Clay

Clay is a JavaScript library that makes it easy to add offline configuration pages to your Pebble apps. All you need to get started is a couple lines of JavaScript and a JSON file; no servers or HTML required.

Clay will by default automatically handle the 'showConfiguration' and 'webviewclosed' events traditionally implemented by developers to relay configuration settings to the watch side of the app. This step is not required when using Clay, since each config item is given the same appKey as defined in appinfo.json (or PebbleKit JS Message Keys on CloudPebble), and is automatically transmitted once the configuration page is submitted by the user. Developers can override this behavior by implementing a custom function.

Clay is still in early development and may be missing some features. We would love your feedback! Pease submit any ideas or features via GitHub Issues.

Getting Started (SDK)

Clay will eventually be built into the Pebble SDK. However, while it is still in beta you will need to follow the steps shown below:

1. Download the Clay distribution file from: dist/clay.js.
2. Drop clay.js in your project's src/js directory.
3. Create a JSON file called config.json and place it in your src/js directory.
4. In order for JSON files to work you may need to change a line in your wscript from ctx.pbl_bundle(binaries=binaries, js=ctx.path.ant_glob('src/js/**/*.js')) to ctx.pbl_bundle(binaries=binaries, js=ctx.path.ant_glob(['src/js/**/*.js', 'src/js/**/*.json'])).
5. Your app.js file needs to require clay and your config file, then be initialized. Clay will by default automatically handle the 'showConfiguration' and 'webviewclosed' events. Copy and paste the following into the top of your app.js file:

var Clay = require('clay');
var clayConfig = require('config.json');
var clay = new Clay(clayConfig);

6. Next is the fun part - creating your config page. Edit your config.js file to build a layout of elements as described in the sections below.

Getting Started (CloudPebble)

Clay will eventually be built into CloudPebble. However while it is still in beta, you will need to follow some steps

1. Create a new JavaScript file called clay.js.
2. Copy the contents of the Clay distribution file from dist/clay.js into your newly created clay.js file.
3. Create another JavaScript file called config.js with the following content. This will act as your config's root array element, from which the rest of the page is built up:

module.exports = [];

4. Your app.js file needs to require clay and your config file, then be initialized. Clay will by default automatically handle the 'showConfiguration' and 'webviewclosed' events. Copy and paste the following into the top of your app.js file:

var Clay = require('clay');
var clayConfig = require('config');
var clay = new Clay(clayConfig);

5. Next is the fun part - creating your config page. Edit your config.js file to build a layout of elements as described in the sections below.

Creating Your Config File

Clay uses JavaScript object notation (or JSON) to generate the config page for you. The structure of the page is up to you, but you do need to follow some basic rules.

Basic Config Structure

Your root element must be an array. This represents the entire page. Inside this array you place your config items. Each config item is an object with some properties that configure how each item should be displayed.

Example

[
  { 
    "type": "heading", 
    "defaultValue": "Example Header Item" 
  }, 
  { 
    "type": "text", 
    "defaultValue": "Example text item." 
  }
]

Components

Section

Sections help divide up the page into logical groups of items. It is recommended that you place all your input-based items in at least one section.

Properties

Property	Type	Description
type	string	Set to section.
items	array	Array of items to include in this section.

Example

{
  "type": "section",
  "items": [
    {
      "type": "heading",
      "defaultValue": "This is a section"
    },
    {
      "type": "input",
      "appKey": "email",
      "label": "Email Address"
    },
    {
      "type": "toggle",
      "appKey": "enableAnimations",
      "label": "Enable Animations"
    }
  ]
}

---

Heading

Manipulator: html

Headings can be used in anywhere and can have their size adjusted to suit the context. If you place a heading item at the first position of a section's items array then it will automatically be styled as the header for that section.

Properties

Property	Type	Description
type	string	Set to heading.
id	string (unique)	Set this to a unique string to allow this item to be looked up using Clay.getItemsById() in your custom function.
appKey	string (unique)	The AppMessage key matching the appKey item defined in your appinfo.json. Set this to a unique string to allow this item to be looked up using Clay.getItemsByAppKey() in your custom function. You must set this if you wish for the value of this item to be persisted after the user closes the config page.
defaultValue	string/HTML	The heading's text.
size	int	Defaults to 4. An integer from 1 to 6 where 1 is the largest size and 6 is the smallest. (represents HTML <h1>, <h2>, <h3>, etc).

