Conversations - CometChat Docs

AI Integration Quick Reference

{
  "component": "CometChatConversations",
  "package": "@cometchat/chat-uikit-react",
  "import": "import { CometChatConversations } from \"@cometchat/chat-uikit-react\";",
  "cssImport": "import \"@cometchat/chat-uikit-react/css-variables.css\";",
  "description": "Scrollable list of recent one-on-one and group conversations for the logged-in user.",
  "cssRootClass": ".cometchat-conversations",
  "primaryOutput": {
    "prop": "onItemClick",
    "type": "(conversation: CometChat.Conversation) => void"
  },
  "props": {
    "data": {
      "conversationsRequestBuilder": {
        "type": "CometChat.ConversationsRequestBuilder",
        "default": "SDK default (30 per page)",
        "note": "Pass the builder, not the result of .build()"
      },
      "activeConversation": {
        "type": "CometChat.Conversation",
        "default": "undefined"
      },
      "lastMessageDateTimeFormat": {
        "type": "CalendarObject",
        "default": "Component default (hh:mm A today, [yesterday], DD/MM/YYYY other days)",
        "note": "Falls back to global CometChatLocalize.calendarObject if not set"
      }
    },
    "callbacks": {
      "onItemClick": "(conversation: CometChat.Conversation) => void",
      "onSelect": "(conversation: CometChat.Conversation, selected: boolean) => void",
      "onError": "((error: CometChat.CometChatException) => void) | null",
      "onSearchBarClicked": "() => void"
    },
    "visibility": {
      "hideReceipts": { "type": "boolean", "default": false },
      "hideError": { "type": "boolean", "default": false },
      "hideDeleteConversation": { "type": "boolean", "default": false },
      "hideUserStatus": { "type": "boolean", "default": false },
      "hideGroupType": { "type": "boolean", "default": false },
      "showSearchBar": { "type": "boolean", "default": false },
      "showScrollbar": { "type": "boolean", "default": false }
    },
    "sound": {
      "disableSoundForMessages": { "type": "boolean", "default": false },
      "customSoundForMessages": { "type": "string", "default": "built-in" }
    },
    "selection": {
      "selectionMode": {
        "type": "SelectionMode",
        "values": ["SelectionMode.single (0)", "SelectionMode.multiple (1)", "SelectionMode.none (2)"],
        "default": "SelectionMode.none"
      }
    },
    "viewSlots": {
      "itemView": "(conversation: CometChat.Conversation) => JSX.Element",
      "leadingView": "(conversation: CometChat.Conversation) => JSX.Element",
      "titleView": "(conversation: CometChat.Conversation) => JSX.Element",
      "subtitleView": "(conversation: CometChat.Conversation) => JSX.Element",
      "trailingView": "(conversation: CometChat.Conversation) => JSX.Element",
      "headerView": "JSX.Element",
      "searchView": "JSX.Element",
      "loadingView": "JSX.Element",
      "emptyView": "JSX.Element",
      "errorView": "JSX.Element",
      "options": "((conversation: CometChat.Conversation) => CometChatOption[]) | null"
    },
    "formatting": {
      "textFormatters": {
        "type": "CometChatTextFormatter[]",
        "default": "default formatters from data source"
      }
    }
  },
  "events": [
    {
      "name": "CometChatConversationEvents.ccConversationDeleted",
      "payload": "CometChat.Conversation",
      "description": "Conversation deleted from list"
    },
    {
      "name": "CometChatConversationEvents.ccUpdateConversation",
      "payload": "CometChat.Conversation",
      "description": "Conversation updated"
    },
    {
      "name": "CometChatConversationEvents.ccMarkConversationAsRead",
      "payload": "CometChat.Conversation",
      "description": "Conversation marked as read"
    }
  ],
  "sdkListeners": [
    "onTextMessageReceived",
    "onMediaMessageReceived",
    "onCustomMessageReceived",
    "onTypingStarted",
    "onTypingEnded",
    "onMessagesDelivered",
    "onMessagesRead",
    "onMessagesDeliveredToAll",
    "onMessagesReadByAll",
    "onUserOnline",
    "onUserOffline",
    "onGroupMemberJoined",
    "onGroupMemberLeft",
    "onGroupMemberKicked",
    "onGroupMemberBanned",
    "onMemberAddedToGroup"
  ],
  "compositionExample": {
    "description": "Sidebar conversations wired to message view",
    "components": [
      "CometChatConversations",
      "CometChatMessageHeader",
      "CometChatMessageList",
      "CometChatMessageComposer"
    ],
    "flow": "onItemClick emits CometChat.Conversation -> extract User/Group via getConversationWith() -> pass to MessageHeader, MessageList, MessageComposer"
  },
  "types": {
    "CalendarObject": {
      "today": "string | undefined",
      "yesterday": "string | undefined",
      "lastWeek": "string | undefined",
      "otherDays": "string | undefined",
      "relativeTime": {
        "minute": "string | undefined",
        "minutes": "string | undefined",
        "hour": "string | undefined",
        "hours": "string | undefined"
      }
    },
    "CometChatOption": {
      "id": "string | undefined",
      "title": "string | undefined",
      "iconURL": "string | undefined",
      "onClick": "(() => void) | undefined"
    },
    "SelectionMode": {
      "single": 0,
      "multiple": 1,
      "none": 2
    }
  }
}

