Building a React Native Chat App: A Comprehensive Guide
Tags: react, reactnative, mobile, webdev
Published: 2023-01-29 11:17:35

Welcome to our comprehensive guide on building a React Native chat app! In this article, we will be taking you through the step-by-step process of creating a seamless, real-time chat experience for your mobile application. Whether you're new to React Native or a seasoned developer, this guide will provide you with the tools and knowledge needed to build a robust, fully-functional chat app. 

So let's get started and bring your app to the next level with the power of React Native and real-time messaging!

### Why Use React Native?

React Native is a popular framework for building mobile applications that allows developers to use the same codebase for both iOS and Androidplatforms. One of the main benefits of using React Native is that it allows for faster development time and cost-efficiency, as the same codebase can be used for both iOS and Android platforms. 

Additionally, React Native offers a high performance and smooth experience for the end-users by leveraging the power of native components. React Native also has a large developer community, which means that there are many resources, libraries, and third-party packages available to help you build your chat feature. Overall, React Native is a great choice for building a chat feature in your mobile application due to its flexibility, performance, and cost-efficiency

### Installing React Native

Before we can start building our chat app, we need to install React Native. To do this, we will be using expo but you can also use the React Native CLI. You can also read the React Native [Getting Started](https://reactnative.dev/docs/environment-setup) guide for more information on how to install React Native.

run the following command in your terminal:

```bash
npx create-expo-app AwesomeProject

cd AwesomeProject
npx expo start
```

When it comes to building a react native chat app, you have a few options. 

One option is to use a UI builder such as [MinChat's Ui builder](https://www.minchat.io/docs/builder) which is a plug'n'play solution to create the chat interface. MinChat's UI builder is an easy-to-use tool that allows you to customize the look and feel of your chat feature, without having to write any code. You can choose from a variety of themes and customize the layout, colors, and fonts to match your app's branding.

Another option is to use a real-time [chat API](https://www.minchat.io/blog/what-is-a-chat-api-and-chat-sdk) to handle the chat functionality. This method involves writing code to integrate the real-time chat API into your application, but it allows for more flexibility and customization. 

There are many real-time chat APIs available on the market, and each one has its own set of features, pricing plans, and documentation. It's important to research and compare different options to find the one that [best fits your needs](https://www.minchat.io/blog/how-to-pick-the-best-chat-api-and-chat-sdk-for-your-startup).

For this tutorial, we will be using MinChat's real-time chat API and chat SDK to build our react native chat app. MinChat is a real-time chat API that allows you to add messaging to your mobile application in minutes. You can view its comparison with other chat APIs [here](https://www.minchat.io/blog/what-makes-minchat-a-great-sendbird-alternative).

### Install MinChat SDK

run the following command in your terminal:

```bash
yarn add @minchat/reactnative
```

### Setting up the User interface

We are going to use an [Opensource React Native Chat UI library](https://www.minchat.io/blog/opensource-react-native-chat-ui-library) called [React Native Chat UI](https://github.com/MinChatHQ/react-native-chat-ui) for our app's user interface. 

go ahead and run the following command in the terminal
    
```bash
yarn add @minchat/react-native-chat-ui
```

We are going to setup the UI with some dummy data first to see how it looks like. 

create a new component called `chat.js` and add the following code:

```jsx
import { MainContainer } from "@minchat/react-native-chat-ui";
import { View } from "react-native";

export default function App() {
  return (
    <View>
      <MainContainer
        selectedConversation={
          {
            messages: [
              {
                "user": {
                  "id": "danny_1",
                  "name": "Daniel Georgetown",
                  avatar: "https://media.sproutsocial.com/uploads/2022/06/profile-picture.jpeg"

                },
                "text": "first message"
              },
              {
                "user": {
                  "id": "mark",
                  "name": "Markus"
                },
                "text": "hello"
              },],
            header: "Sandra Bullock",
          }
        }
      />
    </View>
  );
}
```

Add the chat component to your App.js file:

```jsx
import { Chat } from "@minchat/reactnative";

export default function App() {
  return (
    <Chat/>
  );
}
```

Your user interface now looks something like this:

![messages screenshot](https://minchat-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/react-native-chat-messages-screenshot.jpeg)

### Setting up the Chat SDK

Now that we have our UI setup, we can start integrating the chat SDK. for more details about the chat SDK you can view the [chat api documentation](https://docs.minchat.io/getting-started/using-react-native).

We will begin by first creating a user. In MinChat, a user is a person that uses your app. Each connection to MinChat has to specify the current User to send messages as.
A user is represented by a JSON object.
    
