeader(Dynatrace.getRequestTagHeader(), uniqueRequestTag) .build(); // [4] Call startWebRequestTiming to begin the timing, and then handle the response body from the OkHttp call timing.startWebRequestTiming(); client.newCall(request).enqueue(new Callback() { @Override public void onFailure(Call call, IOException e) { // [5.2] Stop web request timing when a connection exception occurs timing.stopWebRequestTiming(url, -1, e.toString()); // user-defined exception handling // [8] Lastly, end the custom action webAction.leaveAction(); } @Override public void onResponse(Call call, Response response) throws IOException { try (ResponseBody responseBody = response.body()) { if (response.isSuccessful()) { // handle response String body = response.body().string(); } // [5.1] Stop web request timing when the HTTP response is received and the response body was obtained timing.stopWebRequestTiming(url, response.code(), response.message()); // Lastly, end the custom action webAction.leaveAction(); } } });
kotlin
val url = URL("https://www.example.com") // First, create a custom action val webAction = Dynatrace.enterAction("Search request") // [1] Generate a new unique tag associated with the user action val uniqueRequestTag = webAction.requestTag // [2] Generate a WebRequestTiming object based on the unique tag val timing = Dynatrace.getWebRequestTiming(uniqueRequestTag) // Define your OkHttp request. This varies greatly depending on your implementation val request = Request.Builder() .url(url) // Define your headers for the OkHttp request .addHeader(yourKey1, yourValue1) .addHeader(yourKey2, yourValue2) // [3] Place the Dynatrace HTTP header on your web request .addHeader(Dynatrace.getRequestTagHeader(), uniqueRequestTag) .build() // [4] Call startWebRequestTiming to begin the timing, and then handle the response body from the OkHttp call timing.startWebRequestTiming() client.newCall(request).enqueue(object : Callback { override fun onFailure(call: Call, e: IOException) { // [5.2] Stop web request timing when a connection exception occurs timing.stopWebRequestTiming(url, -1, e.toString()) // user-defined exception handling // [8] Lastly, end the custom action webAction.leaveAction() } @Throws(IOException::class) override fun onResponse(call: Call, response: Response) { response.use { if (response.isSuccessful) { // handle response val body = response.body!!.string() } // [5.1] Stop web request timing when the HTTP response is received and the response body was obtained timing.stopWebRequestTiming(url, response.code, response.message) // Lastly, end the custom action webAction.leaveAction() } } })

Monitor a standalone web request

To monitor a web request as a standalone request, generate a unique tag with the Dynatrace.getRequestTag() method.

The following sample shows how to monitor a synchronous OkHttp web request.

java
URL url = new URL("https://www.example.com"); // [1] Generate a new unique tag String uniqueRequestTag = Dynatrace.getRequestTag(); // [2] Generate a WebRequestTiming object based on the unique tag WebRequestTiming timing = Dynatrace.getWebRequestTiming(uniqueRequestTag); // Define your OkHttp request. This varies greatly depending on your implementation Request request = new Request.Builder() .url(url) // Define your headers for the OkHttp request .addHeader(yourKey1, yourValue1) .addHeader(yourKey2, yourValue2) // [3] Place the Dynatrace HTTP header on your web request .addHeader(Dynatrace.getRequestTagHeader(), uniqueRequestTag) .build(); // [4] Start web request timing before the HTTP request is sent timing.startWebRequestTiming(); try (Response response = client.newCall(request).execute()) { if (response.isSuccessful()) { // handle response String body = response.body().string(); } // [5.1] Stop web request timing when the HTTP response is received and the response body was obtained timing.stopWebRequestTiming(url, response.code(), response.message()); } catch (IOException e) { // [5.2] Stop web request timing when a connection exception occurs timing.stopWebRequestTiming(url, -1, e.toString()); // user-defined exception handling }
kotlin
val url = URL("https://www.example.com") // [1] Generate a new unique tag val uniqueRequestTag = Dynatrace.getRequestTag() // [2] Generate a WebRequestTiming object based on the unique tag val timing = Dynatrace.getWebRequestTiming(uniqueRequestTag) // Define your OkHttp request. This varies greatly depending on your implementation val request = Request.Builder() .url(url) // Define your headers for the OkHttp request .addHeader(yourKey1, yourValue1) .addHeader(yourKey2, yourValue2) // [3] Place the Dynatrace HTTP header on your web request .addHeader(Dynatrace.getRequestTagHeader(), uniqueRequestTag) .build() try { // [4] Start web request timing before the HTTP request is sent timing.startWebRequestTiming() client.newCall(request).execute().use { response -> if (response.isSuccessful) { // handle response val body = response.body!!.string() } // [5.1] Stop web request timing when the HTTP response is received and the response body was obtained timing.stopWebRequestTiming(url, response.code, response.message) } } catch (e: IOException) { // [5.2] Stop web request timing when a connection exception occurs timing.stopWebRequestTiming(url, -1, e.toString()) // user-defined exception handling }

