Cometchat React Native Calls

Ground truth: @cometchat/calls-sdk-react-native@5 + catalog rn-calls-v5.json (58 symbols) + features.rn-v5.json → voice-video-calls. Docs: /ui-kit/react-native/calling-integration · call-features · call-buttons · call-logs · incoming-call · outgoing-call.

Companion skills (read first)

• cometchat-react-native-core — install, provider chain, init→login→render. Assumed, not repeated here.

Use this skill when

• "add voice/video calling" · "incoming call screen" · "calls aren't ringing" · "call logs"

Prerequisites & install

⚠️ React Native has its OWN calls SDK. @cometchat/calls-sdk-javascript is the web package and will not work here.

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npm install @cometchat/calls-sdk-react-native@5
# 6 REQUIRED peer deps — the SDK's declared peerDependencies. Versions are pinned; do NOT float them.
npm install @react-native-async-storage/async-storage@^2.1.2 react-native-background-timer@^2.4.1 \
  react-native-performance@^5.1.2 react-native-svg@^15.12.0 react-native-url-polyfill@2.0.0 \
  react-native-webrtc@124.0.7
# ⚠️ react-native-performance MUST stay 5.x — 6.x is published, and a floated `^6` makes every later
#    `npm install` in the app fail with ERESOLVE. react-native-url-polyfill + react-native-performance
#    are BUNDLE-critical: the UIKit does a module-scope require() of the calls SDK, so Metro resolves
#    them even for a chat-only build — omit either and the bundle fails with "Unable to resolve module".
#    (NOT react-native-community/netinfo or react-native-callstats — those are not declared peers.)
cd ios && pod install && cd ..     # bare RN;  Expo: npx expo run:ios

Enabling calls — there is no flag

Installing the package IS the switch. The kit does a try { require("@cometchat/calls-sdk-react-native") } at startup; if it resolves, calling is enabled automatically.

React's setCallingEnabled(true) does not exist in this kit — do not emit it. There is likewise no opt-out on the initFromSettings golden path — the CometChatSettings file/object has no calling field, and CometChatUIKit.initFromSettings() never reads one. disableCalling: true exists only as a field on the UIKitSettings object you pass to the legacy CometChatUIKit.init(uiKitSettings) — so to disable calling while the package stays installed you must switch to that init() entry point (or simply not install the calls SDK).

Consequence worth knowing: a half-finished install (package added, pods not run) can leave calling "enabled" in JS while the native side is missing — which surfaces as a crash on first call rather than a clear error at startup.

Native floors — below these it will not build

Permissions — camera and microphone

Bare RN — ios/<App>/Info.plist:

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<key>NSCameraUsageDescription</key><string>Camera access for video calls</string>
<key>NSMicrophoneUsageDescription</key><string>Microphone access for voice/video calls</string>

Android: CAMERA · RECORD_AUDIO · MODIFY_AUDIO_SETTINGS · BLUETOOTH_CONNECT (Android 12+, Bluetooth audio routing) in AndroidManifest.xml.

Expo — the same values go in app.json (ios.infoPlist, android.permissions), then rebuild. Never hand-edit the generated native projects.

Components (from catalogs/rn-v5.json)

CometChatIncomingCall mounted inside one screen means calls only arrive while that screen is open — the commonest "calls don't ring" cause after a missing permission.

The table above is not enough to copy — wire it:

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// App.tsx — IncomingCall sits ABOVE the navigator so a call rings on any screen.
function App() {
  const incomingCall = useRef<CometChat.Call | null>(null);
  const [callReceived, setCallReceived] = useState(false);

  useEffect(() => {
    const listenerId = "APP_CALL_LISTENER";
    CometChat.addCallListener(
      listenerId,
      new CometChat.CallListener({
        onIncomingCallReceived: (call) => {
          incomingCall.current = call;
          setCallReceived(true);
        },
        onOutgoingCallRejected: () => setCallReceived(false),
        onIncomingCallCancelled: () => setCallReceived(false),
      }),
    );
    return () => CometChat.removeCallListener(listenerId);   // or it fires after unmount
  }, []);

  return (
    <GestureHandlerRootView style={{ flex: 1 }}>
      <NavigationContainer>{/* … */}</NavigationContainer>
      {callReceived && incomingCall.current ? (
        <CometChatIncomingCall
          call={incomingCall.current}
          onDecline={() => { incomingCall.current = null; setCallReceived(false); }}
        />
      ) : null}
    </GestureHandlerRootView>
  );
}

