Running an Ionic 6 Angular App in Background: A Step-by-Step Guide

Running an Ionic 6 Angular app in the background, even if it is killed by the user, can be achieved by using the Ionic Native Background Mode plugin.

Here are the steps to implement this feature:

Step 1: Install the Ionic Native Background Mode plugin

ionic cordova plugin add cordova-plugin-background-mode
npm install @ionic-native/background-mode

Step 2: Import the Background Mode plugin into your app’s module file

After that, you would need to import the Background Mode plugin into the app’s module file (app.module.ts) and add it to the providers array:

import { BackgroundMode } from '@ionic-native/background-mode/ngx';

@NgModule({
  declarations: [AppComponent],
  imports: [BrowserModule, IonicModule.forRoot(), AppRoutingModule],
  providers: [
    StatusBar,
    SplashScreen,
    BackgroundMode,
    { provide: RouteReuseStrategy, useClass: IonicRouteStrategy }
  ],
  bootstrap: [AppComponent]
})
export class AppModule { }

 

Step 4: Enable the background mode in the app’s constructor

Next, you would need to inject the Background Mode plugin into your component and enable it in the component’s constructor:

import { BackgroundMode } from '@ionic-native/background-mode/ngx';

export class HomePage {
  constructor(private backgroundMode: BackgroundMode) {
    this.backgroundMode.enable();
  }
}

 

Step 5: Configure the plugin’s settings

You can configure the plugin’s settings in the component’s constructor or in a method

this.backgroundMode.setDefaults({
    title: 'My App',
    text: 'Running in background',
    resume: true,
    hidden: false,
    silent: false
});

It sets default configuration options for the background mode. The title and text options set the title and text displayed in the notification when the app is running in the background. The resume option, when set to true, allows the app to return to the same page when it is reopened. hidden option when set to true, hides the app’s icon when in background and silent option when set to true, the app will not play any sound in background mode.

 

Step 6: Listen for the resume event and navigate to the desired page

You can listen for the resume and pause event in the component’s constructor or in a method

this.backgroundMode.on('resume').subscribe(() => {
    this.nav.navigateRoot('/your-page');
});

It sets up an event listener for the resume event, which is triggered when the app is reopened after being in the background. When the event is triggered, the app navigates to the desired page using the navigateRoot method on the nav object.

 

Step 7: Listen for the pause event and save the current state

this.backgroundMode.on('pause').subscribe(() => { // code to save the current state });

It sets up an event listener for the pause event, which is triggered when the app goes into the background. When the event is triggered, you can save the current state of the app or any data that needs to be preserved.

 

Step 8: To disable the background mode, use the disable method

this.backgroundMode.disable();

This line disables the background mode for the app by calling the disable method on the backgroundMode object. This can be useful for when you no longer need the app to run in the background or if you want to stop the app from running in the background mode for some reason.

Additionally, to keep the app running in the background even when it is killed by the user, you can use the setKeepAwake method on the background mode plugin.

this.backgroundMode.setKeepAwake(true);

And to stop keeping the app awake

this.backgroundMode.setKeepAwake(false);

 

It’s important to note that this is just an overview of what a sample application would look like, and you would need to integrate the necessary code into your existing application and make adjustments as needed. Also, make sure to test the app’s background behaviour on different platforms as different platforms have different guidelines and restrictions when it comes to running apps in the background.