Satori Defold Client Guide #

This client library guide will show you how to use the core Satori features in Defold.

Prerequisites #

Before proceeding ensure that you have:

The Satori client is packaged as part of the Nakama Defold SDK, but using Nakama is not required.

Full API documentation #

For the full API documentation please visit the API docs.

Add the client to your project #

Add the URL of a client release .zip as a library dependency to game.project. The client will now show up as a satori folder in your project.

Updates #

New versions of the Satori Defold Client and the corresponding improvements are documented in the Release Notes.

Getting started #

Learn how to get started using the Satori Client to manage your live game.

Satori client #

The Satori Client connects to a Satori Server and is the entry point to access Satori features. It is recommended to have one client per server per game.

To create a client pass in your server connection details:

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local satori = require "satori.satori"
local config = {
    host = "127.0.0.1",
    api_key = "apiKey",
    use_ssl = false,
    port = 7450
}
local client = satori.create_client(config)
API Keys
Create and rotate API keys in the Satori Settings page.

Authentication #

Authenticate users using the Satori Client via their unique ID.

When authenticating, you can optionally pass in any desired default_properties and/or custom_properties to be updated. If none are provided, the properties remain as they are on the server.

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local uuid = require "nakama.util.uuid"
local session = require "nakama.session"

local id = uuid()
local custom_properties = nil
local default_properties = nil
local jwt = client.authenticate(custom_properties, default_properties, id)
if jwt.token then
  print("Authenticated successfully")
  session.store(jwt, "satori")
  client.set_bearer_token(jwt.token)
else
  print("Error authenticating")
end

When authenticated the server responds with an auth token (JWT) which gets deserialized into a session table containing the authentication token, a refresh token and timestamps when the tokens expire.

Session lifecycle #

Sessions expire after five (5) minutes by default. Expiring inactive sessions is good security practice.

Satori provides ways to restore sessions, for example when players re-launch the game, or refresh tokens to keep the session active while the game is being played.

Use the auth and refresh tokens on the session object to restore or refresh sessions.

Store the tokens using the session module:

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local session = require "nakama.session"
session.store(jwt, "satori")

Restore and refresh a session without having to re-authenticate, unless the session has expired in which case re-authentication is required:

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local session = require "nakama.session"

local function authenticate()
  local jwt = session.restore("satori")
  -- refresh if the stored session token is about to expire!
  if jwt and session.is_token_expired_soon(jwt) and not session.is_refresh_token_expired(jwt) then
    print("Session has expired or is about to expire. Refreshing.")
    jwt = client.session_refresh(jwt.refresh_token)
  end
  -- login again if no session token is stored or it has expired
  if not jwt or session.is_refresh_token_expired(jwt) then
    print("Session does not exist or it has expired. Must reauthenticate.")
    local id = uuid()
    local custom_properties = nil
    local default_properties = nil
    jwt = client.authenticate(custom_properties, default_properties, id)
  end

  -- at this point we either have a valid session or no session at all
  if jwt then
    print("Session is valid. User is authenticated.")
    client.set_bearer_token(jwt.token)
    session.store(jwt, "satori")
    return true
  end

  print("No valid session. Authentication failed.")
  return false
end

Ending sessions #

Logout and end the current session:

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local jwt = session.restore("satori")
client.authenticate_logout(jwt.refresh_token, jwt.token)

Experiments #

Satori Experiments allow you to test different game features and configurations in a live game.

List the current experiments for this user:

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local experiments = client.get_experiments()

You can also specify an array of experiment names you wish to get:

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local experiments = client.get_experiments({ "ExperimentOne", "ExperimentTwo" })

Feature flags #

Satori feature flags allow you to enable or disable features in a live game.

Get a single flag #

Get a single feature flag for this user:

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local flag = client.get_flag({ "FlagName" })

Get all flags #

List the available feature flags for this user:

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local flags = client.get_flag()

Events #

Satori Events allow you to send data for a given user to the server for processing.

Metadata Limits
The maximum size of the metadata field is 4096 bytes.

Sending single events #

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local time = require "nakama.util.time"

local events_table = {
  satori.create_api_event(nil, nil, "gameFinished", time.now())
}
client.event(events_table)

Sending multiple events #

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local time = require "nakama.util.time"

local events_table = {
  satori.create_api_event(nil, nil, "adStarted", time.now()),
  satori.create_api_event(nil, nil, "appLaunched", time.now())
}
client.event(events_table)

Live events #

Satori Live Events allow you to deliver established features to your players on a custom schedule.

List all available live events:

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local live_events = client.get_live_events()

Identities #

Satori Identities identify individual players of your game and can be enriched with custom properties.

List an identity’s properties #

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local properties = client.list_properties()

Update an identity’s properties #

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local custom_properties = {
  { CustomPropertyKey = "CustomPropertyValue" },
  { AnotherCustomPropertyKey = "AnotherCustomPropertyValue" }
}

local default_properties = {
  { DefaultPropertyKey = "DefaultPropertyValue" },
  { AnotherDefaultPropertyKey = "AnotherDefaultPropertyValue" }
}

client.update_properties(custom_properties, default_properties)

You can immediately reevaluate the user’s audience memberships upon updating their properties by passing recompute as true:

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local recompute = true

client.update_properties(custom_properties, default_properties, recompute)

Identifying a session with a new ID #

If you want to submit events to Satori before a user has authenticated with the game server backend (e.g. Nakama) and has a User ID, you should authenticate with Satori using a temporary ID, such as the device’s unique identifier or a randomly generated one.

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-- If the user's device ID is already stored, grab that
local uuid = require "nakama.util.uuid"

local player_prefs = sys.load("mygame", "player_prefs")

-- If the device identifier is invalid then let's generate a unique one.
if not player_prefs.device_id then
    player_prefs.device_id = uuid()
    -- Save the user's device ID so it can be retrieved during a later play session for re-authenticating.
    sys.save("mygame", "player_prefs", player_prefs)
end

-- Authenticate with Satori
local satori_session = client.authenticate(nil, nil, player_prefs.device_id)
if satori_session.token then
    print("Authenticated with Satori")
else
    print("Error authenticating")
end

You can then submit events before the user has authenticated with the game backend.

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local events_table = {
  satori.create_api_event(nil, nil, "gameFinished", time.now())
}
client.event(events_table)

The user would then authenticate with the game backend and retrieve their User ID.

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local nakama_session = nakama.authenticate_email("example@heroiclabs.com", "password")
local user_id = nakama_session.user_id

Once a user has successfully authenticated, you should then call identify to enrich the current session and return a new session that should be used for submitting future events.

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local new_session = client.identify(custom_properties, default_properties, userId)

Note that the old session is no longer valid and cannot be used after this.

Deleting an identity #

Delete the calling identity and its associated data:

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client.delete_identity()

Messages #

Satori integrates with various messaging services to send messages to users via messages schedules. You can list a user’s messages, update a message’s status, and delete a message.

List messages #

List all messages for the calling identity:

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local limit = 10
local forward = true -- List messages oldest to newest

local messages = client.get_message_list(limit, forward)

Update message status #

Update the status of a message:

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local id = "messageId"
local consume_time = "2021-01-01T00:00:00Z"
local read_time = "2021-01-01T00:00:00Z"

local message = satori.create_api_message(consume_time, nil, nil, read_time)
client.update_message(session, id, message)

Delete message #

Delete a scheduled message:

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local id = "messageId"

client.delete_message(id)