🖇️Deep Links for published apps

Requirements

A Google account
A Firebase project
A ready to publish or published app
- For iOS, it is needed to have completed step 2 of the iOS publishing process. The app doesn't need to be published, only created in App Store Connect.
- For Android, it is needed to have completed steps 1 and 4 of the Android publishing process.

In case you're about to publish your app to the stores or test it with Testflight / debug APK, you can generate a deep link targeting it.

Make sure you set this up before generating the app bundles (IPA / AAB) and making your app public. Otherwise you will need to upload an update to the stores, requiring all your users to update the app on their phones.

Step 1: Create a Firebase project

Go to the Firebase Console.
Click on Add project and follow the prompts to create a new Firebase project. Skip this step, if you already have a Firebase project for the app.

Step 2: Generate the web API Key

Inside your Firebase project, go to Build > Authentication > Sign-in method.
To generate a web API key, enable a sign-in method like Email/Password. Although we don't need to set up any authentication in our app to use deep links, this configuration will generate a web API key that we will use later.
Click on the wheel icon at the top left, then click on Project settings > General tab.
In the Your project section, and you'll find the Web API Key. Copy it; you'll need it later.

Step 3: Create an app in Firebase

If you don't have any app created in Firebase yet, follow the next steps as you need to create new Firebase configuration files with the final bundle ID (for iOS) and package name (for Android) and upload them to Bravo Studio. Otherwise, add the missing params we mention:

Scroll down to Your apps section and click Add app.
Select a platform: iOS or Android.
Register the app and do the following depending on the platform:

Enter your Bundle ID and App Store ID. Remember you need to complete step 2 of the publishing process to have these parameters ready.

Where do I find the final Bundle ID (for iOS)? When you have the necessary files for publication, use the same Bundle ID from the Bravo publication form for the final Firebase file. (Check how to set up the Bundle ID on the app publication process)

Enter the Team ID on the Apple app you have just created. You can find this on the Apple developer portal, under the Identifier of your app, as App ID Prefix. Then Save.

Enter your Android Package name. Remember you need to have completed steps 1 and 4 of the Android publishing process to have these parameters ready.

Where do I find the final package name (for Android)? In the Publish tab of your app project, go to Android > Publication.

Once the app is created, go to Your apps, select the Android app and by clicking Add Fingerprint, add the SHA 256 code (not the SHA-1) corresponding to your Android app.

Find this code from the build history of your app on Bravo Studio:

Step 4: Configure Dynamic Links in Firebase

Go to Engage > Dynamic Links.
Click on Get Started.
On the Add a URL prefix click on the Domain input.
Click on the option (autogenerated) below Google provided domains.
Click Continue and Finish.
On the Dynamic Links page, click on the tree dots icon (at the right of the New Dynamic Link button) and select Allowlist URL pattern.
In this page, enter your domain as: apps-service.bravostudio.app and press Save. This will automatically generate your Regex URL. You might also see a warning on setting your allowed domains for Dynamic Links, which has the same purpose.
After saving this, include your own domain and you may also find the need to include more in your configuration. This time, you'll have to add the Regex URL pattern for the additional domain and Save. For example: Click here to use URL Regexator to convert the URL to Regex URL pattern.

You will need to add any domain you are going to use as fallbacks on your deep links, like your website domain. Remember to use the same regex syntax.

Step 5: Complete Firebase Settings in Bravo

Go back to Bravo -> Your app -> Integrations -> Deep Links -> Firebase Settings
In Deep link settings, Click on Configure.
Complete the following data:

Upload the Android file (google-services.json): The Android configuration file you can download from a Firebase iOS App in Firebase console.
Upload the iOS file (GoogleService-Info.plist): The iOS configuration file you can download from a Firebase iOS App in Firebase console.
Deep Link URL prefix: This is the URL prefix created previously in Firebase (step 5 in Step 3: Configure Dynamic Links in Firebase). In case it's a Google domain, it will end in .page.link. Copy it from Firebase and paste it here.
Firebase REST API key (web API key): Copy this from your Firebase project settings. If you see the message "No web API key for this project", indicate an Authentication method as described in Step 2: Generate the web API key.
iOS App Store ID (optional): In case you have published the app for iOS, copy this value from the App Store Connect portal, under App Information. The app doesn't need to be published, only created in App Store Connect.

Once you've set these values, click Save.

Step 6: Generate the Deep Link

Finally, go to the Generate links section, fill in the following values:
- Deep Link Name: The name for the deep link you'll generate. You can use any name you prefer. Later on, the latest generated deep links will appear in the panel, identified with the name you set here.
- URL copied from Bravo Vision: Here, specify the app page you want to target with the deep link. To get this URL, you need to open the app in Bravo Vision, go to the desired page, long press, and select Copy page URL, as indicated here.
- URL to open from Desktop: In case the deep link is opened from a desktop device instead of a mobile phone, the URL specified here will be opened. You can set it to whatever webpage you wish. Remember to provide the complete webpage URL (including https://).
Click on Create live app link button and your deep link is created! 🎉

In case the "Create live app link" button is disabled, go through the Firebase configuration steps and make sure you provided the right values inside the Firebase settings section. Once you've confirmed these settings, proceed to request your app bundle.

If you already have a published app bundle, and you change these settings afterwards, you'll need to generate a new bundle and publish an update to the stores.

Step 7: Test your Deep Link

Once generated, you'll obtain a deep link that you can test on a mobile device with the target app installed. You'll find the list of deep links generated right under.

From this screen, you'll be able to:

Copy the Deep Link URL to the Clipboard in a Notes app and open the Deep Link URL from a mobile device. You can also test using opening the link from the browser address bar of a desktop, the URL to open from Desktop will be shown in this case.
Scan a QR code to test your deep link with a mobile device.
Check the flowchart of your deep link's behaviour, good for troubleshooting.