Where It Fits

CometChatConversations is a sidebar list component. It renders recent conversations and emits the selected CometChat.Conversation via onItemClick. Wire it to CometChatMessageHeader, CometChatMessageList, and CometChatMessageComposer to build a standard two-panel chat layout.

import { useState } from "react";
import {
  CometChatConversations,
  CometChatMessageHeader,
  CometChatMessageList,
  CometChatMessageComposer,
} from "@cometchat/chat-uikit-react";
import { CometChat } from "@cometchat/chat-sdk-javascript";
import "@cometchat/chat-uikit-react/css-variables.css";

function ChatApp() {
  const [selectedUser, setSelectedUser] = useState<CometChat.User>();
  const [selectedGroup, setSelectedGroup] = useState<CometChat.Group>();

  const handleItemClick = (conversation: CometChat.Conversation) => {
    const entity = conversation.getConversationWith();
    if (entity instanceof CometChat.User) {
      setSelectedUser(entity);
      setSelectedGroup(undefined);
    } else if (entity instanceof CometChat.Group) {
      setSelectedGroup(entity);
      setSelectedUser(undefined);
    }
  };

  return (
    <div style={{ display: "flex", height: "100vh", width: "100vw" }}>
      <div style={{ width: 480, height: "100%" }}>
        <CometChatConversations onItemClick={handleItemClick} />
      </div>
      {selectedUser || selectedGroup ? (
        <div style={{ flex: 1, display: "flex", flexDirection: "column" }}>
          <CometChatMessageHeader user={selectedUser} group={selectedGroup} />
          <CometChatMessageList user={selectedUser} group={selectedGroup} />
          <CometChatMessageComposer user={selectedUser} group={selectedGroup} />
        </div>
      ) : (
        <div style={{ flex: 1, display: "grid", placeItems: "center", background: "#F5F5F5", color: "#727272" }}>
          Select a conversation
        </div>
      )}
    </div>
  );
}

Open in CodeSandbox

Minimal Render

import { CometChatConversations } from "@cometchat/chat-uikit-react";
import "@cometchat/chat-uikit-react/css-variables.css";

function ConversationsDemo() {
  return (
    <div style={{ width: "100%", height: "100%" }}>
      <CometChatConversations />
    </div>
  );
}

export default ConversationsDemo;

Root CSS class: .cometchat-conversations

Filtering Conversations

Pass a CometChat.ConversationsRequestBuilder to conversationsRequestBuilder. Pass the builder instance — not the result of .build().

import { CometChatConversations } from "@cometchat/chat-uikit-react";
import { CometChat } from "@cometchat/chat-sdk-javascript";

function FilteredConversations() {
  return (
    <CometChatConversations
      conversationsRequestBuilder={
        new CometChat.ConversationsRequestBuilder()
          .setConversationType("user")
          .setLimit(10)
      }
    />
  );
}

Filter Recipes

Recipe	Code
Only user conversations	`new CometChat.ConversationsRequestBuilder().setConversationType("user")`
Only group conversations	`new CometChat.ConversationsRequestBuilder().setConversationType("group")`
Limit to 10 per page	`new CometChat.ConversationsRequestBuilder().setLimit(10)`
With specific tags	`new CometChat.ConversationsRequestBuilder().setTags(["vip"])`
Filter by user tags	`new CometChat.ConversationsRequestBuilder().withUserAndGroupTags(true).setUserTags(["premium"])`
Filter by group tags	`new CometChat.ConversationsRequestBuilder().withUserAndGroupTags(true).setGroupTags(["support"])`

Default page size is 30. The component uses infinite scroll — the next page loads as the user scrolls to the bottom. Refer to ConversationRequestBuilder for the full builder API.

Actions and Events

Callback Props

onItemClick

Fires when a conversation row is tapped. Primary navigation hook — set the active conversation and render the message view.

import { CometChatConversations } from "@cometchat/chat-uikit-react";
import { CometChat } from "@cometchat/chat-sdk-javascript";

function ConversationsWithClick() {
  const handleItemClick = (conversation: CometChat.Conversation) => {
    console.log("Selected:", conversation.getConversationId());
  };

  return <CometChatConversations onItemClick={handleItemClick} />;
}

onSelect

Fires when a conversation is checked/unchecked in multi-select mode. Requires selectionMode to be set.

import { useState } from "react";
import {
  CometChatConversations,
  SelectionMode,
} from "@cometchat/chat-uikit-react";
import { CometChat } from "@cometchat/chat-sdk-javascript";

function BatchSelectDemo() {
  const [selected, setSelected] = useState<Set<string>>(new Set());

  const handleSelect = (conversation: CometChat.Conversation, isSelected: boolean) => {
    setSelected((prev) => {
      const next = new Set(prev);
      const id = conversation.getConversationId();
      isSelected ? next.add(id) : next.delete(id);
      return next;
    });
  };

  return (
    <CometChatConversations
      selectionMode={SelectionMode.multiple}
      onSelect={handleSelect}
    />
  );
}

onError

Fires on internal errors (network failure, auth issue, SDK exception).