Monitor non-HTTP(S) requests

OneAgent for Android version 8.249+

Monitoring of WebSocket connections is available starting with OneAgent for Android version 8.239. Monitoring of all non-HTTP(S) requests is available starting with OneAgent for Android version 8.249.

OneAgent for Android does not support auto-instrumentation of non-HTTP(S) requests. If you need to report requests such as a WebSocket request (starts with ws:// or wss://), check the code samples below.

  • Use the stopWebRequestTiming(URI requestUri, int respCode, String respPhrase) API method to manually instrument non-HTTP(S) requests.
  • Make sure to pass along the original URI. Do not retrieve the URI from the OkHttp object because this doesn't return the original URI.
  • This approach is only suitable for WebSocket connections that are open for up to about 9 minutes. Longer connections may not be reported.
  • If you only have non-HTTP(S) requests, you can optionally disable web request monitoring.
  • If you have both HTTP(S) and non-HTTP(S) requests, and HTTP(S) requests are auto-instrumented, don't disable web request monitoring.
java
final URI uri = URI.create("wss://websocket.example.com"); // First, create a custom action DTXAction webSocketAction = Dynatrace.enterAction("WebSocket"); // Generate a WebRequestTiming object based on the unique request tag WebRequestTiming timing = Dynatrace.getWebRequestTiming(webSocketAction.getRequestTag()); // Define your OkHttp request. This varies greatly depending on your implementation Request request = new Request.Builder() .url(uri.toString()) .build(); // Start web request timing when you are about to open a WebSocket connection timing.startWebRequestTiming(); WebSocket webSocket = client.newWebSocket(request, new WebSocketListener() { @Override public void onClosing(@NonNull WebSocket webSocket, int code, @NonNull String reason) { // Stop web request timing when the webSocket connection closes // Don't retrieve the URI from the OkHttp object because it always replaces wss:// with https:// timing.stopWebRequestTiming(uri, code, reason); // end the action webSocketAction.leaveAction(); } @Override public void onFailure(@NonNull WebSocket webSocket, @NonNull Throwable t, @Nullable Response response) { // Stop web request timing when the webSocket connection fails and customize the return code and message // Don't retrieve the URI from the OkHttp object because it always replaces wss:// with https:// timing.stopWebRequestTiming(uri, 1011, "ERROR"); // end the action webSocketAction.leaveAction(); } });
kotlin
val uri = URI.create("wss://websocket.example.com") // First, create a custom action val webSocketAction = Dynatrace.enterAction("WebSocket") // Generate a WebRequestTiming object based on the unique request tag val webRequestTiming = Dynatrace.getWebRequestTiming(webSocketAction.requestTag) // Define your OkHttp request. This varies greatly depending on your implementation val request = Request.Builder() .url(uri.toString()) .build() // Start web request timing when you are about to open a WebSocket connection webRequestTiming.startWebRequestTiming() val webSocket = client.newWebSocket(request, object : WebSocketListener() { override fun onClosing(webSocket: WebSocket, code: Int, reason: String) { // Stop web request timing when the webSocket connection closes // Don't retrieve the URI from the OkHttp object because it always replaces wss:// with https:// webRequestTiming.stopWebRequestTiming(uri, code, reason) // end the action webSocketAction.leaveAction() } override fun onFailure(webSocket: WebSocket, t: Throwable, response: Response?) { // Stop web request timing when the webSocket connection fails // Don't retrieve the URI from the OkHttp object because it always replaces wss:// with https:// webRequestTiming.stopWebRequestTiming(uri, 1011, "ERROR") // end the action webSocketAction.leaveAction() } })

Crash reporting

OneAgent captures all unhandled exceptions and errors and sends the crash report to the server immediately. The Android crash report includes the occurrence time and the full stack trace of the exception.

