Instrument mobile apps with Dynatrace .NET MAUI NuGet package

Dynatrace version 1.265+

The Dynatrace .NET MAUI NuGet package helps auto-instrument your .NET MAUI mobile application with OneAgent for Android and iOS as well as provides an API for manual instrumentation.

Supported features

Requirements

Set up the package

Perform the following steps to set up the Dynatrace .NET MAUI NuGet package for your mobile application.

Install the Dynatrace .NET MAUI NuGet package

Create an application and get the config file

Add the config file to your project

Add the OneAgent start method

Enable automatic web request instrumentation

Install the NuGet package

Add the Dynatrace .NET MAUI NuGet package to your application.

Create an application and get the config file

Create a new mobile application in the Dynatrace web UI, and download the configuration file.

Add the config file to your project

Add the dynatrace.config.json file, which you downloaded in the previous step, to your project.

Add the OneAgent start method

The start method is required for OneAgent to start.

1using Dynatrace.MAUI;
2
3Agent.Instance.Start();

Enable automatic web request instrumentation optional

You can optionally use the following method to enable the auto-instrumentation of web requests. The HttpMessageHandler used by HttpClient takes care of the manual web request instrumentation.

1using Dynatrace.MAUI;
2
3var httpHandler = Agent.Instance.GetHttpMessageHandler();
4var httpClient = new HttpClient(httpHandler);

Moreover, you can also have your own HTTP handler:

1using Dynatrace.MAUI;
2
3var defaultHttpHandler = new HttpClientHandler();
4var httpHandler = Agent.Instance.GetHttpMessageHandler(defaultHttpHandler);
5var httpClient = new HttpClient(httpHandler);

Manual instrumentation

The sections below describe how to start OneAgent manually, create custom actions, instrument web requests, and report values, events, and crashes.

Start OneAgent

You can use the manual startup with a configuration builder (Android) or a configuration dictionary (iOS).

Create custom actions

You can create custom actions and enhance them with additional information such as values, events, and errors.

Call EnterAction to start a custom action and LeaveAction to close a custom action. Timing is measured automatically.

1using Dynatrace.MAUI;
2
3IRootAction myAction = Agent.Instance.EnterAction("Tap on Confirm");
4//Perform the action and whatever else is needed.
5myAction.LeaveAction();

Create child actions

Besides generating standalone custom actions, you can also create child actions.

Child actions are similar to parent custom actions. When a parent action is closed, all child actions of the parent action are automatically closed.

1using Dynatrace.MAUI;
2
3IRootAction myAction = Agent.Instance.EnterAction("Tap on Confirm");
4IAction mySubAction = myAction.EnterAction("Tap on Confirm again");
5//Perform the action and whatever else is needed.
6mySubAction.LeaveAction();
7myAction.LeaveAction();

There's no limit on the number of child actions attached to a custom action. However, note that you can have only one level of child actions—you can't create a child action for another child action (child actions can't have their own child actions). For an overview of a user action structure, see the illustration on the Real User Monitoring page.

Child actions are not displayed on the user session details page, but you can view them on the waterfall analysis page for a custom action to which these child actions are attached.

Cancel custom actions

If you need to cancel an already created but not yet closed custom action, call Cancel. Canceling an action discards all data associated with it: all reported values, events, and errors are discarded; all child actions are canceled.

1using Dynatrace.MAUI;
2
3IRootAction myAction = Agent.Instance.EnterAction("Tap on Confirm");
4// Action is canceled
5myAction.Cancel();

Instrument web requests

Use the following code snippet to instrument web requests:

