Ti howtos

ti-howtos

Overview

Practical reference for Titanium SDK native integrations: device APIs, networking, persistence, native modules, platform-specific deep dives, and CI/CD. Reference-style — load the relevant file from references/ for deeper detail.

When to use

Use this skill when:

• The project contains tiapp.xml
• Implementing device features: GPS, camera, push notifications, sensors
• Adding maps: Google Maps v2 on Android or Map Kit on iOS
• Working with media: audio, video, image gallery, density assets
• Persisting data: SQLite, Properties, Filesystem, encrypted storage
• Networking: HTTPClient, sockets, SOAP, SSL/TLS, file uploads/downloads
• Embedding web content: WKWebView, local HTML, JS bridges
• Platform-specific work: Android Intents, iOS 17 privacy, Spotlight, iCloud, Core Motion, WatchKit, Siri
• Extending Titanium: Hyperloop, native modules, AndroidX migration
• CI/CD: Fastlane lanes, Appium UI tests, store deployment

Do NOT use for:

• Alloy MVC concepts, controllers, models, data binding (use alloy-guides)
• Alloy CLI, conditional views, custom XML tags, build hooks (use alloy-howtos)
• Titanium SDK fundamentals, tiapp.xml config basics, app distribution overview (use ti-guides)
• Looking up specific Titanium API signatures (use ti-api)
• Native module dependency updates (use ti-module-update)

Quick reference

Topic	Reference
GPS, distance filter, accuracy, geofencing	location-and-maps.md
Google Maps v2 on Android: API keys, Play Services	google-maps-v2.md
iOS Map Kit: 3D camera, system buttons, callouts	ios-map-kit.md
Push notifications (APNs / FCM), local alerts, interactive notifications	notification-services.md
HTTPClient lifecycle, JSON/XML, uploads, sockets, SOAP, SSL	remote-data-sources.md
Filesystem, SQLite, Properties, persistence strategy	local-data-sources.md
Binary data with Ti.Buffer, Ti.Codec, streams	buffer-codec-streams.md
Audio playback/recording, video, camera, gallery, density assets	media-apis.md
WKWebView, local/remote content, JS bridge	web-content-integration.md
Webpack build pipeline (Ti 9.1.0+), npm integration, @ alias	webpack-build-pipeline.md
Android Intents, broadcast permissions, background services	android-platform-deep-dives.md
iOS 17 privacy, silent push, Spotlight, Handoff, iCloud, Core Motion, WatchKit, Siri	ios-platform-deep-dives.md
Hyperloop, native Proxy/View modules, AndroidX migration	extending-titanium.md
Memory management, leak detection, native debugging tools	debugging-profiling.md
Fastlane lanes, Appium UI testing, store deployment	automation-fastlane-appium.md
Cross-platform strategy: shared vs platform-specific code	cross-platform-development.md
End-to-end tutorials: REST APIs, camera, geolocation, controller chaining, Fastlane	tutorials.md
Obtaining, installing, and configuring native modules	using-modules.md

Key practices

iOS permissions

Required tiapp.xml keys for common features:

• Location: NSLocationWhenInUseUsageDescription or NSLocationAlwaysAndWhenInUseUsageDescription
• Motion activity: NSMotionUsageDescription
• Camera: NSCameraUsageDescription
• Photo library: NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription (read) and NSPhotoLibraryAddUsageDescription (write)
• Microphone: NSMicrophoneUsageDescription
• iOS 17+: PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy for UserDefaults and File Timestamps (see ios-platform-deep-dives.md)

Android resource management

• Stop background services explicitly when no longer needed
• Use distanceFilter and FusedLocationProvider (requires ti.playservices) for battery-efficient location
• Intent filters: copy the root activity to tiapp.xml, then add action / data / category

Data and networking

• HTTPClient: handle both onload and onerror — never just one
• SQLite: close both db and resultSet to avoid locks
• Filesystem: check isExternalStoragePresent() before using SD card storage
• Binary data: use Ti.Buffer and Ti.Codec for byte-level work; BufferStream / FileStream / BlobStream for chunked I/O

Media and memory

• Camera / gallery: use imageAsResized to reduce memory pressure
• Audio: handle pause / resume for streaming interruptions
• WebView: avoid embedding inside TableView; set touchEnabled=false if needed
• Video: Android requires fullscreen; iOS supports embedded players

Platform-specific properties need modifiers

Using Ti.UI.iOS.* or Ti.UI.Android.* without platform modifiers can break cross-platform builds.

// Wrong — adds Ti.UI.iOS to Android build
const win = Ti.UI.createWindow({
  statusBarStyle: Ti.UI.iOS.StatusBar.LIGHT_CONTENT
});

TSS modifier (Alloy):

"#mainWindow[platform=ios]": {
  statusBarStyle: Ti.UI.iOS.StatusBar.LIGHT_CONTENT
}

Conditional code:

if (OS_IOS) {
  $.mainWindow.statusBarStyle = Ti.UI.iOS.StatusBar.LIGHT_CONTENT;
}

Common offenders:

• iOS: statusBarStyle, modalStyle, modalTransitionStyle, any Ti.UI.iOS.* constant
• Android: actionBar config, any Ti.UI.Android.* constant

Related skills

Task	Use this skill
Alloy MVC concepts, controllers, models, data binding	alloy-guides
Alloy CLI, custom tags, build hooks, conditional views	alloy-howtos
Titanium SDK fundamentals, tiapp.xml, app distribution	ti-guides
Look up Titanium API properties, methods, events	ti-api
Native module dependency updates	ti-module-update