Default Calling - CometChat Docs

This section will provide information on how a complete calling workflow can be set up using CometChat. We’ve built the complete workflow to help your users make calls, receive calls as well as accept/reject calls. Let us assume Alex to be the call initiator and Bob is the receiver.

Alex initiates the call to Bob using the initiateCall() method.
Bob now has two choices:
1. Accept the call from Alex using the acceptCall() method.
2. Reject the call from Alex using the rejectCall() method passing the status as rejected.
In the meantime, Alex has the option to cancel the call he initiated to Bob using the rejectCall() method passing the status as cancelled.
If Bob accepts the call from Alex, both Alex and Bob need to call the startCall() method. Alex in the onOutgoingCallAccepted() method of the CallListener and Bob in the success obtained from the acceptCall() method and both will be connected to each other.

Initiate Call

The initiateCall() method sends a call request to a user or a group.

User Call
Group Call
User Call (Typescript)
Group Call (Typescript)

var receiverID = "UID";
var callType = CometChat.CALL_TYPE.VIDEO;
var receiverType = CometChat.RECEIVER_TYPE.USER;

var call = new CometChat.Call(receiverID, callType, receiverType);

CometChat.initiateCall(call).then(
outGoingCall => {
  console.log("Call initiated successfully:", outGoingCall);
}, error => {
  console.log("Call initialization failed with exception:", error);
}
);

var receiverID = "GUID";
var callType = CometChat.CALL_TYPE.VIDEO;
var receiverType = CometChat.RECEIVER_TYPE.GROUP;

var call = new CometChat.Call(receiverID, callType, receiverType);

CometChat.initiateCall(call).then(
outGoingCall => {
  console.log("Call initiated successfully:", outGoingCall);
}, error => {
  console.log("Call initialization failed with exception:", error);
}
);

var receiverID: string = "UID";
var callType: string = CometChat.CALL_TYPE.VIDEO;
var receiverType: string = CometChat.RECEIVER_TYPE.USER;

var call: CometChat.Call = new CometChat.Call(receiverID, callType, receiverType);

CometChat.initiateCall(call).then(
  (outGoingCall: CometChat.Call) => {
      console.log("Call initiated successfully:", outGoingCall);
  }, (error: CometChat.CometChatException) => {
      console.log("Call initialization failed with exception:", error);
  }
);

var receiverID: string = "GUID";
var callType: string = CometChat.CALL_TYPE.VIDEO;
var receiverType: string = CometChat.RECEIVER_TYPE.GROUP;

var call: CometChat.Call = new CometChat.Call(receiverID, callType, receiverType);

CometChat.initiateCall(call).then(
  (outGoingCall: CometChat.Call) => {
      console.log("Call initiated successfully:", outGoingCall);
  }, (error: CometChat.CometChatException) => {
      console.log("Call initialization failed with exception:", error);
  }
);

This method takes an object of the Call class. The constructor for Call class takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description
`receiverID`	The UID or GUID of the recipient
`receiverType`	The type of the receiver can be, 1.`CometChat.RECEIVER_TYPE.USER` 2.`CometChat.RECEIVER_TYPE.GROUP`
`callType`	The type of call can be, 1.`CometChat.CALL_TYPE.AUDIO` 2.`CometChat.CALL_TYPE.VIDEO`

On successful initialization, a Call object is returned with the details of the call including a unique session ID for the call.

Receive Calls

Wherever you wish to receive the call events in, you need to register the CallListener listener using the addCallListener() method.

Receive Calls
TypeScript

var listnerID = "UNIQUE_LISTENER_ID";
CometChat.addCallListener(
listnerID,
new CometChat.CallListener({
  onIncomingCallReceived: (call) => {
    console.log("Incoming call:", call);
  },
  onOutgoingCallAccepted: (call) => {
    console.log("Outgoing call accepted:", call);
  },
  onOutgoingCallRejected: (call) => {
    console.log("Outgoing call rejected:", call);
  },
  onIncomingCallCancelled: (call) => {
    console.log("Incoming call calcelled:", call);
  }
})
);

var listnerID: string = "UNIQUE_LISTENER_ID";
CometChat.addCallListener(
  listnerID,
  new CometChat.CallListener({
      onIncomingCallReceived: (call: CometChat.Call) => {
          console.log("Incoming call:", call);
      },
      onOutgoingCallAccepted: (call: CometChat.Call) => {
          console.log("Outgoing call accepted:", call);
      },
      onOutgoingCallRejected: (call: CometChat.Call) => {
          console.log("Outgoing call rejected:", call);
      },
      onIncomingCallCancelled: (call: CometChat.Call) => {
          console.log("Incoming call calcelled:", call);
      }
  })
);

Parametrer	Description
`listenerID`	An ID that uniquely identifies that listener. We recommend using the activity or fragment name

We recommend you remove the listener once the activity or fragment is not in use.

