cometchat Ground truth:
com.cometchat:chat-uikit-android:5.x(legacy/maintenance-only; +calls-sdk-android:5.x) — resolved AAR (javap) +ui-kit/android. Official docs: https://www.cometchat.com/docs/ui-kit/android/overview · Docs MCP:claude mcp add --transport http cometchat-docs https://www.cometchat.com/docs/mcp(or fetch the URL directly without MCP). Verify symbols against the installed package/source before relying on them.
Companion skills:
cometchat-android-v5-corecovers correct init/login patterns;cometchat-android-v5-productioncovers ProGuard rules.
Purpose
This skill teaches how to diagnose CometChat Android integration problems systematically. It covers Gradle build errors, runtime crashes, rendering issues, and version compatibility.
Use this skill when
- "CometChat isn't working"
- "I'm getting a build error"
- "The chat screen is blank"
- "Messages aren't loading"
- Gradle sync failures
- Runtime crashes with CometChat in the stack trace
Do not use this skill when
- Setting up a new integration → use
cometchat-android-v5-core - Customizing appearance → use
cometchat-android-v5-theming
1. Common issues
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
Could not resolve com.cometchat:chat-uikit-android |
Missing Maven repo | Add maven { url "https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/cometchat/cometchat/maven/" } to repositories |
Duplicate class com.cometchat.* |
Multiple CometChat versions | Check dependency tree: ./gradlew app:dependencies |
| Blank conversation list | Not logged in, or no conversations exist | Verify getLoggedInUser() != null. Send a test message from dashboard. |
CometChatException: ERR - Authentication null |
init() not called or failed |
Call init() before login(). Check isSDKInitialized(). |
CometChatException: appIdErr |
App ID not set in UIKitSettings | Verify setAppId() in UIKitSettingsBuilder |
| Components show but no data | Login succeeded but wrong region | Verify region matches dashboard: "us", "eu", "in" |
ClassNotFoundException in release build |
ProGuard stripping CometChat classes | Add -keep class com.cometchat.** { *; } to proguard-rules.pro |
UnsupportedOperationException: Failed to resolve attribute when inflating CometChat views |
App theme inherits Theme.AppCompat.* or Theme.Material3.* — the kit's attrs are resolved against Material 2 (CometChatTheme.DayNight itself parents on Theme.MaterialComponents.DayNight.NoActionBar) |
Change app theme parent to CometChatTheme.DayNight |
NetworkOnMainThreadException |
Calling CometChat sync methods on main thread | Use callbacks (all CometChat methods are async) |
minSdkVersion 21 error |
CometChat requires API 24+ | Set minSdkVersion 24 in build.gradle |
| Message list shows wrong messages | setUser()/setGroup() called with wrong object |
Verify UID/GUID matches the intended conversation |
| Calling buttons not showing | Calling SDK not added | Add com.cometchat:calls-sdk-android:5.+ dependency (matches -core/-features) |
java.lang.NoSuchMethodError |
Version mismatch between UI Kit and Chat SDK | Use compatible versions — UI Kit 5.x requires Chat SDK 4.x |
2. Diagnostic steps
- Check init:
CometChatUIKit.isSDKInitialized()— must betrue - Check login:
CometChatUIKit.getLoggedInUser()— must not benull - Check Gradle:
./gradlew app:dependencies | grep cometchat— verify versions - Check manifest: Verify
INTERNETpermission - Check region: Must match dashboard exactly
- Check logs: Filter logcat for
CometChattag
Hard rules
- Always check init + login first. 90% of "it's not working" issues are init/login failures.
- Never guess at the cause. Check logcat, check the dependency tree, check the dashboard.
- ProGuard is the #1 release-build issue. Always add keep rules before the first release build.