Install & Setup the Flutter Plugin

This guide walks you through installing the Airship Flutter plugin and configuring it for both iOS and Android platforms.

Requirements

• Flutter 3.0.2 or higher
• iOS 15+ (Xcode 16+)
• Android API 23+

Install the plugin

1. Add the Airship dependency to your package’s pubspec.yaml file:

   
      dependencies:
         airship_flutter: ^flutterPluginVersion
      

2. Install your Flutter package dependencies by running the following in the command line at your project’s root directory:

   flutter pub get

3. Import Airship into your Dart code:

   import 'package:airship_flutter/airship_flutter.dart';

Initialize Airship

The Airship SDK requires a single entry point called takeOff to initialize. Call takeOff in your app’s main() function before running the app. This ensures Airship is ready before any widgets are built.

Get your app credentials

Before calling takeOff, you’ll need your app credentials from the Airship dashboard:

1. Log in to the Airship dashboard 
2. Navigate to Settings → APIs & Integrations → App Keys
3. Copy your App Key and App Secret

Configure takeOff

The following example shows how to configure and call takeOff in your Flutter app:

import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:airship_flutter/airship_flutter.dart';

void main() {
  // Ensure Flutter is initialized
  WidgetsFlutterBinding.ensureInitialized();

  // Configure Airship
  var config = AirshipConfig(
    // Development environment credentials
    defaultEnvironment: ConfigEnvironment(
      appKey: "YOUR_DEVELOPMENT_APP_KEY",
      appSecret: "YOUR_DEVELOPMENT_APP_SECRET"
    ),
    
    // Production environment credentials (optional but recommended)
    productionEnvironment: ConfigEnvironment(
      appKey: "YOUR_PRODUCTION_APP_KEY",
      appSecret: "YOUR_PRODUCTION_APP_SECRET"
    ),
    
    // Set to true for production builds
    inProduction: false, // Set to true for production or use const bool.fromEnvironment('dart.vm.product')
    
    // Cloud site: Site.us for US, Site.eu for EU
    site: Site.us
  );

  // Initialize Airship
  Airship.takeOff(config);

  // Run your app
  runApp(MyApp());
}

Configuration options

Key configuration options include:

• defaultEnvironment: Credentials for your development/staging environment
• productionEnvironment: Credentials for your production environment (optional but recommended)
• inProduction: Set to true for production builds, false for development. You can use const bool.fromEnvironment('dart.vm.product') to automatically detect release builds
• site: Set to Site.us for US cloud projects or Site.eu for EU cloud projects

For additional configuration options (such as URL allowlists), see Advanced Configuration.

Test the integration

After completing the setup, verify your integration to ensure everything is working correctly.

1. Build and run your app on both iOS and Android (if applicable):

   flutter run

2. Check the console logs for Airship initialization:

   • Look for log messages indicating successful SDK initialization
   • You should see a Channel ID in the logs—this is the unique identifier for the device

   Example log output:

   Airship takeOff succeeded
   Channel ID: 01234567-89ab-cdef-0123-456789abcdef
   

3. Verify in the Airship dashboard:

   • Log in to your Airship dashboard
   • Navigate to Audience → Channels
   • Search for the Channel ID from your logs
   • The channel should appear with the correct platform (iOS or Android)

If you don’t see a channel ID or encounter errors during initialization, see the Troubleshooting guide for common problems and solutions.

Next steps

Now that you’ve successfully integrated the Airship SDK:

1. Enable push notifications and configure notification handling
2. Identify users with contacts and named users
3. Set up Message Center for persistent messaging
4. Configure analytics to track user behavior