Remove Call Listener
TypeScript

var listenerID = "UNIQUE_LISTENER_ID";

CometChat.removeCallListener(listenerID);

var listenerID: string = "UNIQUE_LISTENER_ID";

CometChat.removeCallListener(listenerID);

As mentioned in the Overview section, Once the call is initiated, there are three options that can be possible:

The receiver of the call accepts the call.
The receiver of the call rejects the call.
The initiator of the call cancels the call.

Please find below how these three scenarios can be implemented:

Accept the Incoming Call

Once you have received an incoming call from a user or in any group, to accept the call using the acceptCall() method.

Accept Incoming Call
TypeScript

var sessionID = "SESSION_ID";

CometChat.acceptCall(sessionID).then(
call => {
  console.log("Call accepted successfully:", call);
}, error => {
  console.log("Call acceptance failed with error", error);
}
);

var sessionID: string = "SESSION_ID";

CometChat.acceptCall(sessionID).then(
  (call: CometChat.Call) => {
      console.log("Call accepted successfully:", call);
  }, (error: CometChat.CometChatException) => {
      console.log("Call acceptance failed with error", error);
  }
);

Parameter	Description
`sessionID`	The unique session ID available in the `Call` object

Reject the Incoming Call

To reject the incoming call once it is received using the rejectCall() method.

Reject Incoming Call
TypeScript

var sessionID = "SESSION_ID";
var status = CometChat.CALL_STATUS.REJECTED;

CometChat.rejectCall(sessionID, status).then(
call => {
  console.log("Call rejected successfully", call);
}, error => {
  console.log("Call rejection failed with error:", error);
}
);

var sessionID: string = "SESSION_ID";
var status: string = CometChat.CALL_STATUS.REJECTED;

CometChat.rejectCall(sessionID, status).then(
  (call: CometChat.Call) => {
      console.log("Call rejected successfully", call);
  }, (error: CometChat.CometChatException) => {
      console.log("Call rejection failed with error:", error);
  }
);

Parameter	Description
`sessionID`	The unique session ID available in the `Call` object
`status`	Reason for rejection of the call

Here the status needs to be set as CometChat.CALL_STATUS.REJECTED as the call is being rejected by the receiver of the call.

Cancel the Outgoing Call

In the case where the initiator wishes to cancel the call, use the same above rejectCall() method and just pass the status to the rejectCall() method as CometChat.CALL_STATUS.CANCELLED

Start a Call

Once the call request is sent and the receiver has accepted the call, both the initiator and the receiver need to call the startCall() method. You need to call this method for two scenarios:

After you accept an incoming call i.e. in the onSuccess() callback of the acceptCall() method.
After the recipient accepts an outgoing call i.e. in the onOutgoingCallAccepted() callback of the CallListener listener.

Start a Call
TypeScript

/**
* You can get the call Object from the success of acceptCall() or from the onOutgoingCallAccepted() callback of the CallListener.
*/
var sessionId = call.sessionId;
var callType = call.type;
var callSettings = new CometChat.CallSettingsBuilder()
  								.setSessionID(sessionId)
  								.enableDefaultLayout(true)
  								.setIsAudioOnlyCall(callType == 'audio' ? true : false)
  								.build();
CometChat.startCall(
callSettings,
document.getElementById("callScreen"),
new CometChat.OngoingCallListener({
  onUserJoined: user => {
    console.log("User joined call:", user);
  },
  onUserLeft: user => {
    console.log("User left call:", user);
  },
  onUserListUpdated: userList => {
  		console.log("user list:", userList);
  },
  onCallEnded: call => {
    console.log("Call ended:", call);
  },
  onError: error => {
    console.log("Error :", error);
  },
  onMediaDeviceListUpdated: deviceList => {
    console.log("Device List:", deviceList);
  },
  onUserMuted: (userMuted, userMutedBy) => {
    // This event will work in JS SDK v3.0.2-beta1 & later.
    console.log("Listener => onUserMuted:", userMuted, userMutedBy);
  },
  onScreenShareStarted: () => {
    // This event will work in JS SDK v3.0.3 & later.
    console.log("Screen sharing started.");
  },
  onScreenShareStopped: () => {
    // This event will work in JS SDK v3.0.3 & later.
    console.log("Screen sharing stopped.");
  },
	onCallSwitchedToVideo: (sessionId, callSwitchInitiatedBy, callSwitchAcceptedBy) => {
    	// This event will work in JS SDK v3.0.8 & later.
      console.log("call switched to video:", {sessionId, callSwitchInitiatedBy, callSwitchAcceptedBy});
  }
})
);

