What are the best practices for using App Center Diagnostics in MVVMCross apps

1. Integration with MVVMCross**

When integrating App Center with MVVMCross, ensure that you initialize App Center in a place where it can be executed early in the app lifecycle. For MVVMCross, this often means initializing App Center in the splash screen or during the setup process. Here’s an example of how you might initialize App Center in a splash screen:

csharp
public class SplashScreen : MvxFormsSplashScreenActivity
{
    protected override void RunAppStart(Bundle bundle)
    {
        AppCenter.Start(
            "android=xxx;",
            typeof(Analytics),
            typeof(Crashes),
            typeof(Distribute));

        StartActivity(typeof(FormsApplicationActivity));
        base.RunAppStart(bundle);
    }
}

This approach ensures that App Center is initialized before the app fully starts, allowing it to capture diagnostics data effectively[6].

2. Handling Unhandled Exceptions**

App Center automatically captures unhandled exceptions that cause crashes. However, to handle custom errors or exceptions that are caught by your app, you can manually log them using App Center's error tracking features. This is particularly useful for monitoring issues that don't necessarily crash the app but still need attention[4].

3. Customizing Crash Reports**

You can enhance crash reports by adding custom properties. This allows you to include additional context that might be relevant for diagnosing issues, such as user IDs, session IDs, or other app-specific data[9].

4. Using the Diagnostics UI**

App Center provides a comprehensive UI for viewing and analyzing diagnostics data. You can filter crashes by app version, build number, time range, and status. This helps in identifying recurring issues or those specific to certain versions of your app[3].

5. Migration Planning**

Given App Center's impending retirement, it's essential to explore alternative diagnostics tools. Sentry is one such option that offers robust crash reporting and performance monitoring capabilities[10]. When migrating, consider factors like feature compatibility, ease of integration, and the learning curve for your development team.

6. Logging and Error Handling**

In MVVMCross apps, ensure that your logging and error handling mechanisms are well-integrated with App Center or any alternative diagnostics tool you choose. This might involve implementing custom loggers or error handlers that feed into your diagnostics system[5].

By following these best practices, you can effectively utilize App Center Diagnostics in your MVVMCross apps until its retirement and prepare for a smooth transition to alternative solutions.