import { CometChatConversations } from "@cometchat/chat-uikit-react";
import { CometChat } from "@cometchat/chat-sdk-javascript";

function ConversationsWithErrorHandler() {
  return (
    <CometChatConversations
      onError={(error: CometChat.CometChatException) => {
        console.error("CometChatConversations error:", error);
      }}
    />
  );
}

onSearchBarClicked

Fires when the search bar is clicked. Requires showSearchBar={true}.

import { CometChatConversations } from "@cometchat/chat-uikit-react";

function ConversationsWithSearch() {
  return (
    <CometChatConversations
      showSearchBar={true}
      onSearchBarClicked={() => {
        console.log("Search bar clicked");
      }}
    />
  );
}

Global UI Events

CometChatConversationEvents emits events subscribable from anywhere in the application. Subscribe in a useEffect and unsubscribe on cleanup.

Event	Fires when	Payload
`ccConversationDeleted`	A conversation is deleted from the list	`CometChat.Conversation`
`ccUpdateConversation`	A conversation is updated (last message change, metadata update)	`CometChat.Conversation`
`ccMarkConversationAsRead`	A conversation is marked as read	`CometChat.Conversation`

When to use: sync external UI with conversation state changes. For example, update an unread count badge in a tab bar when ccMarkConversationAsRead fires, or remove a conversation from a custom sidebar when ccConversationDeleted fires.

import { useEffect } from "react";
import { CometChatConversationEvents } from "@cometchat/chat-uikit-react";
import { CometChat } from "@cometchat/chat-sdk-javascript";

function useConversationEvents() {
  useEffect(() => {
    const deletedSub = CometChatConversationEvents.ccConversationDeleted.subscribe(
      (conversation: CometChat.Conversation) => {
        console.log("Deleted:", conversation.getConversationId());
      }
    );
    const updatedSub = CometChatConversationEvents.ccUpdateConversation.subscribe(
      (conversation: CometChat.Conversation) => {
        console.log("Updated:", conversation.getConversationId());
      }
    );
    const readSub = CometChatConversationEvents.ccMarkConversationAsRead.subscribe(
      (conversation: CometChat.Conversation) => {
        console.log("Marked as read:", conversation.getConversationId());
      }
    );

    return () => {
      deletedSub?.unsubscribe();
      updatedSub?.unsubscribe();
      readSub?.unsubscribe();
    };
  }, []);
}

SDK Events (Real-Time, Automatic)

The component listens to these SDK events internally. No manual attachment needed unless additional side effects are required.

SDK Listener	Internal behavior
`onTextMessageReceived` / `onMediaMessageReceived` / `onCustomMessageReceived`	Moves conversation to top, updates last message preview and unread count
`onTypingStarted` / `onTypingEnded`	Shows/hides typing indicator in the subtitle
`onMessagesDelivered` / `onMessagesRead` / `onMessagesDeliveredToAll` / `onMessagesReadByAll`	Updates receipt ticks (unless `hideReceipts={true}`)
`onUserOnline` / `onUserOffline`	Updates online/offline status dot (unless `hideUserStatus={true}`)
`onGroupMemberJoined` / `onGroupMemberLeft` / `onGroupMemberKicked` / `onGroupMemberBanned` / `onMemberAddedToGroup`	Updates group conversation metadata

Automatic: new messages, typing indicators, receipts, user presence, group membership changes. Manual: deleting a conversation via the SDK directly (not through the component’s context menu) requires emitting CometChatConversationEvents.ccConversationDeleted for the UI to update.

In React 18 StrictMode, useEffect runs twice on mount in development. The component handles listener cleanup internally, but any additional listeners added alongside the component need cleanup in the useEffect return function to avoid duplicate event handling.

Custom View Slots

Each slot replaces a section of the default UI. Slots that accept a conversation parameter receive the CometChat.Conversation object for that row.

Slot	Signature	Replaces
`itemView`	`(conversation: CometChat.Conversation) => JSX.Element`	Entire list item row
`leadingView`	`(conversation: CometChat.Conversation) => JSX.Element`	Avatar / left section
`titleView`	`(conversation: CometChat.Conversation) => JSX.Element`	Name / title text
`subtitleView`	`(conversation: CometChat.Conversation) => JSX.Element`	Last message preview
`trailingView`	`(conversation: CometChat.Conversation) => JSX.Element`	Timestamp / badge / right section
`headerView`	`JSX.Element`	Entire header bar
`searchView`	`JSX.Element`	Search bar
`loadingView`	`JSX.Element`	Loading spinner
`emptyView`	`JSX.Element`	Empty state
`errorView`	`JSX.Element`	Error state
`options`	`(conversation: CometChat.Conversation) => CometChatOption[]`	Context menu / hover actions

itemView

Replace the entire list item row. Default:

Customized:

