Android SDK

The shortkit Android SDK provides a native video feed experience built on Media3/ExoPlayer with custom extensions for optimal short-form video performance.

Requirements

Android 7.0 (API level 24) or later
Kotlin 1.8 or later
Android Gradle Plugin 8.0 or later

Installation

Add the shortkit Maven repository and dependency to your project.

settings.gradle.kts

dependencyResolutionManagement {
    repositories {
        google()
        mavenCentral()
        maven { url = uri("https://maven.shortkit.dev") }
    }
}

build.gradle.kts (app)

build.gradle.kts

dependencies {
    implementation("dev.shortkit:shortkit-android:1.0.0")

    // Optional: Jetpack Compose support
    implementation("dev.shortkit:shortkit-compose:1.0.0")
}

Initialization

Initialize the SDK in your Application class:

MyApplication.kt

import android.app.Application
import dev.shortkit.shortkit
import dev.shortkit.ShortkitConfig
import dev.shortkit.FeedOrientation
import dev.shortkit.FeedHeight
import dev.shortkit.Environment

class MyApplication : Application() {

    override fun onCreate() {
        super.onCreate()

        val config = ShortkitConfig(
            feedOrientation = FeedOrientation.VERTICAL,
            feedHeight = FeedHeight.FULLSCREEN,
            controls = ControlsConfig(
                playPause = true,
                scrubber = true,
                playbackSpeed = PlaybackSpeedConfig(
                    enabled = true,
                    options = listOf(1.0f, 1.25f, 1.5f, 2.0f)
                ),
                captions = CaptionConfig(enabled = true, defaultOn = false),
                volume = true,
                share = ShareConfig(enabled = true)
            ),
            theme = ThemeConfig(
                primaryColor = "#FF6600",
                controlsTint = "#FFFFFF",
                backgroundColor = "#000000"
            )
        )

        shortkit.initialize(
            context = this,
            apiKey = "pk_live_your_publishable_key",
            config = config,
            environment = Environment.PRODUCTION
        )
    }
}

AndroidManifest.xml

<application
    android:name=".MyApplication"
    ...>

Displaying the feed

Jetpack Compose

Use the ShortkitFeed composable:

VideoFeedScreen.kt

import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.fillMaxSize
import androidx.compose.runtime.Composable
import androidx.compose.ui.Modifier
import dev.shortkit.compose.ShortkitFeed

@Composable
fun VideoFeedScreen() {
    ShortkitFeed(
        modifier = Modifier.fillMaxSize()
    )
}

With filters:

FilteredFeedScreen.kt

import dev.shortkit.compose.ShortkitFeed
import dev.shortkit.FeedFilter

@Composable
fun SportsFeedScreen() {
    ShortkitFeed(
        modifier = Modifier.fillMaxSize(),
        filter = FeedFilter(tags = listOf("sports", "highlights"))
    )
}

XML Views

Add the feed view to your layout:

activity_video_feed.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<FrameLayout
    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent">

    <dev.shortkit.ui.ShortkitFeedView
        android:id="@+id/feedView"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="match_parent" />

</FrameLayout>

VideoFeedActivity.kt

import android.os.Bundle
import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity
import dev.shortkit.ui.ShortkitFeedView

class VideoFeedActivity : AppCompatActivity() {

    private lateinit var feedView: ShortkitFeedView

    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_video_feed)

        feedView = findViewById(R.id.feedView)
    }

    override fun onResume() {
        super.onResume()
        feedView.resume()
    }

    override fun onPause() {
        super.onPause()
        feedView.pause()
    }
}

Programmatic creation

import dev.shortkit.shortkit

class VideoFeedActivity : AppCompatActivity() {

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

        val feedView = shortkit.createFeedView(this)
        setContentView(feedView)
    }
}

User identity

Associate user identity for personalized feeds:

// When user logs in
shortkit.setUserId("user_12345")

// When user logs out
shortkit.clearUserId()

Event listeners

Set up listeners to respond to SDK events:

import dev.shortkit.shortkit
import dev.shortkit.ShortkitListener
import dev.shortkit.Content
import dev.shortkit.ShortkitError

class VideoFeedActivity : AppCompatActivity() {

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

        shortkit.listener = object : ShortkitListener {

            override fun onShareRequested(content: Content) {
                val shareIntent = Intent(Intent.ACTION_SEND).apply {
                    type = "text/plain"
                    putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_TEXT, content.shareUrl)
                }
                startActivity(Intent.createChooser(shareIntent, "Share via"))
            }

            override fun onActionTapped(action: String, content: Content) {
                when (action) {
                    "bookmark" -> handleBookmark(content)
                    "readMore" -> navigateToArticle(content)
                }
            }

            override fun onError(error: ShortkitError) {
                Log.e("shortkit", "Error: ${error.message}")
            }

            override fun onMetadataLoaded(content: Content, metadata: Map<String, Any>) {
                // Access custom metadata from your CMS
                val articleUrl = metadata["articleUrl"] as? String
            }
        }
    }
}

With Compose, use the callback parameters:

@Composable
fun VideoFeedScreen() {
    val context = LocalContext.current

    ShortkitFeed(
        modifier = Modifier.fillMaxSize(),
        onShareRequested = { content ->
            val shareIntent = Intent(Intent.ACTION_SEND).apply {
                type = "text/plain"
                putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_TEXT, content.shareUrl)
            }
            context.startActivity(Intent.createChooser(shareIntent, "Share"))
        },
        onActionTapped = { action, content ->
            // Handle custom actions
        },
        onError = { error ->
            // Handle errors
        }
    )
}

