Cometchat Angular Production

Purpose

Teaches Claude how to move a CometChat Angular UI Kit v5 (@cometchat/chat-uikit-angular@5) integration from dev-mode Auth Key to production-ready server-minted auth tokens + user CRUD. Covers:

1. Why the dev authKey can't ship to production
2. Auth Key vs REST API Key — which lives where
3. The token auth pattern (4 steps)
4. Server endpoint recipes (Express / Hono / Firebase Functions / Vercel) — Angular has no API routes, so the backend is always external
5. Client-side: CometChatUIKit.loginWithAuthToken(authToken) + token refresh
6. User CRUD — the REST API (production path) and the client helpers (CometChatUIKit.createUser / updateUser)
7. Environment files (environment.ts → environment.prod.ts) + production build
8. Security checklist

Read cometchat-angular-core first — production just swaps one call on the init/login flow, but understanding the standalone init → login → render lifecycle is the prerequisite.

Ground truth: @cometchat/chat-uikit-angular@5.0.2 source (projects/cometchat-uikit/src/lib/cometchat-uikit.ts — the CometChatUIKit class with both static and injectable APIs), the sample-app login flow (projects/sample-app/src — main.ts init, services/auth.service.ts login/logout), docs/ui-kit/angular/integration.mdx + docs/fundamentals/user-auth, and the cross-platform REST API at https://{APP_ID}.api-{REGION}.cometchat.io/v3/. Verify any non-obvious symbol against the kit source before relying on it. Official docs: https://www.cometchat.com/docs/fundamentals/user-auth · Docs MCP: claude mcp add --transport http cometchat-docs https://www.cometchat.com/docs/mcp (or fetch the URL directly without MCP).

1. Why production auth matters

In dev mode, CometChatUIKit.login(uid) uses the authKey passed to UIKitSettingsBuilder.setAuthKey(). That key is bundled into your Angular JavaScript. Anyone can open DevTools → Sources → search for the key string and use it to log in as ANY user in your CometChat app — read private messages, send as other users, access every conversation.

Production MUST use server-side token generation:

• Your server holds the REST API Key (a different key from the client Auth Key).
• On user login, your server calls CometChat's REST API with the REST API Key to mint a short-lived Auth Token for that specific UID.
• Your Angular client receives the Auth Token and calls CometChatUIKit.loginWithAuthToken(authToken).
• If the token leaks, the blast radius is one user session, not your whole app.

The dev setAuthKey() call MUST NOT ship in production builds. See §7 for the environment.prod.ts swap.

2. Auth Key vs REST API Key — two different keys

If the project only has an Auth Key, the user needs to generate a REST API Key in the dashboard: API & Auth Keys → REST API Keys → Add Key. Pick "Full Access" for server-side use.

Why this matters more in Angular than elsewhere: Angular has no server runtime and no process.env split. Everything under src/ — including both environment.ts files — is compiled into the client bundle. There is no framework-prefix convention (NEXT_PUBLIC_, VITE_) that decides client vs server. So the rule is absolute: the REST API Key never appears in any Angular source file.

3. The token auth pattern (4 steps)

1. User logs into YOUR auth (Firebase Auth / Supabase / Clerk / Auth0 / custom)
   ↓
2. Angular app asks YOUR backend for a CometChat auth token
   ↓ (POST /api/cometchat-token with Authorization: Bearer <your-jwt>)
3. Backend calls CometChat REST API → gets an Auth Token for that UID
   ↓ POST https://{APP_ID}.api-{REGION}.cometchat.io/v3/users/{uid}/auth_tokens
     with header apiKey: <REST_API_KEY>
   ↓
4. Angular calls CometChatUIKit.loginWithAuthToken(authToken)

The Angular client never sees the REST API Key. The backend derives the UID from the authenticated session — never from the request body (see anti-patterns §9).