TypeScript
CSS

import { CometChat } from "@cometchat/chat-sdk-javascript";
import {
  CometChatListItem,
  CometChatConversations,
  CometChatDate,
} from "@cometchat/chat-uikit-react";

function CustomItemViewConversations() {
  const getItemView = (conversation: CometChat.Conversation) => {
    const title = conversation.getConversationWith().getName();
    const timestamp = conversation?.getLastMessage()?.getSentAt();

    return (
      <CometChatListItem
        title={title}
        avatarName={title}
        id={conversation.getConversationId()}
        trailingView={<CometChatDate timestamp={timestamp} />}
        onListItemClicked={() => {
          // handle click
        }}
      />
    );
  };

  return <CometChatConversations itemView={getItemView} />;
}

.cometchat-conversations .cometchat-avatar {
  border-radius: 8px;
  width: 32px;
  height: 32px;
}

.cometchat-conversations .cometchat-list-item {
  gap: 4px;
}

leadingView

Replace the avatar / left section. Typing-aware avatar example.

import { useEffect, useRef, useState } from "react";
import { CometChat } from "@cometchat/chat-sdk-javascript";
import {
  CometChatConversations,
  CometChatAvatar,
  CometChatUIKitLoginListener,
} from "@cometchat/chat-uikit-react";

function TypingAwareConversations() {
  const [isTyping, setIsTyping] = useState(false);
  const typingObjRef = useRef<CometChat.TypingIndicator | null>(null);
  const loggedInUser = CometChatUIKitLoginListener.getLoggedInUser();

  useEffect(() => {
    const listenerId = "typing_demo_" + Date.now();
    CometChat.addMessageListener(
      listenerId,
      new CometChat.MessageListener({
        onTypingStarted: (typingIndicator: CometChat.TypingIndicator) => {
          typingObjRef.current = typingIndicator;
          setIsTyping(true);
        },
        onTypingEnded: (typingIndicator: CometChat.TypingIndicator) => {
          if (
            typingObjRef.current &&
            typingObjRef.current.getSender().getUid() ===
              typingIndicator.getSender().getUid()
          ) {
            typingObjRef.current = null;
            setIsTyping(false);
          }
        },
      })
    );
    return () => {
      CometChat.removeMessageListener(listenerId);
    };
  }, []);

  const getLeadingView = (conversation: CometChat.Conversation) => {
    const entity = conversation.getConversationWith();
    const isUser = entity instanceof CometChat.User;
    const isGroup = entity instanceof CometChat.Group;

    const isMyTyping = isUser
      ? (entity as CometChat.User).getUid() ===
          typingObjRef.current?.getSender().getUid() &&
        loggedInUser?.getUid() === typingObjRef.current?.getReceiverId()
      : isGroup &&
        (entity as CometChat.Group).getGuid() ===
          typingObjRef.current?.getReceiverId();

    const avatar = isUser
      ? (entity as CometChat.User).getAvatar()
      : (entity as CometChat.Group).getIcon();

    return (
      <div className="conversations__leading-view">
        <CometChatAvatar
          image={isTyping && isMyTyping ? undefined : avatar}
          name={isTyping && isMyTyping ? undefined : entity.getName()}
        />
      </div>
    );
  };

  return <CometChatConversations leadingView={getLeadingView} />;
}

trailingView

Replace the timestamp / badge / right section. Relative time badge example.

TypeScript
CSS

import { CometChat } from "@cometchat/chat-sdk-javascript";
import { CometChatConversations } from "@cometchat/chat-uikit-react";

function RelativeTimeConversations() {
  const getTrailingView = (conv: CometChat.Conversation) => {
    if (!conv.getLastMessage()) return <></>;

    const timestamp = conv.getLastMessage()?.getSentAt() * 1000;
    const now = Date.now();
    const diffInMinutes = Math.floor((now - timestamp) / (1000 * 60));
    const diffInHours = Math.floor((now - timestamp) / (1000 * 60 * 60));

    let className = "conversations__trailing-view-min";
    let topLabel = `${diffInMinutes}`;
    let bottomLabel = diffInMinutes === 1 ? "Min ago" : "Mins ago";

    if (diffInHours >= 1 && diffInHours <= 10) {
      className = "conversations__trailing-view-hour";
      topLabel = `${diffInHours}`;
      bottomLabel = diffInHours === 1 ? "Hour ago" : "Hours ago";
    } else if (diffInHours > 10) {
      className = "conversations__trailing-view-date";
      const time = new Date(timestamp);
      topLabel = time.toLocaleDateString("en-US", { day: "numeric" });
      bottomLabel = time.toLocaleDateString("en-US", { month: "short", year: "numeric" });
    }

    return (
      <div className={`conversations__trailing-view ${className}`}>
        <span className="conversations__trailing-view-time">{topLabel}</span>
        <span className="conversations__trailing-view-status">{bottomLabel}</span>
      </div>
    );
  };

  return <CometChatConversations trailingView={getTrailingView} />;
}

.conversations__trailing-view {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  align-items: center;
  justify-content: center;
  width: 55px;
  height: 40px;
  border-radius: 8px;
  box-shadow: 0 2px 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);
}

.conversations__trailing-view-min { background-color: #e0d4f7; }
.conversations__trailing-view-hour { background-color: #fff3cd; }
.conversations__trailing-view-date { background-color: #f8d7da; }

.conversations__trailing-view-time {
  font: 600 18px Roboto;
  color: #4a3f99;
  margin-bottom: 4px;
}

.conversations__trailing-view-status {
  font: 600 8px Roboto;
  color: #6a5b99;
}

.cometchat-conversations .cometchat-list-item__trailing-view {
  height: 50px;
}

titleView

Replace the name / title text. Inline user status example.