Example

{
  "type": "heading",
  "id": "main-heading",
  "defaultValue": "My Cool Watchface",
  "size": 1
}

---

Text

Manipulator: html

Text is used to provide descriptions of sections or to explain complex parts of your page. Feel free to add any extra HTML you require to the defaultValue

Properties

Property	Type	Description
type	string	Set to text.
id	string (unique)	Set this to a unique string to allow this item to be looked up using Clay.getItemsById() in your custom function.
appKey	string (unique)	The AppMessage key matching the appKey item defined in your appinfo.json. Set this to a unique string to allow this item to be looked up using Clay.getItemsByAppKey() in your custom function. You must set this if you wish for the value of this item to be persisted after the user closes the config page.
defaultValue	string/HTML	The content of the text element.

Example

{
  "type": "text",
  "defaultValue": "This will be displayed in the text element!",
}

---

Input

Manipulator: val

Standard text input field.

Properties

Property	Type	Description
type	string	Set to input.
id	string (unique)	Set this to a unique string to allow this item to be looked up using Clay.getItemsById() in your custom function.
appKey	string (unique)	The AppMessage key matching the appKey item defined in your appinfo.json. Set this to a unique string to allow this item to be looked up using Clay.getItemsByAppKey() in your custom function. You must set this if you wish for the value of this item to be persisted after the user closes the config page.
label	string	The label that should appear next to this item.
defaultValue	string	The default value of the input field.
attributes	object	An object containing HTML attributes to set on the input field. You can add basic HTML5 validation this way by setting attributes such as required or type.

Example

{
  "type": "input",
  "appKey": "email",
  "defaultValue": "",
  "label": "Email Address",
  "attributes": {
    "placeholder": "eg: name@domain.com",
    "limit": 10,
    "required": "required",
    "type": "email"
  }
}

---

Toggle

Manipulator: checked

Switch for a single item.

Properties

Property	Type	Description
type	string	Set to toggle.
id	string (unique)	Set this to a unique string to allow this item to be looked up using Clay.getItemsById() in your custom function.
appKey	string (unique)	The AppMessage key matching the appKey item defined in your appinfo.json. Set this to a unique string to allow this item to be looked up using Clay.getItemsByAppKey() in your custom function. You must set this if you wish for the value of this item to be persisted after the user closes the config page.
label	string	The label that should appear next to this item.
defaultValue	boolean	The default value of the toggle. Defaults to false if not specified.
attributes	object	An object containing HTML attributes to set on the input field. You can add basic HTML5 validation this way by setting attribute such as required.

Example

{
  "type": "toggle",
  "appKey": "invert",
  "label": "Invert Colors",
  "defaultValue": true,
  "attributes": {
    "required": "required"
  }
}

---

Select

Manipulator: val

A dropdown menu containing multiple options.

Properties

Property	Type	Description
type	string	Set to select.
id	string (unique)	Set this to a unique string to allow this item to be looked up using Clay.getItemsById() in your custom function.
appKey	string (unique)	The AppMessage key matching the appKey item defined in your appinfo.json. Set this to a unique string to allow this item to be looked up using Clay.getItemsByAppKey() in your custom function. You must set this if you wish for the value of this item to be persisted after the user closes the config page.
label	string	The label that should appear next to this item.
defaultValue	string	The default value of the dropdown menu. Must match a value in the options array.
attributes	object	An object containing HTML attributes to set on the input field. You can add basic HTML5 validation this way by setting attribute such as required.
options	array of objects	The options you want to appear in the dropdown menu. Each option is an object with a label and value property.

Example

{
  "type": "select",
  "appKey": "flavor",
  "defaultValue": "grape",
  "label": "Favorite Flavor",
  "options": [
    { 
      "label": "", 
      "value": "" 
    },
    { 
      "label": "Berry",
      "value": "berry" 
    },
    { 
      "label": "Grape",
      "value": "grape" 
    },
    { 
      "label": "Banana",
      "value": "banana" 
    }
  ],
  "attributes": {
    "required": "required"
  }
}

---

Color

Manipulator: color

A color picker containing the 64 supported colors on Basalt and Chalk.

