Forum Discussion

Pamagester's avatar
Pamagester
Honored Guest
28 days ago

Can a Web Page Send a Custom `deeplink_message`? – Quest Deep-Link Observations

TL;DR

I can launch my Quest 3 app from the browser with destination_api_name=delete_circle_new, but deeplink_message is ignored — the app always receives the literal message string set in the Meta dashboard. I’d love to know if runtime substitution is supported (and if so, what I’m missing).

Use-case

App: ArcGlyph – single-player MR sandbox where users place “circles” (anchors).
Desired flow: On the companion web page I list a user’s circles. Next to each one is Delete → clicking it should:

  1. Launch (or foreground) ArcGlyph,

  2. Pass the specific circle ID in deeplink_message,

  3. Inside OnDeeplinkReceived() I call DeleteCircle(id) and show toast confirmation.

Everything is local-only: no friend invites, no social flow, no server-side state change.

Timeline of what we actually tried

# Approach Result
1Static oculus:// URI in Quest Browser: oculus://{app_id}?deeplink_message=42Opens my store listing; OnDeeplinkReceived() never fires.
2Template-based deep links (/{app-id}/custom_update with type DEEPLINK)API insists on template_id; seems scoped to social milestones, so not viable here.
3Legacy “poly-deeplink” endpoint (curl sample from old docs)Returns 410 Gone.
4Graph API → /{app-id}/app_deeplink_public from a Cloudflare Worker (server-to-server, app token)✔ Launches the app every time.
✘ deeplink_message never substituted; app receives the exact default string from the Destination config page.
5Same call but moving payload into url param (e.g. ?c=42)Works, but Quest shell opens the Browser instead of routing into ArcGlyph.
6Verified dashboard settings – Destination set to delete_circle_new, default message “TEST”, deeplink_message checkbox ticked (doc says message should be replaced by API param).Still get “TEST” inside the app even when POST body passes deeplink_message=xyz.
 

Code that currently “works” (opens app, no substitution)

const body = new URLSearchParams({
  destination_api_name: 'delete_circle_new',
  fields:               'url',
  access_token:         `OC|${APP_ID}|${APP_SECRET}`,
  deeplink_message:     id          // <— ignored
});
fetch(`https://graph.oculus.com/${APP_ID}/app_deeplink_public`, { method:'POST', body });

Observations & Open Questions

  • Feature access is confirmed – The dashboard now shows Deep Links enabled; no API errors.

  • Dashboard default overrides param – deeplink_message in POST body appears to be ignored. Is that by design?

  • Payload limit unclear – Docs mention 64-byte limit, but since substitution never happens I can’t test the ceiling.

  • No social context – Because the flow is single-player, using social templates feels like the wrong hammer.

What I’m hoping to clarify

  1. Is runtime deeplink_message substitution supported for calls to app_deeplink_public?
    If yes: any example of a request/response pair that actually overrides the dashboard text would be gold.

  2. If substitution is intentionally disabled, what’s the recommended pattern for passing a small (≤ 64 B) opaque string from browser → Quest app?

  3. Is the 64-byte cap fixed? A doc footnote on exact size (and whether it’s bytes or UTF-8 chars) would help future devs plan.

Thanks for any insight, and for maintaining the deep-link feature — when it fires, the UX is fantastic!

1 Reply

  • Pamagester's avatar
    Pamagester
    Honored Guest
    27 days ago

    I don't want to spam my own post but, I SWEAR this was working on the time I wrote that post, I was starting to give to the idea that even though I couldn't change the deep_link_message I could, at least, send a link that activated my app. It seems that is no longer possible and I keep getting Invalid parameter now. I was trying to get a HAR file today to send a message to the Meta Horizon Developer Support and found out my process was no longer possible.