Actions - CometChat Docs

Use call actions to create your own custom controls or trigger call functionality dynamically based on your use case. All actions are called on the CometChatCalls class during an active call session. The session object that CometChatCalls.initiateCall, connect and getActiveSession() return has every action as a method too (session.muteAudio(), session.setLayout(...), and so on); on the session object an action called while no session is live is ignored with a console warning.

Audio Controls

Mute Audio

Mutes your local microphone, stopping audio transmission to other participants.

CometChatCalls.muteAudio();

Unmute Audio

Unmutes your local microphone, resuming audio transmission.

CometChatCalls.unmuteAudio();

Video Controls

Pause Video

Turns off your local camera, stopping video transmission. Other participants see your avatar.

CometChatCalls.pauseVideo();

Resume Video

Turns on your local camera, resuming video transmission.

CometChatCalls.resumeVideo();

Switch Camera

Toggles between front and back cameras (on supported devices).

CometChatCalls.switchCamera();

Begins sharing your screen with other participants. The browser will prompt the user to select which screen, window, or tab to share.

CometChatCalls.startScreenSharing();

Stops the current screen share.

CometChatCalls.stopScreenSharing();

Recording

Start Recording

Begins server-side recording of the call. All participants are notified.

CometChatCalls.startRecording();

Recording requires the feature to be enabled for your CometChat app.

Stop Recording

Stops the current recording. The recording is saved and accessible via the dashboard.

CometChatCalls.stopRecording();

Transcription

Available since v5.0.5

Start Transcription

Begins server-side transcription of the call. This also enables the live closed captions overlay.

CometChatCalls.startTranscription();

Transcription requires the feature to be enabled for your CometChat app.

Stop Transcription

Stops the current transcription and clears any captions currently on screen. The transcript is saved and can be retrieved with TranscriptRequestBuilder.

CometChatCalls.stopTranscription();

Participant Management

Mute Participant

Mutes a specific participant’s audio. This is a moderator action.

CometChatCalls.muteParticipant(participantId);

Parameter	Type	Description
`participantId`	String	The participant’s unique identifier

Pause Participant Video

Pauses a specific participant’s video. This is a moderator action.

CometChatCalls.pauseParticipantVideo(participantId);

Parameter	Type	Description
`participantId`	String	The participant’s unique identifier

Pin Participant

Pins a participant to keep them prominently displayed regardless of who is speaking.

CometChatCalls.pinParticipant(participantId, type);

Parameter	Type	Description
`participantId`	String	The participant’s unique identifier
`type`	String	The participant type

Unpin Participant

Removes the pin, returning to automatic speaker highlighting.

CometChatCalls.unpinParticipant();

Layout

Set Layout

Changes the call layout. Each participant can choose their own layout independently.

CometChatCalls.setLayout("TILE");
CometChatCalls.setLayout("SIDEBAR");
CometChatCalls.setLayout("SPOTLIGHT");

Value	Description
`TILE`	Grid layout with equally-sized tiles
`SIDEBAR`	Main speaker with participants in a sidebar
`SPOTLIGHT`	Large view for active speaker, small tiles for others

Raise Hand

Shows a hand-raised indicator to get attention from other participants.

CometChatCalls.raiseHand();

Lower Hand

Removes the hand-raised indicator.

CometChatCalls.lowerHand();

Session Control

Leave Session

Ends your participation and disconnects gracefully. In a 1:1 call this is the hang-up: the other side receives onParticipantLeft, and a session joined as a peer call (isPeerCall: true) ends for both. In a group call the session continues for the other participants. Leaving also cancels a session that is only prepared: onConnectionClosed fires instead of onSessionLeft. A prepared peer session is already in the room, so leaving it ends the room for everyone in it, as a hang-up would.

CometChatCalls.leaveSession();

// Or on the session object:
await CometChatCalls.getActiveSession()?.leave();

leaveSession() takes no session ID. CometChatCalls is a singleton that tracks one active session at a time, so this leaves whichever session is currently in progress. The same applies to every action on this page. See Single Active Session.

To end a call that is still ringing, use CometChatCalls.endCall(sessionId, status) instead: "cancelled" on the caller, "rejected" or "busy" on the callee, as described in Ringing. leaveSession() alone does not tell the other side why the call ended.

Session State

session.isSessionActive() returns true while the SDK owns a session: one being prepared or prepared (for example an outgoing call that is still ringing), one being joined, or a joined one. session.isSessionJoined() is the narrower “in a call” check: true only once the session is joined. CometChatCalls.getSessionState() returns "idle", "preparing", "prepared", "joining" or "joined".

const session = CometChatCalls.getActiveSession(); // null when nothing is live
const isInCall = session?.isSessionJoined() ?? false;
const state = CometChatCalls.getSessionState();

Get Participants

Returns a snapshot of the remote participants of the session, the same list onParticipantListChanged receives. The local user is not in it.

const participants = CometChatCalls.getParticipants();

UI Controls

Show Settings Dialog

Opens the settings dialog for audio/video device selection.

