Setup

Faster Integration with UI KitsIf you’re using CometChat UI Kits, voice and video calling can be quickly integrated:

Incoming & outgoing call screens
Call buttons with one-tap calling
Call logs with history

👉 Flutter UI Kit Calling IntegrationUse this Calls SDK directly only if you need custom call UI or advanced control.

This guide walks you through installing the CometChat Calls SDK and initializing it in your Flutter application.

Add the CometChat Dependency

Step 1: Add the Package

Add the cometchat_calls_sdk dependency to your pubspec.yaml file:

dependencies:
  cometchat_calls_sdk: ^5.1.0

Ringing calls? Incoming calls ring through cometchat_voip. Add it as well and follow Push Ringing. The Calls SDK alone can start, join and end calls, but it can’t ring a phone that isn’t running your app.

Upgrading from 5.0.x? 5.1.0 changes the build requirements on both platforms (below) and has a few breaking changes. See Migration Guide.

Step 2: Install Dependencies

Run the following command to install the package:

flutter pub get

Add Permissions

Android

Add the required permissions to your android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CAMERA" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.MODIFY_AUDIO_SETTINGS" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE" />

Set minSdk = 26 in android/app/build.gradle (or build.gradle.kts). The Calls SDK pins minSdkVersion 26, and Gradle takes the maximum across the dependency graph — a lower app value is a manifest-merger error, not a warning.

The app also needs compileSdk 36 and Android Gradle Plugin 8.9.1 or later: the SDK depends on connectivity_plus 7 and androidx.core 1.18, which require them. Flutter 3.44’s default compileSdk is 36. To keep a call running in the background, declare the SDK’s ongoing call service in your app’s manifest. See Background Handling.

For Android 6.0 (API level 23) and above, you must request camera and microphone permissions at runtime before starting or joining a call. When a call is answered from cometchat_voip’s ring, it asks for them on Answer.

iOS

Add the following usage descriptions to your ios/Runner/Info.plist:

<key>NSCameraUsageDescription</key>
<string>This app requires camera access for video calls.</string>
<key>NSMicrophoneUsageDescription</key>
<string>This app requires microphone access for voice and video calls.</string>

iOS requires usage description strings for camera and microphone access. Without these entries, the app will crash when attempting to access the camera or microphone.

The Calls SDK builds on iOS with Swift Package Manager only: the native Calls SDK 5.1 is published as a Swift package, not on the CocoaPods trunk. Swift Package Manager is on by default from Flutter 3.44; on an older Flutter, or if your app turned it off, run:

flutter config --enable-swift-package-manager

If Swift Package Manager is off, pod install stops with these steps. Your app can still use CocoaPods for its other plugins.

Set the iOS deployment target to 15.1 on the Runner target in Xcode (General → Minimum Deployments).
Build with Xcode 26.1.1 or later: connectivity_plus 7.1 and later, which the SDK depends on, use the iOS 26 SDK. An app that must build with Xcode 16 can hold connectivity_plus at 7.0.x in its own pubspec.yaml (connectivity_plus: '>=7.0.0 <7.1.0').

Initialize CometChat Calls

The init() method initializes the SDK with your app credentials. Call this method once when your application starts, typically in your main() function or root widget’s initState().

CallAppSettingBuilder

The CallAppSettingBuilder class configures the SDK initialization:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`appId`	String	Yes	Your CometChat App ID
`region`	String	Yes	Your app region (`us`, `eu` or `in`)

import 'package:cometchat_calls_sdk/cometchat_calls_sdk.dart';

String appId = "APP_ID"; // Replace with your App ID
String region = "REGION"; // Replace with your Region ("us", "eu" or "in")

CallAppSettings callAppSettings = (CallAppSettingBuilder()
  ..appId = appId
  ..region = region
).build();

CometChatCalls.init(
  callAppSettings,
  onSuccess: (String message) {
    debugPrint("CometChat Calls SDK initialized successfully");
  },
  onError: (CometChatCallsException e) {
    debugPrint("CometChat Calls SDK initialization failed: ${e.message}");
  },
);

Parameter	Description
`callAppSettings`	Configuration object with App ID and Region
`onSuccess`	Callback invoked when initialization succeeds
`onError`	Callback invoked when initialization fails

Check Initialization Status

You can verify if the SDK has been initialized using the isInitialized getter:

if (CometChatCalls.isInitialized) {
  // SDK is ready to use
} else {
  // Initialize the SDK first
}

Overview

Getting Started

Call Session

Features

Advanced

Migration Guide

Resources

Add the CometChat Dependency

Step 1: Add the Package

Step 2: Install Dependencies

Add Permissions

Android

iOS

Initialize CometChat Calls

CallAppSettingBuilder

Check Initialization Status

​Add the CometChat Dependency

​Step 1: Add the Package

​Step 2: Install Dependencies

​Add Permissions

​Android

​iOS

​Initialize CometChat Calls

​CallAppSettingBuilder

​Check Initialization Status

Add the CometChat Dependency

Step 1: Add the Package

Step 2: Install Dependencies

Add Permissions

Android

iOS

Initialize CometChat Calls

CallAppSettingBuilder

Check Initialization Status