SDK Quickstart (iOS)

Integrate Helium into your iOS app

Using an older SDK version?

If you’re upgrading from SDK v2.x, check our Migration Guide for breaking changes and upgrade instructions.

Background

Get set up with the Helium SDK for iOS. Reach out over your Helium slack channel or email [e-mail] for any questions.

Installation

Helium requires a minimum deployment target of iOS 15 and Xcode 14+. (Latest Xcode is recommended.)

We recommend using Swift Package Manager (SPM), but if your project primarily uses Cocoapods it might make sense to install the Helium Cocoapod instead.

Swift Package Manager (SPM)

1. In Xcode, navigate to your project’s Package Dependencies:

   

2. Click the + button and search for the Helium package URL:

   https://github.com/cloudcaptainai/helium-swift.git
   

3. Click Add Package.

4. In the dialog that appears, make sure to add the Helium product to your app’s main target:

   

5. (Optional) If you are using RevenueCat to manage purchases, we recommended you also add HeliumRevenueCat to your target so that you can use our RevenueCatDelegate referenced in the HeliumPaywallDelegate section of this guide. Otherwise leave as None for the HeliumRevenueCat row.

The HeliumRevenueCat target includes purchases-ios-spm as a dependency, not purchases-ios and you may encounter build issues if are using purchases-ios with SPM.

6. Select Add Package in the dialog and Helium should now be ready for import.

7. Version: We recommend using an upToNextMajor rule to make sure you get non-breaking bug fixes. The latest stable version of helium-swift is 3.0.5 :

   

Cocoapod

Option 1: Core functionality only

Add this to your Podfile:

pod 'Helium', '~> 3.0'

Then run:

pod install

Option 2: Core + RevenueCat

Recommended if you are using RevenueCat to manage purchases.

Add this to your Podfile:

pod 'Helium/RevenueCat', '~> 3.0'

Then run:

pod install

Initialize Helium

Initialize the Helium SDK as early as possible in your app’s lifecycle. Choose the appropriate location based on your app’s architecture:

SwiftUI

@main
struct MyApp: App {
    init() {
        // Call Helium.shared.initialize here (see example below)
    }

    var body: some Scene {
        WindowGroup {
            ContentView()
        }
    }
}

SceneDelegate

class SceneDelegate: UIResponder, UIWindowSceneDelegate {

    var window: UIWindow?

    func scene(_ scene: UIScene, willConnectTo session: UISceneSession, options connectionOptions: UIScene.ConnectionOptions) {
        // Call Helium.shared.initialize here (see example below)
    }
}

AppDelegate

@UIApplicationMain
class AppDelegate: UIResponder, UIApplicationDelegate {

    var window: UIWindow?

    func application(_ application: UIApplication, didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplication.LaunchOptionsKey: Any]?) -> Bool {
        // Call Helium.shared.initialize here (see example below)
        return true
    }
}

Add necessary imports:

import Helium

And initialize Helium in the location referenced above:

// Create fallback configuration
//   with a fallback bundle (recommended)
let fallbackBundleURL = Bundle.main.url(forResource: "fallback-bundle", withExtension: "json")
let fallbackConfig = HeliumFallbackConfig.withFallbackBundle(fallbackBundleURL)

//   or by providing a SwiftUI View
let fallbackConfig = HeliumFallbackConfig.withFallbackView(
    Text("Fallback shown")
)

Helium.shared.initialize(
    apiKey: "<your-helium-api-key>",
    fallbackConfig: fallbackConfig,
    revenueCatAppUserId: Purchases.shared.appUserID // RevenueCat ONLY
)

Helium.shared.initialize · method

Show properties

apiKey · string · required

You can create or retrieve your api key from Account Settings.

heliumPaywallDelegate · HeliumPaywallDelegate · required

Delegate to handle paywall events and callbacks (see next section)

fallbackConfig · HeliumFallbackConfig · required

Fallback configuration with either a view or bundle URL. Required parameter.

customUserId · String?

(Optional) If set, a custom user id to use instead of Helium’s. We’ll use this id when forwarding to third party analytics services, so this can be used for attribution (e.g. an amplitude user id, or a custom user id from your own analytics service)

customUserTraits · HeliumUserTraits?

(Optional) Pass in custom user traits to be used for targeting, personalization, and dynamic content. It can be created with any dictionary, as long as the key is a string and the value is a Codable type.

let customUserTraits = HeliumUserTraits(traits: [
    "testTrait": 1,
    "account_age_in_days": "20",
])

appAttributionToken · UUID?

