Deep Links navigation in Jetpack Compose

Question

I want to use deep links with Jetpack Compose's Nav Host and followed this page on Compose Navigation: https://developer.android.com/jetpack/compose/navigation#deeplinks

My implementation: AndroidManifest.xml:

<application ...>
    <activity
    ...
    android:allowTaskReparenting="true"
    android:launchMode="singleInstance">
        ...
        <intent-filter>
            <action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW" />
            <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
            <category android:name="android.intent.category.BROWSABLE" />
            <data android:scheme="https" android:host="xkcd.com" />
            <data android:scheme="https" android:host="www.xkcd.com" />
        </intent-filter>
    </activity>
</application>

MainActivity.onCreate().setContent{}

val rootUri = "https://www.xkcd.com"
NavHost(navController = navController, startDestination = "mainView") {
    composable("mainView", deepLinks = listOf(navDeepLink { uriPattern = rootUri })) {
        MainContent()
    }
    composable(
        route = "singleView/{number}",
        arguments = listOf(navArgument("number") { type = NavType.IntType }),
        deepLinks = listOf(navDeepLink { uriPattern = "$rootUri/{number}" })
    ) { backStackEntry ->
        val number = backStackEntry.arguments?.getInt("number")
        SingleView(number)
    }
}

If I now click on a corresponding link the app opens but the navigation doesn't work

Cousteau

Check the log messages. There is probably one that indicates an unrecognized path. – Zygote

@Zygote there is no log message that seems to have to do anything with deep links or navigation – Cousteau

Answer 1

The problem is with the Activity launchMode:

The documentation says that:

It is strongly recommended to always use the default launchMode of standard when using Navigation. When using standard launch mode, Navigation automatically handles deep links by calling handleDeepLink() to process any explicit or implicit deep links within the Intent. However, this does not happen automatically if the Activity is re-used when using an alternate launchMode such as singleTop. In this case, it is necessary to manually call handleDeepLink() in onNewIntent(), as shown in the following example:

override fun onNewIntent(intent: Intent?) {
    super.onNewIntent(intent)
    navController.handleDeepLink(intent)
}

Monsour

How do you get instance navController onNewIntent when you use compose and navController is inside of setContent ? – Vellavelleity

@Vellavelleity declare navController as a lateinit var in the activity's scope, set it in the setContent. It would be accessible throughout the activity; why did 8 people upvote this question of a comment? – Australian

Answer 2

you also can do this

setContent {
        DisposableEffect(Unit) {
            val listener = Consumer<Intent> {
                //do som
            }
            addOnNewIntentListener(listener)
            onDispose { removeOnNewIntentListener(listener) }
        }
    }

Disremember

Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please edit to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center. – Callum

Very helpful, as imo this is cleaner than having to keep a reference of the navController Thanks! – Kaliope

Answer 3

I got it working by removing

android:launchMode="singleInstance"

from the manifest

Cousteau

Answer 4

I have a bit different approach. I need to handle incoming intents in activity's onCreate:

fun onCreate() {
    setContent {
         // ... nav controller initialization
    }
    // ...
    if (savedInstanceState == null) {
        processCallerIntent(intent)
    }
}

and in onNewIntent method:

override fun onNewIntent(intent: Intent?) {
    super.onNewIntent(intent)
    processCallerIntent(intent)
}

And in my case navController initialization happens after processCallerIntent gets called with new intent.

That's why I implemented this via viewModel.liveData solution.

In the processCallerIntent method I save navigation route to be processed later:

private fun processCallerIntent(intent: Intent?) {
    if (intent == null) {
        return
    }

    if (intent.action == Intent.ACTION_VIEW && /*...*/ ) {
        // Do all required checks and get navigation route you need
        viewModel.postPendingNavigationRoute(/*...*/)
    }
}

In viewModel I have something like this:

private val _pendingNavigationRoute = MutableLiveData<String>()
val pendingNavigationRoute: LiveData<String> = _pendingNavigationRoute

fun postPendingNavigationRoute(route: String) {
    _pendingNavigationRoute.value = route
}

fun clearPendingNavigationRoute() {
    _pendingNavigationRoute.value = ""
}

And in the root composabe I have something like this:

val pendingNavigationRoute by viewModel.pendingNavigationRoute.observeAsState()
LaunchedEffect(pendingNavigationRoute) {
    val route = pendingNavigationRoute
    if (!route.isNullOrEmpty()) {
        navController.navigate(route)
        viewModel.clearPendingNavigationRoute()
    }
}

Hyperplasia

Answer 5

To Kamil, you could save navController to viewModel, then reuse it inside onNewIntent method.

class HomeActivity : AppCompatActivity() {

  override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)

    val model: MainModel by viewModels()

    setContent {
      val navController = rememberNavController()
      model.navController = navController

      MyTheme {
        Scaffold {
          NavigationComponent(navController)
        }
      }
    }
  }

  override fun onNewIntent(intent: Intent?) {
    super.onNewIntent(intent)
    val model: MainModel by viewModels()

    model.navController.handleDeepLink(intent)
  }
}

Revamp

Not a great idea for testing purposes. – Australian

Richard, any better solusions are welcome here :) – Revamp

Already posted under Kamil's comment. – Australian