Properties

Property	Type	Description
type	string	Set to color.
id	string (unique)	Set this to a unique string to allow this item to be looked up using Clay.getItemsById() in your custom function.
appKey	string (unique)	The AppMessage key matching the appKey item defined in your appinfo.json. Set this to a unique string to allow this item to be looked up using Clay.getItemsByAppKey() in your custom function. You must set this if you wish for the value of this item to be persisted after the user closes the config page.
label	string	The label that should appear next to this item.
defaultValue	string OR int	The default color. Always use the uncorrected value even if sunlight is true. The component will do the conversion internally.
sunlight	boolean	Use the color-corrected sunlight color palette if true, else the uncorrected version. Defaults to true if not specified.

Example

{
  "type": "color",
  "appKey": "background",
  "defaultValue": "FF0000",
  "label": "Background Color",
  "sunlight": true
}

---

RadioGroup

Manipulator: radiogroup

A list of options allowing the user can only choose one option to submit.

Properties

Property	Type	Description
type	string	Set to radiogroup.
id	string (unique)	Set this to a unique string to allow this item to be looked up using Clay.getItemsById() in your custom function.
appKey	string (unique)	The AppMessage key matching the appKey item defined in your appinfo.json. Set this to a unique string to allow this item to be looked up using Clay.getItemsByAppKey() in your custom function. You must set this if you wish for the value of this item to be persisted after the user closes the config page.
label	string	The label that should appear next to this item.
defaultValue	string	The default selected item. Must match a value in the options array.
attributes	object	An object containing HTML attributes to set on the input field. You can add basic HTML5 validation this way by setting attribute such as required.
options	array of objects	The options you want to appear in the radio group. Each option is an object with a label and value property.

Example

{
  "type": "radiogroup",
  "appKey": "favorite_food",
  "label": "Favorite Food",
  "options": [
    { 
      "label": "Sushi", 
      "value": "sushi" 
    },
    { 
      "label": "Pizza", 
      "value": "pizza" 
    },
    { 
      "label": "Burgers", 
      "value": "burgers" 
    }
  ]
}

---

CheckboxGroup

Manipulator: checkboxgroup

A list of options where a user may choose more than one option to submit.

Properties

Property	Type	Description
type	string	Set to checkboxgroup.
id	string (unique)	Set this to a unique string to allow this item to be looked up using Clay.getItemsById() in your custom function.
appKey	string (unique)	The AppMessage key matching the appKey item defined in your appinfo.json. Set this to a unique string to allow this item to be looked up using Clay.getItemsByAppKey() in your custom function. You must set this if you wish for the value of this item to be persisted after the user closes the config page.
label	string	The label that should appear next to this item.
defaultValue	array of strings	The default selected items. Each value must match one in the options array.
attributes	object	An object containing HTML attributes to set on the input field. You can add basic HTML5 validation this way by setting attribute such as required.
options	array of objects	The options you want to appear in the checkbox group. Each option is an object with a label and value property.

Example

{
  "type": "checkboxgroup",
  "appKey": "favorite_food",
  "label": "Favorite Food",
  "defaultValue": ["sushi", "burgers"],
  "options": [
    { 
      "label": "Sushi", 
      "value": "sushi" 
    },
    { 
      "label": "Pizza", 
      "value": "pizza" 
    },
    { 
      "label": "Burgers", 
      "value": "burgers" 
    }
  ]
}

---

Submit

Manipulator: html

The submit button for the page. You MUST include this component somewhere in the config page (traditionally at the bottom) or users will not be able to save the form.

Properties

Property	Type	Description
type	string	Set to submit.
defaultValue	string	The text displayed on the button.
attributes	object	An object containing HTML attributes to set on the input field.

