Installation

This page describes how to integrate the Scandit Data Capture SDK into your Kotlin Multiplatform (KMP) project, both for Android/shared code via Gradle and for iOS via Swift Package Manager.

Requirements

• A Kotlin Multiplatform project built with Kotlin 2.3.21 or higher and Gradle 8.14 or higher, optionally using Compose Multiplatform 1.8.0 or higher (see Compose Multiplatform support below). Earlier Kotlin 2.x releases are not supported—see System Requirements for why.
• Android: minimum SDK version 24, compile and target SDK version 36, JVM target 17, and Android Gradle Plugin 8.10.1 or higher.
• iOS: iOS 15.0 or higher, and Xcode with Swift 5.9 or higher.
• A valid Scandit Data Capture SDK license key. You can sign up for a free test account.

tip

Android devices running the Scandit Data Capture SDK need to have a GPU or the performance will drastically decrease.

Modules

The SDK is split into Maven artifacts under the group com.scandit.datacapture.kmp. Every app needs core; add the product modules for the capabilities you use.

Module	Provides
core	DataCaptureContext, camera/frame source handling, and the shared UI infrastructure (DataCaptureView, overlays, controls, gestures). Required by every app.
barcode	Barcode scanning modes, including SparkScan and its pre-built view.
id	ID Capture for scanning and validating identity documents.
id-aamva-barcode-verification	Optional AAMVA barcode verification model for US/Canada driver's licenses, used with id.
id-europe-driving-license	Optional model for European driving license verification, used with id.
id-voided-detection	Optional model for detecting voided/altered ID documents, used with id.
label	Label Capture for extracting structured data from labels combining barcodes and text/fields.
label-text	Optional OCR text recognition model used by label.
parser	Structured data parsing for supported formats (for example, GS1, driver's license barcodes).
price-label	Optional price-label-specific extraction model used with label.
core-compose	Compose Multiplatform companion for core: declarative DataCaptureView, rememberDataCaptureContext, rememberCamera.
barcode-compose	Compose Multiplatform companion for barcode: declarative SparkScanView.
id-compose	Compose Multiplatform companion for id.
label-compose	Compose Multiplatform companion for label.

Get a License Key

1. Sign up or Sign in to your Scandit account
2. Create a project
3. Create a license key

If you have a paid subscription, please reach out to Scandit Support if you need a new license key.

Android / Shared Code (Gradle)

The KMP modules are published to Maven Central. Make sure mavenCentral() is listed in your repositories, then declare the modules you need in your shared module's commonMain source set:

kotlin {
    sourceSets {
        commonMain.dependencies {
            api("com.scandit.datacapture.kmp:core:[version]")
            api("com.scandit.datacapture.kmp:barcode:[version]")
        }
    }
}

Replace [version] with the current SDK version. Add only the product modules your app needs—every module transitively depends on core.

iOS (Swift Package Manager)

How you integrate on iOS depends on whether your app has its own shared Kotlin module:

• You write your app in Swift and consume the Scandit KMP API directly (no shared Kotlin module of your own): add the prebuilt umbrella package, see Prebuilt umbrella package below.
• You have your own shared Kotlin module that depends on the Scandit KMP Maven artifacts (the typical Compose Multiplatform app): your Kotlin build produces the shared framework, and your iosApp must additionally link the native Scandit frameworks, see Apps with their own shared module below.

The two approaches are mutually exclusive. Two separate Kotlin/Native frameworks linked into the same app cannot share Kotlin types with each other, so an app that already ships its own shared Kotlin framework cannot also link a prebuilt ScanditKmp* umbrella framework.

Prebuilt umbrella package

The prebuilt distribution is a Swift package hosted at github.com/Scandit/datacapture-kmp-spm. It ships prebuilt Kotlin/Native umbrella XCFrameworks, one per combination of modules:

• ScanditKmpAll—barcode, id, label, parser
• ScanditKmpBarcode, ScanditKmpBarcodeParser
• ScanditKmpId, ScanditKmpIdBarcode, ScanditKmpIdBarcodeParser
• ScanditKmpLabel, ScanditKmpLabelParser

To add the package:

1. In Xcode, go to File → Add Package Dependencies.
2. Enter the package URL https://github.com/Scandit/datacapture-kmp-spm and pin the exact SDK version you want to use.
3. Select the single ScanditKmp* product that covers every Scandit KMP module your app uses.

warning

Add exactly one ScanditKmp* product to your app. Two Kotlin/Native frameworks linked into the same app cannot share types with each other, even when both come from the Scandit SDK—so you cannot combine several ScanditKmp* products the way you add individual modules on Android/Maven. Instead, pick the single umbrella variant that covers every module your app uses: ScanditKmpBarcode if you only scan barcodes, or ScanditKmpAll if you also need id, label, or parser.