The CometChat REST API requires two headers on every server-to-server call:

• appId — your CometChat app ID
• apiKey — your REST API Key (NOT the Auth Key used in dev mode)

4. Server endpoint recipes

Angular projects have no built-in API routes. You need a separate backend. The token endpoint does the same thing in every recipe:

1. Validate the caller is authenticated (your existing auth middleware/guard).
2. Derive the UID from the authenticated session.
3. POST to https://{APP_ID}.api-{REGION}.cometchat.io/v3/users/{uid}/auth_tokens with the apiKey header.
4. Return { authToken } to the client.

4a. Express (Node.js backend)

// server/routes/cometchat-token.ts
import { Router } from "express";
import { requireAuth } from "../middleware/auth";

const router = Router();
const APP_ID = process.env.COMETCHAT_APP_ID!;
const REGION = process.env.COMETCHAT_REGION!;
const REST_API_KEY = process.env.COMETCHAT_REST_API_KEY!;

router.post("/cometchat-token", requireAuth, async (req, res) => {
  const uid = req.user.id; // from authenticated session — NOT from request body

  const r = await fetch(
    `https://${APP_ID}.api-${REGION}.cometchat.io/v3/users/${encodeURIComponent(uid)}/auth_tokens`,
    {
      method: "POST",
      headers: {
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
        appId: APP_ID,
        apiKey: REST_API_KEY,
      },
      body: JSON.stringify({}),
    }
  );

  if (!r.ok) {
    console.error("CometChat token error:", await r.text());
    return res.status(r.status).json({ error: "Failed to generate auth token" });
  }

  const data = await r.json();
  return res.json({ authToken: data.data.authToken });
});

export default router;

Enable CORS for your Angular origin (e.g. http://localhost:4200 in dev) so the browser can call this endpoint:

import cors from "cors";
app.use(cors({ origin: "http://localhost:4200" }));

4b. Hono (Cloudflare Workers / Bun / Node)

import { Hono } from "hono";

const app = new Hono();

app.post("/api/cometchat-token", async (c) => {
  const user = c.get("user");
  if (!user) return c.json({ error: "unauthorized" }, 401);

  const r = await fetch(
    `https://${c.env.COMETCHAT_APP_ID}.api-${c.env.COMETCHAT_REGION}.cometchat.io/v3/users/${encodeURIComponent(user.id)}/auth_tokens`,
    {
      method: "POST",
      headers: {
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
        appId: c.env.COMETCHAT_APP_ID,
        apiKey: c.env.COMETCHAT_REST_API_KEY,
      },
      body: JSON.stringify({}),
    }
  );

  if (!r.ok) return c.json({ error: "token mint failed" }, 502);
  const data = await r.json();
  return c.json({ authToken: data.data.authToken });
});

4c. Firebase Cloud Functions

import { onCall, HttpsError } from "firebase-functions/v2/https";

export const getCometChatToken = onCall(
  { secrets: ["COMETCHAT_APP_ID", "COMETCHAT_REGION", "COMETCHAT_REST_API_KEY"] },
  async (request) => {
    if (!request.auth) throw new HttpsError("unauthenticated", "Sign in required");
    const uid = request.auth.uid;

    const r = await fetch(
      `https://${process.env.COMETCHAT_APP_ID}.api-${process.env.COMETCHAT_REGION}.cometchat.io/v3/users/${encodeURIComponent(uid)}/auth_tokens`,
      {
        method: "POST",
        headers: {
          "Content-Type": "application/json",
          appId: process.env.COMETCHAT_APP_ID!,
          apiKey: process.env.COMETCHAT_REST_API_KEY!,
        },
        body: JSON.stringify({}),
      }
    );

    if (!r.ok) throw new HttpsError("internal", "token mint failed");
    const data = await r.json();
    return { authToken: data.data.authToken };
  }
);

4d. Vercel Serverless / Next.js API Route

// pages/api/cometchat-token.ts
import type { NextApiRequest, NextApiResponse } from "next";
import { getServerSession } from "next-auth";

export default async function handler(req: NextApiRequest, res: NextApiResponse) {
  if (req.method !== "POST") return res.status(405).end();

  const session = await getServerSession(req, res, authOptions);
  if (!session?.user) return res.status(401).json({ error: "unauthorized" });

  const uid = session.user.id;
  const r = await fetch(
    `https://${process.env.COMETCHAT_APP_ID}.api-${process.env.COMETCHAT_REGION}.cometchat.io/v3/users/${encodeURIComponent(uid)}/auth_tokens`,
    {
      method: "POST",
      headers: {
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
        appId: process.env.COMETCHAT_APP_ID!,
        apiKey: process.env.COMETCHAT_REST_API_KEY!,
      },
      body: JSON.stringify({}),
    }
  );

  if (!r.ok) return res.status(502).json({ error: "token mint failed" });
  const data = await r.json();
  return res.json({ authToken: data.data.authToken });
}

