Setup & Importing Xcode Project

If you're uploading the app to AppStore, It's recommended to change the design so it can increase the chances of approving the App in AppStore

What Xcode version is needed?

Latest Xcode version is recommended, which can be downloaded from here or from Mac AppStore

How to open the project in Xcode?

Before opening up the Project you have to install Cocoapods which will download the used Libraries in this app, to do that open the Terminal app in your Mac the write in the command

sudo gem install cocoapods

(if you already have Cocoapods you can skip this step)

within the terminal change the current directory using

cd /your_path_to_the_app/

you just type cd then drag and drop the app directory

after that type in the command

pod install

this should install all the libraries in the app, this may take a while depending on your Internet connection.

once that done, go to App Files and open up the file FireApp.xcworkspace make sure it's xcworkspace NOT xcodeproj
wait for build to finish
then click on CMD + Shift + K to clean the project

{primary} after build finishes you will get an error GoogleService-Info.plist is missing ,to solve this you have to Setup Firebase after changing Package Name.

another error may show up also like this

Provisioning profile "iOS Team Provisioning Profile: com.devlomi.ifireapp" doesn't match the entitlements file's value for the keychain-access-groups entitlement.

which is okay since you need to complete setting up the project.

How to Setup the project?

Change Bundle Name

go to Config.swift and change bundleName value
click on the project at the left then select General > FireApp > bundle identifier then type in your bundle name then hit enter
apply the same steps on ShareExtension and NotificationService

{primary} extension names (ShareExtension and NotificationService) should have the same bundleName + the extension name. for example the app bundle name is com.devlomi.ifireapp so the extension name should be com.devlomi.ifireapp. + extension name, in our case com.devlomi.ifireapp.ShareExtension, and same thing applies on NotificationService

now it's the time to Configure AppGroups which will make Extesnsions communicate with each other.
- in the same window go to Signing and Capabilities > choose FireApp Target > AppGroups then hit on the the little plus icon, a window should popup, enter the same bundle name that you entered before, in my case it's com.devlomi.ifireapp so the final result would be group.com.devlomi.ifireapp

after that check the checkbox

now go to ShareExtension and NotificationService Targets and you should see the AppGroup that you've added, if not just create it with the same name
make sure to check the Checkbox.

after all that done you should have the same AppGroup enabled on all Targets.

Enable Keychain: to make the Firebase Available on other Extensions
- first of all you have to get your TeamID from Apple Developer, to do that go to your Apple Developer Account and Sign in with your Paid Apple Developer account, then Select Membership then copy your TeamID

now go to Xcode > and Choose FireApp Target then Scroll down to Keychain Sharing > click on little plus icon now you have to type in your TeamId.+BundleName.+group.+BundleName

yourTeamId.yourBundleName.group.yourBundleName

so the final result would be like this for example

Y32314SD.com.devlomi.ifireapp.group.com.devlomi.ifireapp

apply the same thing for NotificationService

for some reason Xcode mess up with this Keychain, so you have to edit it manually in the app files. go to the App Files > and open up FireApp.entitlements and paste in the Keychain group that you've just created

apply the same thing for NotificationService > NotificationService.entitlements

{primary} if you've changed the Keychain from Targets again you have to edit the entitlements files again since Xcode will modify it once again.

lastly go to Config.swift and add your Team ID in teamId value.

now you have to enable Share so your app can receive Data from other apps. to do that go to Info.plist > URL Types > item 1(Editor) > URL Schemes > item0 > add a unique name for it, for example yourAppName+Share

copy the same name then go to Config.swift file then replace shareURLScheme with the same key that you just entered in Info.plist.

{warning} if you try to run the app right now it would crash because you have to [Enable Video & Voice Calls]

How to change app name?

click on the project name at the left then go to General and change Display Name value then press enter
go to Config.swift and replace appName's value with your app name

How to Configure Encryption?

there are 2 Types of Encryption supported in the App

AES Encryption:

go to Config.swift and change encryption_type value to AES

now go to FireApp/Util/Crypto/AES/AESKey.swift and change the KEY value to a unique and strong key. this will be used to Encrypt ALL messages so make sure to NOT share it with anyone.

End-to-End Encryption:

we are using Virgil's E3 Kit SDK to achieve End to End Encryption, so to use it in your app you have to register for a new account by going to their website . after creating a new account, create a new app

then go to E3Kit and generate your .env file

create a new key

get your credentials, make sure to save them in a file or something, we will use it later.

now go to Backend - Cloud Functions/generate-virgil-jwt.js and open it in any text editor, then start pasting in the values that you've got from Vrigil's website accordingly. lastly save the file and exit.

if you don't need to use encryption at all, go to Config.swift and change encryption_type value to NONE hen click 'Sync Now' at the top

Add your App Link for invitation text

this will be used when inviting a user to download the app from AppStore, you can get the appId even if the app was not published yet. go to AppStore Connect and sign in with your Apple Developer Account and create a new app if you don't have one.

after that go to App Information and you should see Apple ID, copy it then go to Config.swift in your project and paste it in appId

How to enable/disable Ad?

Enable Ads: go to Config.swift and change the following value as you need. true to enable and false to disable
- isChatsAdsEnabled to enable/disable Ads in 'Main/Chats' Page
- isStatusAdsEnabled to enable/disable Ads in 'Status' Page
- isCallsAdsEnabled to enable/disable Ads in 'Calls' Page
Fill in the units IDs:
- copy you adMob AppId then go to Info.plist > GADApplicationIdentifier and paste it in.

create Banner Unit and paste the AdUnitId in Config.swift > mainViewAdsUnitId

How to setup Join Group via Link?

you have to have your own Website and have access to FTP or File Manager.
open up the included apple-app-site-association with any text editor and add your Apple Team ID + your bundle name

then save the file and do NOT add an extension to it or change the file name

now go to your server's FileManager or use FileZilla and Create the Directory .well-known if it's not exists, then upload the file apple-app-site-association into .well-known

{primary} it's recommended to have a subdomain for this, for example join.yourwebsite.com
go to Xcode > Config.swift and change groupHostLink value to your domain, for example http://join.fireapp.devlomi.com
lastly go to Xcode > FireApp > select FireApp Target > Signing and Capabilities > Associated Domains, hit the little plus icon or edit the existing link and add in your website

applinks:your.domainlink.com

How to change Links in About Page?

you can do that by going to Config.swift and change twitter , website , email values to what you want.

How to add more stickers?

if you want to add your own stickers, just expand stickers.bundle and drag and drop the images you want (should be in png or jpg)

How to add Privacy Policy?

you can make your own Privacy Policy in html format and upload it to your own website, OR you can use some websites like this which will help you generating a privacy policy. after getting your html privacy policy and uploading it to your Website, get the link of it and include it in Config.swift > privacyPolicyLink

Get Started