1using Dynatrace.MAUI;
2
3// Create an action
4IRootAction webAction = Agent.Instance.EnterAction(actionName: "WebRequest Action");
5// Generate a new unique tag associated with the web request action
6string requestTag = webAction.GetRequestTag(url);
7string requestTagHeader = webAction.GetRequestTagHeader();
8// Place the Dynatrace HTTP header on your web request
9httpClient.DefaultRequestHeaders.Add(requestTagHeader, requestTag);
10// Generate a WebRequestTiming object based on the unique tag
11IWebRequestTiming timing = Agent.Instance.GetWebRequestTiming(requestTag, url);
12// Start web request timing before the HTTP request is sent
13timing.StartWebRequestTiming();
14try
15{
16  var response = await httpClient.GetAsync(url);
17  // Stop web request timing when the HTTP response is received and the response body is obtained
18  timing.StopWebRequestTiming(url, (int)response.StatusCode, response.ReasonPhrase);
19}
20catch (HttpRequestException exception)
21{
22  // Stop web request timing when a connection exception occurs
23  timing.StopWebRequestTiming(url, -1, exception.ToString());
24}
25finally
26{
27  // Leave an action
28  webAction.LeaveAction();
29}

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:

1ReportValue(valueName: string, value: int);
2ReportValue(valueName: string, value: double);
3ReportValue(valueName: string, value: string);

For instance, to report a string value within the Tap on Confirm action, use the following code:

1using Dynatrace.MAUI;
2
3IRootAction myAction = Agent.Instance.EnterAction("Tap on Confirm");
4myAction.ReportValue("Customer type", "Gold");
5myAction.LeaveAction();

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 event

For any open action, you can report an event. Use the following API call:

1ReportEvent(eventName: string);

Report an error

To report an error, use the ReportError method.

1ReportError(errorName: string, errorCode: number);

Report an error stack trace

To report an error stack trace, use the following API call:

1using Dynatrace.MAUI;
2
3Agent.Instance.ReportErrorStacktrace("Error_Class", "Error_Value", "Error_Reason", "Error_Stacktrace");

Report a crash

To report a crash, use the following API call.

1using Dynatrace.MAUI;
2
3Agent.Instance.ReportCrash("CrashWithoutException", "Crash_Reason", "Crash_Stacktrace");

You can also use an exception object:

1using Dynatrace.MAUI;
2
3Agent.Instance.ReportCrashWithException("CrashWithExceptionObj", exception);

The time when the crash details are sent to Dynatrace depends on your mobile application operating system.

Report a business event

With sendBizEvent, you can report business events. These are standalone events, as Dynatrace sends them separately from user actions or user sessions.

For more information on business events, see Business Analytics.

1using Dynatrace.MAUI;
2
3var attributes = new Dictionary<string, JsonValue>();
4attributes.Add("event.name", "Confirmed Booking");
5attributes.Add("screen", "booking-confirmation");
6attributes.Add("product", "Danube Anna Hotel");
7attributes.Add("amount", 358.35);
8attributes.Add("currency", "USD");
9attributes.Add("reviewScore", 4.8);
10attributes.Add("arrivalDate", "2022-11-05");
11attributes.Add("departureDate", "2022-11-15");
12attributes.Add("journeyDuration", 10);
13attributes.Add("adultTravelers", 2);
14attributes.Add("childrenTravelers", 0);
15
16Agent.Instance.SendBizEvent("com.easytravel.funnel.booking-finished", attributes);

Tag specific users

You can tag each user of your mobile application 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.

Make the following API call to tag the current session with a particular name:

1using Dynatrace.MAUI;
2
3Agent.Instance.IdentifyUser("John Smith");

End a session

You can force a session to end via the API call. This also closes all open actions and starts a new session.

1using Dynatrace.MAUI;
2
3Agent.Instance.EndVisit();

Configure data privacy

With the user opt-in mode for mobile applications, you can dynamically adjust data privacy settings and build your applications in compliance with data protection laws and regulations.

Enable user opt-in mode

To activate the user opt-in mode, set the userOptIn property (Android) or DTXUserOptIn configuration key (iOS) to true in the dynatrace.config.json file. After enabling the user opt-in mode, you should also specify the privacy setting.