CometChatCalls.showSettingsDialog();

Hide Settings Dialog

Closes the settings dialog.

CometChatCalls.hideSettingsDialog();

Show Virtual Background Dialog

Opens the virtual background settings dialog.

CometChatCalls.showVirtualBackgroundDialog();

Hide Virtual Background Dialog

Closes the virtual background dialog.

CometChatCalls.hideVirtualBackgroundDialog();

Set Chat Button Unread Count

Updates the badge count on the chat button. Pass 0 to hide the badge.

CometChatCalls.setChatButtonUnreadCount(5);

Parameter	Type	Description
`count`	Number	The unread message count to display

Virtual Background

Clear Virtual Background

Removes any applied virtual background.

CometChatCalls.clearVirtualBackground();

Set Virtual Background Blur Level

Applies a blur effect to the background with the specified intensity.

CometChatCalls.setVirtualBackgroundBlurLevel(10);

Parameter	Type	Description
`blurLevel`	Number	The blur intensity level

Set Virtual Background Image

Sets a custom image as the virtual background.

CometChatCalls.setVirtualBackgroundImage("https://example.com/background.jpg");

Parameter	Type	Description
`imageUrl`	String	URL of the background image

Device Management

Get Audio Input Devices

Returns a list of available audio input devices (microphones).

const audioInputDevices = CometChatCalls.getAudioInputDevices();
console.log(audioInputDevices);

Get Audio Output Devices

Returns a list of available audio output devices (speakers).

const audioOutputDevices = CometChatCalls.getAudioOutputDevices();
console.log(audioOutputDevices);

Get Video Input Devices

Returns a list of available video input devices (cameras).

const videoInputDevices = CometChatCalls.getVideoInputDevices();
console.log(videoInputDevices);

Get Current Audio Input Device

Returns the currently selected audio input device.

const currentAudioInput = CometChatCalls.getCurrentAudioInputDevice();
console.log(currentAudioInput);

Get Current Audio Output Device

Returns the currently selected audio output device.

const currentAudioOutput = CometChatCalls.getCurrentAudioOutputDevice();
console.log(currentAudioOutput);

Get Current Video Input Device

Returns the currently selected video input device.

const currentVideoInput = CometChatCalls.getCurrentVideoInputDevice();
console.log(currentVideoInput);

Set Audio Input Device

Sets the audio input device by device ID.

CometChatCalls.setAudioInputDevice(deviceId);

Set Audio Output Device

Sets the audio output device by device ID.

CometChatCalls.setAudioOutputDevice(deviceId);

Set Video Input Device

Sets the video input device by device ID.

CometChatCalls.setVideoInputDevice(deviceId);

​Audio Controls

​Mute Audio

​Unmute Audio

​Video Controls

​Pause Video

​Resume Video

​Switch Camera

​Screen Sharing

​Start Screen Sharing

​Stop Screen Sharing

​Recording

​Start Recording

​Stop Recording

​Transcription

​Start Transcription

​Stop Transcription

​Participant Management

​Mute Participant

​Pause Participant Video

​Pin Participant

​Unpin Participant

​Layout

​Set Layout

​Raise Hand

​Raise Hand

​Lower Hand

​Session Control

​Leave Session

​Session State

​Get Participants

​UI Controls

​Show Settings Dialog

​Hide Settings Dialog

​Show Virtual Background Dialog

​Hide Virtual Background Dialog

​Set Chat Button Unread Count

​Virtual Background

​Clear Virtual Background

​Set Virtual Background Blur Level

​Set Virtual Background Image

​Device Management

​Get Audio Input Devices

​Get Audio Output Devices

​Get Video Input Devices

​Get Current Audio Input Device

​Get Current Audio Output Device

​Get Current Video Input Device

​Set Audio Input Device

​Set Audio Output Device

​Set Video Input Device

Audio Controls

Mute Audio

Unmute Audio

Video Controls

Pause Video

Resume Video

Switch Camera

Screen Sharing

Start Screen Sharing

Stop Screen Sharing

Recording

Start Recording

Stop Recording

Transcription

Start Transcription

Stop Transcription

Participant Management

Mute Participant

Pause Participant Video

Pin Participant

Unpin Participant

Layout

Set Layout

Raise Hand

Raise Hand

Lower Hand

Session Control

Leave Session

Session State

Get Participants

UI Controls

Show Settings Dialog

Hide Settings Dialog

Show Virtual Background Dialog

Hide Virtual Background Dialog

Set Chat Button Unread Count

Virtual Background

Clear Virtual Background

Set Virtual Background Blur Level

Set Virtual Background Image

Device Management

Get Audio Input Devices

Get Audio Output Devices

Get Video Input Devices

Get Current Audio Input Device

Get Current Audio Output Device

Get Current Video Input Device

Set Audio Input Device

Set Audio Output Device

Set Video Input Device