5. Client-side: Angular service for production auth

The v5 production login call is CometChatUIKit.loginWithAuthToken(authToken) — it takes a bare token string, the same way v5 dev login takes a bare uid string (CometChatUIKit.login(uid)). Do NOT pass an object — loginWithAuthToken({ authToken }) is a v4-ism and will not compile against the v5 types (verified: static loginWithAuthToken(authToken: string): Promise<CometChat.User>).

// cometchat-auth.service.ts
import { Injectable } from "@angular/core";
import { HttpClient, HttpHeaders } from "@angular/common/http";
import { CometChatUIKit } from "@cometchat/chat-uikit-angular";
import { environment } from "../environments/environment";
import { firstValueFrom } from "rxjs";

@Injectable({ providedIn: "root" })
export class CometChatAuthService {
  constructor(private http: HttpClient) {}

  async loginWithToken(appJwt: string): Promise<void> {
    // 1. Already logged in? getLoggedInUser() (capital I) is the SYNC v5 accessor —
    //    returns CometChat.User | null from the cached BehaviorSubject, no await.
    //    (There is also an async getLoggedinUser() — lowercase i — returning
    //    Promise<CometChat.User | null>; the sample-app route guards use that one.
    //    Both are real v5 symbols; pick sync for a fast already-logged-in short-circuit.)
    if (CometChatUIKit.getLoggedInUser()) return;

    // 2. Fetch a CometChat auth token from your backend.
    const response = await firstValueFrom(
      this.http.post<{ authToken: string }>(
        environment.cometchat.tokenEndpoint,
        {},
        { headers: new HttpHeaders({ Authorization: `Bearer ${appJwt}` }) }
      )
    );

    // 3. Log in with the bare token string (v5 signature).
    await CometChatUIKit.loginWithAuthToken(response.authToken);
  }

  async logout(): Promise<void> {
    await CometChatUIKit.logout();
  }
}

// app.component.ts — production-aware init
import { Component, OnInit } from "@angular/core";
import { CometChatAuthService } from "./cometchat-auth.service";
import { YourAuthService } from "./your-auth.service"; // your existing auth

@Component({
  selector: "app-root",
  standalone: true,
  templateUrl: "./app.component.html",
})
export class AppComponent implements OnInit {
  isReady = false;

  constructor(
    private cometChatAuth: CometChatAuthService,
    private yourAuth: YourAuthService
  ) {}

  ngOnInit(): void {
    // CometChatUIKit.init() already ran via APP_INITIALIZER (see cometchat-angular-core).
    this.yourAuth
      .getJwt()
      .then((jwt) => this.cometChatAuth.loginWithToken(jwt))
      .then(() => (this.isReady = true))
      .catch(console.error);
  }
}

Gate the chat UI on isReady so no <cometchat-*> component renders before loginWithAuthToken resolves.

Token refresh on disconnect / expiry

CometChat auth tokens expire. When a token expires, the SDK disconnects. Re-mint and re-login through a single in-flight guard so concurrent triggers don't fire two logins (the SDK throws "Please wait until the previous login request ends." on a racing second loginWithAuthToken).

// In CometChatAuthService — module/instance-level guard.
private refreshInFlight: Promise<void> | null = null;

async refreshSession(appJwt: string): Promise<void> {
  if (this.refreshInFlight) {
    await this.refreshInFlight; // another caller already triggered a refresh
    return;
  }
  this.refreshInFlight = (async () => {
    const response = await firstValueFrom(
      this.http.post<{ authToken: string }>(
        environment.cometchat.tokenEndpoint,
        {},
        { headers: new HttpHeaders({ Authorization: `Bearer ${appJwt}` }) }
      )
    );
    await CometChatUIKit.loginWithAuthToken(response.authToken);
  })();
  try {
    await this.refreshInFlight;
  } finally {
    this.refreshInFlight = null;
  }
}

Wire refreshSession to a CometChat.addConnectionListener(...) onDisconnected handler, or simply re-mint and re-login whenever a CometChat operation returns an auth error.

