Getting Started

Appylar is free cross-promotion for mobile apps. You show other developers' ads in your app, and your app gets promoted in theirs — driving installs without buying media. This guide takes you from zero to a live ad in about five minutes using only the shipped v1 SDKs and API.

#What is Appylar?

Appylar is a cross-promotion network for mobile apps. Instead of paying for installs, you trade them: your app displays ads for other apps in the network, and in return your app is promoted across the network. It runs alongside your existing monetization — it doesn't replace your ad mediation or in-app purchases.

You integrate a lightweight SDK (Android, iOS or Flutter), create a campaign to promote one of your apps, and upload a creative. Once the creative is approved and the campaign is active, impressions start flowing.

#How cross-promotion works

Every ad request returns at most one ad. There are two sides to your participation:

• You show ads. When your integrated app requests an ad, Appylar serves an eligible creative from the network.
• You get promoted. Your campaign's creative is served inside other apps, driving installs to your promoted app.

Impressions, clicks and installs are tracked automatically by the SDK and surface in Analytics.

#Portfolio vs Network

A campaign has a reach type that decides where its creative can be shown.

• Use Portfolio to cross-promote between apps you already own — e.g. send players of one game to another. It never costs credits.
• Use Network to reach users you don't have yet. Each network impression draws one credit from your balance; when you run out of credits, network serving pauses automatically.

#Step 1 — Create your app

In the portal, open Apps → New app and register your app. An app is your product — the game or utility itself — not a single OS build. You get one app key in the form app_live_…, the single public value every Appylar SDK uses, whichever store or SDK you ship with. You can copy it again any time from the app's detail page.

Add a store listing for each store the app is published on — Google Play, the Apple App Store, or both. These are optional, but adding them lets Appylar send each person who taps your ad to the right store for their device. You can add or change them later.

#Step 2 — Add the SDK

Add the SDK for your platform and initialize it with your app key.

// build.gradle.kts
implementation("com.appylar:appylar-sdk:1.0.0")

// Application.onCreate or your launcher Activity
Appylar.initialize(context, "app_live_xxx")
Appylar.setConsent(Consent(gdprConsent = true, childDirected = false))

// Add the Swift Package: https://github.com/appylar/appylar-ios-sdk

// App startup
Appylar.initialize(appKey: "app_live_xxx")
Appylar.setConsent(Consent(gdprConsent: true, childDirected: false))

// pubspec.yaml → dependencies: appylar: ^1.0.0

// App startup
Appylar.initialize("app_live_xxx");
Appylar.setConsent(const Consent(gdprConsent: true, childDirected: false));

Full platform guides: Android SDK · iOS SDK · Flutter SDK.

#Step 3 — Create a campaign

To promote one of your apps, open Campaigns → New campaign and pick the app you want to grow. That's the only required choice — a campaign name, a per-person frequency limit and country targeting are optional and live under Advanced. Choose whether it shows across your apps and the network, or just your own apps. New campaigns start in draft.

#Step 4 — Upload a creative

Open your campaign and upload a creative — the image users will see. Appylar generates the banner and interstitial variants for you. See Creatives for formats and sizing.

#Step 5 — Moderation

Every creative is reviewed before it can serve. It starts as pending, then becomes approved or rejected (with a reason you can read on the campaign page). A creative only serves once it's approved.

#Step 6 — Go live and watch analytics

Once the creative is approved and you activate the campaign, it's eligible to serve. Open Analytics to watch impressions, clicks, installs and CTR — broken down by app, campaign or day.

That's the whole loop: app → campaign → creative → approval → live.

#Related

• Android SDK
• iOS SDK
• Flutter SDK
• Campaigns
• Creatives
• Analytics