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

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

Quick Reference for AI Agents & Developers

# The SDK plus its six peer dependencies, at these versions
  npm install @cometchat/calls-sdk-react-native@^5.1.0
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@^15.16.0 react-native-url-polyfill@2.0.0 \
  react-native-webrtc@155.0.1
cd ios && pod install && cd ..

<!-- android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml -->
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CAMERA" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.MODIFY_AUDIO_SETTINGS" />
<!-- ios/<App>/Info.plist -->
<!-- NSCameraUsageDescription + NSMicrophoneUsageDescription -->

Android 6.0+ also needs a runtime permission request — a manifest entry alone is not enough
Works on the old architecture and the New Architecture, including bridgeless — no extra setup
Next → Authentication → Join Session

This guide walks you through installing the CometChat Calls SDK and configuring it in your React Native application.

Add the CometChat Dependency

Using npm

npm install @cometchat/calls-sdk-react-native@^5.1.0

Using Yarn

yarn add @cometchat/calls-sdk-react-native@^5.1.0

5.1 is required for ringing. connect(sessionId), getActiveSession() and getSessionState() arrived in 5.1, and the ring-time pre-join that makes the caller show “Ringing…” depends on them. 5.1.0 is on public npm and is its latest, so a plain npm install resolves it.

Ringing users? Incoming calls ring through the Push Notifications SDK’s VoIP package. Install @cometchat/push-notifications-react-native@^2.0.0 and @cometchat/push-notifications-voip-react-native@^2.0.0 as well, and follow Push Ringing. The Calls SDK alone can start, join and end calls, but it cannot ring a device that is not running your app.

Initialise once. If you use the CometChat UI Kit, it initialises the Calls SDK for you from UIKitSettings, so do not call init() again yourself.

Install Peer Dependencies

The Calls SDK relies on the following packages. Install them alongside the SDK:

Package	Version
`@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`	`^15.16.0`
`react-native-url-polyfill`	`2.0.0`
`react-native-webrtc`	`155.0.1`

The package accepts react-native-svg from ^15.12.0. Use ^15.16.0, the first version whose podspec targets iOS 15.1.

Using npm

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@^15.16.0 react-native-url-polyfill@2.0.0 react-native-webrtc@155.0.1

Using Yarn

yarn add @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@^15.16.0 react-native-url-polyfill@2.0.0 react-native-webrtc@155.0.1

React Native New Architecture

The Calls SDK works with both the old architecture and the New Architecture, including bridgeless mode. No extra setup is needed — leave newArchEnabled set to whatever your app requires and follow the same integration steps either way.

The SDK ships as a legacy native module rather than a TurboModule/Fabric component. On the New Architecture it runs through React Native’s built-in interop layer, so the API and behavior are identical on both architectures.

Expo

The Calls SDK depends on react-native-webrtc, which ships its own Android and iOS native code. That has two consequences for Expo projects:

The Calls SDK cannot run in Expo Go. Expo Go bundles a fixed set of native modules and cannot load react-native-webrtc. You need a development build — run npx expo prebuild and build with npx expo run:ios / npx expo run:android, or use EAS Build.

react-native-webrtc ships no Expo config plugin, so declare the native configuration in app.json rather than editing Info.plist and AndroidManifest.xml by hand — a prebuild regenerates those files and discards manual edits:

{
  "expo": {
    "ios": {
      "infoPlist": {
        "NSCameraUsageDescription": "Camera access is required for video calls",
        "NSMicrophoneUsageDescription": "Microphone access is required for voice and video calls"
      }
    },
    "android": {
      "permissions": ["CAMERA", "RECORD_AUDIO", "MODIFY_AUDIO_SETTINGS", "BLUETOOTH_CONNECT"]
    }
  }
}

iOS Configuration

Install CocoaPods Dependencies

Navigate to your iOS directory and install the pods:

cd ios
pod install
cd ..

Add Permissions

Add the required permissions to your ios/YourApp/Info.plist:

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

Enable Background Modes

For calls to continue when the app is in the background:

Open your project in Xcode
Select your target and go to Signing & Capabilities
Click + Capability and add Background Modes
Enable:
- Audio, AirPlay, and Picture in Picture
- Voice over IP (if using VoIP push notifications)

Android Configuration

Add Permissions

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" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.BLUETOOTH" android:maxSdkVersion="30" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.BLUETOOTH_CONNECT" />

For Android 6.0 (API level 23) and above, you must request camera and microphone permissions at runtime before starting a call.

Request Runtime Permissions

Use a library like react-native-permissions or implement native permission requests:

import { PermissionsAndroid, Platform } from 'react-native';

async function requestCallPermissions(): Promise<boolean> {
  if (Platform.OS === 'android') {
    const granted = await PermissionsAndroid.requestMultiple([
      PermissionsAndroid.PERMISSIONS.CAMERA,
      PermissionsAndroid.PERMISSIONS.RECORD_AUDIO,
    ]);
    
    return (
      granted['android.permission.CAMERA'] === PermissionsAndroid.RESULTS.GRANTED &&
      granted['android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO'] === PermissionsAndroid.RESULTS.GRANTED
    );
  }
  return true;
}

Verify Installation

After installation, rebuild your app:

# iOS
npx react-native run-ios

# Android
npx react-native run-android

Authentication - Initialize the SDK and authenticate users
Join Session - Start your first call

Overview

Getting Started

Call Session

Features

Advanced

Migration Guide

Resources

Add the CometChat Dependency

Using npm

Using Yarn

Install Peer Dependencies

Using npm

Using Yarn

React Native New Architecture

Expo

iOS Configuration

Install CocoaPods Dependencies

Add Permissions

Enable Background Modes

Android Configuration

Add Permissions

Request Runtime Permissions

Verify Installation

​Add the CometChat Dependency

​Using npm

​Using Yarn

​Install Peer Dependencies

​Using npm

​Using Yarn

​React Native New Architecture

​Expo

​iOS Configuration

​Install CocoaPods Dependencies

​Add Permissions

​Enable Background Modes

​Android Configuration

​Add Permissions

​Request Runtime Permissions

​Verify Installation

​Related Documentation

Add the CometChat Dependency

Using npm

Using Yarn

Install Peer Dependencies

Using npm

Using Yarn

React Native New Architecture

Expo

iOS Configuration

Install CocoaPods Dependencies

Add Permissions

Enable Background Modes

Android Configuration

Add Permissions

Request Runtime Permissions

Verify Installation

Related Documentation