Cometchat

Use this skill when

The user wants to add CometChat to any kind of project. Trigger phrases:

• /cometchat
• "add cometchat", "integrate cometchat", "add chat to my app"
• "add messaging", "add chat ui", "add in-app chat"

This is the entry point for every framework. Do NOT invoke framework-specific skills directly — this dispatcher detects the framework first and routes to the right ones.

Supported frameworks:

The web family loads @cometchat/chat-uikit-react + @cometchat/chat-sdk-javascript. The RN family loads @cometchat/chat-uikit-react-native + @cometchat/chat-sdk-react-native. The dispatcher decides which set after Step 1's detection.

How v3 works

v3 skills are interactive and conversational. You don't just detect the framework and dump code. You have a conversation with the developer to understand their project, their use case, and exactly where chat should go — THEN you write code that fits.

Pattern skills (loaded from your context, not via Skill()):

• cometchat-core (web) / cometchat-native-core (RN) — init, login, provider chain, env vars, anti-patterns
• cometchat-components (web) / cometchat-native-components (RN) — component catalog, props, composition
• cometchat-placement (web) / cometchat-native-placement (RN) — WHERE to put chat
• One per-framework skill (cometchat-{react,nextjs,react-router,astro}-patterns or cometchat-native-{expo,bare}-patterns) — framework-specific details

Key principle: ask, don't assume. Every piece of information you need from the user should be asked explicitly. Don't guess the route path, don't guess where the trigger button goes, don't guess the auth system.

Steps

Step 1 — Detect framework + map the project

First, check if .cometchat/config.json exists:

npx @cometchat/skills-cli config show --json

If config exists with previous answers, tell the user:

"I see you've set up CometChat before. Using your saved config: Framework: {framework}, App: {appId}, Intent: {intent}. Want to continue with these, or start fresh?"

If no config, run detection:

npx @cometchat/skills-cli detect --json

The JSON output includes framework (one of reactjs, nextjs, react-router, astro, expo, react-native, or null), framework-specific fields (router, expo_mode, react_native_version, env_prefix), and a compatibility.supported flag. If supported is false, stop and surface the warnings.

Then read the project yourself — this is critical.

For web frameworks (reactjs, nextjs, react-router, astro):

• package.json — name, dependencies, scripts
• The source directory structure — list all directories under src/ or app/
• Find the router: createBrowserRouter, app/ directory, pages/, react-router.config.ts, astro.config.*
• Find the layout: App.tsx, layout.tsx, root.tsx, Layout.astro
• Find the nav: components with "nav", "header", "sidebar" in name
• Find existing pages/routes: list them so you can reference them later

For React Native (expo, react-native):

• package.json — name, RN version, all dependencies, scripts
• Entry file — index.js or App.{tsx,jsx} or app/_layout.tsx (Expo Router)
• Navigation — look for @react-navigation/native, @react-navigation/stack, @react-navigation/bottom-tabs, or expo-router
• Existing screens — list all files under screens/, src/screens/, app/, or wherever routes live
• Existing nav structure — read the root navigator to see stack vs tab vs drawer layout

Store this mental map — you'll use it throughout the conversation.

Compatibility baselines (the CLI enforces these):

• Web: react@<18 → upgrade required; nextjs@<13 → warning; astro@<4 → warning
• RN: react-native@<0.70 → upgrade required; expo@<49 → upgrade required

Pattern skills not installed?

The dispatcher routes to either web pattern skills (cometchat-{core,components,placement,*-patterns}) or RN pattern skills (cometchat-native-{core,components,placement,*-patterns}) based on the detected framework. If the matching set isn't loaded in your context — i.e. the user installed only one of @cometchat/skills (web) or @cometchat/skills-native (RN) and the framework doesn't match — stop and tell them which package to install:

If framework is expo or react-native AND cometchat-native-core is NOT loaded:

"This is a React Native / Expo project, but the React Native pattern skills aren't installed in this workspace. Install them with:

npx @cometchat/skills-native add

then run /cometchat again."

If framework is reactjs, nextjs, react-router, or astro AND cometchat-core is NOT loaded:

"This is a {framework} project, but the web pattern skills aren't installed in this workspace. Install them with:

npx @cometchat/skills add

then run /cometchat again."

