SDK overview

The shortkit Client SDK delivers production-grade short-form video feeds to your mobile and web applications. It handles video playback, adaptive streaming, engagement tracking, and ad integration while providing extensive customization options.

Capabilities

Video playback

Custom media pipelines with adaptive bitrate streaming, intelligent prefetch, and near-instant playback on swipe.

Feed UI

Configurable vertical or horizontal scrolling feeds with smooth transitions and gesture handling.

Engagement tracking

Automatic collection of impressions, watch time, completions, and interactions for analytics and personalization.

Ad integration

Native in-feed advertising via Google IMA SDK with configurable frequency and styling.

Theming

Full control over colors, fonts, and control styling to match your brand.

Extensibility

Custom overlay components, interaction hooks, and metadata pass-through for deep integration.

Supported platforms

Platform	Language	Distribution	Minimum Version
iOS	Swift	Swift Package Manager	iOS 14.0+
Android	Kotlin	Maven	Android 7.0+ (API 24)
React Native	TypeScript	npm	RN 0.70+
Expo	TypeScript	npm	Expo SDK 49+
Web	TypeScript	npm, CDN	Modern browsers

Player architecture

shortkit uses custom media pipelines optimized for short-form video performance:

iOS
Android
React Native
Web

Built on low-level AVFoundation APIs (AVSampleBufferDisplayLayer, AudioToolbox) rather than AVPlayer. This enables:

DASH protocol support - Not available with standard AVPlayer
Multi-codec ABR - AV1 + H.264 quality selection
Granular buffer control - Precise prefetch and read-ahead management
Frame-accurate seeking - Instant scrubber response

This architecture matches what companies like YouTube and Netflix use for their iOS players.

Protocol support

Protocol	iOS	Android	Web
HLS	Yes	Yes	Yes
DASH	Yes	Yes	Yes
Progressive MP4	Yes	Yes	Yes

For very short content (under 15 seconds), the SDK may use progressive MP4 instead of segmented streaming. The overhead of HLS/DASH segment negotiation can exceed the cost of downloading a small file outright.

Initialization

The SDK follows a consistent initialization pattern across platforms:

shortkit.initialize({
  apiKey: 'pk_live_your_publishable_key',
  config: FeedConfig,
  environment: 'production' | 'staging' | 'development',
  remoteConfigTTL: 300,      // Cache TTL in seconds (default: 5 min)
  remoteConfigTimeout: 2000  // Fetch timeout in ms (default: 2s)
});

Initialization is non-blocking. The feed begins rendering immediately with code-level defaults while remote configuration is fetched in the background.

Post-initialization methods

// Associate user identity for personalization
shortkit.setUserId('user_12345');

// Clear identity on logout (generates new anonymous ID)
shortkit.clearUserId();

Configuration hierarchy

The SDK uses a layered configuration model where each layer overrides the previous:

Code-level config - Passed at initialization, serves as baseline and fallback
Remote config overlay - Fetched from server, contains only overridden fields
A/B variants - Experiment-specific overrides included in remote config

If remote config fetch fails, the SDK gracefully falls back to cached config (if available) or code-level defaults. The feed never blocks waiting for configuration.

Feed rendering

Display the feed using platform-appropriate components:

import shortkit
import SwiftUI

struct VideoTab: View {
    var body: some View {
        ShortkitFeedView()
            .edgesIgnoringSafeArea(.all)
    }
}

import shortkit
import UIKit

class VideoViewController: UIViewController {
    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        let feedView = shortkit.createFeedView()
        feedView.frame = view.bounds
        view.addSubview(feedView)
    }
}

import dev.shortkit.compose.ShortkitFeed

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

import dev.shortkit.shortkit

class VideoActivity : AppCompatActivity() {
    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
        val feedView = shortkit.createFeedView(this)
        setContentView(feedView)
    }
}

import { ShortkitFeed } from '@shortkit/react-native';

export function VideoTab() {
  return <ShortkitFeed style={{ flex: 1 }} />;
}

import { ShortkitFeed } from '@shortkit/web/react';

export function VideoTab() {
  return <ShortkitFeed />;
}

Platform guides

iOS SDK

Swift integration with UIKit and SwiftUI support.

Android SDK

Kotlin integration with View and Compose support.

React Native SDK

Cross-platform integration for React Native and Expo.

Web SDK

Browser integration with React bindings.

Configuration guides

Feed configuration

Layout, controls, and behavior options.

Theming

Colors, fonts, and visual customization.

Deep linking

Shareable links and content navigation.

Engagement signals

Event collection and analytics integration.

Getting Started

Platform Guides

Configuration

Capabilities

Video playback

Feed UI

Engagement tracking

Ad integration

Theming

Extensibility

Supported platforms

Player architecture

Protocol support

Initialization

Post-initialization methods

Configuration hierarchy

Feed rendering

Platform guides

iOS SDK

Android SDK

React Native SDK

Web SDK

Configuration guides

Feed configuration

Theming

Deep linking

Engagement signals

Getting Started

Platform Guides

Configuration

​Capabilities

Video playback

Feed UI

Engagement tracking

Ad integration

Theming

Extensibility

​Supported platforms

​Player architecture

​Protocol support

​Initialization

​Post-initialization methods

​Configuration hierarchy

​Feed rendering

​Platform guides

iOS SDK

Android SDK

React Native SDK

Web SDK

​Configuration guides

Feed configuration

Theming

Deep linking

Engagement signals

Capabilities

Supported platforms

Player architecture

Protocol support

Initialization

Post-initialization methods

Configuration hierarchy

Feed rendering

Platform guides

Configuration guides