React-Native Step Counter Library

This library provides an interface for tracking the number of steps taken by the user in a React Native app. This package uses the StepCounter (or Custom accelerometer-based step-counter) Sensor API on Android and the Core Motion framework on iOS to count the steps. It's built using Turbo Module, a new module development architecture for React Native. I made this library compatible with both new and legacy architectures. (Because the turbo module is still in the experimental stage. so it is not widely used.)

Installation

npm install @uguratakan/react-native-step-counter-improved

yarn add @uguratakan/react-native-step-counter-improved

pnpm add @uguratakan/react-native-step-counter-improved

Native modules will automatically connect after React Native 0.60 version. So you don't need to link the native modules manually.

👣 if you are using the legacy architecture, you need to follow the guide below. otherwise, you can skip next step.

IF YOU WANT SEE A DEMO IN STANDALONE REACT-NATIVE APPLICATION, SEE WALKING_TRACKER EXAMPLE REPO

Thank you for your interest in my first NPM open source package! I've received a lot of issue reports on various issues, especially the react-native's NEW ARCHITECTURE backwards compatibility, and I've more or less finalized those issues by fixing the code structure across the board. We had generated an example folder from create-react-native-library's template and used it for this project, but due to the structure of that template, we found that the example folder contained a lot of code that was not suitable for reference in a working app, as it was part of the overall development process rather than a standalone application. For this reason, I'm going to independently manage the example application, which we had been developing informally as a sub-repository, as a repository named walking_tracker. I'd really appreciate it if you could take this into consideration.

Setup the New Architecture

• Applying a new architecture to React Native applications (Common)

  1. React Native released the support for the New Architecture with the release 0.68.0.
  2. This is written with the expectation that you’re using the latest React Native release.
  3. You can find instructions on how to upgrade in the page upgrading to new versions.
  4. write all JS bridges with TypeScript (or Flow.js) because Codegen requires explicitly defined types. As you know, JavaScript is a dynamically typed language, so it is not possible to generate code.
  5. use hermes and flipper debugging tools.
     • Hermes is a new JavaScript engine optimized for running React Native apps on Android and iOS. enabled by default, and you want to use JSC, explicitly disable it.
     • Flipper is a new debugging and profiling tool for React Native.

• Applying a new architecture to React Native iOS applications

  1. set platform version to 12.4 or higher. (min_ios_version_supported)

  - platform :ios, '11.0'
  + platform :ios, '12.4'
  # ↓ or you can use the variable of (react_native_pods.rb)
  + platform :ios, min_ios_version_supported

  2. set NODE_BINARY to .xcode.env file.

  echo 'export NODE_BINARY=$(command -v node)' > .xcode.env

  3. Fix an API Change in the AppDelegate.m file.

   - (NSURL *)sourceURLForBridge:(RCTBridge *)bridge
   {
   #if DEBUG
  -    return [[RCTBundleURLProvider sharedSettings] jsBundleURLForBundleRoot:@"index" fallbackResource:nil];
  +    return [[RCTBundleURLProvider sharedSettings] jsBundleURLForBundleRoot:@"index"];
   #else
       return [[NSBundle mainBundle] URLForResource:@"main" withExtension:@"jsbundle"];
   #endif
   }

  4. Rename all Objective-C(.m) files to Objective-C++ (.mm) 5. Make your AppDelegate conform to RCTAppDelegate

  • ios/StepCounterExample/AppDelegate.h

    - #import <React/RCTBridgeDelegate.h>
    + #import <RCTAppDelegate.h>
    #import <UIKit/UIKit.h>
    
    - @interface AppDelegate : UIResponder <UIApplicationDelegate, RCTBridgeDelegate>
    + @interface AppDelegate : RCTAppDelegate
    
    - @property (nonatomic, strong) UIWindow *window;
    @end

  • ios/StepCounterExample/AppDelegate.mm

    #import "AppDelegate.h"
    #import <React/RCTBundleURLProvider.h>
    @implementation AppDelegate
    - (BOOL)application:(UIApplication *)application didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:(NSDictionary *)launchOptions
    {
      self.moduleName = @"StepCounterExample";
      self.initialProps = @{};
      return [super application:application didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:launchOptions];
    }
    - (NSURL *)sourceURLForBridge:(RCTBridge *)bridge
    {
    #if DEBUG
      return [[RCTBundleURLProvider sharedSettings] jsBundleURLForBundleRoot:@"index"];
    #else
      return [[NSBundle mainBundle] URLForResource:@"main" withExtension:@"jsbundle"];
    #endif
    }
    - (BOOL)concurrentRootEnabled
    {
      return true;
    }
    @end

  • Run pod install

    export RCT_NEW_ARCH_ENABLED=1
    cd ios && pod install

• Applying a new architecture to React Native Android applications

  1. If your project has React Native later than v0.71.0, you already meet all the prerequisites to use the New Architecture on Android.
  2. You will only need to set newArchEnabled to true in your android/gradle.properties file.