The native Scandit frameworks (for example, ScanditCaptureCore, ScanditBarcodeCapture) resolve transitively—the package manifest pins an exact dependency on the native datacapture-spm package, so there is no manual wiring required.

Runtime model resources for optional features are separate, opt-in products from the datacapture-spm package. Add the ones you need alongside your ScanditKmp* product:

• ScanditIdAamvaBarcodeVerification
• ScanditIdEuropeDrivingLicense
• ScanditIdVoidedDetection
• ScanditLabelCaptureText
• ScanditPriceLabel

Import the product by its product name. The Kotlin API is exposed under the plain Scandit type names (DataCaptureContext, BarcodeCapture, and so on). Kotlin companion object factories are reached through the exported …Companion class's shared instance. Two Swift-specific details apply: the …Companion indirection above, and the fact that Kotlin default parameter values are not carried over to Swift—so you must pass every parameter explicitly, even the optional ones:

import ScanditKmpBarcode

let context = DataCaptureContextCompanion.shared.initialize(
    licenseKey: "-- ENTER YOUR SCANDIT LICENSE KEY HERE --",
    deviceName: nil,
    externalId: nil,
    settings: nil
)

In Kotlin (shared code) the same call is DataCaptureContext.initialize(licenseKey). Initializing the context from shared Kotlin code keeps the Swift side free of these bridging details and is the recommended setup.

Apps with their own shared module

When your app has its own shared Kotlin module that depends on the Scandit KMP Maven artifacts (group com.scandit.datacapture.kmp), your Kotlin build produces the shared framework. On iOS, however, the native Scandit frameworks that framework binds against are not bundled inside your Maven dependencies. Your iosApp must therefore link them directly from the native datacapture-spm Swift package. Pin that package to the exact same version as your KMP Maven dependencies—a version mismatch causes link errors or runtime crashes.

1. Add the native SPM package to your iosApp (once)

In Xcode: File → Add Package Dependencies… → enter https://github.com/Scandit/datacapture-spm → Dependency Rule: Exact Version → set it to the same version as your com.scandit.datacapture.kmp:* Maven dependencies.

2. Add the products your modules need

Add the SPM products matching the KMP modules your shared module depends on. ScanditCaptureCore is always required:

KMP module (Maven artifact)	Native SPM products to add
core	ScanditCaptureCore (always)
barcode	ScanditBarcodeCapture
id	ScanditIdCapture
label	ScanditLabelCapture + ScanditBarcodeCapture
parser	ScanditParser
id-aamva-barcode-verification	ScanditIdAamvaBarcodeVerification
id-europe-driving-license	ScanditIdEuropeDrivingLicense
id-voided-detection	ScanditIdVoidedDetection
label-text	ScanditLabelCaptureText
price-label	ScanditPriceLabel

Add each product to your iosApp target (Target → General → Frameworks, Libraries, and Embedded Content).

For example, a Compose Multiplatform app whose shared module declares:

kotlin {
    sourceSets {
        commonMain.dependencies {
            api("com.scandit.datacapture.kmp:core:[version]")
            api("com.scandit.datacapture.kmp:barcode:[version]")
        }
    }
}

needs the datacapture-spm package pinned to [version] with the products ScanditCaptureCore and ScanditBarcodeCapture added to the iosApp target.

3. On every SDK upgrade

Bump the com.scandit.datacapture.kmp:* version in your Gradle build and update the datacapture-spm package's Exact Version pin in Xcode to the same value. The two must always match.

tip

Keep the version in a single Gradle property or Kotlin constant so the number you copy into Xcode has one source of truth.

Compose Multiplatform Support

The base modules (core, barcode, id, label, …) are deliberately Compose-free, so they can be used from SwiftUI, Android Views, or plain Kotlin without pulling in Compose. Declarative Compose Multiplatform APIs live in the -compose companion modules:

• core-compose provides @Composable DataCaptureView(...), rememberDataCaptureContext(licenseKey), and rememberCamera(context, position).
• barcode-compose provides a declarative @Composable SparkScanView(...) that manages its own scanning lifecycle.

Add the -compose module for each product module you use, in addition to the base module:

kotlin {
    sourceSets {
        commonMain.dependencies {
            api("com.scandit.datacapture.kmp:core:[version]")
            api("com.scandit.datacapture.kmp:core-compose:[version]")
            api("com.scandit.datacapture.kmp:barcode:[version]")
            api("com.scandit.datacapture.kmp:barcode-compose:[version]")
        }
    }
}

note

On Android, the Compose host for these composables must run inside a ComponentActivity. Rendering them elsewhere (for example inside an Android Studio preview) throws IllegalStateException.

Additional Information

Camera Permissions

When using the Scandit Data Capture SDK you will want to set the camera as the frame source. On Android, you have to request camera permissions in your own application before starting scanning.

Remember that, if you want to use the camera as the frame source, you need to set the "Privacy - Camera Usage Description" field in the Info.plist file for iOS.