Send first chat message
The ConnectyCube Chat API is a set of tools that enables developers to integrate real-time messaging into their web and mobile applications. With this API, users can build powerful chat functionalities that support one-on-one messaging, group chats, typing indicators, message history, delivery receipts, and push notifications.
If you’re planning to build a new app, we recommend starting with one of our code samples apps as a foundation for your client app.
If you already have an app and you are looking to add chat to it, proceed with this guide. This guide walks you through installing the ConnectyCube SDK in your app, configure it and then sending your first message to the opponent in 1-1 chat.
Before you start
Before you start, make sure:
- You have access to ConnectyCube account. If you don’t have an account, sign up here.
- An app created in ConnectyCube dashboard. Once logged into your ConnectyCube account, create a new application and make a note of the app credentials (app ID, auth key, and auth secret) that you’ll need for authentication.
Step 1: Configure SDK
To use chat in a client app, you should install, import and configure ConnectyCube SDK.
Note: If the app is already created during the onboarding process and you followed all the instructions, you can skip the ‘Configure SDK’ step and start with Required preparations for supported platforms .
Install SDK
Install package from the command line:
Import SDK
Add the following import statement to start using all classes and methods.
Initialize SDK
Initialize the SDK with your ConnectyCube application credentials. You can access your application credentials in ConnectyCube Dashboard:
After all the above is done, the app is ready to be enriched with chat functionality.
Step 2: Create and Authorise User
As a starting point, the user’s session token needs to be created allowing to send and receive messages in chat.
Note: With the request above, the user is created automatically on the fly upon session creation using the login (or email) and password from the request parameters.
Important: such approach with the automatic user creation works well for testing purposes and while the application isn’t launched on production. For better security it is recommended to deny the session creation without an existing user.
For this, set ‘Session creation without an existing user entity’ to Deny under the Application -> Overview -> Permissions in the admin panel.
Step 3: Connect User to chat
Connecting to the chat is an essential step in enabling real-time communication. By establishing a connection, the user is authenticated on the chat server, allowing them to send and receive messages instantly. Without this connection, the app won’t be able to interact with other users in the chat.
Step 4: Create 1-1 chat
Creating a 1-1 chat is essential because it gives a unique conversation ID to correctly route and organize your message to the intended user.
You need to pass type = CubeDialogType.PRIVATE
and an ID of an opponent you want to create a chat with:
Step 5: Send / Receive chat messages
Once the 1-1 chat is set up, you can use it to exchange messages seamlessly. This code example demonstrates how to send and receive messages in the created 1-1 chat:
Congratulations! You’ve mastered the basics of sending a chat message in ConnectyCube.
What’s next?
To take your chat experience to the next level, explore ConnectyCube advanced functionalities, like adding typing indicators, using emojis, sending attachments, and more.
Follow the Chat API documentation to enrich your app and engage your users even further!