6. User management CRUD

In production you keep CometChat users in sync with your app's users. There are two paths:

The production path is the REST API (server-side, REST API Key). Create the CometChat user the moment the app user signs up — otherwise loginWithAuthToken fails with "user does not exist."

The client helpers exist too — CometChatUIKit.createUser(user) and CometChatUIKit.updateUser(user) are exported by the v5 kit (verified: both (user: CometChat.User): Promise<CometChat.User>). But they require the Auth Key on the UIKitSettings to authorize, which is exactly what you remove in production. Treat them as a dev/admin-tool convenience, not the production user-provisioning mechanism. Production provisioning belongs server-side via the REST API. (Note: the kit exposes createUser/updateUser only — there is no client-side deleteUser; deletion is REST-only.)

If you do use the client helper (e.g. a one-off admin screen running with the Auth Key), the shape is a CometChat.User:

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

const user = new CometChat.User("user-uid-1");
user.setName("Alice");
await CometChatUIKit.createUser(user); // Promise<CometChat.User>

6a. Create a user on signup (REST — production path)

async function createCometChatUser(uid: string, name: string, avatarUrl?: string) {
  const r = await fetch(`https://${APP_ID}.api-${REGION}.cometchat.io/v3/users`, {
    method: "POST",
    headers: {
      "Content-Type": "application/json",
      appId: APP_ID,
      apiKey: REST_API_KEY,
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({ uid, name, ...(avatarUrl ? { avatar: avatarUrl } : {}) }),
  });
  if (!r.ok) {
    // 409 = user already exists — safe to ignore on re-signup.
    if (r.status === 409) return;
    throw new Error(`CometChat user create failed: ${await r.text()}`);
  }
  return r.json();
}

6b. Update a user on profile change (REST)

async function updateCometChatUser(uid: string, updates: { name?: string; avatar?: string }) {
  const r = await fetch(
    `https://${APP_ID}.api-${REGION}.cometchat.io/v3/users/${encodeURIComponent(uid)}`,
    {
      method: "PUT",
      headers: {
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
        appId: APP_ID,
        apiKey: REST_API_KEY,
      },
      body: JSON.stringify(updates),
    }
  );
  if (!r.ok) throw new Error(`CometChat user update failed: ${await r.text()}`);
  return r.json();
}

6c. Delete a user on account deletion (REST only)

async function deleteCometChatUser(uid: string) {
  const r = await fetch(
    `https://${APP_ID}.api-${REGION}.cometchat.io/v3/users/${encodeURIComponent(uid)}`,
    {
      method: "DELETE",
      headers: {
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
        appId: APP_ID,
        apiKey: REST_API_KEY,
      },
      body: JSON.stringify({ permanent: true }),
    }
  );
  if (!r.ok) throw new Error(`CometChat user delete failed: ${await r.text()}`);
}

6d. Where to hook user CRUD into common auth providers

• Firebase Auth — functions.auth.user().onCreate(...) → createCometChatUser; .onDelete(...) → deleteCometChatUser. Firebase fires no event on profile change, so call updateCometChatUser from your profile-update endpoint.
• Supabase — a Database Webhook on auth.users (INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE) → the matching CRUD helper.
• Clerk — the user.created / user.updated / user.deleted webhook events (verify the svix signature first).
• Auth0 — a post-registration Action / Log Stream webhook → createCometChatUser.

7. Environment files + production build

Angular has no .env / process.env. Config lives in src/environments/. The production build (ng build --configuration production) swaps environment.ts → environment.prod.ts via the fileReplacements in angular.json. The split is your only lever — anything in the active file ships to the client.

