# Integrating Sentinel in Android applications

> Add the Persona Sentinel SDK to an Android project with Gradle, declare the required permission, then build and trigger a Sentinel event.

Source: https://help.withpersona.com/articles/BbLOYiPtcRzaPAeDE7lUGj/
Section: Sentinel > Introduction > Integrating Sentinel

This guide covers how to add the Persona Sentinel SDK to your Android project and how to use the SDK.

## Requirements

Your application needs a `minSdkVersion` set to API 23 (Android 6.0, Marshmallow) or higher.

## Adding Persona to your project

In your `app/build.gradle` file (or wherever you plan on using the SDK), include the following:

### Kotlin

```kotlin
repositories {
  // ...
  maven {
    url = uri("https://sdk.withpersona.com/android/releases")
  }
}

android {
  // ...
  compileOptions {
    sourceCompatibility = JavaVersion.VERSION_17
    targetCompatibility = JavaVersion.VERSION_17
  }
}

dependencies {
  // ...
  implementation("com.withpersona.sdk2:sentinel:X.Y.Z")
  // ...
}
```

### Groovy

```groovy
repositories {
  // ...
  maven {
    url 'https://sdk.withpersona.com/android/releases'
  }
}

android {
  // ...
  compileOptions {
    sourceCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_17
    targetCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_17
  }
}

dependencies {
  // ...
  implementation 'com.withpersona.sdk2:sentinel:X.Y.Z'
  // ...
}
```

### Required permissions

Our manifest files declare the following permission:

```xml
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
```

### Versioning

If you're also using the Inquiries Android SDK, make sure both implementations use the same SDK version.

## Usage

The Persona Sentinel SDK collects passive signals from customers via events. The following sections describe how to configure and trigger a Sentinel event.

### Triggering a Sentinel event

The `Sentinel` object is used to build and trigger an event.

```kotlin
Sentinel
    .newEventBuilder(
        clientToken = CLIENT_TOKEN,
        transactionTypeId = TRANSACTION_TYPE_ID,
    )
    .contextString()  // an optional string
    .identifiers()    // an optional array of strings
    .environmentId()  // an optional Persona environment ID: defaults to your production environment.
    .accountReferenceId("...") // optionally include account reference id for this event
    .autoCreateAccount(true)  // an optional boolean: defaults to true. Controls whether an account is automatically created.
    .autoCreateAccountTypeId("acttp_...")  // an optional account type token: defaults to the transaction type's configured default account type.
    .build()
    .trigger(context)
```

You can trigger events using one of two methods:

- **[Preferred]** `trigger(Context)` triggers the event immediately, but it is a suspending function. It returns a `kotlin.Result` object you can use to determine whether the event was logged successfully.
- `triggerAsync(context)` also requires a `Context` and logs the event asynchronously without blocking the calling thread.