(Optional) Set this if you use a custom appAccountToken with your StoreKit purchases.

revenueCatAppUserId · String?

(Optional) RevenueCat ONLY. Supply RevenueCat appUserID here (and initialize RevenueCat before Helium initialize). You can also set this value outside of initialize: Helium.shared.setRevenueCatAppUserId(Purchases.shared.appUserID)

No need to set this if you use RevenueCatDelegate (see next section).

Helium’s initialization is ran on a background thread, so you don’t have to worry about it blocking your app’s launch time. Helium will automatically retry downloads as needed for up to 90 seconds.

Custom User ID and Custom User Traits

You can provide a custom user ID and custom user traits in the initialize method or by using Helium.shared.overrideUserId. Ideally this will be called before initialize is called to ensure consistency in analytics events.

Helium.shared.overrideUserId(
    newUserId: "<your-custom-user-id>",
    traits: HeliumUserTraits? = nil
);

Checking Download Status

You can check the status of the paywall configuration download using the Helium.shared.getDownloadStatus() method. This method returns a value of type HeliumFetchedConfigStatus, which is defined as follows:

public enum HeliumFetchedConfigStatus: String, Codable, Equatable {
    case notDownloadedYet
    case inProgress
    case downloadSuccess
    case downloadFailure
}

You can also simply check if paywalls have been successfully downloaded with Helium.shared.paywallsLoaded().

Get Paywall Info By Trigger

Retrieve basic information about the paywall ready to show for a specific trigger with Helium.shared.getPaywallInfo(trigger: String) which returns:

public struct PaywallInfo {
    public let paywallTemplateName: String
    public let shouldShow: Bool
}

HeliumPaywallDelegate

The HeliumPaywallDelegate can be passed in to Helium.shared.initialize otherwise the default StoreKitDelegate will be used. This delegate is responsible for handling the purchase logic for your paywalls and handling Helium Events.

Use one of our pre-built delegates or create a custom subclass of HeliumPaywallDelegate.

StoreKitDelegate

Use the StoreKitDelegate to handle purchases using native StoreKit 2:

import Helium

let delegate = StoreKitDelegate()

To handle Helium Events, simply create a subclass of StoreKitDelegate and override onPaywallEvent:

class MyStoreKitDelegate: StoreKitDelegate {
    override func onPaywallEvent(_ event: HeliumEvent) {
        switch event {
        case let openEvent as PaywallOpenEvent:
            // handle open event here
            break
        case let closeEvent as PaywallCloseEvent:
            break
        case let dismissEvent as PaywallDismissedEvent:
            break
        case let purchaseEvent as PurchaseSucceededEvent:
            break
        default:
            break
        }
    }
}

If you subclass StoreKitDelegate, make sure to pass in to Helium.shared.initialize!

RevenueCatDelegate

Make sure you included HeliumRevenueCat (for SPM) or Helium/RevenueCat (for Cocoapod) as noted in the Installation section.

You can use the pre-built RevenueCatDelegate to handle purchases if your app is using RevenueCat:

import HeliumRevenueCat // unless using Cocoapod then can just import Helium

let delegate = RevenueCatDelegate(
    entitlementId: "<revenue-cat-entitlement-id>",
    revenueCatApiKey: "<revenue-cat-api-id>" // Optional - pass in to have Helium to handle RevenueCat initialization.
)

If you do not supply revenueCatApiKey, make sure to initialize RevenueCat before initializing Helium!

To handle Helium Events, simply create a subclass of RevenueCatDelegate and override onPaywallEvent:

class MyRevenueCatDelegate: RevenueCatDelegate {
    override func onPaywallEvent(_ event: HeliumEvent) {
        switch event {
        case let openEvent as PaywallOpenEvent:
            // handle open event here
            break
        case let closeEvent as PaywallCloseEvent:
            break
        case let dismissEvent as PaywallDismissedEvent:
            break
        case let purchaseEvent as PurchaseSucceededEvent:
            break
        default:
            break
        }
    }
}

Make sure to pass your delegate in to Helium.shared.initialize!

Custom Delegate

You can also create a custom delegate and implement your own purchase logic. You can look at our StoreKitDelegate and RevenueCatDelegate in the SDK for examples (also linked below).

