Conditional navigation

When designing navigation for your app, you might want to navigate to one destination versus another based on conditional logic. For example, a user might follow a deep link to a destination that requires the user to be logged in, or you might have different destinations in a game for when the player wins or loses.

User login

In this example, a user attempts to navigate to a profile screen that requires authentication. Because this action requires authentication, the user should be redirected to a login screen if they are not already authenticated.

The navigation graph for this example might look something like this:

a login flow is handled independently from the app's main navigation flow.
Figure 1. A login flow is handled independently from the app's main navigation flow.

To authenticate, the app must navigate to the login_fragment, where the user can enter a username and password to authenticate. If accepted, the user is sent back to the profile_fragment screen. If not accepted, the user is informed that their credentials are invalid using a Snackbar. If the user navigates back to the profile screen without logging in, they are sent to the main_fragment screen.

Here's the navigation graph for this app:

<navigation xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
        xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
        xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
        android:id="@+id/nav_graph"
        app:startDestination="@id/main_fragment">
    <fragment
            android:id="@+id/main_fragment"
            android:name="com.google.android.conditionalnav.MainFragment"
            android:label="fragment_main"
            tools:layout="@layout/fragment_main">
        <action
                android:id="@+id/navigate_to_profile_fragment"
                app:destination="@id/profile_fragment"/>
    </fragment>
    <fragment
            android:id="@+id/login_fragment"
            android:name="com.google.android.conditionalnav.LoginFragment"
            android:label="login_fragment"
            tools:layout="@layout/login_fragment"/>
    <fragment
            android:id="@+id/profile_fragment"
            android:name="com.google.android.conditionalnav.ProfileFragment"
            android:label="fragment_profile"
            tools:layout="@layout/fragment_profile"/>
</navigation>

MainFragment contains a button that the user can click to view their profile. If the user wants to see the profile screen, they must first authenticate. This interaction is modeled using two separate fragments, but it depends on shared user state. This state information is not the responsibility of either of these two fragments and is more appropriately held in a shared UserViewModel. This ViewModel is shared between the fragments by scoping it to the activity, which implements ViewModelStoreOwner. In the following example, requireActivity() resolves to MainActivity, because MainActivity hosts ProfileFragment:

Kotlin

class ProfileFragment : Fragment() {
    private val userViewModel: UserViewModel by activityViewModels()
    ...
}

Java

public class ProfileFragment extends Fragment {
    private UserViewModel userViewModel;
    @Override
    public void onViewCreated(@NonNull View view, @Nullable Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onViewCreated(view, savedInstanceState);
        userViewModel = new ViewModelProvider(requireActivity()).get(UserViewModel.class);
        ...
    }
    ...
}

The user data in UserViewModel is exposed via LiveData, so to decide where to navigate, you should observe this data. Upon navigating to ProfileFragment, the app shows a welcome message if the user data is present. If the user data is null, you then navigate to LoginFragment, since the user needs to authenticate before seeing their profile. Define the deciding logic in your ProfileFragment, as shown in the following example:

Kotlin

class ProfileFragment : Fragment() {
    private val userViewModel: UserViewModel by activityViewModels()

    override fun onViewCreated(view: View, savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onViewCreated(view, savedInstanceState)
        val navController = findNavController()
        userViewModel.user.observe(viewLifecycleOwner, Observer { user ->
            if (user != null) {
                showWelcomeMessage()
            } else {
                navController.navigate(R.id.login_fragment)
            }
        })
    }

    private fun showWelcomeMessage() {
        ...
    }
}

Java

public class ProfileFragment extends Fragment {
    private UserViewModel userViewModel;

    @Override
    public void onViewCreated(@NonNull View view, @Nullable Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onViewCreated(view, savedInstanceState);
        userViewModel = new ViewModelProvider(requireActivity()).get(UserViewModel.class);
        final NavController navController = Navigation.findNavController(view);
        userViewModel.user.observe(getViewLifecycleOwner(), (Observer<User>) user -> {
            if (user != null) {
                showWelcomeMessage();
            } else {
                navController.navigate(R.id.login_fragment);
            }
        });
    }

    private void showWelcomeMessage() {
        ...
    }
}

If the user data is null when they reach the ProfileFragment, they are redirected to the LoginFragment.

You can use NavController.getPreviousBackStackEntry() to retrieve the NavBackStackEntry for the previous destination, which encapsulates the NavController-specific state for the destination. LoginFragment uses the SavedStateHandle of the previous NavBackStackEntry to set an initial value indicating whether the user has successfully logged in. This is the state we would want to return if the user were to immediately press the system back button. Setting this state using SavedStateHandle ensures that the state persists through process death.

Kotlin

class LoginFragment : Fragment() {
    companion object {
        const val LOGIN_SUCCESSFUL: String = "LOGIN_SUCCESSFUL"
    }

    private val userViewModel: UserViewModel by activityViewModels()
    private lateinit var savedStateHandle: SavedStateHandle

    override fun onViewCreated(view: View, savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        savedStateHandle = findNavController().previousBackStackEntry!!.savedStateHandle
        savedStateHandle.set(LOGIN_SUCCESSFUL, false)
    }
}

Java

public class LoginFragment extends Fragment {
    public static String LOGIN_SUCCESSFUL = "LOGIN_SUCCESSFUL"

    private UserViewModel userViewModel;
    private SavedStateHandle savedStateHandle;

    @Override
    public void onViewCreated(@NonNull View view, @Nullable Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        userViewModel = new ViewModelProvider(requireActivity()).get(UserViewModel.class);

        savedStateHandle = Navigation.findNavController(view)
                .getPreviousBackStackEntry()
                .getSavedStateHandle();
        savedStateHandle.set(LOGIN_SUCCESSFUL, false);
    }
}

Once the user enters a username and password, they are passed to the UserViewModel for authentication. If authentication is successful, the UserViewModel stores the user data. The LoginFragment then updates the LOGIN_SUCCESSFUL value on the SavedStateHandle and pops itself off of the back stack.