/**
* You can get the call Object from the success of acceptCall() or from the onOutgoingCallAccepted() callback of the CallListener.
*/
var call: CometChat.Call;
var sessionId: string = call.getSessionId();
var callType: string = call.getType();
var callSettings: CometChat.CallSettings = new CometChat.CallSettingsBuilder()
  .setSessionID(sessionId)
  .enableDefaultLayout(true)
  .setIsAudioOnlyCall(callType == 'audio' ? true : false)
  .build();
CometChat.startCall(
  callSettings,
  document.getElementById("callScreen"),
  new CometChat.OngoingCallListener({
      onUserJoined: (user: CometChat.User) => {
          console.log("User joined call:", user);
      },
      onUserLeft: (user: CometChat.User) => {
          console.log("User left call:", user);
      },
      onUserListUpdated: (userList: CometChat.User[]) => {
          console.log("user list:", userList);
      },
      onCallEnded: (call: CometChat.Call) => {
          console.log("Call ended:", call);
      },
      onError: (error: CometChat.CometChatException) => {
          console.log("Error :", error);
      },
      onMediaDeviceListUpdated: (deviceList: Object) => {
          console.log("Device List:", deviceList);
      },
      onUserMuted: (userMuted: CometChat.User, userMutedBy: CometChat.User) => {
          // This event will work in JS SDK v3.0.2-beta1 & later.
          console.log("Listener => onUserMuted:", userMuted, userMutedBy);
      },
      onScreenShareStarted: () => {
          // This event will work in JS SDK v3.0.3 & later.
          console.log("Screen sharing started.");
      },
      onScreenShareStopped: () => {
          // This event will work in JS SDK v3.0.3 & later.
          console.log("Screen sharing stopped.");
      }
  })
);

The current startCall() method which takes the sessionId, view, Ongoing Call Listener to load the call view is deprecated and will be replaced in the future versions. It will continue to work on this version but we suggest moving to the new method as shown above using the object of the CallSettings class as the parameter.

Parameter	Description
`callSettings`	Object of CallSettings class.
`callScreen`	DOM element where you want show the call UI.
`OngoingCallListener`	CometChat.OngoingCallListener where the real-time events will be received.

The OngoingCallListener listener provides you with the below callback methods:

Callback Method	Description
`onUserJoined(user)`	This method is called when any other user joins the call. The user details can be obtained from the `User` object provided.
`onUserLeft(user)`	This method is called when a user leaves the call. The details of the user can be obtained from the provided `User` object.
`onError()`	This method is called when there is some error in establishing the call.
`onCallEnded()`	This method is called when the call is successfully ended. The call details can be obtained from the `Call` object provided.
`onUserListUpdated(userList)`	This method is triggered every time a participant joins or leaves the call providing the list of users active in the call.
`onMediaDeviceListUpdated(deviceList)`	This method is triggered if any new audio output source is available or becomes unavailable.
`onUserMuted(userMuted, userMutedBy)`	This method is triggered when a user is muted in the ongoing call.
`onScreenShareStarted()`	This method is triggered when the local user starts sharing a screen.
`onScreenShareStopped()`	This method is triggered when the local user stops sharing a screen.
`onCallSwitchedToVideo(sessionId, callSwitchInitiatedBy, callSwitchAcceptedBy)`	This callback is triggered when an audio call is converted into a video call.

Settings

The CallSettings class is the most important class when it comes to the implementation of the Calling feature. This is the class that allows you to customize the overall calling experience. The properties for the call/conference can be set using the CallSettingsBuilder class. This will eventually give you an object of the CallSettings class which you can pass to the startCall() method to start the call. The mandatory parameters that are required to be present for any call/conference to work are:

sessionId - The unique session Id for the call/conference session.

