How does Chameleon work with Cordova?

How to install and use Chameleon if your mobile app is built on Cordova

Chameleon Team avatar
Written by Chameleon Team
Updated over a week ago

Chameleon works with a wide variety of web-based technologies and frameworks. You can create and deliver Experiences on both desktop and mobile devices.

To get an overview of how Chameleon supports different technologies and frameworks, review this article first.


Apache Cordova (previously PhoneGap) is an open-source framework that allows developers to create native mobile apps using HTML, CSS, and JS, instead of platform-specific languages. This means the same codebase can be used for web and mobile; with native apps created as hybrid or "wrapped" versions of web apps.

Chameleon operates within web environments and thus will operate within Cordova apps, as long as the Cordova app resembles a web environment, including:

  • Uses HTML, CSS, JS as the languages within the Cordova app

  • Technologies such as localStorage, MutationObserver and cookies are not disabled

  • Chameleon code snippet can communicate with the server (to get and send data)

  • Add Chameleon’s domains to your Cordova app’s domain allowed list:

    • https://*.chameleon.io

    • https://*.chmln-cdn.io

Learn more about the technologies that Chameleon supports here.

The Chameleon Builder is the interface that you can use to create Chameleon Experiences. This is typically accessed once a Chameleon account has been created and the Chameleon code snippet is installed, via the Chameleon Dashboard or the Chameleon Chrome Extension.

Only people that have access to your Chameleon account are allowed to create Experiences for your application. The proof of this occurs when you enter the Chameleon Dashboard (while you have the Chrome Extension installed) or launch the Builder from within the Dashboard.

Therefore it is easiest to create Experiences for your Cordova app if the underlying app is also accessed via the web browser.

If this is not possible, then the Chameleon team can help you manually set a cookie in the Cordova app that will identify you as an authorized Chameleon user and show the Builder for your account. Please email us for help on this.

If your application is built using Cordova, you can set your Experiences to display to your mobile users as well.

Chameleon Experiences will not display in browsers with a width lower than 720px until you enable mobile support on your account. Once you do, you can use a filter in your audience Segment and target Experiences to users based on which type of device they are accessing your page.

This way, you can easily opt-in and out of showing Experiences on mobile devices. 😉


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