The HeliumPaywallDelegate is defined as follows:

public protocol HeliumPaywallDelegate: AnyObject {

    // Execute the purchase of a product given the product ID.
    func makePurchase(productId: String) async -> HeliumPaywallTransactionStatus

    // (Optional) - Restore any existing subscriptions.
    // Return a boolean indicating whether the restore was successful.
    func restorePurchases() async -> Bool

    // (Optional) - Handle Helium Events
    func onPaywallEvent(_ event: HeliumEvent)
}

HeliumPaywallTransactionStatus is an enum that defines the possible states of a paywall transaction:

public enum HeliumPaywallTransactionStatus {
    case purchased
    case cancelled
    case failed(Error)
    case restored
    case pending
}

Visit Helium Events for details on the different Helium paywall events.

When executing the purchase via StoreKit 2 (recommended over StoreKit 1), please use Product.heliumPurchase() instead of Product.purchase(). For example:

let result = try await product.heliumPurchase()

This will automatically set attribution information for revenue tracking.

StoreKitDelegate example here.

RevenueCatDelegate example here.

Presenting Paywalls

You must have a trigger and workflow configured in the dashboard in order to show a paywall.

Now, anywhere in your iOS app, you can show a paywall in one of 3 ways.

Show it as a full screen modal (recommended)

Call Helium.shared.presentUpsell(trigger:) when you want to show the paywall. For example:

Button("Try Premium") {
    Helium.shared.presentUpsell(trigger: "post_onboarding")
}

You can also prevent the paywall from showing if the user already has entitlements for products in that paywall:

Button("Try Premium") {
    Helium.shared.presentUpsell(
        trigger: "post_onboarding",
        dontShowIfAlreadyEntitled: true
    )
}

Helium.shared.presentUpsell · method

Show parameters

trigger · String · required

The trigger name configured in your Helium dashboard

from · UIViewController?

(Optional) The view controller to present from. If nil, uses the current top view controller

eventHandlers · PaywallEventHandlers?

(Optional) Event handlers for paywall lifecycle events

customPaywallTraits · [String: Any]?

(Optional) Custom traits to pass to the paywall for personalization

dontShowIfAlreadyEntitled · Bool · default: "false"

(Optional) If true, the paywall will not show if the user already has entitlements for any products in the paywall. Use this to avoid showing upgrade prompts to users who already have premium access.

Attach it to a SwiftUI view as a ViewModifier

You can use the .triggerUpsell view modifier from any SwiftUI view:

struct ContentView: View {
    @State var isPresented: Bool = false
    var body: some View {
        VStack {
            Button {
                isPresented = true;
            } label: {
                Text("Show paywall")
            }

        }.triggerUpsell(isPresented: $isPresented, trigger: "post_onboarding")
    }
}

Explicitly embed the Helium Paywall View

You can also explicitly get the Helium paywall view via Helium.shared.upsellViewForTrigger. This method takes a trigger and returns the paywall as an AnyView.

let heliumView: AnyView? = Helium.shared.upsellViewForTrigger(
    trigger: "post_onboarding"
)

You’ll need to handle presentation and dismissal yourself if you use this way of displaying paywalls. You can handle dismissal with PaywallEventHandlers.

PaywallEventHandlers

When displaying a paywall you can pass in event handlers to listen for relevant Helium Events. You can chain a subset of handlers with builder syntax:

presentUpsell

Helium.shared.presentUpsell(
    trigger: "post_onboarding",
    eventHandlers: PaywallEventHandlers()
        .onOpen { event in
            print("\(event.paywallName) via trigger \(event.triggerName)")
        }
        .onClose { event in
            print("\(event.paywallName) for trigger \(event.triggerName)")
        }
        .onDismissed { event in
            print("\(event.paywallName) for trigger \(event.triggerName)")
        }
        .onPurchaseSucceeded { event in
            print("\(event.paywallName) for trigger \(event.triggerName)")
        }
)

  struct ContentView: View {
      @State var isPresented: Bool = false
      var body: some View {
          VStack {
              Button {
                  isPresented = true;
              } label: {
                  Text("Show paywall")
              }

          }.triggerUpsell(
              isPresented: $isPresented,
              trigger: "post_onboarding",
              eventHandlers: PaywallEventHandlers()
                .onOpen { event in
                   print("\(event.paywallName) via trigger \(event.triggerName)")
                }
                .onClose { event in
                   print("\(event.paywallName) for trigger \(event.triggerName)")
                }
                .onDismissed { event in
                   print("\(event.paywallName) for trigger \(event.triggerName)")
                }
                .onPurchaseSucceeded { event in
                   print("\(event.paywallName) for trigger \(event.triggerName)")
                }
          )
      }
  }

