Methods - CometChat Docs

AI Integration Quick Reference

Field	Value
Class	`CometChatUIKit`
Package	`@cometchat/chat-uikit-react`
Usage	Static methods — no instantiation needed
Note	You must call `init()` and `login()` before rendering `CometChatProvider`

Overview

CometChatUIKit is a static class that provides imperative methods for SDK initialization, authentication, and message sending. The UI Kit wraps the Chat SDK methods to manage internal eventing and keep UI components synchronized. Use these wrapper methods instead of raw SDK calls. You must call CometChatUIKit.init() and CometChatUIKit.login() (or loginWithAuthToken()) before mounting CometChatProvider. These methods are also useful for:

Sending messages programmatically outside the composer
Checking initialization/login state

Initialization

`CometChatUIKit.init(settings)`

Initialize the CometChat SDK and UIKit.

import { CometChatUIKit, UIKitSettingsBuilder } from "@cometchat/chat-uikit-react";

const settings = new UIKitSettingsBuilder()
  .setAppId("APP_ID")
  .setRegion("us")
  .setAuthKey("AUTH_KEY")
  .subscribePresenceForAllUsers()
  .build();

const user = await CometChatUIKit.init(settings);
// user is non-null if an existing session was found

Parameter	Type	Description
`settings`	`UIKitSettings`	Built via `UIKitSettingsBuilder`

Returns: Promise<CometChat.User | null> — the logged-in user if a session exists, otherwise null. What it does:

Initializes the CometChat SDK with app settings
Sets source metadata for analytics
Creates the plugin registry (default + user plugins)
Initializes the localization singleton
Resumes existing session (if any)
Initializes Calls SDK (if enabled)

Setting Session Storage Mode

By default, session data is stored in localStorage. To use sessionStorage instead, configure it during initialization via the UIKitSettingsBuilder:

import { CometChat } from "@cometchat/chat-sdk-javascript";
import { CometChatUIKit, UIKitSettingsBuilder } from "@cometchat/chat-uikit-react";

const settings = new UIKitSettingsBuilder()
  .setAppId("APP_ID")
  .setRegion("REGION")
  .setAuthKey("AUTH_KEY")
  .setStorageMode(CometChat.StorageMode.SESSION)
  .build();

CometChatUIKit.init(settings).then(() => {
  console.log("Initialization completed with session storage");
});

When using sessionStorage, configure it in your UIKitSettingsBuilder before calling CometChatUIKit.init():

<CometChatProvider>
  <App />
</CometChatProvider>

Session storage is cleared when the browser tab is closed. Use this mode if you want users to re-authenticate on every new tab/session.

Authentication

const user = await CometChatUIKit.login("superhero1");

Parameter	Type	Description
`uid`	`string`	The user’s UID

Returns: Promise<CometChat.User>

`CometChatUIKit.loginWithAuthToken(authToken)`

const user = await CometChatUIKit.loginWithAuthToken(token);

Parameter	Type	Description
`authToken`	`string`	Server-generated auth token

Returns: Promise<CometChat.User>

`CometChatUIKit.logout()`

Log out the current user.

await CometChatUIKit.logout();

Returns: Promise<void>

User Management

Both methods require authKey in your UIKitSettings — they throw if it is missing. Intended for development/testing; in production, create and update users server-side via the REST API.

`CometChatUIKit.createUser(user)`

Create a new user.

import { CometChat } from "@cometchat/chat-sdk-javascript";

const user = new CometChat.User("new-uid");
user.setName("Alice");

const created = await CometChatUIKit.createUser(user);

Parameter	Type	Description
`user`	`CometChat.User`	The user to create

Returns: Promise<CometChat.User>

`CometChatUIKit.updateUser(user)`

Update an existing user.

const user = new CometChat.User("existing-uid");
user.setName("Alice Updated");

const updated = await CometChatUIKit.updateUser(user);

Parameter	Type	Description
`user`	`CometChat.User`	The user to update

Returns: Promise<CometChat.User>

State Getters

`CometChatUIKit.getLoggedInUser()`

Get the currently logged-in user (synchronous).