Dev environment (Auth Key — never built for production)

// src/environments/environment.ts (development)
export const environment = {
  production: false,
  cometchat: {
    appId: "YOUR_APP_ID",
    region: "us", // "us" | "eu" | "in"
    authKey: "YOUR_AUTH_KEY", // dev only — must NOT exist in environment.prod.ts
  },
};

Production environment (no Auth Key, no REST API Key — just a token endpoint)

// src/environments/environment.prod.ts (production)
export const environment = {
  production: true,
  cometchat: {
    appId: "YOUR_APP_ID",
    region: "us",
    // No authKey — mint auth tokens server-side and call loginWithAuthToken().
    // No REST API Key — it lives on your backend only.
    tokenEndpoint: "https://api.yourapp.com/cometchat-token",
  },
};

The build swap (already in angular.json for the standard schematic)

"configurations": {
  "production": {
    "fileReplacements": [
      {
        "replace": "src/environments/environment.ts",
        "with": "src/environments/environment.prod.ts"
      }
    ]
  }
}

The init builder must drop setAuthKey() in production

Because environment.prod.ts has no authKey, the UIKitSettingsBuilder must not call .setAuthKey() in a production build. Guard it:

const builder = new UIKitSettingsBuilder()
  .setAppId(environment.cometchat.appId)
  .setRegion(environment.cometchat.region)
  .subscribePresenceForAllUsers();

// Dev only — the prod environment has no authKey, so this branch is skipped.
if (!environment.production && "authKey" in environment.cometchat) {
  builder.setAuthKey((environment.cometchat as any).authKey);
}

await CometChatUIKit.init(builder.build());

Variable visibility summary

8. Security checklist

Before releasing to production, verify every item:

• authKey removed from environment.prod.ts.
• Production init uses UIKitSettingsBuilder without .setAuthKey().
• Production login uses CometChatUIKit.loginWithAuthToken(authToken) (bare string), not login(uid).
• REST API Key lives only on your backend — verify with grep -rIE "REST_API_KEY|restApiKey" src/ (must return nothing).
• Token endpoint is behind auth — unauthenticated callers can't mint a token for an arbitrary UID.
• UID is derived from the authenticated session on the backend, not from the request body.
• Rate limit on the token endpoint (prevents abuse / token farming).
• CORS on the token endpoint allows only your Angular origin(s).
• HTTPS-only — no HTTP in production.
• CometChat user is created (REST API) when the app user signs up — otherwise loginWithAuthToken fails with "user does not exist."
• User CRUD endpoints are authenticated (or invoked from webhooks with signature verification).
• CometChat user deletion runs on account deletion (GDPR / privacy compliance).
• Production build confirmed to swap environment.ts → environment.prod.ts (check fileReplacements in angular.json).

9. Anti-patterns

1. NEVER put the REST API Key in any Angular file. Not in environment.ts, environment.prod.ts, assets/, or any TypeScript under src/. Angular bundles everything in src/ into client JavaScript. There is no process.env split to save you.

2. NEVER let the client choose the UID to mint a token for. The backend must derive UID from the authenticated session. A POST /cometchat-token { uid: "..." } that trusts the body is equivalent to no auth — any user can impersonate any other.

3. Don't pass an object to loginWithAuthToken. v5 takes a bare string: loginWithAuthToken(token), mirroring login(uid). loginWithAuthToken({ authToken }) is a v4-era shape and won't typecheck against v5.

4. Don't use login(uid) in production. uid login requires the Auth Key on the UIKitSettings. In production set neither .setAuthKey() on the builder nor call login(uid) — use loginWithAuthToken(token).

5. Don't rely on CometChatUIKit.createUser / updateUser for production provisioning. They authorize with the Auth Key (which you remove in production). Provision users server-side via the REST API; the kit helpers are a dev/admin convenience only. (And note: the kit has no client deleteUser — deletion is REST-only.)

6. Don't cache the auth token in localStorage forever. It expires. Re-mint on cold start, or store with a short TTL and refresh on disconnect/401 (§5).

7. Don't forget user CRUD. A user who signs up in your app but has no matching CometChat user gets "user does not exist" on loginWithAuthToken.

Skill routing reference