Example

{
  "type": "submit",
  "defaultValue": "Save"
}

---

Coming Soon

• Range Slider
• Generic Button
• Tabs
• Footer
• Dynamic + draggable list

---

Manipulators

Each component has a manipulator. This is a set of methods used to talk to the item on the page. At a minimum, manipulators must have a .get() and .set(value) method. When the config page is closed, the .get() method is run on all components registered with an appKey to construct the object sent to the C app. Many of these methods fire an event when the method is called. You can listen for these events with ClayItem.on().

html

Method	Returns	Event Fired	Description
.set( [string|HTML] value)	ClayItem	change	Sets the content of this item.
.get()	string	Gets the content of this item.

val

Method	Returns	Event Fired	Description
.set( [string] value)	ClayItem	change	Sets the value of this item.
.get()	string	Gets the content of this item.
.disable()	ClayItem	disabled	Prevents this item from being edited by the user.
.enable()	ClayItem	enabled	Allows this item to be edited by the user.

checked

Method	Returns	Event Fired	Description
.set( [boolean] value)	ClayItem	change	Check/uncheck the state of this item.
.get()	string	Gets the content of this item.
.disable()	ClayItem	disabled	Prevents this item from being edited by the user.
.enable()	ClayItem	enabled	Allows this item to be edited by the user.

color

Method	Returns	Event Fired	Description
.set( [string|int] value)	ClayItem	change	Sets the color picker to the provided color. If the value is a string, it must be provided in hex notation eg 'FF0000'.
.get()	int	Get the chosen color. This is returned as a number in order to make it easy to use on the watch side using GColorFromHEX().
.disable()	ClayItem	disabled	Prevents this item from being edited by the user.
.enable()	ClayItem	enabled	Allows this item to be edited by the user.

radiogroup

Method	Returns	Event Fired	Description
.set( [string] value)	ClayItem	change	Checks the radio button that corresponds to the provided value.
.get()	string	Gets the value of the checked radio button in the list.
.disable()	ClayItem	disabled	Prevents this item from being edited by the user.
.enable()	ClayItem	enabled	Allows this item to be edited by the user.

checkboxgroup

Method	Returns	Event Fired	Description
.set( [array] value)	ClayItem	change	Checks the checkboxes that corresponds to the provided list of values.
.get()	string	Gets the value of the checked radio button in the list.
.disable()	ClayItem	disabled	Prevents this item from being edited by the user.
.enable()	ClayItem	enabled	Allows this item to be edited by the user.

Extending Clay

Clay is built to allow developers to add their own basic interactivity to the config page. This can be done in a number of ways:

Handling The 'showConfiguration' and 'webviewclosed' Events Manually

Clay will by default, automatically handle the 'showConfiguration' and 'webviewclosed' events. This allows the appKey of each config item to be automatically delivered to the InboxReceivedHandler on the watch side. If you wish to override this behavior and handle the events yourself, pass an object as the 3rd parameter of the Clay constructor with autoHandleEvents set to false.

Example:

var Clay = require('./clay');
var clayConfig = require('./config');
var clay = new Clay(clayConfig, null, { autoHandleEvents: false });

Pebble.addEventListener('showConfiguration', function(e) {
  Pebble.openURL(clay.generateUrl());
});

Pebble.addEventListener('webviewclosed', function(e) {
  if (e && !e.response) { 
    return; 
  }

  // Get the keys and values from each config item
  var dict = clay.getSettings(e.response);

  // Send settings values to watch side
  Pebble.sendAppMessage(dict, function(e) {
    console.log('Sent config data to Pebble');
  }, function(e) {
    console.log('Failed to send config data!');
    console.log(JSON.stringify(e));
  });
});

Clay([Array] config, [function] customFn, [object] options)

Methods

Method	Returns
Clay( [array] config, [function] customFn=null, [object] options={autoHandleEvents: true}) config - an Array representing your config customFn - function to be run in the context of the generated page options.autoHandleEvents - set to false to prevent Clay from automatically handling the "showConfiguration" and "webviewclosed" events	Clay - a new instance of Clay.
.registerComponent( [ClayComponent] component ) Registers a custom component.	void.
.generateUrl()	string - The URL to open with Pebble.openURL() to use the Clay-generated config page.
.getSettings(response) response - the response object provided to the "webviewclosed" event	Object - object of keys and values for each config page item with an appKey, where the key is the appKey and the value is the chosen value of that item.