The options available for customization of calls are:

Setting	Description
`enableDefaultLayout(defaultLayout: boolean)`	If set to `true` enables the default layout for handling the call operations. If set to `false` it hides the button layout and just displays the Call View. Default value = true
`showEndCallButton(showEndCallButton: boolean)`	If set to `true` it displays the EndCallButton in Button Layout. if set to `false` it hides the EndCallButton in Button Layout. Default value = true
`showPauseVideoButton(showPauseVideoButton: boolean)`	If set to `true` it displays the PauseVideoButton in Button Layout. if set to `false` it hides the PauseVideoButton in Button Layout. Default value = true
`showMuteAudioButton(showMuteAudioButton: boolean)`	If set to `true` it displays the MuteAudioButton in Button Layout. if set to `false` it hides the MuteAudioButton in Button Layout. Default value = true
`showScreenShareButton(showScreenShareButton: boolean)`	If set to `true` it displays the ShareScreenButton in Button Layout. if set to `false` it hides the ShareScreenButton in Button Layout. Default value = true
`showModeButton(showModeButton: boolean)`	If set to `true` it displays the ShowModeButton in Button Layout. if set to `false` it hides the ShowModeButton in Button Layout. Default value = true
`setIsAudioOnlyCall(audioOnly: boolean)`	If set to true, the call will be strictly an audio call. If ser to false, the call will be an audio-video call. Default value = false
`setMode(mode: string)`	CometChat provides 4 options for the calling UI. 1. CometChat.CALL_MODE.DEFAULT 2. CometChat.CALL_MODE.SPOTLIGHT 3. CometChat.CALL_MODE.SINGLE 4. CometChat.CALL_MODE.GRID Default value = CometChat.CALL_MODE.DEFAULT
`startWithAudioMuted(audioMuted: boolean)`	This ensures the call is started with the audio muted if set to true. Default value = false
`startWithVideoMuted(videoMuted: boolean)`	This ensures the call is started with the video paused if set to true. Default value = false
`setCustomCSS(customCSS: string)`	This will apply the given CSS on the Calling UI. For example: let customCSS = “.main-container{border: 1px solid yellow}”; setCustomCSS(customCSS) You can read more about custom CSS here.
`forceLegacyUI(useLegacyUI: boolean)`	This ensures that the legacy UI is used. Default value = true
`showSwitchToVideoCallButton(switchCall: boolean)`	This method shows/hides the switch to video call button. If set to true it will display the switch to video call button. If set to false it will hide the switch to video call button. Default value = true
`setMainVideoContainerSetting(containerSettings: MainVideoContainerSetting)`	This method can be used to customize the main video container. You can read more about this here.

In case you wish to achieve a completely customized UI for the Calling experience, you can do so by embedding default android buttons to the screen as per your requirement and then use the below methods to achieve different functionalities for the embedded buttons. For the use case where you wish to align your own custom buttons and not use the default layout provided by CometChat, you can embed the buttons in your layout and use the below methods to perform the corresponding operations:

Mute Audio

You can call the muteAudio(mute: boolean) method to mute/unmute your audio stream.

Mute Audio
TypeScript

let callController = CometChat.CallController.getInstance();
callController.muteAudio(true);

let callController: CometChat.CallController = CometChat.CallController.getInstance();
callController.muteAudio(true);

If set to true the audio stream will be muted and if set to false the audio stream will be unmuted.

Pause Video

You can call the pauseVideo(pause: boolean) method to pause/unpause video stream.

Pause Video
TypeScript

let callController = CometChat.CallController.getInstance();
callController.pauseVideo(true);

let callController: CometChat.CallController = CometChat.CallController.getInstance();
callController.pauseVideo(true);

If set to true the video stream will be paused and if set to false the video stream will be unpaused. You can call startScreenShare() to start the screen share.

Start Screen Share
TypeScript

let callController: CometChat.CallController = CometChat.CallController.getInstance();
callController.startScreenShare();

You can call stopScreenShare() to stop the screen share.

Stop Screen Share
TypeScript

let callController: CometChat.CallController = CometChat.CallController.getInstance();
callController.stopScreenShare();

Set Mode

You can use the setMode(mode: string) method to set the mode.

Set Mode
TypeScript

let mode = CometChat.CALL_MODE.SPOTLIGHT;
let callController = CometChat.CallController.getInstance();
callController.setMode(mode);

let mode: string = CometChat.CALL_MODE.SPOTLIGHT;
let callController: CometChat.CallController = CometChat.CallController.getInstance();
callController.setMode(mode);

Get Audio Input Devices

You can use the getAudioInputDevices() method to get all the available audio input devices.

Get Audio Input Devices
TypeScript

let callController = CometChat.CallController.getInstance();
let audioInputDevices = callController.getAudioInputDevices();

let callController: CometChat.CallController = CometChat.CallController.getInstance();
let audioInputDevices: CometChat.MediaDevice[] = callController.getAudioInputDevices();

Get Audio Output Devices

You can use the getAudioOutputDevices() method to get all the available audio output devices.

Get Audio Output Devices
TypeScript

let callController = CometChat.CallController.getInstance();
let audioOutputDevices = callController.getAudioOutputDevices();

let callController: CometChat.CallController = CometChat.CallController.getInstance();
let audioOutputDevices: CometChat.MediaDevice[] = callController.getAudioOutputDevices();

Get Video Input Devices

You can use the getVideoInputDevices() method to get all the available video input devices.

