Lens Studio User Context — Reference Guide

This guide covers Snapchat social APIs available in Lens Studio: user identity, Bitmoji avatars, friends, social sharing (Dynamic Response), and leaderboards.

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UserContextSystem

UserContextSystem provides information about the current Snapchat user.

const userContextSystem = global.userContextSystem

// Get the current user's SnapchatUser object
const currentUser: SnapchatUser = userContextSystem.getCurrentUser()
print('Display name: ' + currentUser.displayName)

// Check if the user has a Bitmoji
if (currentUser.hasBitmoji()) {
  loadBitmoji2D(currentUser)
}

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Bitmoji 2D (Sticker)

Load a user's Bitmoji as a flat 2D texture:

const bitmojiModule = require('LensStudio:BitmojiModule')
const remoteMediaModule = require('LensStudio:RemoteMediaModule')

function loadBitmoji2D(user: SnapchatUser): void {
  // Step 1: Request the Bitmoji 2D resource URL
  const resource = bitmojiModule.requestBitmoji2DResource(user)

  // Step 2: Fetch the resource and apply it as a texture
  remoteMediaModule.loadResourceAsImageTexture(
    resource,
    (texture: Texture) => {
      // Apply the texture to a screen image or material
      screenImage.mainPass.baseTex = texture
      print('Bitmoji 2D loaded for: ' + user.displayName)
    },
    (error: string) => {
      print('Failed to load Bitmoji 2D: ' + error)
    }
  )
}

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Bitmoji 3D

Load a user's full 3D Bitmoji avatar into the scene:

function loadBitmoji3D(user: SnapchatUser, parent: SceneObject): void {
  // Step 1: Request the 3D resource
  const resource = bitmojiModule.requestBitmoji3DResource(user)

  // Step 2: Fetch and instantiate as a scene object
  remoteMediaModule.loadResourceAsSceneObject(
    resource,
    (bitmojiObject: SceneObject) => {
      bitmojiObject.setParent(parent)
      bitmojiObject.getTransform().setLocalPosition(vec3.zero())
      print('Bitmoji 3D loaded for: ' + user.displayName)

      // Animate: find the AnimationMixer on the loaded Bitmoji
      const animator = bitmojiObject.getComponent('Component.AnimationMixer')
      if (animator) {
        animator.startAllAnimations()
      }
    },
    (error: string) => {
      print('Failed to load Bitmoji 3D: ' + error)
    }
  )
}

Playing a specific animation on a Bitmoji 3D

const animator = bitmojiObject.getComponent('Component.AnimationMixer')

// Play a named animation clip
animator.setClipWeight('wave', 1.0)
animator.setClipEnabled('wave', true)

// Stop
animator.setClipEnabled('wave', false)

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Bitmoji Head (Live Face Animation)

The Bitmoji Head reacts to the user's face in real time using face tracking.

1. Add a Bitmoji Head to the scene (+ → Bitmoji → Bitmoji Head).
2. Connect it to the FaceTracking component on your Head object.
3. The Bitmoji head will mirror the user's expressions (mouth open, eyebrows, etc.) automatically.

To access the Bitmoji head in script:

const bitmojiHead = bitmojiHeadObject.getComponent('Component.BitmojiHeadComponent')
bitmojiHead.faceTracker = faceTrackingComponent

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Friends API

Listing friends with FriendsComponent

// Add a FriendsComponent to your scene object in the inspector,
// then access it from script:
const friendsComponent = this.sceneObject.getComponent('Component.FriendsComponent')

// Get the list of friends (up to the platform limit)
friendsComponent.getFriends((friends: SnapchatUser[]) => {
  friends.forEach(friend => {
    print('Friend: ' + friend.displayName)
    loadBitmoji2D(friend)   // load their Bitmoji (reuse function from above)
  })
})

FriendInfo Component

Shows a single friend's avatar and display name in a UI panel:

1. Add a FriendInfo component to a scene object.
2. Set the friend input to a SnapchatUser from the Friends API.

const friendInfoComponent = this.sceneObject.getComponent('Component.FriendInfoComponent')
friendInfoComponent.friend = selectedFriend  // set to a SnapchatUser from getFriends()