```javascript
const currentUser = {
        id: "user1" ,
        name: "Micheal Saunders" ,
}
```

You will need an API Key, You can find API Key on the MinChat [dashboard](https://minchat.io/sdk) for your app.

Next wrap the Chat component with the `MinChatProvider` passing in the created user and our api key as props.
    
```jsx
import Chat from './Chat'
import { MinChatProvider } from '@minchat/reactnative';

const currentUser = {
  id: "user1" ,
  name: "Micheal Saunders" ,
}

export default function App() {
  return (
    <MinChatProvider
      apiKey={YOUR_API_KEY} 
      user={currentUser} >
      <Chat />
    </MinChatProvider>
  );
}
```

### Starting a conversation

We now want to be able to start conversations using the react native chat sdk. There's not much point in a chat app with only one person using it, so let's create another User.

```javascript
const otherUser = {
        id: "user2" ,
        name: "Mercy Wells" ,
}
```
We will then create a chat object using `useMinChat` and `useMessages` that will be used to start a conversation with the other user and update our UI with it

```js
import { MainContainer } from "@minchat/react-native-chat-ui";
import { View } from "react-native";
import { useMinChat, useMessages } from '@minchat/reactnative';

const otherUser = {
    id: "user2" ,
    name: "Mercy Wells" ,
}

export default function App() {
    const minchat = useMinChat()
    const chat = minchat.chat(otherUser)
    const { messages, loading, sendMessage } = useMessages(chat)

    return (
        <View>
            <MainContainer
                selectedConversation={
                    {
                        messages,
                        header: chat.getName(),
                        onSendMessage: (text) => sendMessage({ text })
                    }
                }
            />
        </View>
    );
}
```

### Getting all conversations
Next we will get all the conversations the current user is involved in. We will use the `useChats` hook to get all the conversations and update our UI with it and be able to select a conversation to interact with.

update your chat.js file with the following code:

```jsx
import { MainContainer } from "@minchat/react-native-chat-ui";
import { View } from "react-native";
import { useMinChat, useMessages, useChats, useUser } from '@minchat/reactnative';
import { useState } from "react";

export default function App() {
    const [selectedChat, setSelectedChat] = useState()

    const { messages, sendMessage } = useMessages(selectedChat)
    const { chats, loading } = useChats()
    const currentUser = useUser()


    return (
        <View>
            <MainContainer
                inbox={{
                    currentUserId: currentUser.id,
                    loading,
                    onConversationClick: (index) => setSelectedChat(chats[index]),
                    conversations: chats?.map((chat) => {
                        return {
                            title: chat.getName(),
                            lastMessage: chat.getLastMessage(),
                            avatar: chat.getChatAvatar(),
                            id: chat.jsChat.config.channelId
                        }
                    })

                }}
                selectedConversation={selectedChat ?
                    {
                        messages,
                        header: selectedChat?.getName(),
                        onSendMessage: (text) => sendMessage({ text }),
                        onBack: () => setSelectedChat(undefined)
                    }
                    : undefined
                }
            />
        </View>
    );
}
```

Your react native chat app should now look like this:

![conversations screenshot](https://minchat-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/react-native-chat-inbox-screenshot.jpeg)

Congratulations on completing the tutorial on how to build a React Native chat app! You now have a solid foundation for creating a real-time chat experience in your mobile application. However, there is still so much more you can do to enhance the functionality and user experience of your react native chat app. That's where MinChat's chat api [documentation](https://docs.minchat.io/getting-started/using-react-native) comes in. 

By exploring the MinChat chat api [documentation](https://docs.minchat.io/getting-started/using-react-native), you can learn about additional features and functionalities that can be added to your react native chat app such as the ability to send multimedia files, read receipts, etc.

### Conclusion
In conclusion, building a React Native chat app is a great way to bring real-time messaging to your mobile application. With the help of this guide, you now have the tools and knowledge needed to create a seamless, robust, and fully-functional react native chat app. By using React Native, you can take advantage of its flexibility, performance, and cost-efficiency to create a high-quality chat experience for your users. 

Additionally, by using a chat API such as [MinChat](https://minchat.io), you can add advanced features and functionalities to your chat feature, such as multimedia file sending, online/offline, and read receipts. The possibilities are endless, so don't stop here! Explore the MinChat chat api [documentation](https://docs.minchat.io/getting-started/using-react-native) to learn about even more ways to enhance your react native chat app. 

Thank you for following this guide, and we hope that you found it helpful in building your own React Native chat feature.