cometchat-android-v6-production

Ground truth: com.cometchat:chatuikit-{compose,kotlin}-android:6.x (+ calls-sdk-android:5.x) — resolved AAR (javap) + ui-kit/android/v6. Official docs: https://www.cometchat.com/docs/fundamentals/user-auth · Docs MCP: claude mcp add --transport http cometchat-docs https://www.cometchat.com/docs/mcp (or fetch the URL directly without MCP). Verify symbols against the installed package/source before relying on them.

Companion skills: cometchat-android-v6-core (init/login), cometchat-android-v6-builder-settings (UIKitSettings), cometchat-android-v6-push (FCM)

Purpose

Prepare a CometChat v6 Android app for production release — switch to token-based auth, configure ProGuard/R8, apply security best practices, and optimize the release build.

Use this skill when

• Preparing an app for production/release
• Switching from authKey to token-based authentication
• Configuring ProGuard/R8 rules for CometChat
• Reviewing security best practices

Do not use this skill when

• Setting up for development (use cometchat-android-v6-core)
• Debugging issues (use cometchat-android-v6-troubleshooting)

1. Token-Based Authentication

1.1 Never Ship authKey

// ❌ NEVER in production
val settings = UIKitSettings.UIKitSettingsBuilder()
    .setAppId("APP_ID")
    .setRegion("us")
    .setAuthKey("AUTH_KEY") // REMOVE THIS
    .build()

CometChatUIKit.login("uid", callback) // Uses authKey internally

// ✅ Production pattern
val settings = UIKitSettings.UIKitSettingsBuilder()
    .setAppId("APP_ID")
    .setRegion("us")
    // No authKey
    .build()

// Get token from your backend server
val authToken = yourServer.getAuthToken(userId)
CometChatUIKit.loginWithAuthToken(authToken, callback)

1.2 Server-Side Token Generation

Your backend generates auth tokens using the CometChat REST API:

• Endpoint: POST https://{appId}.api-{region}.cometchat.io/v3/users/{uid}/auth_tokens
• Header: apiKey: YOUR_API_KEY (server-side only)

The auth token is then passed to the client for loginWithAuthToken().

2. ProGuard / R8 Configuration

2.1 Consumer Rules

CometChat UIKit modules include consumer-rules.pro that are automatically applied. Check that your app's build.gradle.kts has:

android {
    buildTypes {
        release {
            isMinifyEnabled = true
            proguardFiles(
                getDefaultProguardFile("proguard-android-optimize.txt"),
                "proguard-rules.pro"
            )
        }
    }
}

2.2 Additional ProGuard Rules

If you encounter issues with minification, add these rules:

# CometChat SDK
-keep class com.cometchat.chat.** { *; }
-keep class com.cometchat.calls.** { *; }

# CometChat UIKit
-keep class com.cometchat.uikit.** { *; }

# Gson (used for FCM DTO parsing)
-keep class com.google.gson.** { *; }
-keepattributes Signature
-keepattributes *Annotation*

# Firebase
-keep class com.google.firebase.** { *; }

3. Security Checklist

Item	Status	Notes
Remove authKey from client code	Required	Use loginWithAuthToken()
Store appId securely	Recommended	Use BuildConfig or encrypted prefs
Use HTTPS for all custom endpoints	Required	overrideAdminHost / overrideClientHost
Validate auth tokens server-side	Required	Tokens should expire
Do not log sensitive data	Required	Remove debug logs in release
Enable R8/ProGuard	Recommended	Obfuscates code
Pin SSL certificates	Optional	For high-security apps

4. Release Build Configuration

android {
    compileSdk = 36

    defaultConfig {
        minSdk = 28
        targetSdk = 36
    }

    buildTypes {
        release {
            isMinifyEnabled = true
            isShrinkResources = true
            proguardFiles(
                getDefaultProguardFile("proguard-android-optimize.txt"),
                "proguard-rules.pro"
            )
        }
    }

    compileOptions {
        sourceCompatibility = JavaVersion.VERSION_11
        targetCompatibility = JavaVersion.VERSION_11
    }

    kotlinOptions {
        jvmTarget = "11"
    }
}

5. Dependency Management

5.1 Compose BOM

For Compose stack, use the BOM to align Compose library versions:

implementation(platform("androidx.compose:compose-bom:2024.x.x"))
implementation("androidx.compose.ui:ui")
implementation("androidx.compose.material3:material3")

5.2 Version Pinning

Pin CometChat SDK versions explicitly:

implementation("com.cometchat:chatuikit-compose-android:6.0.+")
// or
implementation("com.cometchat:chatuikit-kotlin-android:6.0.+")

Never pin 6.0.0-beta2 (or any -beta preview) in a production build — V6 went GA on 2026-05-25. The 6.0.+ dynamic pin tracks GA patches forward (ENG-35701). Pin an exact GA patch (e.g. 6.0.1) if your release process requires reproducible builds.

6. minSdk 28 Implications

v6 requires minSdk = 28 (Android 9.0 Pie). This means:

• No support for Android 7.0-8.1 devices
• Full TLS 1.3 support
• Native BiometricPrompt API available
• Adaptive icons required

Hard rules

• NEVER ship authKey in production builds — it allows anyone to create users and login
• ALWAYS use loginWithAuthToken() with server-generated tokens in production
• ALWAYS test the release build with ProGuard/R8 enabled before shipping — CometChat uses reflection in some areas
• minSdk must be 28 — do NOT lower it, v6 APIs depend on API 28+ features
• Remove all Log.d() / debug logging in release builds — use BuildConfig.DEBUG guards