Bitmoji Selfies & Stickers Component

Displays a side-by-side or combined Bitmoji image for the user and a friend:

const selfieStickerComponent = this.sceneObject.getComponent('Component.BitmojiSelfiesStickerComponent')

// Set user and friend for a combined selfie Bitmoji sticker
selfieStickerComponent.primaryUser = currentUser
selfieStickerComponent.secondaryUser = selectedFriend

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Dynamic Response (Poster / Responder mechanic)

Dynamic Response lets a lens share data and Snap media between a Poster (the person who sends a Snap) and Responders (friends who receive it and tap to open).

Flow

1. Poster opens the lens, customises it, and sends/posts a Snap.
2. Responder taps the Snap; the lens opens in Responder mode with data from the Poster.

Setup

1. Download the Dynamic Response component from the Asset Library.
2. Add the DynamicResponseComponent to a scene object.
3. Define tappable areas in the inspector (regions the Responder can tap on the received Snap).

Reading Poster data in Responder mode

const dynamicResponse = this.sceneObject.getComponent('Component.DynamicResponseComponent')

dynamicResponse.onResponderActivated.add(() => {
  // We are in Responder mode — read data the Poster embedded
  // Always sanitise: Poster data is a plain string with no schema enforcement
  const raw: string = dynamicResponse.getPosterData('myKey') ?? ''
  const posterData = raw.slice(0, 256)  // cap length; validate further if driving logic
  print('Poster sent: ' + posterData)

  // Show the Responder-specific UI
  responderUI.enabled = true
  posterUI.enabled    = false
})

Writing data as the Poster

// Called when the Poster is about to send the Snap
dynamicResponse.setPosterData('myKey', 'Hello Responder!')
dynamicResponse.setPosterData('score', '42')

Checking which mode we're in

if (dynamicResponse.isPoster()) {
  print('We are the Poster — show customisation UI')
} else if (dynamicResponse.isResponder()) {
  print('We are the Responder — read Poster data')
}

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Leaderboard Module

For the full API reference with code examples, see the lens-studio-world-query skill. Summary:

const leaderboardModule = require('LensStudio:LeaderboardModule')

const options = Leaderboard.CreateOptions.create()
options.name = 'MY_LEADERBOARD'
options.ttlSeconds = 0          // 0 = permanent
options.orderingType = Leaderboard.OrderingType.Descending

leaderboardModule.getLeaderboard(options,
  (lb) => {
    // Submit
    lb.submitScore(100, (info) => print('Submitted for ' + info.snapchatUser.displayName), print)

    // Retrieve top 10
    const r = Leaderboard.RetrievalOptions.create()
    r.usersLimit = 10
    r.usersType = Leaderboard.UsersType.Global
    lb.getLeaderboardInfo(r,
      (records, myRecord) => {
        records.forEach((rec, i) => print(`#${i+1}: ${rec.snapchatUser?.displayName} — ${rec.score}`))
      },
      print
    )
  },
  print
)

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Common Gotchas

• UserContextSystem requires user consent — if the user hasn't granted the Bitmoji permission, hasBitmoji() returns false. Always check before requesting.
• Bitmoji loading is async — always update the UI in the remoteMediaModule callback, not immediately after calling requestBitmoji3DResource.
• getFriends() list size is platform-limited — don't assume you can get all friends; design for partial lists.
• Dynamic Response Poster data is an unvalidated string. Always sanitise it (cap length, check format) before using it to drive UI or game logic — a crafted Snap could inject arbitrary content.
• Dynamic Response tappable areas: if you add tappable areas in the inspector, the platform's Call-to-Action (CTA) button is replaced by the tappable shimmer on the received Snap.
• Dynamic Response is not available in the Lens Studio simulator — test Poster/Responder flow via Snapchat on two devices.
• Leaderboard scores are submitted from the client. There is no server-side score validation — for competitive lenses, use a Snap Cloud Edge Function to verify scores before writing to the leaderboard.
• Leaderboard names are global to the lens — two lenses with the same name string share the same leaderboard. Use unique names.