TypeScript
CSS

import { CometChat } from "@cometchat/chat-sdk-javascript";
import { CometChatConversations } from "@cometchat/chat-uikit-react";

function StatusTitleConversations() {
  const getTitleView = (conversation: CometChat.Conversation) => {
    const user =
      conversation.getConversationType() === "user"
        ? (conversation.getConversationWith() as CometChat.User)
        : undefined;

    return (
      <div className="conversations__title-view">
        <span className="conversations__title-view-name">
          {user
            ? conversation.getConversationWith().getName() + " · "
            : conversation.getConversationWith().getName()}
        </span>
        {user && (
          <span className="conversations__title-view-status">
            {user.getStatusMessage()}
          </span>
        )}
      </div>
    );
  };

  return <CometChatConversations titleView={getTitleView} />;
}

.cometchat-conversations .conversations__title-view {
  display: flex;
  gap: 4px;
  width: 100%;
}

.conversations__title-view-name {
  color: #141414;
  font: 500 16px/19.2px Roboto;
}

.conversations__title-view-status {
  color: #6852d6;
  font: 400 16px/19.2px Roboto;
}

subtitleView

Replace the last message preview text. Default:

Customized:

TypeScript
CSS

import { CometChat } from "@cometchat/chat-sdk-javascript";
import { CometChatConversations } from "@cometchat/chat-uikit-react";

function formatTimestamp(timestamp: number): string {
  return new Date(timestamp * 1000).toLocaleString();
}

function SubtitleConversations() {
  const getSubtitleView = (conversation: CometChat.Conversation) => {
    if (conversation.getConversationType() === "user") {
      return (
        <>
          Last active:{" "}
          {formatTimestamp(
            (conversation.getConversationWith() as CometChat.User).getLastActiveAt()
          )}
        </>
      );
    }
    return (
      <>
        Created:{" "}
        {formatTimestamp(
          (conversation.getConversationWith() as CometChat.Group).getCreatedAt()
        )}
      </>
    );
  };

  return <CometChatConversations subtitleView={getSubtitleView} />;
}

.cometchat-conversations .cometchat-list-item__body-subtitle {
  overflow: hidden;
  color: var(--cometchat-text-color-secondary, #727272);
  text-overflow: ellipsis;
  white-space: nowrap;
  font: var(--cometchat-font-body-regular);
}

headerView

Replace the entire header bar.

TypeScript
CSS

import {
  CometChatButton,
  CometChatConversations,
  getLocalizedString,
} from "@cometchat/chat-uikit-react";

function CustomHeaderConversations() {
  return (
    <CometChatConversations
      headerView={
        <div className="conversations__header">
          <div className="conversations__header__title">
            {getLocalizedString("CHATS")}
          </div>
          <CometChatButton onClick={() => { /* handle click */ }} />
        </div>
      }
    />
  );
}

.conversations__header {
  display: flex;
  width: 100%;
  padding: 8px 16px;
  align-items: center;
  justify-content: space-between;
  gap: 12px;
  border-radius: 10px;
  border: 1px solid #e8e8e8;
  background: #edeafa;
}

.conversations__header__title {
  overflow: hidden;
  color: #141414;
  text-overflow: ellipsis;
  font: 700 24px Roboto;
}

.conversations__header .cometchat-button .cometchat-button__icon {
  background: #141414;
}

.conversations__header .cometchat-button {
  width: 24px;
  border: none;
  background: transparent;
  border-radius: 0;
}

options

Replace the context menu / hover actions on each conversation item. Default:

Customized:

TypeScript
CSS

import { CometChat } from "@cometchat/chat-sdk-javascript";
import {
  CometChatOption,
  CometChatConversations,
} from "@cometchat/chat-uikit-react";

function CustomOptionsConversations() {
  const getOptions = (conversation: CometChat.Conversation) => [
    new CometChatOption({
      title: "Delete",
      id: "delete",
      onClick: () => { /* delete logic */ },
    }),
    new CometChatOption({
      title: "Mute Notification",
      id: "mute",
      onClick: () => { /* mute logic */ },
    }),
    new CometChatOption({
      title: "Mark as Unread",
      id: "unread",
      onClick: () => { /* mark unread logic */ },
    }),
    new CometChatOption({
      title: "Block",
      id: "block",
      onClick: () => { /* block logic */ },
    }),
  ];

  return <CometChatConversations options={getOptions} />;
}

.cometchat-conversations .cometchat-menu-list__main-menu-item-icon-delete {
  background: red;
}

