Getting Started

Start your first conversation

CometChat UI Kit for React Native is a collection of prebuilt UI components designed to simplify the development of an in-app chat with all the essential messaging features. Our UI Kit offers light and dark themes, various fonts, colors, and additional customization options. CometChat UI Kit supports both one-to-one and group conversations. Follow the guide below to initiate conversations from scratch using CometChat React Native UI Kit.

Prerequisites

Before installing UI Kit for React Native, you need to create a CometChat application on the CometChat Dashboard, which comprises everything required in a chat service including users, groups, calls & messages. You will need the App ID , AuthKey, Region of your CometChat application when initialising the SDK. i. Register on CometChat

To install UI Kit for React Native, you need to first register on CometChat Dashboard. Click here to sign up.

ii. Get Your Application Keys

Create a new app
Head over to the QuickStart or API & Auth Keys section and note the App ID, Auth Key, and Region.

Each CometChat application can be integrated with a single client app. Within the same application, users can communicate with each other across all platforms, whether they are on mobile devices or on the web.

You can quickly start building a modern messaging experience into your app by installing the new UI Kit, an add-on for the CometChat React Native SDK.

Step 1

Create a project

To get started, open terminal and create a new project using below command.

Bash

npx @react-native-community/cli init ChattingApp

The CometChat React Native UI Kit is officially built and tested with React Native version 0.77.0 and above, up to the latest stable release. While it may work with older versions, they are not officially supported and could lead to unexpected issues.

Step 2

Add Dependency

You can install UI Kit for React Native through using below command.

Bash

npm i @cometchat/chat-uikit-react-native

Other Dependencies

Bash

npm i @cometchat/chat-sdk-react-native
npm i @react-native-community/datetimepicker
npm i @react-native-clipboard/clipboard
npm i react-native-svg
npm i react-native-video
npm i dayjs
npm i @react-native-async-storage/async-storage

Add Permissions for android

Open AndroidManifest.xml file from android/app/src/main location and add below permissions

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.VIBRATE" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CAMERA" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO" />

Please make sure Android SDK path is set in the ANDROID_HOME environment variable or in local.properties via the field sdk.dir.

Install @cometchat/calls-sdk-react-native Package (Optional)

To enable calling functionality in your application, you need to install the Calling SDK separately within your project.

React Native UI Kit supports Calls SDK V3 or higher.

You can install @cometchat/calls-sdk-react-native Calling SDK for React Native using below command.
- Bash
npm i @cometchat/calls-sdk-react-native

Install dependancies required for call SDK to work

Bash

 npm i @cometchat/chat-sdk-react-native
 npm i @react-native-async-storage/async-storage
 npm i @react-native-community/netinfo
 npm i react-native-background-timer
 npm i react-native-callstats
 npm i react-native-webrtc

Add permissions Android:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CAMERA" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.MODIFY_AUDIO_SETTINGS" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE" />

iOS:

<key>NSCameraUsageDescription</key>
<string>This is for Camera permission</string>
<key>NSMicrophoneUsageDescription</key>
<string>This is for Mic permission</string>

Step 3

Initialise CometChatUIKit

To integrate and run CometChat UI Kit in your app, you need to initialize it beforehand. The Init method initializes the settings required for CometChat. Please ensure to call this method before invoking any other methods from CometChat UI Kit or CometChat SDK.

The Auth Key is an optional property of the UIKitSettings Class. It is intended for use primarily during proof-of-concept (POC) development or in the early stages of application development. You can use the Auth Token method to log in securely.

