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Installation

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Before developing your application with the Navigation SDK v3, you’ll need to configure your credentials and add the SDK as a dependency.

Part 1: Create and configure your credentials​

To download and install the iOS SDK, follow the steps below. Start by logging into your Mapbox account, then create and configure a secret access token, and lastly add your public access token to your Info.plist.

Step 1: Log in/Sign up for a Mapbox account​

If you haven't done so already, sign up for a Mapbox account and log into it.

You can sign up or sign in by clicking the buttons in the top right corner of your browser.

This account will allow you to create tokens and will create a default public token for you upon creation.

Step 2: Create a secret token​

A secret token can enable access to various products/services at Mapbox, including the ability to download an SDK. To allow download access to an SDK, follow these steps:

  1. From your account's tokens page, click the Create a token button.
  2. From the token creation page, give your token a name and make sure the box next to the Downloads:Read scope is checked.
  3. Click the Create token button at the bottom of the page to create your token.
  4. The token you've created is a secret token, which means you will only have one opportunity to copy it somewhere secure.
Protect secret access tokens

Store secret tokens in secure a location, outside of your project folder to make sure unauthorized users cannot find it.

Step 3: Configure your secret token​

To use your secret token, you will need to store it in a .netrc file in your home directory (not your project folder). This approach helps avoid accidentally exposing your secret token by keeping it out of your application's source code.

To create a .netrc file follow these steps:

Step 3-1: Check if you have already created a .netrc file on your computer.

  1. Go to your home directory.
  2. Type file .netrc into your terminal and see if anything returns.
  3. If you have a .netrc file already, skip step 3-2.

Step 3-2: Create the .netrc file.

  1. Open up your terminal in your home directory.
  2. Type touch .netrc.

Step 3-3: Open the .netrc file.

  • Type open .netrc from the same terminal window from Step 3-2

Step 3-4: Add login instructions to the .netrc

To set up the credentials required to download the SDK, add the following entry to your .netrc file:

machine api.mapbox.com
login mapbox
password <INSERT SECRET ACCESS TOKEN>

Step 3-5: Set .netrc file permissions

  1. Go to your home directory: /Users/[CurrentUser].
    • If you do not see the .netrc file, press Command + Shift + .(the period key).
  2. Right click on the .netrc.
  3. Click Get Info.
  4. Scroll down to Sharing & Permissions.
  5. Under your current username, make sure to set Privilege to Read & Write.

Step 4: Configure your public token​

To configure your public access token, follow these steps:

  1. Open your project's Info.plist file
  2. Hover over a key and click the plus button
  3. Type MBXAccessToken into the key field
  4. Click the value field and paste in your public access token.
Rotating Tokens

When you need to rotate your access token, you will need to update the token value in your Info.plist file.

GUIDE
Access token best practices

Learn how to keep access tokens private in mobile apps.

Part 2: Add the dependency​

Users expect the SDK to continue to track the user’s location and deliver audible instructions even while a different application is visible or the device is locked. To do this, go to the Signing & Capabilities tab. Under the Background Modes section, enable “Audio, AirPlay, and Picture in Picture” and “Location updates”. (Or, add the audio and location values to the UIBackgroundModes array in the Info tab.)

Currently, Mapbox provides the SDK via Swift Package Manager in the form of dynamic xcframeworks. If you don't plan to use Swift Package Manager you can still integrate xcframeworks directly to your app, but it complicates the versioning.

The Mapbox Navigation v3 can be consumed via Swift Package Manager (SPM). To add it with SPM, you will need to configure your environment to download it from Mapbox. This requires a Mapbox access token with the Downloads:Read scope. In a previous step, you added this token to your .netrc file.

You can add the dependency to either an application or another package.

Option 1: Add to an application​

  1. Open your Xcode project or workspace, then go to File > > Add Packages.
  2. Enter https://github.com/mapbox/mapbox-navigation-ios.git as the URL and press Enter to pull in the package.
  3. Set Dependency Rule to Up to Next Major Version and enter 3.2.0 as the minimum version. Click Add Package.
  4. Once Xcode finishes fetching and checking out all the dependencies, select the MapboxNavigationCore library. Click Next.
  5. In your code, you can now import MapboxNavigationCore.

Option 2: Add to an another package​

To install the MapboxNavigation framework in another package rather than in an application, run swift package init to create a Package.swift, or click File > New > Package. Then, add the following dependency:

.package(url: "https://github.com/mapbox/mapbox-navigation-ios.git", from: "3.2.0")

Notes

  • If you need to update your packages, you can click on File > Swift Packages > Update To Latest Package Versions.
  • Sometimes, artifacts cannot be resolved or errors can occur, in this case select File > Swift Packages > Reset Package Cache.
TROUBLESHOOTING
Running into problems installing?

Read more about common installation issues in our troubleshooting guide.

Public examples​

For further guidance on how to integrate Navigation SDK v3 into your own application, explore our public examples.

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