Willing to add a Chat SDK to your iOS mobile app? Get started with Crisp in order to improve your customer support and user engagement today. Made easy thanks to SwiftPM and CocoaPods — Install it in a few steps.

The Crisp Chat SDK allows you to add a chat widget to your iOS mobile app, enabling your customers to engage with your brand and easily communicate with your team. Just discovering Crisp and our SDK? You can learn more about our Chat SDKs right here.

• Web Chat SDKLearn about the Web Chat SDK.Read
• Android Chat SDKLearn about the Android Chat SDK.Read

Notice

Swift documentation

Looking for the extensive Swift documentation? It is available here.

Video Tutorial

Overview

The Crisp iOS Chat SDK comes with two distinct libraries:

1. Crisp

2. CrispWebRTC

CrispWebRTC is required if you want to make audio or video calls to your users. If you’re sure however that you will not need this functionality you can use the Crisp library instead and save ~10 MB in binary size.

Both libraries are drop-in replacements, meaning that they have the exact same API. The only changes you’ll need to perform when switching libraries is to update your Package.swift or Podfile and change any imports from

import Crisp

to

import CrispWebRTC

or vice versa.

Installation

1. Install the Chat widget SDK to your iOS mobile app

Option 1: Using SwiftPM

To use the Crisp iOS Chat SDK with SPM, add a dependency to your Package.swift file:

let package = Package(
  dependencies: [
    .package(url: "https://github.com/crisp-im/crisp-sdk-ios.git", .upToNextMajor(from: "2.0.0")),
  ],
  targets: [
    .target(
      name: "<target-name>",
      dependencies: [
        .productItem(name: "CrispWebRTC", package: "crisp-sdk-ios")
        // or: .productItem(name: "Crisp", package: "crisp-sdk-ios")
      ]
    )
  ]
)

Option 2: Using CocoaPods

Add Crisp to your CocoaPods Podfile:

use_frameworks!

target :YourTargetName do
  pod 'CrispWebRTC'
  # or pod 'Crisp'
end

Then run: pod install

2. Update your Info.plist

To enable your users to take and upload photos to the chat as well as download photos to their photo library, add:

• Privacy - Camera Usage Description (NSCameraUsageDescription)
• Privacy - Photo Library Additions Usage Description (NSPhotoLibraryAddUsageDescription) to your app's Info.plist.
• Privacy - Microphone Usage Description” (NSMicrophoneUsageDescription) if you’re using the CrispWebRTC library.

3. Configure the Crisp iOS Chat SDK

Go to your Crisp Dashboard, and copy your Website ID:

Then, configure the Website ID in the SDK code:

import CrispWebRTC

// In your func application()
CrispSDK.configure(websiteID: "YOUR_WEBSITE_ID")

4. Present the ChatViewController

import CrispWebRTC

class ViewController: UIViewController {
    @IBAction func startChat(_ sender: Any) {
        self.present(ChatViewController(), animated: true)
    }
}

5. Implement Push Notifications (Optional)

Push notifications can be enabled to notify your users when they receive new messages in the Crisp chat, even when your app is in the background or closed. Here's how to set it up:

Prerequisites

1. Create an APNs-enabled private key in your Apple Developer account. Create a new key and Select Apple Push Notifications service (APNs).
2. Upload your key and configure push notifications in the Crisp web app:

• Go to Settings > Chatbox Settings > Push Notifications
• Provide your P8 Certificate, Team ID, Bundle ID and Key ID

5.1 Enable Push Notifications Capability

Enable Push Notifications capability in your Xcode project:

1. Open your project in Xcode
2. Select your target
3. Go to the "Signing & Capabilities" tab
4. Click the "+" button and add "Push Notifications"

5.2 Implementation

Register for Remote Notifications

First, register for remote notifications in your app delegate:

func application(_ application: UIApplication, 
                didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplication.LaunchOptionsKey: Any]?) -> Bool {
    // Register for remote notifications
    DispatchQueue.main.async {
        UIApplication.shared.registerForRemoteNotifications()
    }
    return true
}

Setting the Device Token

When your app successfully registers for remote notifications, pass the device token to Crisp SDK:

import Crisp

func application(_ application: UIApplication,
                 didRegisterForRemoteNotificationsWithDeviceToken deviceToken: Data) {
    CrispSDK.setDeviceToken(deviceToken)
}

See setDeviceToken(_:)

Identifying Crisp Notifications

To determine if a received notification is from Crisp, use the isCrispPushNotification(_:) method:

func userNotificationCenter(_ center: UNUserNotificationCenter,
                          willPresent notification: UNNotification,
                          withCompletionHandler completionHandler: @escaping (UNNotificationPresentationOptions) -> Void) {
    if CrispSDK.isCrispPushNotification(notification) {
        // Handle Crisp notification
        CrispSDK.handlePushNotification(notification)
        completionHandler([.banner, .sound])
    } else {
        // Handle other notifications
        completionHandler([])
    }
}

Handling Crisp Notifications

When a Crisp notification is received, use the handlePushNotification(_:) method to process it:

func userNotificationCenter(_ center: UNUserNotificationCenter,
                          didReceive response: UNNotificationResponse,
                          withCompletionHandler completionHandler: @escaping () -> Void) {
    let notification = response.notification
    if CrispSDK.isCrispPushNotification(notification) {
        CrispSDK.handlePushNotification(notification)
    } else {
        // Handle other notifications
    }
    completionHandler()
}

Availables APIs

Swift APIs

The extensive Swift documentation is available here.

• CrispSDK.configure(websiteID: "YOUR_WEBSITE_ID") — Configures the SDK with a website_id
• CrispSDK.setTokenID(tokenID: "A_CUSTOM_ID") — Assigns session with a token_id
• CrispSDK.user.email = "john.doe@gmail.com" — Sets user email
• CrispSDK.user.nickname = "John Name" — Sets user name
• CrispSDK.user.phone = "003370123456789" — Sets user phone
• CrispSDK.user.avatar = URL(string: "https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/782474226020200448/zDo-gAo0_400x400.jpg") — Sets user avatar
• CrispSDK.user.company = Company(name: "Acme", url: nil, companyDescription: nil, employment: nil, geolocation: nil) — Sets user compay
• CrispSDK.session.setString("custom_value", forKey: "custom_key") — Sets session data string
• CrispSDK.session.setInt(42, forKey: "custom_key") — Sets session data int
• CrispSDK.session.pushEvents([SessionEvent(name: "Signup", color: SessionEventColor.blue)]) — Pushes an array of events (separated by a comma)
• CrispSDK.session.segment = "app" — Sets session segment
• CrispSDK.session.reset() — Resets the session
• CrispSDK.searchHelpdesk() — Opens the helpdesk
• CrispSDK.openHelpdeskArticle(locale: "en", slug: "1h6ppad", title: nil, category: nil) — Opens an helpdesk article

Examples of Crisp implementation on iOS apps

If you are looking to find examples of real-world exemples from our customers, we have you covered. Below you will find a selection of hand-picked iOS apps showcasing how our chatbox feels and looks on your Apple device.

• RunMotion Coach — is a running planner application to help meet your objectives
• Jomo — helps you manage your screen time and stay focused throughout your day
• Emma-app — serves as a friendly budget management and financial companion
• Savvy Navvy — acts as your own digital coral reef to prepare against the tides