You can deactivate crash reporting using the withCrashReporting method:

java
new DynatraceConfigurationBuilder("<YourApplicationID>", "<ProvidedBeaconURL>") .withCrashReporting(false) .buildConfiguration();
kotlin
DynatraceConfigurationBuilder("<YourApplicationID>", "<ProvidedBeaconURL>") .withCrashReporting(false) .buildConfiguration()

Tag specific users

You can tag each user of your mobile apps with a unique user name. This enables you to search and filter specific user sessions and analyze individual user behavior over time. For more details, see User tagging.

The following steps explain how to tag an individual user via the Dynatrace API.

java
Dynatrace.identifyUser("john.doe@example.com");
kotlin
Dynatrace.identifyUser("john.doe@example.com")

OneAgent for Android version 237+ Sessions split due to idle or duration timeout are re-tagged automatically.

When OneAgent ends a tagged session because the session duration has reached its set limit or due to the user's inactivity, the subsequent session is re-tagged automatically. You don't need to provide the user identification information again.

However, note that OneAgent does not re-tag the subsequent session in the following cases:

  • When you explicitly end a tagged user session via endVisit
  • When the user or the mobile operating system closes or force stops the app
  • When OneAgent ends the current user session and generates a new session after the privacy settings have been changed

See User sessions > Session end to learn when OneAgent ends a mobile user session.

End a session

You can force a session to end via the Dynatrace API. This also closes all open actions and starts a new session.

java
Dynatrace.endVisit();
kotlin
Dynatrace.endVisit()

Configure data privacy

With the user opt-in mode for mobile apps, you can dynamically adjust data privacy settings and build your apps in compliance with data protection laws and regulations.

Enable user opt-in mode

To activate the user opt-in mode, enable the userOptIn flag via the DSL from the Dynatrace Android Gradle plugin or use the ConfigurationBuilder.withUserOptIn method.

Change data privacy settings

With the Dynatrace.applyUserPrivacyOptions method, you can adjust privacy settings based on the user's decision.

java
Dynatrace.applyUserPrivacyOptions(UserPrivacyOptions.builder() .withDataCollectionLevel(DataCollectionLevel.USER_BEHAVIOR) .withCrashReportingOptedIn(true) .build() );
kotlin
Dynatrace.applyUserPrivacyOptions(UserPrivacyOptions.builder() .withDataCollectionLevel(DataCollectionLevel.USER_BEHAVIOR) .withCrashReportingOptedIn(true) .build() )

OneAgent persists the privacy settings and automatically applies them when the app is restarted. Additionally, OneAgent generates a new session whenever the privacy settings are changed via the Dynatrace.applyUserPrivacyOptions method.

Data collection levels

The table below describes the available data collection levels and shows whether user tags and custom user actions, events, values, and errors are reported for a particular level.

LevelDescriptionUser tags, custom events, and custom valuesCustom user actions and errors

Off

Monitoring data is not sent

No personal data is sent; all identifiers are randomized on every launch.1

Performance

Only performance, automatically captured data is sent

No personal data is sent; all identifiers are randomized on every launch.

User behavior

Performance data and user data is sent

Personal data is sent; OneAgent recognizes and reports users who revisit in the future.2

1

A single Loading <App> event is sent to track the number of users that opted out.

2

If you haven't configured user tagging and custom event or value reporting, the User behavior level works similarly to the Performance level.

The possible values for the data collection levels are as follows:

  • OFF
  • PERFORMANCE
  • USER_BEHAVIOR

Retrieve data privacy settings

You can also retrieve the privacy settings with the Dynatrace.getUserPrivacyOptions method. Use this method only after OneAgent starts.

Configure hybrid applications

For hybrid applications, the native mobile app is monitored via OneAgent, while the browser part is observed by the Dynatrace RUM JavaScript. For this reason, hybrid application monitoring requires some additional configuration. See Instrument hybrid apps for more information.

Enable hybrid application monitoring

To activate the hybrid application monitoring feature, use the withHybridMonitoring method.