Deep linking

Handle deep links to open specific content:

MainActivity.kt

import android.content.Intent
import android.os.Bundle
import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity
import dev.shortkit.shortkit

class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity() {

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

    override fun onNewIntent(intent: Intent?) {
        super.onNewIntent(intent)
        intent?.let { handleIntent(it) }
    }

    private fun handleIntent(intent: Intent) {
        val data = intent.data ?: return

        // Parse your deep link format
        // e.g., yourapp.com/watch/cnt_abc123
        if (data.pathSegments.contains("watch")) {
            val contentId = data.lastPathSegment
            contentId?.let {
                shortkit.openContent(it)
            }
        }
    }
}

Configure your intent filter in AndroidManifest.xml:

AndroidManifest.xml

<activity android:name=".MainActivity">
    <intent-filter android:autoVerify="true">
        <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="yourapp.com"
            android:pathPrefix="/watch" />
    </intent-filter>
</activity>

Picture-in-Picture

Enable PiP for background playback:

val config = ShortkitConfig(
    controls = ControlsConfig(
        pictureInPicture = true
    )
)

The SDK handles PiP transitions automatically. You can also trigger it programmatically:

shortkit.enterPictureInPicture()

Chromecast

Enable Chromecast support:

val config = ShortkitConfig(
    controls = ControlsConfig(
        chromecast = true
    )
)

Add the Cast SDK dependency:

build.gradle.kts

dependencies {
    implementation("com.google.android.gms:play-services-cast-framework:21.4.0")
}

Create a mini-player widget for other screens:

HomeFragment.kt

import dev.shortkit.shortkit
import dev.shortkit.EntryWidgetConfig
import dev.shortkit.EntryWidgetStyle

class HomeFragment : Fragment() {

    override fun onViewCreated(view: View, savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onViewCreated(view, savedInstanceState)

        val widgetConfig = EntryWidgetConfig(
            style = EntryWidgetStyle.THUMBNAIL_ROW,
            itemCount = 5,
            autoPlay = true
        )

        val widget = shortkit.createEntryWidget(requireContext(), widgetConfig)
        widget.layoutParams = ViewGroup.LayoutParams(
            ViewGroup.LayoutParams.MATCH_PARENT,
            200.dpToPx()
        )

        widget.setOnContentSelectedListener { content ->
            // Launch full feed at selected content
            val intent = Intent(context, VideoFeedActivity::class.java)
            intent.putExtra("startContentId", content.id)
            startActivity(intent)
        }

        binding.widgetContainer.addView(widget)
    }
}

With Compose:

import dev.shortkit.compose.ShortkitEntryWidget

@Composable
fun HomeScreen(onVideoSelected: (String) -> Unit) {
    Column {
        // Other content...

        ShortkitEntryWidget(
            modifier = Modifier
                .fillMaxWidth()
                .height(200.dp),
            style = EntryWidgetStyle.THUMBNAIL_ROW,
            itemCount = 5,
            onContentSelected = { content ->
                onVideoSelected(content.id)
            }
        )
    }
}

Custom overlays

shortkit.registerOverlay(
    identifier = "articleCard",
    viewProvider = { context, content, metadata ->
        ArticleCardView(context).apply {
            setHeadline(metadata["headline"] as? String)
            setSource(metadata["source"] as? String)
        }
    }
)

With Compose:

shortkit.registerOverlay(
    identifier = "articleCard",
    composableProvider = { content, metadata ->
        ArticleCard(
            headline = metadata["headline"] as? String ?: "",
            source = metadata["source"] as? String ?: ""
        )
    }
)

ProGuard rules

If using ProGuard/R8, add these rules:

proguard-rules.pro

-keep class dev.shortkit.** { *; }
-keepclassmembers class dev.shortkit.** { *; }

Debug logging

Enable verbose logging during development:

shortkit.initialize(
    context = this,
    apiKey = "pk_live_your_publishable_key",
    config = config,
    environment = Environment.DEVELOPMENT  // Enables debug logging
)

// Or explicitly set log level
shortkit.logLevel = LogLevel.VERBOSE

Getting Started

Platform Guides

Configuration

Requirements

Installation

settings.gradle.kts

build.gradle.kts (app)

Initialization

Displaying the feed

Jetpack Compose

XML Views

Programmatic creation

User identity

Event listeners

Deep linking

Picture-in-Picture

Chromecast

Entry widget

Custom overlays

ProGuard rules

Debug logging

Next steps

Configuration

Theming

Getting Started

Platform Guides

Configuration

​Requirements

​Installation

​settings.gradle.kts

​build.gradle.kts (app)

​Initialization

​Displaying the feed

​Jetpack Compose

​XML Views

​Programmatic creation

​User identity

​Event listeners

​Deep linking

​Picture-in-Picture

​Chromecast

​Entry widget

​Custom overlays

​ProGuard rules

​Debug logging

​Next steps

Configuration

Theming

Requirements

Installation

settings.gradle.kts

build.gradle.kts (app)

Initialization

Displaying the feed

Jetpack Compose

XML Views

Programmatic creation

User identity

Event listeners

Deep linking

Picture-in-Picture

Chromecast

Entry widget

Custom overlays

ProGuard rules

Debug logging

Next steps