If you prefer to read the official documentation, you can find it here.

ANDROID

3 uses-permission, 3 uses-feature

<!--  android/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml-->
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    package="com.stepcounter">
  <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACTIVITY_RECOGNITION" />
  <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.BODY_SENSORS_BACKGROUND" />

  <uses-feature
    android:name="android.hardware.sensor.stepcounter"
    android:required="false" />
  <uses-feature
    android:name="android.hardware.sensor.accelerometer"
    android:required="true" />
</manifest>

iOS

set NSMotionUsageDescription

<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN">
<plist version="1.0">
  ...
  <key>NSMotionUsageDescription</key>
  <string>We want to access your motion data to count your steps.</string>
  ...
</plist>

Interface

• isStepCountingSupported(): Promise<Record<string, boolean>>: method to check if the device has a feature related step counter or accelerometer.

  • One key for the response object is granted, whether the app user has granted this feature permission, and supported is whether the device supports this feature.
  • This NativeModule can apply algorithms to a raw accelerometer to extract walking event data without activity sensor privileges, regardless of this response, but it is not recommended. You must write a code that stops tracking sensor events if user denies read-permission - even if you can do that.

• startStepCounterUpdate(start: Date, callBack: StepCountUpdateCallback): EmitterSubscription:

  • If the pedometer sensor is available and supported on the device, register it with the listener in the sensor manager, and return the step count event listener.
  • If the pedometer sensor is not supported by the device or is not available, register the accelerometer sensor with the listener, generate a accel event through an vector algorithm filter and receive it to the app.

• stopStepCounterUpdate(): void:

  • unregister registered listener from sensorManager and release it.

• StepCountData:

  • Common Interface

    • steps: This is a number property that indicates the number of steps taken by the user during the specified time period.
    • startDate: This is a number property that indicates the start date of the data in Unix timestamp format, measured in milliseconds.
    • endDate: This is a number property that indicates the end date of the data in Unix timestamp format, measured in milliseconds.
    • distance: This is a number property that indicates the distance in meters that the user has walked or run during the specified time period.
    • counterType: The name of the sensor used to count the number of steps. In iOS, only the CMPedometer is returned, and in Android, the StepCounter or Accelerometer is returned depending on the device state.

  • iOS Only

    • floorsAscended: This is a number property that indicates the number of floors the user has ascended during the specified time period. it can be nil if the device does not support this feature.
    • floorsDescended: This is a number property that indicates the number of floors the user has descended during the specified time period. it can be nil if the device does not support this feature.
    • currentPace: (iOS 9.0+) This is a number property that indicates the current pace of the user in meters per second.
    • currentCadence: (iOS 9.0+) This is a number property that indicates the current cadence of the user in steps per second.
    • averageActivePace: (iOS 10.0+) This is a number property that indicates the average pace of the user in meters per second.

Usage

To use the Step Counter Library in your React Native app, follow these steps:

Import the library into your React Native app.

import React, { useEffect, useState } from 'react';
import {
  isStepCountingSupported,
  parseStepData,
  startStepCounterUpdate,
  stopStepCounterUpdate,
} from '@uguratakan/react-native-step-counter-improved';

Use the isStepCountingSupported method to check if the device has a step counter or accelerometer sensor.

const [supported, setSupported] = useState(false);
const [granted, setGranted] = useState(false);

async function askPermission() {
  isStepCountingSupported().then((result) => {
    console.debug('🚀 - isStepCountingSupported', result);
    setGranted(result.granted === true);
    setSupported(result.supported === true);
  });
}

Call the startStepCounterUpdate method to start the step counter service.

const [steps, setSteps] = useState(0);

async function startStepCounter() {
  startStepCounterUpdate(new Date(), (data) => {
    console.debug(parseStepData(data));
    setSteps(data.steps);
  });
}

Here's an example of a complete React component that uses the NativeStepCounter.

Link to Example Application: here

Change Log

See the Release Notes for a list of changes.

Contributing

See the Contributing Guide to learn how to contribute to the repository and the development workflow.

License

MIT

Made with create-react-native-library