TypeScript

import React, { useEffect } from "react";
import {
  CometChatUIKit,
  UIKitSettings,
} from "@cometchat/chat-uikit-react-native";
import { CometChat } from "@cometchat/chat-sdk-react-native";

useEffect(() => {
  let uikitSettings: UIKitSettings = {
    appId: "Enter your App ID here", // Replace with your CometChat App ID
    authKey: "Enter your Auth Key here", // Replace with your App Auth Key
    region: "Enter your App Region here", // e.g., "us", "in"
    subscriptionType: CometChat.AppSettings
      .SUBSCRIPTION_TYPE_ALL_USERS as UIKitSettings["subscriptionType"],
  };

  CometChatUIKit.init(uikitSettings)
    .then(() => {
      console.log("CometChatUiKit successfully initialized");
    })
    .catch((error) => {
      console.log("Initialization failed with exception:", error);
    });
}, []);

Step 4 For login, you require a UID. You can create your own users on the CometChat Dashboard or via API. We have pre-generated test users: cometchat-uid-1, cometchat-uid-2, cometchat-uid-3, cometchat-uid-4, cometchat-uid-5. The Login method returns the User object containing all the information of the logged-in user.

This straightforward authentication method is ideal for proof-of-concept (POC) development or during the early stages of application development. For production environments, however, we strongly recommend using an Auth Token instead of an Auth Key to ensure enhanced security.

TypeScript

// Replace with the actual user ID you want to log in
const uid = "<YOUR_USER_UID>";

// Login user with CometChatUIKit
CometChatUIKit.login({ uid })
  .then((user) => {
    // Login successful
    console.log(`User logged in successfully: ${user.getName()}`);
  })
  .catch((error) => {
    // Handle login error
    console.error("Login failed with error:", error);
  });

Step 5

Render Conversations with Messages

Loading the Conversations Component

App.tsx

import React, { useEffect, useState } from "react";
import { SafeAreaView, ViewStyle } from "react-native";
import {
  CometChatConversations,
  CometChatUIKit,
  CometChatUiKitConstants,
  UIKitSettings,
  CometChatThemeProvider,
} from "@cometchat/chat-uikit-react-native";
import { CometChat } from "@cometchat/chat-sdk-react-native";

import Messages from "./src/components/Messages";

/* -------------------------------------------------------------------------- */
/*  ⚙️  Replace the placeholders below with your own CometChat credentials.    */
/* -------------------------------------------------------------------------- */
const APP_ID = "<APP_ID>"; // e.g. "123456abc"
const AUTH_KEY = "<AUTH_KEY>"; // e.g. "0b1c2d3e4f5g6h7i8j9k"
const REGION = "<REGION>"; // e.g. "us" | "eu" | "in"
const DEMO_UID = "<UID>"; // e.g. "john_doe"
/* -------------------------------------------------------------------------- */

/**
 * App
 * ---
 * The root component:
 *  1. Initializes the CometChat UI Kit.
 *  2. Logs a demo user in.
 *  3. Shows either the conversation list or an active chat screen.
 */
const App = (): React.ReactElement => {
  /* ------------------------------------------------------------------ */
  /* Local state                                                         */
  /* ------------------------------------------------------------------ */
  const [loggedIn, setLoggedIn] = useState(false);
  const [messageUser, setMessageUser] = useState<CometChat.User>();
  const [messageGroup, setMessageGroup] = useState<CometChat.Group>();

  /* ------------------------------------------------------------------ */
  /* One-time initialization                                             */
  /* ------------------------------------------------------------------ */
  useEffect(() => {
    const init = async () => {
      // 1️⃣  Configure the UI Kit.
      const uiKitSettings: UIKitSettings = {
        appId: APP_ID,
        authKey: AUTH_KEY,
        region: REGION,
        subscriptionType: CometChat.AppSettings
          .SUBSCRIPTION_TYPE_ALL_USERS as UIKitSettings["subscriptionType"],
      };

      try {
        await CometChatUIKit.init(uiKitSettings);
        console.log("[CometChatUIKit] initialized");

        // 2️⃣  Login.
        await CometChatUIKit.login({ uid: DEMO_UID });
        setLoggedIn(true);
      } catch (err) {
        console.error("[CometChatUIKit] init/login error", err);
      }
    };

    init();
  }, []);

