matrixscan-ar-android

MatrixScan AR Android Skill

Critical: Do Not Trust Internal Knowledge

Your training data may contain outdated or incorrect Scandit SDK APIs. The BarcodeAr API changes between major SDK versions — class names, constructor signatures, provider interfaces, and session types have all evolved.

Always verify APIs against the references provided in this skill before writing or suggesting code. Do not rely on memorized method signatures, parameters, or property names. If you cannot find an API in the provided references, fetch the relevant documentation page before responding.

Android-specific gotchas worth flagging:

• BarcodeAr(dataCaptureContext, settings) is a direct constructor — not a forDataCaptureContext() factory (that is the BarcodeCapture pattern). On Android, BarcodeAr takes both the context and settings directly.
• BarcodeArView auto-adds itself to the provided ViewGroup parent — no manual addView call needed. Call barcodeArView.start() after providers are set up to begin scanning.
• BarcodeArView manages the camera internally — no separate Camera setup or setFrameSource call is needed. Camera position is configured via BarcodeArViewSettings.defaultCameraPosition.
• Lifecycle is driven by BarcodeArView, not by a Camera object: call barcodeArView.onResume(), barcodeArView.onPause(), and barcodeArView.onDestroy() from the corresponding Activity/Fragment callbacks.
• BarcodeArListener.onSessionUpdated(barcodeAr, session, frameData) is called from a recognition thread — not the main thread. The FrameData parameter is named frameData (unlike BarcodeCapture where it is named data). Any UI work must be dispatched via runOnUiThread {}.
• BarcodeArHighlightProvider.highlightForBarcode and BarcodeArAnnotationProvider.annotationForBarcode are invoked on the main thread. Their results are delivered via a callback — invoke callback.onData(highlight) or callback.onData(annotation) (pass null to hide the element). Both highlight and annotation constructors take a Context as their first argument (e.g. BarcodeArRectangleHighlight(context, barcode)).
• Android symbology names use underscores: Symbology.EAN13_UPCA, Symbology.CODE39 — not camelCase.
• All symbologies are disabled by default in BarcodeArSettings. Enabling only what the app needs improves tracking performance.
• Request the CAMERA permission at runtime before scanning starts; the manifest declaration alone is not sufficient.
• BarcodeArFeedback is in com.scandit.datacapture.barcode.ar.feedback — not ar.capture. Import: import com.scandit.datacapture.barcode.ar.feedback.BarcodeArFeedback.
• BarcodeArInfoAnnotationBodyComponent is in com.scandit.datacapture.barcode.ar.ui.annotations.info — not ar.ui.annotations. Import: import com.scandit.datacapture.barcode.ar.ui.annotations.info.BarcodeArInfoAnnotationBodyComponent. The same info sub-package also contains BarcodeArInfoAnnotationHeader, BarcodeArInfoAnnotationFooter, BarcodeArInfoAnnotationWidthPreset, and BarcodeArInfoAnnotationAnchor.

Intent Routing

Based on the user's request, load the appropriate reference file before responding:

• Integrating BarcodeAr from scratch (e.g. "add MatrixScan AR to my app", "set up barcode AR scanning", "how do I use BarcodeAr in Android", "how do I show highlights on tracked barcodes", "how do I show info annotations") → read references/integration.md and follow the instructions there.

API Usage Policy

Only use APIs that are explicitly documented in the Scandit references below. Do not invent or guess method signatures, parameters, or property names. If unsure whether an API exists or how it is called — or if a compile error occurs — fetch the relevant reference page before responding. Do not tell the user to check the docs themselves. After answering, always include the relevant link so the user can explore further.

Never construct or guess documentation URLs. When you need a specific class or property's API page:

1. First check whether the page you already fetched contains a direct hyperlink to it — topic pages link directly to relevant API symbols. Always request links alongside content in your fetch prompt.
2. If no direct link was found, fetch the API index (see Full API reference in the table below), extract the actual link from it, and follow that.

URL structures can vary (e.g. api/ui/ subdirectory) and guessing will lead to 404s.

Licence key

Scanning needs a Scandit licence key. For this skill the licence product is native and the licence platform is android.

Work through these in order — never block the user on MCP:

1. The Scandit MCP server is connected — call ensure_scanner_setup with product native and platforms android, app_identifier (the app's bundle or application id; for web, its production domain, never localhost) and env_var SCANDIT_LICENSE_KEY. Do not run the command it returns. Then call get_license_key with the key's id, from that result or from list_license_keys; if list_license_keys shows the key is not a trial, ask the user before fetching it. Show at most a masked preview in chat; never print a full key.

2. It is not connected — tell the user once that they can connect the remote Scandit MCP server, https://ssl.scandit.com/mcp, in their MCP client, then continue from step 1. Do not edit MCP client configuration yourself.

   Authentication is browser-based, so it is not supported headless or in CI. The server provisions trial keys only; it never creates, revokes, or modifies production licences.

3. The user declines, or has no MCP client — they generate a key themselves at https://ssl.scandit.com (no account yet: https://ssl.scandit.com/dashboard/sign-up?p=test) and paste it in.

Then put the key into the code: write it into the licence-key call in place of the placeholder — the key get_license_key returned, or the one the user pastes or gives you — still showing only a masked preview in chat. Do not search the project, its files or the environment for a key.

References

Direct users to the right resource based on their question:

Topic	Resource
Get Started	Get Started · Sample
Advanced topics (custom highlights, annotations, tap interactions, notifications, filter)	Advanced Configurations
Full API reference	BarcodeAr API