.cometchat-conversations .cometchat-menu-list__sub-menu {
  background: transparent;
  box-shadow: none;
}

// CometChatOption interface
interface CometChatOption {
  id?: string;       // Unique identifier
  title?: string;    // Display text
  iconURL?: string;  // Icon asset URL
  onClick?: () => void; // Click handler
}

textFormatters

Custom text formatters for the conversation subtitle. Array of CometChatTextFormatter instances. If not provided, default formatters from the data source are used.

import { CometChatConversations } from "@cometchat/chat-uikit-react";
import ShortcutFormatter from "./ShortCutFormatter";

function FormattedConversations() {
  return (
    <CometChatConversations textFormatters={[new ShortcutFormatter()]} />
  );
}

See CometChatMentionsFormatter for mention formatting.

lastMessageDateTimeFormat

Customize the last message timestamp format using a CalendarObject.

// CalendarObject interface (from source)
class CalendarObject {
  today?: string;
  yesterday?: string;
  lastWeek?: string;
  otherDays?: string;
  relativeTime?: {
    minute?: string;
    minutes?: string;
    hour?: string;
    hours?: string;
  };
}

import {
  CometChatConversations,
  CalendarObject,
} from "@cometchat/chat-uikit-react";

function CustomDateConversations() {
  const dateFormat = new CalendarObject({
    today: "DD MMM, hh:mm A",
    yesterday: "DD MMM, hh:mm A",
    otherDays: "DD MMM, hh:mm A",
  });

  return <CometChatConversations lastMessageDateTimeFormat={dateFormat} />;
}

If no property is passed in the CalendarObject, the component checks the global configuration first. If also missing there, the component’s default formatting applies.

Common Patterns

Custom empty state with CTA

import { CometChatConversations } from "@cometchat/chat-uikit-react";

function EmptyStateConversations() {
  return (
    <CometChatConversations
      emptyView={
        <div style={{ textAlign: "center", padding: 40 }}>
          <p>No conversations yet</p>
          <button onClick={() => { /* navigate to contacts */ }}>
            Start a conversation
          </button>
        </div>
      }
    />
  );
}

Hide all chrome — minimal list

import { CometChatConversations } from "@cometchat/chat-uikit-react";

function MinimalConversations() {
  return (
    <CometChatConversations
      hideReceipts={true}
      hideUserStatus={true}
      hideGroupType={true}
      hideDeleteConversation={true}
    />
  );
}

Conversations with search

import { CometChatConversations } from "@cometchat/chat-uikit-react";

function SearchableConversations() {
  return (
    <CometChatConversations
      showSearchBar={true}
      showScrollbar={true}
    />
  );
}

CSS Architecture

The component uses CSS custom properties (design tokens) defined in @cometchat/chat-uikit-react/css-variables.css. The cascade:

Global tokens (e.g., --cometchat-primary-color, --cometchat-background-color-01) are set on the .cometchat root wrapper.
Component CSS (.cometchat-conversations) consumes these tokens via var() with fallback values.
Overrides target .cometchat-conversations descendant selectors in a global stylesheet.

To scope overrides to a single instance when multiple CometChatConversations exist on the same page, wrap the component in a container and scope selectors:

.sidebar-left .cometchat-conversations .cometchat-badge {
  background: #e5484d;
}

Overrides survive component updates because the component never sets inline styles on these elements — all styling flows through CSS classes and custom properties.

Key Selectors

Target	Selector
Root	`.cometchat-conversations`
Header title	`.cometchat-conversations .cometchat-list__header-title`
List item	`.cometchat-conversations .cometchat-list-item`
Body title	`.cometchat-conversations .cometchat-list-item__body-title`
Avatar	`.cometchat-conversations .cometchat-avatar`
Avatar text	`.cometchat-conversations .cometchat-avatar__text`
Unread badge	`.cometchat-conversations .cometchat-badge`
Subtitle text	`.cometchat-conversations .cometchat-conversations__subtitle-text`
Status indicator	`.cometchat-conversations .cometchat-status-indicator`
Read receipts	`.cometchat-conversations .cometchat-receipts-read`
Active item	`.cometchat-conversations__list-item-active .cometchat-list-item`
Typing indicator	`.cometchat-conversations__subtitle-typing`
Trailing view	`.cometchat-conversations__trailing-view`

Example: Brand-themed conversations

.cometchat-conversations .cometchat-list-item__body-title,
.cometchat-conversations .cometchat-list__header-title,
.cometchat-conversations .cometchat-avatar__text,
.cometchat-conversations .cometchat-badge,
.cometchat-conversations .cometchat-conversations__subtitle-text {
  font-family: "SF Pro";
}

.cometchat-conversations .cometchat-list__header-title {
  background: #fef8f8;
  border-bottom: 2px solid #f4b6b8;
}

.cometchat-conversations .cometchat-avatar {
  background: #f0999b;
}

.cometchat-conversations .cometchat-status-indicator {
  min-width: 10px;
  height: 10px;
}