To check, attempt to read cometchat-core/SKILL.md (web) or cometchat-native-core/SKILL.md (RN) from your loaded skills context. If the read fails, the package isn't installed.

Do NOT attempt to write web UI Kit code into an RN project (CSS imports + <a href> + document.* will fail at runtime) or RN UI Kit code into a web project (react-native-gesture-handler, @gorhom/bottom-sheet, native bubble components have no browser equivalents).

Step 2 — Set up credentials (onboarding)

CRITICAL: All onboarding happens via CLI commands. NEVER send the user to a browser or dashboard for credential copy-pasting. The CLI handles signup, login, app creation, and credential writing — all from the terminal — for every framework.

If config has appId set, verify credentials are in .env and skip to Step 3.

Otherwise check:

npx @cometchat/skills-cli auth status --json

If status is "logged-in", skip to Step 2c (app selection).

If status is "logged-out", ask:

Use AskUserQuestion:

• question: "Let's set up CometChat. Do you have an account?"
• header: "Account"
• multiSelect: false
• options:
  1. label: "Create a new account", description: "Free signup — I'll handle it right here, no browser needed."
  2. label: "Sign in to existing account", description: "Log in and pick one of your apps."
  3. label: "I'll paste credentials myself", description: "I already have my App ID, Region, and Auth Key."

Option 1 → Step 2b. Option 2 → Step 2a. Option 3 → Step 2d.

Step 2a — Sign in (existing account, browser flow)

npx @cometchat/skills-cli auth login

This command:

1. Generates a short-lived session via the CLI auth API.
2. Opens https://app.cometchat.com/login?sessionId=<hex> in the user's default browser.
3. Polls the auth API every 5 seconds for up to 15 minutes.
4. When the user finishes signing in, the dashboard marks the session authenticated. The next poll receives the bearer token and stores it in the OS keychain.
5. Prints ✓ Logged in as <email> (backend: keychain-macos).

Let the CLI block — do NOT background it, do NOT race it with other prompts.

Terminal error handling (surface verbatim, stop, do not retry silently):

• ACCESS_DENIED — user clicked Deny in the dashboard.
• EXPIRED — 15-minute window elapsed.
• TIMEOUT — max polls exhausted before user authorized.
• ABORTED — user Ctrl-C'd the CLI.
• NETWORK — couldn't reach the auth host.
• ALREADY_AUTHENTICATED — this session was already consumed. Re-run auth login to mint a fresh session.

After success, verify via auth status --json and proceed to Step 2c.

Step 2b — Sign up (new account, browser flow)

npx @cometchat/skills-cli auth signup

Same polling flow as Step 2a, but the CLI opens the signup URL. The browser handles email, name, password, verification email, role, industry. The CLI never sees any of those values.

No role / name / verification-code questions in the chat. The dashboard owns that flow now; skipping it keeps the user's password and verification code out of the transcript.

Error codes match Step 2a. After success, verify via auth status --json and proceed to Step 2c.

Step 2c — Pick or create an app

Run this immediately — do NOT ask the user to go to any dashboard:

npx @cometchat/skills-cli provision list --json

If the user has existing apps, show them and ask which to use:

"I found these CometChat apps on your account:

1. my-marketplace-chat (us) — Developer plan
2. test-app (eu) — Developer plan

Which one should I use, or should I create a new one?"

For an existing app, fetch credentials and wire everything in one call. Pass --framework from Step 1 detection (one of reactjs, nextjs, react-router, astro, expo, react-native):

npx @cometchat/skills-cli provision setup \
  --app-id "<selected-appId>" --framework "<framework>" --json

This creates/updates the env file with the correct prefix AND writes .cometchat/config.json in one step. Output is compact: { appId, region, framework, envFile, configPath } — no authKey echoed back.