const user = CometChatUIKit.getLoggedInUser();

Returns: CometChat.User | null

`CometChatUIKit.isInitialized()`

Check if the SDK has been initialized.

if (CometChatUIKit.isInitialized()) { ... }

Returns: boolean

`CometChatUIKit.isCallingReady()`

Check if the Calls SDK is ready. Returns: boolean

`CometChatUIKit.getPluginRegistry()`

Get the plugin registry instance. Returns: CometChatPluginRegistry | null

`CometChatUIKit.getSettings()`

Get the UIKitSettings used during initialization. Returns: UIKitSettings | null

`CometChatUIKit.getConversationUpdateSettings()`

Get conversation update settings fetched from the dashboard. Returns: CometChat.ConversationUpdateSettings | null

Message Sending

These methods are low-level utilities. They send messages via the SDK but do not publish ui:message/sent events. This means:

The message won’t appear in CometChatMessageList automatically
The CometChatConversations list won’t update

For messages to appear in the UI, use the CometChatMessageComposer component, or manually publish the event after sending:

const publish = usePublishEvent();
const msg = await CometChatUIKit.sendTextMessage(message);
publish({ type: "ui:message/sent", message: msg, status: CometChatMessageStatus.success });

`CometChatUIKit.sendTextMessage(message)`

Send a text message. Sets muid and sentAt if not already set.

const textMessage = new CometChat.TextMessage("receiverUid", "Hello!", "user");
const sent = await CometChatUIKit.sendTextMessage(textMessage);

Returns: Promise<CometChat.BaseMessage>

`CometChatUIKit.sendMediaMessage(message)`

Send a media message (image, video, audio, file).

const mediaMessage = new CometChat.MediaMessage("receiverUid", file, "image", "user");
const sent = await CometChatUIKit.sendMediaMessage(mediaMessage);

Returns: Promise<CometChat.BaseMessage>

`CometChatUIKit.sendCustomMessage(message)`

Send a custom message (polls, location, etc.).

const customMessage = new CometChat.CustomMessage("receiverUid", "user", "location", { latitude: 37.7749, longitude: -122.4194 });
const sent = await CometChatUIKit.sendCustomMessage(customMessage);

Returns: Promise<CometChat.BaseMessage>

​Overview

​Initialization

​CometChatUIKit.init(settings)

​Setting Session Storage Mode

​Authentication

​CometChatUIKit.login(uid)

​CometChatUIKit.loginWithAuthToken(authToken)

​CometChatUIKit.logout()

​User Management

​CometChatUIKit.createUser(user)

​CometChatUIKit.updateUser(user)

​State Getters

​CometChatUIKit.getLoggedInUser()

​CometChatUIKit.isInitialized()

​CometChatUIKit.isCallingReady()

​CometChatUIKit.getPluginRegistry()

​CometChatUIKit.getSettings()

​CometChatUIKit.getConversationUpdateSettings()

​Message Sending

​CometChatUIKit.sendTextMessage(message)

​CometChatUIKit.sendMediaMessage(message)

​CometChatUIKit.sendCustomMessage(message)

Overview

Initialization

`CometChatUIKit.init(settings)`

Setting Session Storage Mode

Authentication

`CometChatUIKit.login(uid)`

`CometChatUIKit.loginWithAuthToken(authToken)`

`CometChatUIKit.logout()`

User Management

`CometChatUIKit.createUser(user)`

`CometChatUIKit.updateUser(user)`

State Getters

`CometChatUIKit.getLoggedInUser()`

`CometChatUIKit.isInitialized()`

`CometChatUIKit.isCallingReady()`

`CometChatUIKit.getPluginRegistry()`

`CometChatUIKit.getSettings()`

`CometChatUIKit.getConversationUpdateSettings()`

Message Sending

`CometChatUIKit.sendTextMessage(message)`

`CometChatUIKit.sendMediaMessage(message)`

`CometChatUIKit.sendCustomMessage(message)`