@config-plugins/apple-settings

@config-plugins/apple-settings

Config plugin to generate custom Apple settings UI.

https://github.com/expo/config-plugins/assets/9664363/8be449b3-9aab-440c-b736-b43b22155e82

Versioning

Ensure you use versions that work together!

expo	@config-plugins/apple-settings
53.0.0	^4.0.0
52.0.0	^3.0.0
51.0.0	^2.0.0
50.0.0	^1.0.0
49.0.0	^0.0.5

Install

This package cannot be used in the "Expo Go" app because it requires custom native code.

First install the package with yarn, npm, or npx expo install.

npx expo install @config-plugins/apple-settings

Example

This plugin accepts a nested JSON,

To use this plugin, create a new wrapper Config Plugin:

const {
  default: withAppleSettings,
  TextField,
  Switch,
  Slider,
  ChildPane,
  Group,
} = require("@config-plugins/apple-settings");

module.exports = (config) => {
  return withAppleSettings(config, {
    // The name of the .plist file to generate. Root is the default and must be provided.
    Root: {
      // The locales object is optional. If provided, it will be used to generate the localized .strings files.
      locales: {
        // The Apple locale code. This will be used to generate the .strings file.
        en: {
          // Name of the localized key.
          Name: "Text Field",
        },
      },
      // The page object is required. It will be used to generate the .plist file.
      // The contents will be converted directly to plist.
      page: {
        // The `PreferenceSpecifiers` defines the UI elements to generate.
        PreferenceSpecifiers: [
          // Helper models can be used to generate the UI elements using a syntax that's
          // similar to React Native.
          TextField({
            title: "Name",
            key: "name_preference",
            value: "",
            keyboardType: "Alphabet",
            autoCapitalize: "None",
            autoCorrect: "No",
          }),
          Switch({
            title: "Enabled",
            key: "enabled_preference",
            value: true,
          }),
          Slider({
            key: "slider_preference",
            value: 0.5,
          }),
          // Child panes can be used to create nested pages.
          ChildPane({
            title: "About",
          }),
        ],
      },
    },
    About: {
      page: {
        PreferenceSpecifiers: [
          Group({
            title: "About Info",
          }),
        ],
      },
    },
  });
};

API

The following helper models are available:

const {
  Title,
  TextField,
  Slider,
  Switch,
  ChildPane,

  // Avoid using these types as they're broken in iOS 18 on Apple's side.
  // Group,
  // MultiValue,
  // RadioGroup,
} = require("@config-plugins/apple-settings");

Types

PSGroupSpecifier (Group), PSRadioGroupSpecifier (RadioGroup), and PSMultiValueSpecifier (MultiValue) is broken in iOS 18 and causes no settings to show up. Related Apple thread, radar.

The entire Apple settings spec is typed according to the official docs and generated from a strict JSON schema.

import {
  // Settings plist object
  SettingsPlist,
  // Models
  PSGroupSpecifier,
  PSTextFieldSpecifier,
  PSToggleSwitchSpecifier,
  PSSliderSpecifier,
  PSChildPaneSpecifier,
  PSTitleValueSpecifier,
  PSMultiValueSpecifier,
  PSRadioGroupSpecifier,
  // Additional types
  AnyPreferenceSpecifier,
  UserInterfaceIdiom,
  ScalarType,
} from "@config-plugins/apple-settings";

Dynamic usage

The dynamic values can be interacted with using the Settings module from react-native:

import React from "react";
import { Button, Settings, StyleSheet, Text, View } from "react-native";

function useSetting(key: string) {
  const [value, setValue] = React.useState(() => Settings.get(key));
  React.useEffect(() => {
    let isMounted = true;
    const callback = Settings.watchKeys(key, () => {
      if (isMounted) {
        setValue(Settings.get(key));
      }
    });
    return () => {
      Settings.clearWatch(callback);
      isMounted = false;
    };
  }, [key]);

  return [
    value,
    (value) => {
      Settings.set({ [key]: value });
      setValue(value);
    },
  ];
}

const App = () => {
  const [data, setData] = useSetting("enabled_preference");

  return (
    <View style={styles.container}>
      <Text>Stored value:</Text>
      <Text style={styles.value}>{data}</Text>
      <Button
        onPress={() => {
          setData("Updated: " + Date.now());
        }}
        title="Update Setting"
      />
    </View>
  );
};

const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  container: {
    flex: 1,
    justifyContent: "center",
    alignItems: "center",
  },
  value: {
    fontSize: 24,
    marginVertical: 12,
  },
});

export default App;