If no apps exist (or user wants new), collect:

1. App name — suggest <project-name>-chat from package.json name

2. Region — AskUserQuestion:

   • question: "Which region for your CometChat app?"
   • header: "Region"
   • options: US (recommended), EU, India

   Region key mapping (CLI expects lowercase):

   Label	--region value
   US	us
   EU	eu
   India	in

3. Industry — AskUserQuestion:

   • options: SaaS / Business, Marketplace, Social / Community, Other (or finer-grained from the table below)

Industry key mapping:

Confirm before creating, then:

npx @cometchat/skills-cli provision setup \
  --name "<name>" --region "<region>" --industry "<industry_key>" \
  --framework "<framework>" --json

The authKey is written to the env file but is NOT echoed to stdout, so credentials don't appear multiple times in the transcript.

Tell the user: "Your CometChat account and app are ready. Credentials saved to <envFile>. Let's set up the integration."

Step 2d — Paste keys manually

Tell the user which env vars to set based on the detected framework:

"Grab your credentials from https://app.cometchat.com → Your App → API & Auth Keys. Create the env file above and tell me when done."

Bare RN extra step. Bare RN doesn't ship a public-env-prefix convention — pair the env file with react-native-dotenv:

npm install --save-dev react-native-dotenv

and add the plugin to babel.config.js:

module.exports = {
  presets: ["module:@react-native/babel-preset"],
  plugins: [["module:react-native-dotenv"]],
};

Then import { COMETCHAT_APP_ID, COMETCHAT_REGION, COMETCHAT_AUTH_KEY } from "@env"; in the provider.

After they confirm, verify:

npx @cometchat/skills-cli config init --json

Never log the Auth Key

After writing credentials, don't echo the Auth Key back in the transcript. Confirm as ✓ Wrote <PREFIX>COMETCHAT_AUTH_KEY (hidden).

Step 3 — Interactive requirements gathering

This is the core of v3. A multi-step conversation that gathers everything you need before writing a single line of code.

3a. "What are you building?"

If config has intent set, confirm it and move on.

Otherwise, use AskUserQuestion:

• question: "What kind of app are you building?"
• header: "Your app"
• multiSelect: false
• options:
  1. label: "Messaging app", description: "Chat is the main feature — like Slack, Discord, WhatsApp, or Telegram."
  2. label: "Marketplace or platform", description: "Buyers and sellers communicate — like Airbnb, eBay, OfferUp, or Depop."
  3. label: "SaaS or productivity", description: "Team chat or support chat inside a product — like Notion, Intercom, or Linear."
  4. label: "Social or community", description: "User profiles with messaging — like a dating app or community forum."
  5. label: "Support or helpdesk", description: "Customer-to-agent communication."
  6. label: "Just exploring", description: "Quick demo — fastest path to see chat working."

If "Just exploring": skip the rest of Step 3 and scaffold the minimal integration in Step 5 — one route/screen showing <CometChatConversations /> with cometchat-uid-1 pre-logged-in.

3b. Show what you recommend and why

The recommendation table differs by family because the placement vocabulary is different (web has routes/drawers/widgets; RN has screens/tabs/sheets):

Web family (reactjs, nextjs, react-router, astro):

React Native family (expo, react-native):

When explaining, reference the ASCII diagrams from cometchat-placement (web) or cometchat-native-placement (RN) so the user can visualize.

Ask: "Does this sound right, or do you want a different approach?" Let them override.

3c. Ask where things should go

Show the user their actual project structure — list the pages/routes/screens you found in Step 1. Then ask placement-specific questions appropriate to the family.

Web — Route placement (messaging, social):

"I found these pages in your project:

• / (home)
• /about
• /products
• /profile

Where should the messages page live?"

Default: /messages. Let user type a custom path.

Web — Drawer placement (marketplace):

"Which page should have the 'Chat' button that opens the drawer? I found these pages: ..."

Read the picked page. Look for existing buttons, actions, or interactive elements. Ask whether to wire to the existing button or add a new one.

Web — Modal placement (SaaS):

"Where should the 'Open chat' button go? I found these components that look like navigation: ..."

Web — Widget placement (support):

"Should the widget appear on all pages, or only specific ones?"

RN — Bottom tab placement (messaging, social):

"I found these bottom tabs in your navigator at App.tsx:

• Home
• Profile
• Settings

Where should the 'Messages' tab go? (At the end, or pick a position.)"

