Starting Your First App

This guide shows you how to set up a project. If you are coming from any of the samples, note that (most of) these steps have already been done ahead of time.

Add an App Backend

In the Kinvey console, create a new app backend. If you are currently viewing another app backend, click the app's name in the left navigation, and the select "New App" in the menu.

On the app dashboard page, you will find your App Key and App Secret in the top right. You’ll need those to configure your app.

Platform Compatibility

• Browsers
  • Chrome - version 54 and above
  • FireFox - version 49 and above
  • IE - version 11 and Edge
  • Safari - version 10 and above

Add Kinvey SDK

You can add the Kinvey SDK to your project in one of two ways - using the package we ship, or using the source code.

It is recommended to serve the library directly from Kinvey’s Content Delivery Network (CDN). Add the following code to your index.html, right before the </body> tag.

<script src="https://da189i1jfloii.cloudfront.net/js/kinvey-html5-sdk-9.0.0.min.js"></script>

Configure Your App

To use the SDK, you need to initialize it with your App Key and App Secret.

Kinvey.init({
  appKey: '<appKey>',
  appSecret: '<appSecret>'
});

The initialization function accepts the following options when initializing the library:

Notes:

¹ The setting may not work in all web browsers that you target with your app. You may need to choose a local storage provider depending on your requirements.

Kinvey.init({
    appKey: '<Your App Key>',
    appSecret: '<Your App Secret>',
    instanceId: '<Your Instance ID>'
});

instanceId: 'kvy-us2'

Verify Set Up

Your app is now connected to Kinvey. The ping method, as shown below, will contact the backend and verify that the SDK can communicate with your app.

var promise = Kinvey.ping().then(function(response) {
    console.log('Kinvey Ping Success. Kinvey Service is alive, version: '
                + response.version
                + ', response: '
                + response.kinvey
    );
}).catch(function(error) {
    console.log('Kinvey Ping Failed. Response: ' + error.description);
});

Setting Method Options

Every SDK method accepts an optional argument representing an object that you can use to set various options. Some of the options are method specific, such as timeout that sets a timeout for the request or skipBL that instructs the backend to execute the request without any business logic. Check the API Reference to find out what options each method supports.

One option that you can pass to all methods is properties, which allows you to pass custom data such as key-value pairs, arrays, or objects to the backend. This data is sent over the network as a custom header. On the server, you can intercept custom properties with Flex and act on them as you see fit.

The following example changes the timeout to 30 seconds and sets a couple of custom properties on a find request.

var options = {
    "timeout": 30000
    "properties": {
        "myProperty1": "value1",
        "myProperty2": "value2"
    }
};
var stream = dataStore.findById('entity-id', options);

Every App has an Active User

Your app will be used by a real-life human being. This person is represented by the Active User. This user object must explicitly be created, either with a username and password, OAuth sign-on (such as Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, etc.), or Mobile Identity Connect. See the User Guide for more information.

What's next

You are now ready to start building your awesome apps! Next we recommend diving into the User Guide or Data Store Guide to learn more about our service, or explore the sample apps to go straight to working projects.