.cometchat-conversations .cometchat-badge {
  background: #e5484d;
}

.cometchat-conversations .cometchat-receipts-read {
  background: #e96b6f;
}

Customization Matrix

What to change	Where	Property/API	Example
Override behavior on user interaction	Component props	`on<Event>` callbacks	`onItemClick={(c) => setActive(c)}`
Filter which conversations appear	Component props	`conversationsRequestBuilder`	`conversationsRequestBuilder={new CometChat.ConversationsRequestBuilder().setLimit(10)}`
Toggle visibility of UI elements	Component props	`hide<Feature>` boolean props	`hideReceipts={true}`
Replace a section of the list item	Component props	`<slot>View` render props	`itemView={(conversation) => <div>...</div>}`
Change colors, fonts, spacing	Global CSS	Target `.cometchat-conversations` class	`.cometchat-conversations .cometchat-badge { background: #e5484d; }`

Props

All props are optional. Sorted alphabetically.

activeConversation

Highlights the specified conversation in the list.


Type	`CometChat.Conversation`
Default	`undefined`

Must be a reference-equal object from the SDK; a manually constructed object will not match.

conversationsRequestBuilder

Controls which conversations load and in what order.


Type	`CometChat.ConversationsRequestBuilder`
Default	SDK default (30 per page)

Pass the builder instance, not the result of .build().

customSoundForMessages

URL to a custom audio file for incoming message notifications.


Type	`string`
Default	Built-in sound

Must be a valid audio URL accessible from the browser.

disableSoundForMessages

Disables the notification sound for incoming messages.


Type	`boolean`
Default	`false`

emptyView

Custom component displayed when there are no conversations.


Type	`JSX.Element`
Default	Built-in empty state

errorView

Custom component displayed when an error occurs.


Type	`JSX.Element`
Default	Built-in error state

Hidden when hideError={true}.

headerView

Custom component rendered as the entire header bar.


Type	`JSX.Element`
Default	Built-in header with title

hideDeleteConversation

Hides the delete option in the context menu.


Type	`boolean`
Default	`false`

hideError

Hides the default and custom error views.


Type	`boolean`
Default	`false`

Also suppresses errorView if set.

hideGroupType

Hides the group type icon (public/private/password).


Type	`boolean`
Default	`false`

hideReceipts

Hides message read/delivery receipt indicators.


Type	`boolean`
Default	`false`

hideUserStatus

Hides the online/offline status indicator.


Type	`boolean`
Default	`false`

itemView

Custom renderer for the entire list item row.


Type	`(conversation: CometChat.Conversation) => JSX.Element`
Default	Built-in list item

lastMessageDateTimeFormat

Format for displaying the timestamp of the last message.


Type	`CalendarObject`
Default	Component default (`hh:mm A` today, `[yesterday]`, `DD/MM/YYYY` other days)

class CalendarObject {
  today?: string;
  yesterday?: string;
  lastWeek?: string;
  otherDays?: string;
  relativeTime?: {
    minute?: string;
    minutes?: string;
    hour?: string;
    hours?: string;
  };
}

Falls back to global calendar configuration if not set.

leadingView

Custom renderer for the avatar / left section.


Type	`(conversation: CometChat.Conversation) => JSX.Element`
Default	Built-in avatar

loadingView

Custom component displayed during the loading state.


Type	`JSX.Element`
Default	Built-in shimmer

onError

Callback fired when the component encounters an error.


Type	`((error: CometChat.CometChatException) => void) \| null`
Default	`undefined`

onItemClick

Callback fired when a conversation row is clicked.


Type	`(conversation: CometChat.Conversation) => void`
Default	`undefined`

onSearchBarClicked

Callback fired when the search bar is clicked. Requires showSearchBar={true}.


Type	`() => void`
Default	`undefined`

onSelect

Callback fired when a conversation is selected/deselected. Requires selectionMode to be set.


Type	`(conversation: CometChat.Conversation, selected: boolean) => void`
Default	`undefined`

options

Custom context menu / hover actions for each conversation item.


Type	`((conversation: CometChat.Conversation) => CometChatOption[]) \| null`
Default	Built-in delete option

class CometChatOption {
  id?: string;
  title?: string;
  iconURL?: string;
  onClick?: () => void;
}

searchView

Custom search bar component in the header.


Type	`JSX.Element`
Default	Built-in search bar

selectionMode

Enables single or multi-select checkboxes on list items.


Type	`SelectionMode`
Default	`SelectionMode.none`

enum SelectionMode {
  single,    // 0
  multiple,  // 1
  none,      // 2
}

Must pair with onSelect to capture selections.

showScrollbar

Shows the scrollbar in the conversation list.


Type	`boolean`
Default	`false`

showSearchBar

Shows a search bar at the top of the list.


Type	`boolean`
Default	`false`

subtitleView

Custom renderer for the last message preview text.


Type	`(conversation: CometChat.Conversation) => JSX.Element`
Default	Built-in subtitle

textFormatters

Custom text formatters for the conversation subtitle.


Type	`CometChatTextFormatter[]`
Default	Default formatters from data source

See CometChatMentionsFormatter for mention formatting.

titleView

Custom renderer for the name / title text.