RN — Stack screen placement (saas, marketplace inbox):

"I found these stack screens in your root navigator: ...

What should I call the chat screen? Default: MessagesScreen."

RN — Modal placement (marketplace, support):

"Which screen should have the 'Chat' button that opens the modal? I found these screens: ..."

Read the picked screen. Look for existing buttons. Ask whether to wire to it or add a new one.

RN — BottomSheet placement (quick reply, support):

"Bottom sheets slide up from below. Should the sheet be:

1. Draggable (user can dismiss by swiping down) — uses @gorhom/bottom-sheet
2. Fixed overlay — uses CometChat's built-in CometChatBottomSheet

Which one?"

Combinations (marketplace = drawer/modal + inbox): ask both questions in sequence — they're separate components wired into separate places.

Expo Router projects — adapt screen names to file paths:

• Stack screen → app/messages.tsx (or the path the user picks)
• Bottom tab → file under app/(tabs)/messages.tsx + update app/(tabs)/_layout.tsx
• Modal → app/(modals)/chat.tsx with presentation: "modal" in the parent _layout.tsx

3d. Detect and ask about authentication

Read the project's package.json and source files. Look for auth.

Web auth libraries:

• next-auth / @auth/core → NextAuth
• @clerk/nextjs / @clerk/clerk-react → Clerk
• @supabase/supabase-js + auth usage → Supabase Auth
• firebase / firebase/auth → Firebase Auth
• passport → Passport.js
• jsonwebtoken / jose → Custom JWT

RN auth libraries:

• firebase / @react-native-firebase/auth → Firebase Auth
• @clerk/clerk-expo / @clerk/clerk-react-native → Clerk
• @supabase/supabase-js + auth usage → Supabase Auth
• react-native-auth0 → Auth0
• aws-amplify + auth module → AWS Cognito
• @react-native-google-signin/google-signin → Google Sign-In (usually paired with something above)
• expo-auth-session / expo-secure-store → Expo Auth Session (custom)

None detected → no auth.

Report what you found and ask:

If auth detected:

"I see you're using [NextAuth / Firebase Auth / etc.]. Here's how CometChat will work with it:

• Development (now): I'll use CometChat's Auth Key for quick testing with pre-seeded users (cometchat-uid-1 through uid-5).
• Production (later): Your server will mint per-user auth tokens via the CometChat REST API. I can set this up now or later (see cometchat-production / cometchat-native-production).

Start with dev mode for now? You can upgrade to production auth anytime by choosing 'Set up production auth' from the menu."

If no auth detected:

"I don't see an authentication system in your project yet. For now, I'll set up CometChat with a hardcoded test user (cometchat-uid-1).

When you add auth later, run /cometchat again and choose 'Set up production auth' to connect them."

3e. Ask about user mapping (if auth detected)

If the user has auth AND wants to set up production mode now:

"How should your app's users map to CometChat users?

1. Use your existing user ID as the CometChat UID (simplest)
2. Generate a separate CometChat UID and store it alongside your user record
3. Let me just set up dev mode for now"

If they share an example, validate it's CometChat-compatible (alphanumeric, underscores, hyphens — no spaces or special chars; max 100 chars). Firebase UIDs, Clerk user IDs, Supabase UUIDs, and Auth0 sub claims are all CometChat-compatible by default.

3f. Confirm the plan

This is critical. Show EXACTLY what you'll do before doing it. The plan format differs by framework.

Web example (Next.js, marketplace):

"Here's what I'll create:

New files:

• app/providers/CometChatProvider.tsx
• app/messages/page.tsx
• app/components/ChatDrawer.tsx
• .env.local

Files I'll modify:

• app/products/[id]/page.tsx — add ChatDrawer trigger
• app/layout.tsx — wrap with CometChatProvider
• app/components/Navbar.tsx — add 'Messages' link

Dependencies: @cometchat/chat-sdk-javascript, @cometchat/chat-uikit-react

Auth mode: Development (Auth Key). Proceed? [y/n]"

RN example (Expo Router, messaging):

"Here's what I'll create:

New files:

• providers/CometChatProvider.tsx
• app/(tabs)/messages.tsx
• .env

Files I'll modify:

