How to Use CometChat: The Ultimate Guideline in 2025?

Got a website or app and wanna let folks talk to each other right now?

It can be tricky to build that yourself. 

Adding a good chat experience to your chat application can be a real headache. 

That’s where the CometChat UI Kit comes in handy.

This tutorial will show you how to use CometChat. 

Getting Started with CometChat

• What’s CometChat All About?
  • Think of CometChat as adding a walkie-talkie to your website or app. It lets people send messages back and forth super fast, in real time.
  • Instead of building this whole walkie-talkie thing yourself, CometChat gives you the pieces you need to plug it in.
  • Imagine your users being able to chat with each other while they’re on your site or using your app. That’s what CometChat helps you implement.
• Why Use CometChat in 2025?
  • These days, everyone expects things to happen instantly online. If someone sends a message, they want a reply right away.
  • CometChat is built to handle lots of people chatting at the same time without slowing down.
  • It also works with different kinds of websites and apps.
  • Plus, it has cool features like letting you know when someone sends a message with a notification, even if you’re not looking at the chat right that second. Some apps even use push notifications to pop up on your phone!
• What Cool Stuff Does CometChat Have?
  • Let’s look at some of the main parts of CometChat:
    • Talking One-on-One: Just you and one other person sending messages. Simple and useful for private chats.
    • Group Talk: Lots of people chatting together in one place, like a group text but inside your app.
    • Talking with Your Voice: Actually speaking to someone through your device.
    • Seeing Faces While You Talk: Video calls so you can see who you’re chatting with.
    • Ready-Made Chat Looks: CometChat gives you pre-designed chat windows that you can drop into your app to make it look good without having to design it all yourself.
    • Special Tools for Builders (SDKs): These are like instruction kits for programmers, helping them integrate chat features into your app.
    • Secret Codes for Connecting (APIs): These are like special keys that let your app talk to CometChat’s system and make things happen, like sending a message or logging in.

Setting Up Your CometChat

• First Things First: Getting an Account
  • Ready to build a chat app using CometChat? First, you’ll need to log in to their website.
  • Go to the CometChat website and find the button that says “Sign Up” or something similar.
  • You’ll need to put in your name, email and pick a password.
  • Just follow the steps they show you, and you’ll have an account in no time. It’s usually pretty quick.
• Making Your Very Own CometChat Space
  • Once you’re logged in, you’ll want to create a new spot for your chat stuff. This is like creating a new project.
  • They’ll probably ask you to give your project a name. Pick something that makes sense to you, so you remember what it’s for.
  • CometChat might also ask where you want your chat stuff stored (like in which part of the world). For faster real-time chatting, pick the place closest to most of your users.
• Getting to Know Your CometChat Control Center
  • The CometChat dashboard is your main control panel for everything you do with CometChat.
  • Take a few minutes to look around and see what’s what. You’ll find sections for:
    • Your different chat projects (CometChat apps).
    • The people who will be chatting in your app.
    • Group chat rooms.
    • Ready-made chat designs you can use.
    • The special tools (sdk) and codes (api) you need to connect CometChat to your app.
    • Settings for making things work the way you want.
• Finding Your Secret Keys and Codes
  • To connect your app using cometchat, you’ll need some special keys and codes. Think of them as the secret handshake between your app and CometChat.
  • You can usually find these in the settings or API section of your CometChat dashboard.
  • Keep these keys safe, and don’t show them to just anyone. They let people access your CometChat stuff. The CometChat SDK will use these to make the chat functionality work in real time. This is important for any developer building a chat app using CometChat.

Integrating CometChat into Your Website or App

• Picking How to Add Chat: Ready-Made Looks or Building Your Own?
  • CometChat gives you two main ways to add chat:
    • Ready-made looks (UI Kits): These are like pre-built chat windows. If you want to add chat quickly and don’t want to mess with the design too much, this is probably the easiest way to go.
    • Building Blocks (SDKs): These are like sets of tools that let you build the chat exactly how you want it to look and work. This takes more work but gives you total control over the user experience.
• Using the Ready-Made Looks: A Super Quick Start
  • If you choose the ready-made looks, CometChat will send you some code (usually in JavaScript) that you can copy and paste into your website’s files.
  • You’ll usually need to tell it your secret code (api key) and some info about who is logged in (login info).
  • CometChat usually has instructions and examples to show you exactly where to put this code.
  • You can often change the colors and fonts of these ready-made chats to match your website’s style.
• Working with the Building Blocks: For People Who Like to Build
  • CometChat has different sets of building blocks (sdks) for different kinds of apps and websites, like:
    • Websites (using JavaScript).
    • Android phones.
    • iPhones.
    • Apps that work on both kinds of phones (like React Native and Flutter).
  • How you use these building blocks depends on which kind you pick.
  • Usually, you need to add the SDK to your project and then use its tools to make the chat features work.
  • The CometChat instructions will have all the details and code examples for the SDK you’re using.
• Making Sure People Are Who They Say They Are (Login) and What They Can Do
  • When you add CometChat, you need to handle the login. This means making sure the people using the chat are actually who they say they are.
  • You also need to decide what people are allowed to do in the chat (e.g., send real-time messages, join groups, etc.). This is called authorization.
  • CometChat often has ways to connect with the login system you already have.

Customizing Your CometChat Experience

• Changing the Look (Branding)
  • Want your chat to match your style? If you used the ready-made chat looks, you can change colors and fonts in the settings. If you built your own, you have full design control!
• Adding Cool Extras (Custom Features)
  • CometChat does a lot, but you can add more! If you used the building blocks, you could add things like polls, reactions, file sharing, or even translation. Check the instructions to see what’s possible.
• Using Secret Codes for More Power (APIs)
  • For advanced stuff, the secret codes (APIs) let you talk directly to CometChat. You can use them to manage users, send messages, and more automatically. This might require you to configure your backend.
• Getting Live Updates (Webhooks)
  • Webhooks let CometChat tell your computer when chat stuff happens (like a new message). This helps you show updates instantly in your app and do other cool things. You’ll need a place on your computer (backend) to listen for these. For mobile apps, setting up FCM helps with these live updates and push notifications. Remember to configure these when you create a new app and deploy it.

Managing Users and Groups in CometChat

• Adding and Keeping Tabs on Users Automatically
  • You can add people who will use your chat through the CometChat control center, or you can set it up to happen automatically using the building blocks or secret codes.
  • When you add someone, you usually need to give them a unique ID and a name they’ll be known by.
  • You can also add extra info about them, like their picture.
  • Setting this up automatically is handy if you already have a list of users on your website or app. This helps make your chat fully functional.
• Setting Up and Running Group Chats
  • Group chats are great for communities or teams to talk together.
  • You can create different kinds of groups—some that everyone can join, some that are private, and some that require a password.
  • CometChat lets you manage who’s in a group, pick people to be in charge (admins), and change how the group works.
  • Think about how you want people to chat in groups and set it up that way before deployment.

Wrapping Up

So, CometChat is a cool way to add chat to your website or app.

It lets your users send and receive messages easily.

You can make it look just right for your style.

It works on different kinds of devices, so it’s cross-platform.

Adding chat right inside your app (in-app) helps people connect.

CometChat takes care of the hard work of rendering messages in real time.

Now you know the basics. Go ahead and try it out!

Make your platform more interactive. Let your users chat!

Frequently Asked Questions