---

Custom Function

When initializing Clay in your app.js file, you can optionally provide a function that will be copied and run on the generated config page.

IMPORTANT: This function is injected by running .toString() on it. If you are making use of require or any other dynamic features, they will not work. You must make sure that everything the function needs to execute is available in the function body itself.

This function, when injected into the config page, will be run with ClayConfig as its context (this), and Minified as its first parameter.

Make sure to always wait for the config page to be built before manipulating items. You do this by registering a handler for the Clay.EVENTS.AFTER_BUILD event (see below).

Example

app.js

var Clay = require('./clay');
var clayConfig = require('./config');
var customClay = require('./custom-clay');
var clay = new Clay(clayConfig, customClay);

custom-clay.js

module.exports = function(minified) {
  var Clay = this;
  var _ = minified._;
  var $ = minified.$;
  var HTML = minified.HTML;

  function toggleBackground() {
    if (this.get()) {
      Clay.getItemByAppKey('background').enable();
    } else {
      Clay.getItemByAppKey('background').disable();
    }
  }

  Clay.on(Clay.EVENTS.AFTER_BUILD, function() {
    var coolStuffToggle = Clay.getItemByAppKey('cool_stuff');
    toggleBackground.call(coolStuffToggle);
    coolStuffToggle.on('change', toggleBackground);
  });
};

Clay API

ClayConfig([Object] settings, [Array] config, [$Minified] $rootContainer)

This is the main way of talking to your generated config page.

Properties

Property	Type	Description
.EVENTS.BEFORE_BUILD	String	Dispatched prior to building the page.
.EVENTS.AFTER_BUILD	String	Dispatched after building the page.
.config	Array	Reference to the config passed to the constructer and used for generating the page.

Methods

Method	Returns
.getAllItems()	Array.<ConfigItem> - an array of all config items.
.getItemByAppKey( [string] appKey )	ConfigItem|undefined - a single ConfigItem that has the provided appKey, otherwise undefined.
.getItemById( [string] id )	ConfigItem|undefined - a single ConfigItem that has the provided id, otherwise undefined.
.getItemsByType( [string] type )	Array.<ConfigItem> - an array of config items that match the provided type.
.getSettings()	Object - an object representing all items with an appKey where the key is the appKey and the value is the result of running .get() on the Clay item.
.build() Builds the config page. Will dispatch the BEFORE_BUILD event prior to building the page, then the AFTER_BUILD event once it is complete.	ClayConfig
.on( [string] events, [function] handler ) Register an event to the provided handler. The handler will be called with this instance of ClayConfig as the context. If you wish to register multiple events to the same handler, then separate the events with a space	ClayConfig
.off( [function] handler ) Remove the given event handler. NOTE: This will remove the handler from all registered events.	ClayConfig
.trigger( [string] name, [object] eventObj={} ) Trigger the provided event and optionally pass extra data to the handler.	ClayConfig
.registerComponent( [ClayComponent] component ) Registers a component. You must register all components prior to calling .build(). This method is also available statically.	Boolean - true if the component was registered successfully, otherwise false.

---

ClayItem( [Object] config )

Properties

Property	Type	Description
.id	String	The ID of the item if provided in the config.
.appKey	String	The ID of the item if provided in the config.
.config	Object	Reference to the config passed to the constructer.
$element	$Minified	A Minified list representing the root HTML element of the config item.
$manipulatorTarget	A Minified list representing the HTML element with data-manipulator-target set. This is generally pointing to the main <input> element and will be used for binding events.

Methods

Method	Returns
.initialize( [ClayConfig] clay) You shouldn't ever need to run this method manually as it will automatically be called when the config is built.	ConfigItem
.on( [string] events, [function] handler ) Register an event to the provided handler. The handler will be called with this instance of ClayItem as the context. If you wish to register multiple events to the same handler, then separate the events with a space. Events will be registered against the $manipulatorTarget so most DOM events such as "change" or "click" can be listened for.	ClayItem
.off( [function] handler ) Remove the given event handler. NOTE: This will remove the handler from all registered events.	ClayItem
.trigger( [string] name, [object] eventObj={} ) Trigger the provided event and optionally pass extra data to the handler.	ClayItem

In addition to the methods above, all the methods from the item's manipulator will be attached to the ClayItem. This includes .set() and .get().