• app/_layout.tsx — wrap with the four-wrapper chain
• app/(tabs)/_layout.tsx — add the Messages tab
• index.js — import 'react-native-gesture-handler' at line 1 (if missing)

Dependencies (via npx expo install): @cometchat/chat-uikit-react-native, @cometchat/chat-sdk-react-native, react-native-gesture-handler, react-native-reanimated, react-native-safe-area-context, react-native-screens, @react-native-async-storage/async-storage, @react-native-community/netinfo, react-native-video, react-native-image-picker, react-native-document-picker, react-native-vector-icons, react-native-fs

Auth mode: Development (Auth Key). Proceed? [y/n]"

Bare RN variant — same as Expo, except npm install instead of npx expo install, plus:

• Run cd ios && pod install
• Patch ios/<Name>/Info.plist, android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml for permissions
• Add ios/<Name>/PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy (Apple Privacy Manifest)
• Patch android/build.gradle for the async-storage Maven repo (v3+)

Wait for explicit confirmation. If the user says no or wants changes, go back to the relevant question and re-ask.

Step 4 — Reference pattern skills

All skills are already loaded in your context as .claude/skills/ files. Do NOT use the Skill() tool. Read and follow them directly.

For web frameworks:

1. cometchat-core — initialization, provider, CSS, anti-patterns
2. cometchat-components — component catalog, composition patterns
3. Framework-specific:
   • reactjs → cometchat-react-patterns
   • nextjs → cometchat-nextjs-patterns
   • react-router → cometchat-react-router-patterns
   • astro → cometchat-astro-patterns
4. cometchat-placement — placement pattern for the chosen approach

For React Native:

1. cometchat-native-core — init, login, four-wrapper provider chain, env vars, anti-patterns
2. cometchat-native-components — component catalog
3. Framework-specific:
   • expo (managed + Expo Router) → cometchat-native-expo-patterns
   • react-native (bare CLI) → cometchat-native-bare-patterns
4. cometchat-native-placement — placement pattern (stack/tab/modal/bottom-sheet/embed)

Step 5 — Write the integration

Execute the confirmed plan. The order of operations is the same for every framework, but the file names + provider shape differ.

Web — common steps:

1. CometChatProvider — follow the framework skill's provider pattern. Use the correct env var prefix. Module-level initialized guard. Mount at the level agreed in Step 3f.
2. Chat component(s) — follow the placement skill's pattern.
3. Wire into existing project — READ each file before modifying. Add the route, nav link, drawer/modal trigger.
4. CSS import — add once at the root level per framework conventions.
5. Environment variables — write the env file with the correct prefix.
6. Install dependencies:

   npm install @cometchat/chat-sdk-javascript @cometchat/chat-uikit-react
   

React Native — common steps:

1. Entry file (index.js / App.tsx / app/_layout.tsx) — verify import "react-native-gesture-handler"; is line 1. Not line 2, not after another import. Non-negotiable.

2. CometChatProvider — follow cometchat-native-core § 6. Module-level initialized guard. Module-level loginInFlight promise for login concurrency.

3. Four-wrapper chain — wrap the app's root in this exact order:

   <GestureHandlerRootView style={{ flex: 1 }}>
     <SafeAreaProvider>
       <CometChatThemeProvider>
         <CometChatProvider>
           {/* navigator / Expo Router <Stack> */}
         </CometChatProvider>
       </CometChatThemeProvider>
     </SafeAreaProvider>
   </GestureHandlerRootView>
   

4. Chat screen(s) — follow cometchat-native-placement's pattern.

5. Every <CometChatMessageList> MUST pass hideReplyInThreadOption={true} (see hard rules).

6. Wire into existing project — READ each file before modifying.

7. Environment variables — write .env with the correct prefix (EXPO_PUBLIC_ for Expo, bare for react-native).

8. Install dependencies:

   Expo managed:

   npx expo install @cometchat/chat-uikit-react-native @cometchat/chat-sdk-react-native \
     react-native-gesture-handler react-native-reanimated react-native-safe-area-context \
     react-native-screens @react-native-async-storage/async-storage \
     @react-native-community/netinfo react-native-video react-native-image-picker \
     react-native-document-picker react-native-vector-icons react-native-fs
   

   Bare RN:

   npm install @cometchat/chat-uikit-react-native @cometchat/chat-sdk-react-native \
     react-native-gesture-handler react-native-reanimated react-native-safe-area-context \
     react-native-screens @react-native-async-storage/async-storage \
     @react-native-community/netinfo react-native-video react-native-image-picker \
     react-native-document-picker react-native-vector-icons react-native-fs
   cd ios && pod install && cd ..
   