Type	`(conversation: CometChat.Conversation) => JSX.Element`
Default	Built-in title

trailingView

Custom renderer for the timestamp / badge / right section.


Type	`(conversation: CometChat.Conversation) => JSX.Element`
Default	Built-in trailing view

Events

Event	Payload	Fires when
`CometChatConversationEvents.ccConversationDeleted`	`CometChat.Conversation`	Conversation deleted from list
`CometChatConversationEvents.ccUpdateConversation`	`CometChat.Conversation`	Conversation updated
`CometChatConversationEvents.ccMarkConversationAsRead`	`CometChat.Conversation`	Conversation marked as read

All events are Subject<CometChat.Conversation> from RxJS. Subscribe with .subscribe(), unsubscribe with the returned subscription’s .unsubscribe().

CSS Selectors

Target	Selector
Root	`.cometchat-conversations`
Header title	`.cometchat-conversations .cometchat-list__header-title`
List item	`.cometchat-conversations .cometchat-list-item`
Body title	`.cometchat-conversations .cometchat-list-item__body-title`
Avatar	`.cometchat-conversations .cometchat-avatar`
Avatar text	`.cometchat-conversations .cometchat-avatar__text`
Unread badge	`.cometchat-conversations .cometchat-badge`
Subtitle text	`.cometchat-conversations .cometchat-conversations__subtitle-text`
Subtitle sender	`.cometchat-conversations__subtitle-text-sender`
Status indicator (online)	`.cometchat-conversations__list-item-online .cometchat-list-item__status`
Group type (password)	`.cometchat-conversations__list-item-password .cometchat-list-item__status`
Group type (private)	`.cometchat-conversations__list-item-private .cometchat-list-item__status`
Read receipts	`.cometchat-conversations__subtitle-receipts-read`
Delivered receipts	`.cometchat-conversations__subtitle-receipts-delivered`
Sent receipts	`.cometchat-conversations__subtitle-receipts-sent`
Error receipts	`.cometchat-conversations__subtitle-receipts-error`
Active item	`.cometchat-conversations__list-item-active .cometchat-list-item`
Typing indicator	`.cometchat-conversations__subtitle-typing`
Trailing view	`.cometchat-conversations__trailing-view`
Badge count	`.cometchat-conversations__trailing-view-badge-count`
Empty state	`.cometchat-conversations__empty-state-view`
Error state	`.cometchat-conversations__error-state-view`
Shimmer loading	`.cometchat-conversations__shimmer`
Context menu	`.cometchat-conversations__trailing-view-options`
Mentions highlight	`.cometchat-conversations__subtitle-text .cometchat-mentions`
@you mentions	`.cometchat-conversations__subtitle-text .cometchat-mentions-you`

​Where It Fits

​Minimal Render

​Filtering Conversations

​Filter Recipes

​Actions and Events

​Callback Props

​onItemClick

​onSelect

​onError

​onSearchBarClicked

​Global UI Events

​SDK Events (Real-Time, Automatic)

​Custom View Slots

​itemView

​leadingView

​trailingView

​titleView

​subtitleView

​headerView

​options

​textFormatters

​lastMessageDateTimeFormat

​Common Patterns

​Custom empty state with CTA

​Hide all chrome — minimal list

​Conversations with search

​CSS Architecture

​Key Selectors

​Example: Brand-themed conversations

​Customization Matrix

​Props

​activeConversation

​conversationsRequestBuilder

​customSoundForMessages

​disableSoundForMessages

​emptyView

​errorView

​headerView

​hideDeleteConversation

​hideError

​hideGroupType

​hideReceipts

​hideUserStatus

​itemView

​lastMessageDateTimeFormat

​leadingView

​loadingView

​onError

​onItemClick

​onSearchBarClicked

​onSelect

​options

​searchView

​selectionMode

​showScrollbar

​showSearchBar

​subtitleView

​textFormatters

​titleView

​trailingView

​Events

​CSS Selectors

Where It Fits

Minimal Render

Filtering Conversations

Filter Recipes

Actions and Events

Callback Props

onItemClick

onSelect

onError

onSearchBarClicked

Global UI Events

SDK Events (Real-Time, Automatic)

Custom View Slots

itemView

leadingView

trailingView

titleView

subtitleView

headerView

options

textFormatters

lastMessageDateTimeFormat

Common Patterns

Custom empty state with CTA

Hide all chrome — minimal list

Conversations with search

CSS Architecture

Key Selectors

Example: Brand-themed conversations

Customization Matrix

Props

activeConversation

conversationsRequestBuilder

customSoundForMessages

disableSoundForMessages

emptyView

errorView

headerView

hideDeleteConversation

hideError

hideGroupType

hideReceipts

hideUserStatus

itemView

lastMessageDateTimeFormat

leadingView

loadingView

onError

onItemClick

onSearchBarClicked

onSelect

options

searchView

selectionMode

showScrollbar

showSearchBar

subtitleView

textFormatters

titleView

trailingView

Events

CSS Selectors