Migrating from Segment to RudderStack

Step-by-step guide on migrating from Segment to RudderStack.

This document explains the step-by-step process of migrating from Segment to RudderStack. It covers the necessary steps for replacing your instrumentation code and start using the RudderStack SDKs to track your events with minimal code changes.

Migrating the workspace

After creating a RudderStack account, you will see the following dashboard containing your data plane URL:

Similar to Segment, you will need to set up your source-destination connections in the dashboard and facilitate the event data flow.

Keep your source write key and the data plane URL handy.

If you need more support or want us to manage your hosting, you can contact us.

Updating the SDK implementation

Depending on the platform, follow these steps to move your existing SDK implementation to RudderStack:

Android iOS JavaScript .NET React Native

• Change the dependencies in your app/build.gradle file add the following:

  repositories {
      mavenCentral()
  }

• Under dependencies, add the following:

  implementation 'com.rudderstack.android.sdk:core:1.0.1'
  implementation 'com.google.code.gson:gson:2.8.6'

• Update your SDK initialization to the following snippet. Replace WRITE_KEY and DATA_PLANE_URL with your source write key and data plane URL obtained above.

  RudderClient rudderClient = RudderClient.getInstance(
          this,
          <WRITE_KEY>,
          new RudderConfig.Builder()
                  .withDataPlaneUrl(<DATA_PLANE_URL>)
                  .withLogLevel(RudderLogger.RudderLogLevel.DEBUG)
                  .withTrackLifecycleEvents(true)
                  .withRecordScreenViews(true)
                  .build()
  );

• Update the use of the classes according to the following table:

  Segment	RudderStack
  Analytics	RudderClient
  Traits	RudderTraits
  Property	RudderProperty

  You can use the rest of your code without any changes as the RudderStack API is fully compatible with Segment.

  • Change the dependencies in the Podfile of your project:

    pod 'Rudder'

  • Update your SDK initialization to the following. Replace WRITE_KEY and DATA_PLANE_URL with your source write key and data plane URL obtained above.

    RudderConfigBuilder *builder = [[RudderConfigBuilder alloc]init];
    [builder withDataPlaneUrl:<DATA_PLANE_URL>];
    [RudderClient getInstance:<WRITE_KEY> config:[builder build]];

    The instance of the RudderClient is available at [RudderClient sharedInstance] whereas the Segment Instance is available at [Analytics sharedAnalytics]

  • Update the imports from Analytics.h to Rudder.h wherever necessary

  • Update the use of the classes according to the table below:

    Segment	RudderStack
    Analytics	RudderClient
    Traits	RudderTraits
    Property	RudderProperty

    You can use the rest of your code without any changes as the RudderStack API is fully compatible with Segment.

    • Add the SDK to your web application:

      <script>
      	rudderanalytics = window.rudderanalytics = [];
      
      	var methods = [
      		"load",
      		"page",
      		"track",
      		"identify",
      		"reset"
      	];
      	for (var i=0; i<methods.length; i++) {
      		var method = methods[i];
      		rudderanalytics[method] = function(methodName) {
      			return function() {
      				rudderanalytics.push([methodName, ...arguments]);
      			}
      		} (method)
      	}
      	rudderanalytics.load(<WRITE_KEY>, <DATA_PLANE_URL>);
      	rudderanalytics.page();
      </script>
      <script src="https://cdn.rudderlabs.com/v1.1/rudder-analytics.min.js"></script>

      For the minified version of the above script, refer to the RudderStack JavaScript SDK guide.

      If you are using an older version of the JavaScript SDK (v1), refer to the Version Migration Guide to migrate to v1.1.

    • Update the object. RudderStack uses rudderanalytics as the global object library as compared to Segment's analytics object.

      You can use the rest of your code without any changes as the RudderStack API is fully compatible with Segment.

    • Change your .NET project's Dependencies to include the RudderAnalytics package via NuGet

    • Then, initialize the RudderStack client by running the following code snippet. Replace WRITE_KEY and DATA_PLANE_URL with your source write key and data plane URL obtained above.

      using RudderStack;
      
      RudderAnalytics.Initialize(
           <WRITE_KEY>,
           new RudderConfig(dataPlaneUrl: <DATA_PLANE_URL>)
      );

      You can use the rest of your code without any changes as the RudderStack API is fully compatible with Segment.

    • Install the RudderStack React Native SDK by running the following command:

      // npm
      npm install @rudderstack/rudder-sdk-react-native --save
      // yarn
      yarn add @rudderstack/rudder-sdk-react-native
      // navigate to iOS folder and run pod install
      pod install

    • Then, import the React Native SDK.

      import rudderClient from "@rudderstack/rudder-sdk-react-native"

    • Next, change the SDK initialization as shown in the following snippet. Replace WRITE_KEY and DATA_PLANE_URL with your source write key and data plane URL obtained above.

      await rudderClient.setup(<WRITE_KEY>, {
        dataPlaneUrl: <DATA_PLANE_URL>,
        trackLifecycleEvents: true,
        recordScreenViews: true,
      })

    • Update the references to the analytics keyword in your application code with rudderClient.

    • You can use the rest of your code without any changes as the RudderStack API is fully compatible with Segment.

    Backfilling Segment anonymous IDs

    When migrating from Segment or a similar analytics tool, you might already have some anonymous traffic that has not yet been identified. When Segment and RudderStack track events for non-identified users, both assign a random UUID as an anonymousId. This ID is used to track an unknown user until they are identified. It also allows RudderStack to track user behavior, journeys, and first-touch attribution before and after the users are identified.

    Capturing Segment anonymousId automatically

    You can automatically capture the Segment anonymousId and set it as Rudderstack anonymousId using the JavaScript SDK's anonymousIdOptions object. When enabled, it reads the Segment anonymousId from your local storage (localStorage) or the Segment cookie and sets it accordingly.

    For more information on how to enable the anonymousIdOptions object, refer to the Capturing anonymousId automatically section.

    Contact us

    If you're stuck somewhere in the migration process, you can contact us or start a conversation in our Slack community.