   Reanimated plugin (both): verify react-native-reanimated/plugin is the LAST entry in babel.config.js plugins array. Metro cache is sensitive to plugin order.

9. Native config (bare RN only):

   • ios/<Name>/Info.plist — add NSCameraUsageDescription, NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription, NSMicrophoneUsageDescription
   • android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml — add CAMERA, RECORD_AUDIO, READ_MEDIA_IMAGES, READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permissions
   • ios/<Name>/PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy — add the 4 required API codes (C617.1, CA92.1, 35F9.1, E174.1). See cometchat-native-bare-patterns.
   • android/build.gradle — async-storage Maven repo if v3+

   Expo managed — all of this goes in app.json under plugins and ios.infoPlist / android.permissions. See cometchat-native-expo-patterns.

Step 5 — common to ALL frameworks

After the framework-specific work above, every integration ends the same way:

10. Update config.json — save all the choices in one call:

    npx @cometchat/skills-cli config save \
      --intent "<intent>" \
      --placement "<type>" \
      --placement-path "<path>" \
      --auth-mode "<mode>" --json
    

    Pass only the fields you have — config save accepts any subset.

11. Record state so Phase B commands work — DO NOT SKIP. Every Phase B command (info, status, doctor, verify, uninstall, apply-theme, apply-feature, add-widget, add-user-mgmt, production-auth) reads .cometchat/state.json to know what the integration looks like. Without this step, every one of them reports "not integrated in this project" even though the code is there.

    Pass every file you wrote (owned) and every existing file you patched:

    npx @cometchat/skills-cli state record \
      --framework "<framework>" \
      --placement "<type>" \
      --placement-path "<path>" \
      --auth-mode "<mode>" \
      --files-owned "<comma-list of new files>" \
      --files-patched "<comma-list of path:patch_id pairs>" \
      --json
    

    • --files-owned — comma-separated list of every NEW file you wrote (provider, drawer, inbox page, screen). The CLI computes SHA-256 checksums for each so it can detect drift later.
    • --files-patched — comma-separated path:patch_id pairs for every EXISTING file you modified. patch_id can be any stable label — v3/<filename> is a reasonable default.

    If this call errors (CLI flag mismatch, missing --framework, etc.), surface the error and retry. A completed Phase A with a missing state.json is worse than a visible error — the user discovers the breakage later when they try to add a feature or run diagnostics.

Exception — "Just exploring" / demo mode (web only):

npx @cometchat/skills-cli apply --experience 1 --framework <detected>
npx @cometchat/skills-cli verify --json
npx @cometchat/skills-cli install

For RN demo mode, scaffold the minimal integration directly — there's no apply template path for RN.

Step 6 — Verify + show result

Run a TypeScript check to verify the code compiles:

npx tsc --noEmit

Do NOT run npx @cometchat/skills-cli verify — it checks for CLI-generated .cometchat/state.json that's authored by cometchat apply, not by AI integration. Use tsc instead.

RN extra: do not start Metro automatically — let the user do that in their own terminal. Metro blocks the terminal and cannot be meaningfully observed from here.

