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System Components

SeamSDK connects four main components:
  • Mobile App — Your iOS application, written in Swift, that calls the Seam SDK.
  • SeamSDK — A native library responsible for credential management, unlock flows, and event streaming.
  • Seam Cloud API — The cloud service that provisions credentials, handles revocation, and provides analytics.
  • Lock Hardware — Physical locks that communicate over BLE and/or NFC.
Mobile App  ──SDK Calls──▶  Seam SDK  ──HTTP──▶  Seam Cloud API
                               │                       │
                           BLE/NFC               Push Events
                               │                       │
                               ▼                       ▼
                          Lock Hardware          Seam SDK (update)

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Unlock Sequence

The following sequence shows what happens from initialization through a successful unlock:
1

Initialization

Your app calls Seam.initialize(clientSessionToken:) and then activate().
2

Credential Fetch

The SDK automatically fetches and keeps credentials up to date by syncing with Seam Cloud.
3

Unlock Request

Your app invokes unlock(using: credentialId).
4

Connection

The SDK connects to the lock via BLE or NFC.
5

Authentication and Confirmation

The lock authorizes the credential and responds.
6

Event Stream

The SDK emits SeamUnlockEvent values: launched, grantedAccess, and others.
7

Completion

Your app handles the events and updates its UI accordingly.

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Key Data Types

TypeDescription
Client Session Token (CST)A short-lived token used to authenticate SDK API calls. Obtained from your server via the Seam API.
SeamCredentialRepresents a single access credential with id, name, location, expiry, and metadata. Immutable snapshot; observe the credentials published property for live updates.
SeamUnlockEventEnum describing each stage of an unlock operation (launched, grantedAccess, timedOut, connectionFailed).
SeamErrorThrown for SDK setup and API-level failures. See Error Handling.
SeamCredentialErrorReturned when a specific credential has an issue (expired, unsupported device, user interaction required).

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Security and Offline Support

  • Secure Transport — All API calls use HTTPS. Lock communication is secured by the lock vendor’s protocol.
  • Keychain Storage — Tokens and other sensitive data are stored in the iOS Keychain.
  • Offline Support — SeamSDK supports offline usage. Credentials are cached locally so that unlock attempts and recent credential data remain available during network interruptions.

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See Also

  • Quickstart — How to initialize SeamSDK and perform your first unlock.
  • Error Handling — How to interpret and handle errors emitted by SeamSDK.