Retrieve data privacy settings

To get the current UserPrivacyOptions configuration, use the following API call:

1using Dynatrace.MAUI;
2
3// Get the UserPrivacyOptions object
4UserPrivacyOptions currentOptions = Agent.Instance.GetUserPrivacyOptions();
5
6// Get the individual settings for DataCollectionLevel and crash reporting
7bool crashOptedIn = Agent.Instance.GetUserPrivacyOptions().CrashReportingOptedIn;
8DataCollectionLevel dataCollectionLevel = Agent.Instance.GetUserPrivacyOptions().DataCollectionLevel;

Change data privacy settings

To set new options on a UserPrivacyOptions object, use the following code:

1using Dynatrace.MAUI;
2
3// Creating a new UserPrivacyOptions object requires setting the two parameters of DataCollectionLevel and crash reporting
4UserPrivacyOptions options = new UserPrivacyOptions(DataCollectionLevel.Performance, false);
5
6// Update the options with the setter
7// Set a data collection level (user allowed you to capture performance and personal data)
8options.DataCollectionLevel = DataCollectionLevel.UserBehavior;
9// Allow crash reporting (user allowed you to collect information on crashes)
10options.CrashReportingOptedIn = true;
11
12// Get the values of the configuration with the getter
13options.DataCollectionLevel;
14options.CrashReportingOptedIn;
15
16// Get the UserPrivacyOptions object
17UserPrivacyOptions currentOptions = Agent.Instance.GetUserPrivacyOptions();

To apply the new UserPrivacyOptions configuration, use this code:

1using Dynatrace.MAUI;
2
3UserPrivacyOptions options = new UserPrivacyOptions(DataCollectionLevel.UserBehavior, true);
4Agent.Instance.ApplyUserPrivacyOptions(options);

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.

The possible values for the data collection levels are as follows:

Report GPS location

You can report the latitude and longitude.

1SetGPSLocation(latitude: double, longitude: double);

Configuration file

The dynatrace.config.json configuration file contains your application ID, beacon URL, and some other settings.

The following is the dynatrace.config.json file structure for Android and iOS.

1{
2    "android": {
3        "autoStart": {
4            "applicationId": "<insertApplicationID>",
5            "beaconUrl": "<insertBeaconURL>"
6        },
7        "userOptIn": true,
8        "agentBehavior": {
9            "startupLoadBalancing": true
10        }
11    }
12}

Enable OneAgent debug logs

If the instrumentation runs through and your application starts, but you see no data in your Dynatrace environment, you probably need to dig deeper to find out why OneAgents aren't sending any data. Opening up a support ticket is a great idea but gathering logs first is even better.

1{
2    "android": {
3        "autoStart": {
4            "applicationId": "<insertApplicationID>",
5            "beaconUrl": "<insertBeaconURL>"
6        },
7        "userOptIn": true,
8        "debug": {
9            "agentLogging": true
10        }
11    }
12}

Enable build debug logs for Android

Android only

If the Android instrumentation fails, you most likely need to open a support ticket and provide build debug logs. To provide those logs, you need to set the DynatraceInstrumentationLogging property and change the build log level to Diagnostic.

Troubleshooting

If you can't resolve a problem, please contact a Dynatrace product expert via live chat within your Dynatrace environment. Have the following details available:

Failed build

If your build fails, make sure you've added the dynatrace.config.json file to the Assets (Android) or Resources (iOS) directory and that the file includes at least the beacon URL and the application ID properties. For details, see Configuration file.

If you use the manual startup, don't include the beacon URL and the application ID properties in the configuration file. If you do that, you encounter an exception.

Turn off Visual Studio Debugger for Android

Android only

If you notice that Dynatrace doesn't report crashes for Android applications to your environment, make sure that you're not using the debug option in Visual Studio.

Keep in mind that clearing Enable developer instrumentation disables debugging. Use this option only to verify that crashes are sent. Optionally, you can create a release build that is detached from Visual Studio.