Kotlin

class LoginFragment : Fragment() {
    companion object {
        const val LOGIN_SUCCESSFUL: String = "LOGIN_SUCCESSFUL"
    }

    private val userViewModel: UserViewModel by activityViewModels()
    private lateinit var savedStateHandle: SavedStateHandle

    override fun onViewCreated(view: View, savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        savedStateHandle = findNavController().previousBackStackEntry!!.savedStateHandle
        savedStateHandle.set(LOGIN_SUCCESSFUL, false)

        val usernameEditText = view.findViewById(R.id.username_edit_text)
        val passwordEditText = view.findViewById(R.id.password_edit_text)
        val loginButton = view.findViewById(R.id.login_button)

        loginButton.setOnClickListener {
            val username = usernameEditText.text.toString()
            val password = passwordEditText.text.toString()
            login(username, password)
        }
    }

    fun login(username: String, password: String) {
        userViewModel.login(username, password).observe(viewLifecycleOwner, Observer { result ->
            if (result.success) {
                savedStateHandle.set(LOGIN_SUCCESSFUL, true)
                findNavController().popBackStack()
            } else {
                showErrorMessage()
            }
        })
    }

    fun showErrorMessage() {
        // Display a snackbar error message
    }
}

Java

public class LoginFragment extends Fragment {
    public static String LOGIN_SUCCESSFUL = "LOGIN_SUCCESSFUL"

    private UserViewModel userViewModel;
    private SavedStateHandle savedStateHandle;

    @Override
    public void onViewCreated(@NonNull View view, @Nullable Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        userViewModel = new ViewModelProvider(requireActivity()).get(UserViewModel.class);

        savedStateHandle = Navigation.findNavController(view)
                .getPreviousBackStackEntry()
                .getSavedStateHandle();
        savedStateHandle.set(LOGIN_SUCCESSFUL, false);

        EditText usernameEditText = view.findViewById(R.id.username_edit_text);
        EditText passwordEditText = view.findViewById(R.id.password_edit_text);
        Button loginButton = view.findViewById(R.id.login_button);

        loginButton.setOnClickListener(v -> {
            String username = usernameEditText.getText().toString();
            String password = passwordEditText.getText().toString();
            login(username, password);
        });
    }

    private void login(String username, String password) {
        userViewModel.login(username, password).observe(viewLifecycleOwner, (Observer<LoginResult>) result -> {
            if (result.success) {
                savedStateHandle.set(LOGIN_SUCCESSFUL, true);
                NavHostFragment.findNavController(this).popBackStack();
            } else {
                showErrorMessage();
            }
        });
    }

    private void showErrorMessage() {
        // Display a snackbar error message
    }
}

Note that all logic pertaining to authentication is held within UserViewModel. This is important, as it is not the responsibility of either LoginFragment or ProfileFragment to determine how users are authenticated. Encapsulating your logic in a ViewModel makes it not only easier to share but also easier to test. If your navigation logic is complex, you should especially verify this logic through testing. See the Guide to app architecture for more information on structuring your app’s architecture around testable components.

Back in the ProfileFragment, the LOGIN_SUCCESSFUL value stored in the SavedStateHandle can be observed in the onCreate() method. When the user returns to the ProfileFragment, the LOGIN_SUCCESSFUL value will be checked. If the value is false, the user can be redirected back to the MainFragment.

Kotlin

class ProfileFragment : Fragment() {
    ...

    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)

        val navController = findNavController()

        val currentBackStackEntry = navController.currentBackStackEntry!!
        val savedStateHandle = currentBackStackEntry.savedStateHandle
        savedStateHandle.getLiveData<Boolean>(LoginFragment.LOGIN_SUCCESSFUL)
                .observe(currentBackStackEntry, Observer { success ->
                    if (!success) {
                        val startDestination = navController.graph.startDestination
                        val navOptions = NavOptions.Builder()
                                .setPopUpTo(startDestination, true)
                                .build()
                        navController.navigate(startDestination, null, navOptions)
                    }
                })
    }

    ...
}

Java

public class ProfileFragment extends Fragment {
    ...

    @Override
    public void onCreate(@Nullable Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);

        NavController navController = NavHostFragment.findNavController(this);

        NavBackStackEntry navBackStackEntry = navController.getCurrentBackStackEntry();
        SavedStateHandle savedStateHandle = navBackStackEntry.getSavedStateHandle();
        savedStateHandle.getLiveData(LoginFragment.LOGIN_SUCCESSFUL)
                .observe(navBackStackEntry, (Observer<Boolean>) success -> {
                    if (!success) {
                        int startDestination = navController.getGraph().getStartDestination();
                        NavOptions navOptions = new NavOptions.Builder()
                                .setPopUpTo(startDestination, true)
                                .build();
                        navController.navigate(startDestination, null, navOptions);
                    }
                });
    }

    ...
}

If the user successfully logged in, the ProfileFragment displays a welcome message.

The technique used here of checking the result allows you to distinguish between two different cases:

  • The initial case, where the user is not logged in and should be asked to login.
  • The user is not logged in because they chose not to login (a result of false).

By distinguishing these use cases, you can avoid repeatedly asking the user to login. The business logic for handling failure cases is left to you and might include displaying an overlay that explains why the user needs to login, finishing the entire activity, or redirecting the user to a destination that does not require login, as was the case in the previous code example.