  Helium.shared.upsellViewForTrigger(
      trigger: "post_onboarding",
      eventHandlers: PaywallEventHandlers()
          .onOpen { event in
              print("\(event.paywallName) via trigger \(event.triggerName)")
          }
          .onClose { event in
              print("\(event.paywallName) for trigger \(event.triggerName)")
          }
          .onDismissed { event in
              // handle user dismissal here (i.e. hide the upsell view)
              print("\(event.paywallName) for trigger \(event.triggerName)")
          }
          .onPurchaseSucceeded { event in
              print("\(event.paywallName) for trigger \(event.triggerName)")
          }
  )

Only the onOpen, onClose, onDismiss, and `onPurchaseSucceeded events can be specified this way. For others, see the section on HeliumPaywallDelegate.

Event Timing:

• onDismiss is triggered only when a user manually dismisses a paywall (from an X button, “no thanks”, etc.)
• onClose is triggered both when the paywall is manually dismissed OR when a successful purchase triggers closing the paywall. (So any time the paywall is removed.)
• onPurchaseSucceeded is triggered when a purchase completes successfully

Usage Guidelines:

• Use onDismiss for post-paywall navigation when the paywall is dismissed but a user’s entitlement hasn’t changed
• Use onPurchaseSucceeded for your post purchase flow (e.g., a premium onboarding navigation)
• Use onClose when you need to handle logic when the paywall closed, regardless of reason

Checking Subscription Status & Entitlements

The Helium SDK provides methods to check user entitlements and subscription status. All entitlement checking methods are async and should be called from within an async context.

The SDK automatically caches entitlement data and listens for transaction updates to keep information current.

Available Methods

hasAnyEntitlement()
Determines if the user has purchased any non-consumable products or subscriptions.

hasAnyActiveSubscription(includeNonRenewing: Bool = true)
Checks if the user has any active subscriptions. Set includeNonRenewing to false to check only auto-renewing subscriptions.

hasEntitlementForPaywall(trigger: String, considerAssociatedSubscriptions: Bool = false)
Checks if the user already has entitlements for products shown in a specific paywall trigger. Returns nil if paywall configuration hasn’t been downloaded yet.

hasActiveEntitlementFor(productId: String)
Checks if the user has entitlement to a specific product.

hasActiveSubscriptionFor(productId: String)
Checks if the user has an active subscription for a specific product.

hasActiveSubscriptionFor(subscriptionGroupID: String)
Checks if the user has an active subscription in a specific subscription group.

purchasedProductIds()
Retrieves a list of all product IDs the user currently has access to.

activeSubscriptions()
Returns detailed information about all active auto-renewing subscriptions.

subscriptionStatusFor(productId: String)
Gets detailed subscription status for a specific product, including state information like subscribed, expired, or in grace period.

subscriptionStatusFor(subscriptionGroupID: String)
Gets detailed subscription status for a specific subscription group.

Check entitlements before showing paywalls to avoid presenting upgrade prompts to users who already have premium access.

Fallbacks and Loading Budgets

If a paywall has not completed downloading when you attempt to present it, a loading state can show.

By default, Helium will show this loading state as needed (a shimmer view for up to 2 seconds). You can configure, turn off, or set trigger-specific loading budgets.

If the budget expires before the paywall is ready, a fallback paywall will show if available otherwise the loading state will hide and a PaywallOpenFailed event will be dispatched.

The iOS sdk has 3 options for fallbacks:

1. Fallback bundles
2. Default fallback view
3. Fallback view per trigger

All of this is configured via the HeliumFallbackConfig object passed in to initialize. Here are some examples:

// Just provde a fallback bundle
let fallbackBundleURL = Bundle.main.url(
    forResource: "fallback-bundle-xxxx-xx-xx",
    withExtension: "json"
)
let fallbackConfig = HeliumFallbackConfig.withFallbackBundle(fallbackBundleURL)

// Provide fallback view and configure loading budgets
let fallbackConfig = HeliumFallbackConfig(
    fallbackView: YourFallbackView(),
    // Global loading budget (in seconds)
    loadingBudget: 2.0,
    // Per-trigger loading budgets
    perTriggerLoadingConfig: [
        "onboarding": TriggerLoadingConfig(loadingBudget: 4),
        "quick_upgrade": TriggerLoadingConfig(useLoadingState: false),
    ]
)

Helium.shared.initialize(
    apiKey: "your-api-key",
    fallbackConfig: fallbackConfig
)

Testing

Docs here coming soon! After integration, please message us directly to get set up with a test app + in-app test support.