Surface any common issues:

Web:

• Module not found: @cometchat/chat-uikit-react → install didn't complete
• CSS variable warnings → CSS import not at root or wrong path

RN:

• Cannot find module '@cometchat/chat-uikit-react-native' → install didn't complete
• JSX element 'GestureHandlerRootView' has no corresponding closing tag → wrapper chain partially applied
• Property 'hideReplyInThreadOption' does not exist on type '...' → v3 types installed; user needs v5 (^5.0.0)

Then:

Web result message:

"CometChat is integrated! Here's what was set up:

• <list of new + patched files> ✓
• Provider + CSS wired ✓
• Dependencies installed ✓

Run npm run dev and open the app:

• Vite (reactjs): http://localhost:5173
• Next.js: http://localhost:3000/chat
• React Router v7: http://localhost:5173/chat
• Astro: http://localhost:4321/chat"

RN result message:

"CometChat is integrated! Here's what was set up:

• <list of new + patched files> ✓
• Provider + four-wrapper chain ✓
• import 'react-native-gesture-handler' verified at line 1 ✓
• Dependencies installed ✓
• hideReplyInThreadOption={true} on MessageList ✓

Next steps:

Expo managed:

1. npx expo start --clear
2. Open the app in Expo Go (if no native modules) or a dev build

Bare RN:

1. npm start -- --reset-cache
2. In another terminal: npm run ios or npm run android"

Common ending — empty conversation list explanation (every framework):

---

About the empty conversation list you'll see:

Every CometChat app ships with 5 pre-created test users: cometchat-uid-1 through cometchat-uid-5. Your integration is logged in as cometchat-uid-1 by default, and a brand-new app has no messages yet — so the conversation list will be empty when you first load the page. This is normal, not a bug.

To see chat actually working (60 seconds, no code changes):

1. Open https://app.cometchat.com → your app → Users tab
2. Click cometchat-uid-2 → Send Message button
3. Pick cometchat-uid-1 as the recipient, type "hello", send
4. Refresh the dev URL (web) or reload the app (RN: shake → Reload, or press r in Metro)
5. A conversation will appear — open it to see the message and reply

The 5 test users (cometchat-uid-1 through uid-5) can also chat with each other from the dashboard, so you can seed multiple conversations the same way.

What would you like to do next?"

Step 7 — Iteration menu

Use AskUserQuestion. The option set differs by family — RN has two extra options (push notifications + testing) that don't apply to web.

Web — 8 canonical options:

• question: "What would you like to do next?"
• header: "Next step"
• multiSelect: false
• options:
  1. label: "Customize look and feel (themes)", description: "Pick a preset (slack, whatsapp, imessage, discord, notion) or set brand colors."
  2. label: "Add a feature", description: "Browse ~35 features — calls, reactions, polls, AI, and more."
  3. label: "Customize a component", description: "Custom bubbles, headers, composer actions, details views — I'll read the docs and write it."
  4. label: "Add a floating chat widget", description: "An overlay button + drawer on top of your existing app."
  5. label: "Set up production auth", description: "Replace the dev Auth Key with a server-side token endpoint. Read cometchat-production skill."
  6. label: "Set up user management", description: "Server endpoints for creating, updating, deleting CometChat users."
  7. label: "Run diagnostics", description: "Check for drift, missing env vars, broken imports."
  8. label: "I'm done", description: "Exit."

RN — 10 canonical options:

• question: "What would you like to do next?"
• header: "Next step"
• multiSelect: false
• options:
  1. label: "Customize look and feel (themes)", description: "Colors, typography, dark mode — edit CometChatThemeProvider."
  2. label: "Add a feature", description: "Calls, reactions, polls, extensions, AI agent — browse the catalog."
  3. label: "Customize a component", description: "Custom bubbles, headers, message composer actions, empty states."
  4. label: "Add another placement", description: "Add a modal chat, a bottom sheet, or another tab — without touching the existing integration."
  5. label: "Set up push notifications", description: "APNs + FCM setup, CometChat dashboard config, client registration, tap-to-deep-link. Required for production."
  6. label: "Set up production auth", description: "Replace the dev Auth Key with a server-minted auth token. Read cometchat-native-production skill."
  7. label: "Set up user management", description: "Server endpoints for creating, updating, deleting CometChat users."
  8. label: "Set up testing", description: "Jest + React Native Testing Library setup, mocks for the UI Kit / SDK, E2E with Detox or Maestro."
  9. label: "Troubleshoot an issue", description: "Metro cache, pod install, iOS privacy manifest, push notifications, native module linking."
  10. label: "I'm done", description: "Exit."

For theme customization: read the framework-appropriate theming skill and write the customization code.