Get Video Input Devices
TypeScript

let callController = CometChat.CallController.getInstance();
let videoInputDevices = callController.getVideoInputDevices();

let callController: CometChat.CallController = CometChat.CallController.getInstance();
let videoInputDevices: CometChat.MediaDevice[] = callController.getVideoInputDevices();

Set Audio Input Device

You can use the setAudioInputDevice(deviceId) method to set the active audio input device.

Set Audio Input Device
TypeScript

let callController = CometChat.CallController.getInstance();
callController.setAudioInputDevice(deviceId);

let callController: CometChat.CallController = CometChat.CallController.getInstance();
callController.setAudioInputDevice(deviceId);

Set Audio Output Device

You can use the setAudioOutputDevice(deviceId) method to set the active audio output device.

Set Audio Output Device
TypeScript

let callController = CometChat.CallController.getInstance();
callController.setAudioOutputDevice(deviceId);

let callController: CometChat.CallController = CometChat.CallController.getInstance();
callController.setAudioOutputDevice(deviceId);

Set Video Input Device

You can use the setVideoInputDevice(deviceId) method to set the active video input device.

Set Video Input Device
TypeScript

let callController = CometChat.CallController.getInstance();
callController.setVideoInputDevice(deviceId);

let callController: CometChat.CallController = CometChat.CallController.getInstance();
callController.setVideoInputDevice(deviceId);

Switch To Video Call

You can use the switchToVideoCall() method to switch from audio call to video call.

JavaScript
TypeScript

let callController = CometChat.CallController.getInstance();
callController.switchToVideoCall();

let callController: CometChat.CallController = CometChat.CallController.getInstance();
callController.switchToVideoCall();

End Call

You can use the CometChat.endCall() method of the CometChat class to end the call.

End Call
TypeScript

CometChat.endCall("SESSION_ID_FOR_THE_CALL").then(
  call => {
  	console.log('call ended', call);
  }, error => {
  	console.log('error', error);
  }
);

let sessionId: string = "SESSION_ID_FOR_THE_CALL"
CometChat.endCall(sessionId).then(
  (call: CometChat.Call) => {
      console.log('call ended', call);
  }, (error: CometChat.CometChatException) => {
      console.log('error', error);
  }
);

Active Call

CometChat provides a method to get the details of the call that is currently active. The CometChat.getActiveCall() will return an object of the Call class containing the details of the ongoing call. If there is no ongoing call this method will return null.

Get Active Call
TypeScript

let activeCall = CometChat.getActiveCall();

let activeCall: CometChat.Call = CometChat.getActiveCall();

The getActiveCall() method will only return the details of the active call for the ongoing session in which the call has been started. If the app is restarted, the data will be lost.

Call Participant Count

In order to get the number of participants in any call, you can use the getCallParticipantCount() method. This method takes the session id for the call and returns the number of participants that are active in the call.

Get Call Participant Count
TypeScript

let sessionId = "CALL_SESSION_ID";
let callType = "DEFAULT";

CometChat.getCallParticipantCount(sessionId, callType).then(
  count => {
  	console.log("Participants count =", count);
  }, error => {
  	console.log("Some error occurred =", error);
  }
);

let sessionId: string = "CALL_SESSION_ID";
let callType: string = "DEFAULT";

CometChat.getCallParticipantCount(sessionId, callType).then(
  (count: number) => {
      console.log("Participants count =", count);
  }, (error: CometChat.CometChatException) => {
      console.log("Some error occurred =", error);
  }
);

​Initiate Call

​Receive Calls

​Accept the Incoming Call

​Reject the Incoming Call

​Cancel the Outgoing Call

​Start a Call

​Settings

​Mute Audio

​Pause Video

​Start Screen Share

​Stop Screen Share

​Set Mode

​Get Audio Input Devices

​Get Audio Output Devices

​Get Video Input Devices

​Set Audio Input Device

​Set Audio Output Device

​Set Video Input Device

​Switch To Video Call

​End Call

​Active Call

​Call Participant Count

Initiate Call

Receive Calls

Accept the Incoming Call

Reject the Incoming Call

Cancel the Outgoing Call

Start a Call

Settings

Mute Audio

Pause Video

Start Screen Share

Stop Screen Share

Set Mode

Get Audio Input Devices

Get Audio Output Devices

Get Video Input Devices

Set Audio Input Device

Set Audio Output Device

Set Video Input Device

Switch To Video Call

End Call

Active Call

Call Participant Count