  /* ------------------------------------------------------------------ */
  /* Render                                                              */
  /* ------------------------------------------------------------------ */
  return (
    <SafeAreaView style={styles.fullScreen}>
      <CometChatThemeProvider>
        {/* Show conversations only after the user is logged in */}
        {loggedIn && (
          <>
            {/* Conversation list (hidden when a chat is open) */}
            <CometChatConversations
              style={{
                containerStyle: {
                  display: messageUser || messageGroup ? "none" : "flex",
                },
              }}
              onItemPress={(conversation: CometChat.Conversation) => {
                if (
                  conversation.getConversationType() ===
                  CometChatUiKitConstants.ConversationTypeConstants.user
                ) {
                  setMessageUser(
                    conversation.getConversationWith() as CometChat.User
                  );
                  return;
                }
                setMessageGroup(
                  conversation.getConversationWith() as CometChat.Group
                );
              }}
            />

            {/* Active chat screen */}
            {(messageUser || messageGroup) && (
              <Messages
                user={messageUser}
                group={messageGroup}
                onBack={() => {
                  setMessageUser(undefined);
                  setMessageGroup(undefined);
                }}
              />
            )}
          </>
        )}
      </CometChatThemeProvider>
    </SafeAreaView>
  );
};

/* -------------------------------------------------------------------------- */
/* Styles                                                                     */
/* -------------------------------------------------------------------------- */
const styles: { fullScreen: ViewStyle } = {
  fullScreen: { flex: 1 },
};

export default App;

Loading the Messages Component

The Messages component allows users to view and send messages in both one-on-one and group conversations.

Messages.tsx

import React from "react";
import { View, StyleSheet } from "react-native";
import {
  CometChatMessageHeader,
  CometChatMessageList,
  CometChatMessageComposer,
} from "@cometchat/chat-uikit-react-native";
import { CometChat } from "@cometchat/chat-sdk-react-native";

/**
 * Messages
 * --------
 * A self-contained chat screen that combines the **CometChatMessageHeader**, **CometChatMessageList**,
 * and **CometChatMessageComposer** provided by the CometChat React-Native UI Kit.
 *
 * Props
 * -----
 * • `user`  – (CometChat.User, optional) Target user for a 1-to-1 conversation.
 * • `group` – (CometChat.Group, optional) Target group for a group conversation.
 * • `onBack`— () ⇒ void Callback fired when the back button in the header is pressed.
 *
 */
const Messages = ({
  user,
  group,
  onBack,
}: {
  user?: CometChat.User;
  group?: CometChat.Group;
  onBack: () => void;
}) => {
  return (
    <View /* root container fills the entire screen */ style={styles.root}>
      {/* Top bar: avatar, name & back button */}
      <CometChatMessageHeader
        user={user}
        group={group}
        onBack={onBack}
        showBackButton
      />

      {/* Scrollable list of chat messages */}
      <CometChatMessageList user={user} group={group} />

      {/* Input field + action buttons (emoji, attach, send, etc.) */}
      <CometChatMessageComposer user={user} group={group} />
    </View>
  );
};

const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  /** Ensures the component stretches to use all available space */
  root: {
    flex: 1,
  },
});

export default Messages;

​Start your first conversation

​Prerequisites

​Getting Started

​Create a project

​Add Dependency

​Other Dependencies

​Add Permissions for android

​Install @cometchat/calls-sdk-react-native Package (Optional)

​Initialise CometChatUIKit

​Login User

​Render Conversations with Messages

​Loading the Conversations Component

​Loading the Messages Component

Start your first conversation

Prerequisites

Getting Started

Create a project

Add Dependency

Other Dependencies

Add Permissions for android

Install @cometchat/calls-sdk-react-native Package (Optional)

Initialise CometChatUIKit

Login User

Render Conversations with Messages

Loading the Conversations Component

Loading the Messages Component