For adding features: read the framework-appropriate features skill. Features fall into buckets (Default, Dashboard-toggle, Package-install, Component-swap). Ask which feature, then follow the right bucket's recipe.

For component customization: read the customization + components skills, then write the customization code directly. Ask the user what they want to customize, read the relevant component's props from the catalog, propose changes.

For production auth: read the framework-appropriate production skill. It's interactive — ask the user about their auth system and generate the server-side token endpoint for their backend.

For push notifications (RN only): read cometchat-native-push. Structured 12-section walkthrough.

For testing (RN only): read cometchat-native-testing. Ask the user whether they want unit tests (Jest + RNTL), E2E (Detox vs Maestro), or both.

For troubleshooting (RN): read cometchat-native-troubleshooting and match the symptom to a triage table. (Web: option 7 "Run diagnostics" runs cometchat doctor against .cometchat/state.json.)

Re-rendering the menu after each action

After every Phase B action completes, you MUST re-invoke AskUserQuestion with the exact same option set (web: 8 options, RN: 10) — same question, header, multiSelect: false, same labels and descriptions, verbatim. This gives the user arrow-key selection in their terminal.

Do NOT:

• Present the options as a prose bullet list — forces typed answers, worse UX.
• Invent new options based on what the user just did. The canonical set doesn't change between iterations.
• Skip the menu and ask freeform "What's next?" — always route through AskUserQuestion.
• Drop options or add new ones. The user expects the same choices every time, even if some are redundant with what they just did (they may want to do the same kind of action twice).

The iteration loop is the whole point of Phase B. Re-rendering the canonical menu via AskUserQuestion after every action is how the user controls the session.

Hard rules

Always (every framework)

• Ask, don't assume. Every integration decision should be confirmed.
• Always run detect first. Do not assume the framework.
• Always use npx @cometchat/skills-cli for CLI commands.
• NEVER replace existing project files unless the user chose demo mode.
• ALWAYS read existing files before modifying them.
• ALWAYS show the plan (Step 3f) and get confirmation before writing.
• Every <CometChatMessageList> must pass hideReplyInThreadOption={true} unless the user has explicitly opted into thread support and you've built the thread screen too. Without it, tapping a message shows a "Reply in Thread" action that leads to a broken (undefined) thread view.
• NEVER build a custom search UI. The UI Kit ships <CometChatSearch> — full dual-scope search across conversations + messages with built-in filter chips, pagination, and result highlighting. Any request involving "search", "find messages", "search conversations" MUST use the built-in component (and showSearchBar / onSearchBarClicked on CometChatConversations for web; hideSearch={false} for RN). Do NOT create custom search bars, hand-rolled result lists, or filter UIs.
• For component names and props, use the framework-appropriate *-components skill or docs MCP — never invent from training data.
• After writing code, record state in .cometchat/state.json (Step 5 step 11) so the iteration menu can detect the integration in a future session.
• NEVER use the Skill() tool to load CometChat skills. They're already in your context as .claude/skills/ files. Just read and follow them directly.

Web only

• CSS import goes once at the root level per framework conventions. The framework skill (cometchat-{react,nextjs,react-router,astro}-patterns) tells you exactly where.
• For drawer / widget animations, animate right / left, NEVER transform / translate-*. A transform on a CometChat-containing element creates a new containing block that re-anchors absolutely-positioned overlays (emoji picker, action sheet, reactions, thread panel) to the transformed element instead of the viewport. Tailwind utilities translate-x-*, -translate-x-*, scale-*, rotate-*, transform-* are also banned for this reason. See cometchat-placement § 10.

React Native only

• import "react-native-gesture-handler" must be line 1 of the entry file. Not line 2. Not after another import. This is non-negotiable.
• All four wrappers are required, in this order: GestureHandlerRootView → SafeAreaProvider → CometChatThemeProvider → CometChatProvider. Omitting any of them breaks gestures, safe areas, theming, or login state — and it fails silently in dev.
• Login API is CometChatUIKit.login({ uid }) or CometChatUIKit.login({ authToken }) — same method, different object key. There is no loginWithAuthToken. Passing a bare string like

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