cometchat-react-native-bare-patterns

Ground truth: @cometchat/chat-uikit-react-native@5 + catalog rn-v5.json. Docs: /ui-kit/react-native/react-native-cli-integration · react-native-conversation · react-native-tab-based-chat.

Companion skills (read first)

• cometchat-react-native-core — install, provider chain, init→login→render. Assumed, not repeated here.
• cometchat-react-native-expo-patterns — the Expo equivalent. Use that one for an Expo project.

Use this skill when

• the project has real ios/ and android/ directories and no expo key in app.json
• "add chat to my React Native CLI app" · "Android build fails after installing CometChat"

Prerequisites & install

npm install @cometchat/chat-uikit-react-native@5 @cometchat/chat-sdk-react-native@4
npm install @react-native-clipboard/clipboard \
  react-native-svg react-native-video react-native-localize react-native-gesture-handler \
  react-native-safe-area-context @react-native-async-storage/async-storage@^2.1.2 dayjs
cd ios && pod install && cd ..

You own ios/ and android/, so native config is edited directly — the opposite of Expo, where those directories are generated and hand-edits get overwritten.

The four native steps that are not optional

1. react-native-gesture-handler must be the FIRST import of your entry file

import 'react-native-gesture-handler';
// …every other import after this

Not at the top of a screen — the very top of index.js, before anything else. Getting this wrong often works in debug and crashes in release, which is the worst possible failure shape: it passes local testing and breaks for users.

2. iOS Podfile needs modular headers for two transitive pods

@cometchat/chat-uikit-react-native is a Swift pod that depends on SPTPersistentCache and DVAssetLoaderDelegate, neither of which defines a module. On a static-library build — the React Native default — pod install fails outright:

The Swift pod react-native-cometchat-ui-kit depends upon SPTPersistentCache and DVAssetLoaderDelegate, which do not define modules.

Add these inside your target in ios/Podfile, then re-run pod install:

target 'YourApp' do
  pod 'SPTPersistentCache', :modular_headers => true
  pod 'DVAssetLoaderDelegate', :modular_headers => true
  # …
end

Both official CometChat sample apps carry exactly these two lines. The integration docs do not mention them (RN-G14), so a first pod install fails with an error that names two pods the developer has never heard of.

3. Android permissions in the manifest

android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml — INTERNET at minimum; the camera/audio set only if you add calling. Fetch the exact list from the integration page rather than copying a partial set.

Calling on bare RN

npm install @cometchat/calls-sdk-react-native@5
# 6 REQUIRED peer deps — the calls SDK's declared peerDependencies. Pinned; do NOT float them.
npm install @react-native-async-storage/async-storage@^2.1.2 react-native-background-timer@^2.4.1 \
  react-native-performance@^5.1.2 react-native-svg@^15.12.0 react-native-url-polyfill@2.0.0 \
  react-native-webrtc@124.0.7
cd ios && pod install && cd ..

⚠️ react-native-url-polyfill + react-native-performance are bundle-critical (the UIKit module-scope require()s the calls SDK, so Metro resolves its peers even in a chat-only build). Keep react-native-performance on 5.x (a floated ^6 breaks later npm install with ERESOLVE). @react-native-community/netinfo / react-native-callstats are NOT declared peers — do not add them.

iOS permissions go in ios/<YourApp>/Info.plist:

<key>NSCameraUsageDescription</key>
<string>Camera access for video calls</string>
<key>NSMicrophoneUsageDescription</key>
<string>Microphone access for voice/video calls</string>

Simulators cannot capture camera or microphone — verify calls on a real device.

After any native change — rebuild, don't reload

Metro reload only refreshes JavaScript. A new native module, a Gradle edit or a plist change needs a full rebuild (npx react-native run-ios / run-android). "I installed it and nothing changed" is almost always a missed rebuild.

What is the same as Expo

Everything above the native layer: providers, init → login → render, components, theming, navigation. Only install and native config differ.

Common pitfalls

1. gesture-handler imported late — works in debug, crashes in release.
2. Missing the Podfile modular-headers lines — pod install fails, naming two unfamiliar transitive pods.
3. Skipping pod install after adding a package — iOS fails to link.
4. Reloading instead of rebuilding after a native change.
5. Copying Expo's app.json permission block into a bare app — it does nothing there.

Verify it works

• index.js starts with the gesture-handler import.
• iOS and Android both build clean from scratch.
• npm run verify:fences:rn-v5 is green.
• On device: chat renders, gestures respond, the composer survives the keyboard. Test a release build too — the gesture-handler ordering bug only shows there.