Specify domains, hostnames, and IP addresses

For hybrid applications that use the RUM JavaScript inside WebView, OneAgent must set cookies for each instrumented domain or server that your application communicates with. When the hybrid application monitoring feature is enabled, OneAgent generates these cookies for every specified domain and stores them in CookieManager. Dynatrace uses these cookies to identify mobile and web sessions within your application and merge these sessions into the same "hybrid" session.

To specify your domains, hostnames, and IP addresses, use either the withMonitoredDomains or the withMonitoredHttpsDomains method. Start domains and sub-domains with a period (.).

withMonitoredDomains method

java
new DynatraceConfigurationBuilder("<YourApplicationID>", "<ProvidedBeaconURL>") .withHybridMonitoring(true) .withMonitoredDomains(".<domain1>", ".<domain2>") .buildConfiguration();
kotlin
DynatraceConfigurationBuilder("<YourApplicationID>", "<ProvidedBeaconURL>") .withHybridMonitoring(true) .withMonitoredDomains(".<domain1>", ".<domain2>") .buildConfiguration()

withMonitoredHttpsDomains method

OneAgent for Android version 8.237+

If you use the withMonitoredHttpsDomains method, the Secure cookie attribute is added for all cookies that Dynatrace sets. This ensures that the browser sends these cookies only over secure connections.

java
new DynatraceConfigurationBuilder("<YourApplicationID>", "<ProvidedBeaconURL>") .withHybridMonitoring(true) .withMonitoredHttpsDomains("https://.<domain1>", "https://.<domain2>") .buildConfiguration();
kotlin
DynatraceConfigurationBuilder("<YourApplicationID>", "<ProvidedBeaconURL>") .withHybridMonitoring(true) .withMonitoredHttpsDomains("https://.<domain1>", "https://.<domain2>") .buildConfiguration()

Instrument WebView

To enable communication between the RUM JavaScript and OneAgent for Android, instrument all WebView objects before the URL is loaded with WebView.loadUrl(String). Instrument the Dynatrace.instrumentWebView method for every WebView that contains the RUM JavaScript. Without this, the monitoring data received from WebView will not be associated with the same mobile session.

java
WebView myWebView = (WebView) findViewById(R.id.webview); Dynatrace.instrumentWebView(myWebView); myWebView.loadUrl("http://www.example.com");
kotlin
val myWebView: WebView = findViewById(R.id.webview) Dynatrace.instrumentWebView(myWebView) myWebView.loadUrl("http://www.example.com")

Disable cookies for file domains

OneAgent for Android version 8.271+

To set cookies for file domains (starting with file://), Dynatrace uses setAcceptFileSchemeCookies. However, this API is no longer recommended because of security issues; we plan to stop adding cookies to file scheme domains in a couple of months.

If you want to secure your application right now, set fileDomainCookies to false, and Dynatrace won't add cookies to file scheme domains.

java
new DynatraceConfigurationBuilder("<YourApplicationID>", "<ProvidedBeaconURL>") .withHybridMonitoring(true) .fileDomainCookies(false) .buildConfiguration();
kotlin
DynatraceConfigurationBuilder("<YourApplicationID>", "<ProvidedBeaconURL>") .withHybridMonitoring(true) .fileDomainCookies(false) .buildConfiguration()

Preserve Dynatrace cookies

For hybrid applications, it's important to ensure that the Dynatrace cookies are not deleted. Without these cookies, Dynatrace can't combine the monitoring data received from the RUM JavaScript and OneAgent into a single session.

When you delete cookies via CookieManager#removeAllCookies(ValueCallback) or CookieManager#removeSessionCookies(ValueCallback), you should also call the restoreCookies method to restore the Dynatrace cookies.

java
CookieManager.getInstance().removeAllCookies(null); Dynatrace.restoreCookies();
kotlin
CookieManager.getInstance().removeAllCookies(null) Dynatrace.restoreCookies()

Enable load balancing

OneAgent allows you to enable client-side load balancing that helps avoid unbalanced load on the server when multiple OneAgents simultaneously establish a connection to ActiveGate.

java
new DynatraceConfigurationBuilder("<YourApplicationID>", "<ProvidedBeaconURL>") .withStartupLoadBalancing(true) .buildConfiguration();
kotlin
DynatraceConfigurationBuilder("<YourApplicationID>", "<ProvidedBeaconURL>") .withStartupLoadBalancing(true) .buildConfiguration()