Schedule background jobs that run your JavaScript when your app is in the background or if you feel brave even in foreground.
The jobs will run even if the app has been closed and, by default, also persists over restarts.
This library relies on React Native's HeadlessJS
which is currently only supported on Android.
On the native side it uses either Firebase JobDispatcher
or a AlarmManager
.
Firebase JobDispatcher (default): The jobs can't be scheduled exactly and depending on the Android API version different period
time is allowed. FirebaseJobDispatcher
is the most battery efficient backward compatible way of scheduling background tasks.
AlarmManager by setting exact
to true
: Simple propriatery implementation that is only ment to be used while testing. It only cares about executing on time, all other parameters are ignored - job is not persisted on reboot.
Want iOS? Go in and vote for Headless JS to be implemented for iOS: Product pains
$ yarn add react-native-background-job
or
$ npm install react-native-background-job --save
$ react-native link react-native-background-job
Open up android/app/src/main/java/[...]/MainApplication.java
import com.pilloxa.backgroundjob.BackgroundJobPackage;
to the imports at the top of the file.new BackgroundJobPackage()
to the list returned by the getPackages()
method.Append the following lines to android/settings.gradle
:
include ':react-native-background-job'
project(':react-native-background-job').projectDir = new File(rootProject.projectDir, '../node_modules/react-native-background-job/android')
Insert the following lines inside the dependencies block in android/app/build.gradle
and bump the minSdkVersion to 21:
compile project(':react-native-background-job')
The jobs have to be registered each time React Native starts, this is done using the register
function. Since HeadlessJS does not mount any components the register
function must be run outside of any class definitions (see example/index.android.js)
Registering the job does not mean that the job is scheduled, it just informs React Native that this job
function should be tied to this jobKey
. The job is then scheduled using the schedule
function. By default, the job will not fire while the app is in the foreground. This is since the job is run on the only JavaScript thread and if running the job when app is in the foreground it would freeze the app. By setting allowExecutionInForeground
to true
you allow this behavior. It is recommended that you do't use this, but for quick jobs should be fine.
For a full example check out example/index.android.js
Registers the job and the functions they should run.
This has to run on each initialization of React Native and it has to run in the global scope and not inside any
component life cycle methods. See example project. Only registering the job will not schedule the job.
It has to be scheduled by schedule
to start running.
obj
Object
import BackgroundJob from 'react-native-background-job';
const backgroundJob = {
jobKey: "myJob",
job: () => console.log("Running in background")
};
BackgroundJob.register(backgroundJob);
Schedules a new job.
This only has to be run once while register
has to be run on each initialization of React Native.
obj
Object
obj.jobKey
string A unique key for the job that was used for registering, and be used for canceling in later stage.obj.timeout
number The amount of time (in ms) after which the React instance should be terminated regardless of whether the task has completed or not. (optional, default 2000
)obj.period
number The frequency to run the job with (in ms). This number is not exact, Android may modify it to save batteries. Note: For Android > N, the minimum is 900 0000 (15 min). (optional, default 900000
)obj.persist
boolean If the job should persist over a device restart. (optional, default true
)obj.override
boolean Whether this Job should replace pre-existing jobs with the same key. (optional, default true
)obj.networkType
number Only run for specific network requirements. (optional, default NETWORK_TYPE_NONE
)obj.requiresCharging
boolean Only run job when device is charging, (not respected by pre Android N devices) docs (optional, default false
)obj.requiresDeviceIdle
boolean Only run job when the device is idle, (not respected by pre Android N devices) docs (optional, default false
)obj.exact
boolean Schedule an job to be triggered precisely at the provided period. Note that this is not power-efficient way of doing things. (optional, default false
)obj.allowWhileIdle
boolean Allow the scheduled job to execute also while it is in doze mode. (optional, default false
)obj.allowExecutionInForeground
boolean Allow the scheduled job to be executed even when the app is in foreground. Use it only for short running jobs. (optional, default false
)obj.notificationText
string For Android SDK > 26, what should the notification text be (optional, default "Running in background..."
)obj.notificationTitle
string For Android SDK > 26, what should the notification title be (optional, default "Background job"
)import BackgroundJob from 'react-native-background-job';
const backgroundJob = {
jobKey: "myJob",
job: () => console.log("Running in background")
};
BackgroundJob.register(backgroundJob);
var backgroundSchedule = {
jobKey: "myJob",
}
BackgroundJob.schedule(backgroundSchedule)
.then(() => console.log("Success"))
.catch(err => console.err(err));
Cancel a specific job
import BackgroundJob from 'react-native-background-job';
BackgroundJob.cancel({jobKey: 'myJob'})
.then(() => console.log("Success"))
.catch(err => console.err(err));
Cancels all the scheduled jobs
import BackgroundJob from 'react-native-background-job';
BackgroundJob.cancelAll()
.then(() => console.log("Success"))
.catch(err => console.err(err));
Sets the global warning level
warn
boolean import BackgroundJob from 'react-native-background-job';
BackgroundJob.setGlobalWarnings(false);
Checks Whether app is optimising battery using Doze,returns Boolean.
callback
Callback gets called with according parameters after result is received from Android module.import BackgroundJob from 'react-native-background-job';
BackgroundJob.isAppIgnoringBatteryOptimization((err, isIgnoring) => console.log(`Callback: isIgnoring = ${isIgnoring}`))
.then(isIgnoring => console.log(`Promise: isIgnoring = ${isIgnoring}`))
.catch(err => console.err(err));
No task registered for key myJob
Make sure you call the register
function at the global scope (i.e. not in any component life cycle methods (render, iDidMount etc)). Since the components are not rendered in Headless mode if you run the register function there it will not run in the background and hence the library will not find which function to run.
See example project
AppState.currentState
is "active"
when I'm running my Headless task in the backgroundThis is a React Native issue, you can get around it by calling NativeModules.AppState.getCurrentAppState
directly instead.
requiresCharging
, requiresDeviceIdle
or a specific networkType
This is an Android issue, it seems that you can not have these restrictions at the same time as you have a periodic interval for pre Android N devices.
In Android SDK versions greater than 23, Doze is being used by apps by default, in order to optimize battery by temporarily turning off background tasks when the phone is left undisturbed for some hours.
But, some apps may require background tasks to keep running, ignoring doze and not optimizing battery (this means battery needs to be traded off for performance as per required). Apps that require continuous syncing of data to the server at short intervals of time are examples of such apps.
It would be good if the developer can check whether the app is optimizing battery. If it is, the user can be notified that the app would not perform as per expected and it will work properly only if the user manually removes it from the battery optimizing apps list which can be found in Settings-> Battery -> Options (button on top right) -> Battery Optimization and then selecting "All Apps" to change the battery optimization settings for the particular app.
The Changes that have been made are specifically for that purpose, a function (isAppIgnoringBatteryOptimization) has been included. It checks if the app is ignoring battery optimization and returns false if it is optimizing battery (in which case the user has to manually remove it from battery settings) and true otherwise.
Logic has also been added for scheduling the task by ignoring battery optimizations, if the app has been manually removed from the battery optimization list in settings (by the User).