---

Custom Components

Clay is also able to be extended using custom components. This allows developers to share components with each other.

Component Structure

Components are simple objects with the following properties.

ClayComponent

Property	Type	Required	Description
name	string	yes	This is the unique way to identify the component and will be used by the config item's type.
template	string (HTML)	yes	This is the actual HTML content of the component. Make sure there is only one root node in the HTML. This HTML will be passed to Minified's HTML() method. Any properties provided by the config item will be made available to the template, eg: label. The template will also be provided with clayId as a unique way to set input name attributes.
style	string	no	Any extra CSS styles you want to inject into the page. Make sure to namespace your CSS with a class that is unique to your component in order to avoid conflicts with other components.
manipulator	string / manipulator	yes	Provide a string here to use one of the built-in manipulators, such as val. If an object is provided, it must have both a .set(value) and .get() method.
defaults	object	Only if your template requires it.	An object of all the defaults your template requires.
initialize	function	no	Method which will be called after the item has been added to the page. It will be called with the ClayItem as the context (this) and with minified as the first parameter.

Registering a custom component.

Components must be registered before the config page is built. The easiest way to do this is in your app.js after you have initialized Clay:

var Clay = require('clay');
var clayConfig = require('config.json');
var clay = new Clay(clayConfig);

clay.registerComponent(require('./my-custom-component'));

Minified

Minified is a super light JQuery-like library. We only bundle in a small subset of its functionality. Visit the Minified Docs for more info on how to use Minified. Below is the subset of methods available in Clay.

• $()
• $$()
• .get()
• .select()
• .set()
• .add()
• .ht()
• HTML()
• $.request()
• promise.always()
• promise.error()
• $.off()
• $.ready()
• $.wait()
• .on()
• .each()
• .find()
• _()
• _.copyObj()
• _.eachObj()
• _.extend()
• _.format()
• _.formatHtml()
• _.template()
• _.isObject()

Project Structure and Development

There are two main entry points for Clay - index.js and src/scripts/config-page.js.

index.js

This is the main entry point for the code that will run in the Pebble app's src/js/app.js. It is responsible for serializing the provided config into a data URI that will be opened using Pebble.openURL(). It also persists data to localStorage.

src/scripts/config-page.js

This is the main entry point for the code that runs on the generated config page, and is responsibe for passing the injected config and other components to the ClayConfig class.

Building

There are two ways to build Clay, production mode and development mode.

Production Mode

$ npm run build

Packages up the entire Clay project into dist/clay.js to be required in the developer's app.js.

Development Mode

$ npm run dev

Packages up src/scripts/config-page.js and dev/dev.js into the tmp/ directory so dev/dev.html can include them as script tags. This will also watch for changes in the project.

While developing components and other functionality for Clay, it is much easier to work with the files in the dev/ directory than on a phone or emulator. Below is an explanation of the files and their purpose.

File	Purpose
dev.html	Open this page in a browser after running $ npm run dev.
dev.js	Injects the components and dependancies things into the window the same way index.js would.
config.js	Clay config to use as a sandbox for testing components.
custom-fn.js	Clay custom function to be injected by dev.js.
emulator.html	Copy of the HTML page that is used to make the Clay compatible with the Pebble SDK emulator.
uri-test.html	Used to stress test URI creation for older browser versions.

Functionality

Most of the magic happens in the src/scripts/lib directory. config-page.js initializes a new instance of ClayConfig and calls the injected custom function (window.customFn) with the ClayConfig as its context. This allows developers to add extra functionality to the config page, such as setting values of items dynamically or registering small custom components.

Once the ClayConfig is initialized, we run the .build() method. This iterates over the config and injects each item into the page. Each item is an instance of ClayItem. It also indexes the items to later be retrieved with .getAllItems(), .getItemByAppKey(), .getItemById(), .getItemsByType().