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.

JavaKotlin

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.

JavaKotlin

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

JavaKotlin

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.

JavaKotlin

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:

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.

JavaKotlin

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.

JavaKotlin

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.

JavaKotlin

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:

Creates a custom action
Reports a value
Reports a error
Monitors a web request
Creates a child action

JavaKotlin

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.

JavaKotlin

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:

JavaKotlin

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.

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

JavaKotlin

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.

JavaKotlin

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.

JavaKotlin

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 event	Android API 29+	Android API 28 and earlier	Reported lifecycle callbacks
Activity display	`onActivityPreCreated` – `onActivityPostResumed`	`onActivityCreated` – `onActivityResumed`	`onCreate` `onStart` `onResume`
Activity redisplay, option 1	`onActivityPreStarted` – `onActivityPostResumed`	`onActivityStarted` – `onActivityResumed`	`onStart` `onResume`
Activity redisplay, option 2	`onActivityPreResumed` – `onActivityPostResumed`	Not possible to measure the duration	`onResume`

Disable lifecycle monitoring

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

JavaKotlin

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

Generate a new unique tag.
Generate a WebRequestTiming object based on the tag.
Place the Dynatrace HTTP header on your web request.
Start web request timing before the HTTP request is sent.
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.

JavaKotlin

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

JavaKotlin

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.

JavaKotlin

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.

JavaKotlin

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:

JavaKotlin

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.

JavaKotlin

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.

JavaKotlin

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.

JavaKotlin

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.

Level	Description	User tags, custom events, and custom values	Custom 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

Level

Description

User tags, custom events, and custom values

Custom 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

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

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

JavaKotlin

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.

JavaKotlin

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.

JavaKotlin

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.

JavaKotlin

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.

JavaKotlin

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.

JavaKotlin

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

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

Instrumentation via OneAgent SDK for Android

Start OneAgent

Configure OneAgent

User action monitoring

Create custom actions

Create child actions

Cancel custom actions

Determine custom action state

Custom action code sample

Custom value reporting

Report an event

Report a value

Report an error

Error within a user action

Standalone error

Business event reporting

Activity lifecycle monitoring

Reported lifecycle events

Disable lifecycle monitoring

Web request monitoring

Attach a web request to a user action

Monitor a standalone web request

Monitor non-HTTP(S) requests

Crash reporting

Tag specific users

End a session

Configure data privacy

Enable user opt-in mode

Change data privacy settings

Data collection levels

Retrieve data privacy settings

Configure hybrid applications

Enable hybrid application monitoring

Specify domains, hostnames, and IP addresses

withMonitoredDomains method

withMonitoredHttpsDomains method

Instrument WebView

Disable cookies for file domains

Preserve Dynatrace cookies

Enable load balancing

`withMonitoredDomains` method

`withMonitoredHttpsDomains` method

Instrument `WebView`