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// Call triggers — the message header renders these by default; mount them yourself only
// when you build a custom header. onError is the ONLY callback: success is an event
// (ccOutgoingCall), not a promise.
<CometChatCallButtons user={user} group={group} onError={(e) => console.error(e)} />

// Dialling screen — driven by the Call object you created.
{call && <CometChatOutgoingCall call={call} />}

// Call history list. Detail screens do NOT ship (see below).
<CometChatCallLogs onItemPress={(log) => openCallDetail(log)} />

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// The in-call surface. sessionID comes from the accepted Call; callSettingsBuilder is a
// CometChatCalls builder, NOT a chat-SDK one.
<CometChatOngoingCall
  sessionID={sessionId}
  callSettingsBuilder={callSettings}
  onError={(e) => console.error(e)}
/>

DOCS GAP (RN-G15 — narrowed upstream, verified 2026-09-09): CometChatOngoingCall is exported by the RN kit and is now listed on /ui-kit/react-native/call-features (the Components row), but it still has no dedicated props page — only Incoming / Outgoing / Buttons / Logs get their own pages. The fence above is a STOPGAP built from the kit's own types — replace it once a props page ships. Flagged for the docs team; do not conclude the component is unavailable on RN.

Call logs: the list ships, the detail screens do not

Kit v5 removed CometChatCallLogDetails / History / Participants / Recordings. For a custom detail view, fetch the history yourself with the Calls-SDK CallLogRequestBuilder — a static on CometChatCalls, reachable only from @cometchat/calls-sdk-react-native:

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// Call history — CometChatCalls.CallLogRequestBuilder from the CALLS SDK.
// There is NO CallLogRequestBuilder on the Chat SDK (@cometchat/chat-sdk-react-native).
import { CometChat } from "@cometchat/chat-sdk-react-native";
import { CometChatCalls } from "@cometchat/calls-sdk-react-native";
// fetchNext() REJECTS without an auth token ("`Auth Token` is required") — no fallback. Pass the
// logged-in user's token, exactly as the kit's own CometChatCallLogs does.
const authToken = (await CometChat.getLoggedinUser())?.getAuthToken() ?? "";
const req = new CometChatCalls.CallLogRequestBuilder().setLimit(30).setAuthToken(authToken).build();
const logs = await req.fetchNext();

// Transcript opt-in — same builder + token. setHasTranscriptions(true) filters to transcribed calls
// AND makes the server attach each call's transcripts to the log.
const treq = new CometChatCalls.CallLogRequestBuilder().setLimit(30).setAuthToken(authToken).setHasTranscriptions(true).build();

RN-G9 (verified 2026-09-10 vs @cometchat/calls-sdk-react-native@5): CallLogRequestBuilder is a static on CometChatCalls (calls SDK) — new CometChatCalls.CallLogRequestBuilder(). It does not exist on the Chat SDK: there is no CometChat.CallLogRequestBuilder in @cometchat/chat-sdk-react-native (any version). Use the Calls-SDK builder for history, always with .setAuthToken(...) (without it fetchNext() rejects — verified in @cometchat/calls-sdk-react-native@5.0.5); add setHasTranscriptions(true) only when you need transcripts. It is reachable as a static on the module, not as a bare named import.

Verification requires a real device

Simulators and emulators cannot capture camera or microphone. A green simulator run proves the screens render, not that a call connects. Media, permissions and ringing must be checked on hardware.

Common pitfalls

1. Installing the web calls SDK — wrong package.
2. Emitting setCallingEnabled(true) — does not exist; installation is the switch.
3. CometChatIncomingCall inside a screen — calls only ring there.
4. Skipping pod install / rebuild — crash on first call, not at startup.
5. Below the version floors — build failure, not a runtime message.
6. Signing off from a simulator — no media capture.

Verify it works

• Every emitted symbol is in catalogs/rn-v5.json or catalogs/rn-calls-v5.json.
• npm run verify:fences:rn-v5 is green.
• On two real devices: call connects both ways, permission prompts appear on first use, the incoming screen shows while the app is on any tab, and the call log records the call.