Retrieve Users - CometChat Docs

AI Integration Quick Reference

// Fetch users list
let request = UsersRequest.UsersRequestBuilder()
    .set(limit: 30).build()
request.fetchNext(onSuccess: { users in }, onError: { error in })

// Get specific user details
CometChat.getUser(UID: "UID", onSuccess: { user in }, onError: { error in })

// Get logged-in user
let me = CometChat.getLoggedInUser()

The CometChat SDK provides methods to retrieve the logged-in user, fetch filtered user lists, and look up individual users by UID. All user methods return User objects.

Get the Logged-In User

Use getLoggedInUser() to get the current user’s details. Returns nil if no user is logged in.

Swift
Objective C

let user = CometChat.getLoggedInUser();

User *user = [CometChat getLoggedInUser];

This method returns a User object containing all the information related to the logged-in user.

Retrieve List of Users

Use UsersRequestBuilder to fetch users with filtering, searching, and pagination.

Set Limit

Sets the number of users to fetch per request.

Swift

let usersRequest = UsersRequest.UsersRequestBuilder()
.set(limit: 30)
.build()

Set Search Keyword

Filters users by a search string.

Swift

let usersRequest = UsersRequest.UsersRequestBuilder()
.set(limit: 30)
.set(searchKeyword: "abc")
.build()

Search In

Specifies which user properties to search. Works with set(searchKeyword:). By default, searches both UID and name.

Swift

let searchKeyword = "super"
let searchIn = ["uid", "name"]
let usersRequest = UsersRequest.UsersRequestBuilder()
.set(limit: 30)
.set(searchKeyword: searchKeyword)
.searchIn(searchIn)
.build()

Set Status

Filters users by online status:

CometChat.UserStatus.online — Only online users
CometChat.UserStatus.offline — Only offline users

If not set, returns all users.

Swift

let usersRequest = UsersRequest.UsersRequestBuilder()
.set(limit: 30)
.set(status: .online)
.build()

Hide Blocked Users

When true, excludes users blocked by the logged-in user from the results.

Swift

let usersRequest = UsersRequest.UsersRequestBuilder()
.set(limit: 30)
.hideBlockedUsers(true)
.build()

Set Roles

Filters users by specified roles.

Swift

let usersRequest = UsersRequest.UsersRequestBuilder()
.set(limit: 30)
.set(roles : ["role1","role2"])
.build()

Friends Only

When true, returns only friends of the logged-in user.

Swift

let usersRequest = UsersRequest.UsersRequestBuilder()
.set(limit: 30)
.friendsOnly(true)
.build();

Set Tags

Filters users by specified tags.

Swift

let usersRequest = UsersRequest.UsersRequestBuilder()
.set(limit: 30)
.set(tags: ["tag1", "tag2"])
.build();

With Tags

When true, includes tag data in the returned user objects.

Swift

let usersRequest = UsersRequest.UsersRequestBuilder()
.set(limit: 30)
.withTags(true)
.build()

Set UIDs

Fetches specific users by their UIDs. Maximum 25 users per request.

Swift

let UIDs = ["cometchat-uid-1", "cometchat-uid-2"]
let limit = 30
let usersRequest = UsersRequest.UsersRequestBuilder()
.set(limit: limit)
.setUIDs(UIDs)
.build();

Sort By

Sorts the user list by a specific property. Default sort order: status → name → UID. Pass "name" to sort by name → UID.

Swift

let sortBy = "name"
let limit = 30
let usersRequest = UsersRequest.UsersRequestBuilder()
.set(limit: limit)
.sortBy(sortBy)
.build();

Sort By Order

Sets the sort order. Default is ascending. Use .desc for descending.

Swift

let limit = 30
let usersRequest = UsersRequest.UsersRequestBuilder()
.set(limit: limit)
.sortOrder(.desc)
.build();

After configuring the builder, call build() to get the UsersRequest object, then call fetchNext() to retrieve users.

Swift
Objective C

let limit = 20;

let usersRequest = UsersRequest.UsersRequestBuilder(limit: limit).build();

usersRequest.fetchNext(onSuccess: { (users) in

  for user in users {

     print("User: " + user.stringValue())
  }

}) { (error) in

  print("User list fetching failed with error: " + error!.errorDescription);
}

NSInteger limit = 30 ;

UsersRequest *userRequest = [[[UsersRequestBuilder alloc]initWithLimit:limit] build];

[userRequest fetchNextOnSuccess:^(NSArray<User *> * users) {
    
    for (User *user in users) {

      NSLog(@"User: %@ ",[user stringValue]);
    }
    
} onError:^(CometChatException * error) {
    
    NSLog(@"User list fetching failed with error: %@",[error errorDescription]);
    
}];

Offline support

With offline support enabled (SDK 4.2.0 or later), fetchNext on a UsersRequest has an overload that first delivers onCachedUsers from the device, then onServerUsers with the live page to reconcile by uid. The cached page is the pages the server last returned for this exact request, replayed on the device. It is empty when nothing was recorded. Offline, the read ends with onError, code ERROR_INTERNET_UNAVAILABLE, after the cached page. A request that uses a server-only filter records nothing, so its cached page is always empty.

Builder method	Offline
`set(searchKeyword:)`	Server only
`searchIn(_:)`	Used only with `set(searchKeyword:)`, so server only
`set(status:)`	Server only
`set(limit:)`, `set(role:)`, `set(roles:)`, `set(tags:)`, `set(UIDs:)`, `hideBlockedUsers(_:)`, `friendsOnly(_:)`, `sortBy(_:)`, `sortOrder(_:)`	Part of the request, so the cached page matches the same settings

See Show Cached Data.

Retrieve Particular User Details

Use getUser() to fetch a specific user’s details by UID.

Swift
Objective C

let uid  = "cometchat-uid-1";

CometChat.getUser(UID: uid, onSuccess: { (user) in

  print("User: " + user.stringValue())

}) { (error) in

  print("User fetching failed with error: " + error.errorDescription);
}

NSString *UID = @"cometchat-uid-1";

[CometChat getUserWithUID:UID onSuccess:^(User * user) {
    
    NSLog(@"User: %@",[user stringValue]);
    
} onError:^(CometChatException * error) {
    
    NSLog(@"User fetching failed with error: %@",[error errorDescription]);
}];

Parameter	Description
UID	The `UID` of the user for whom the details are to be fetched.

It returns a User object containing the details of the user.

Next Steps

User Presence

Track and subscribe to user online/offline status

Block Users

Block and unblock users from your application

User Management

Create, update, and delete users programmatically

Retrieve Conversations

Fetch conversation lists for your chat UI

​Get the Logged-In User

​Retrieve List of Users

​Set Limit

​Set Search Keyword

​Search In

​Set Status

​Hide Blocked Users

​Set Roles

​Friends Only

​Set Tags

​With Tags

​Set UIDs

​Sort By

​Sort By Order

​Offline support

​Retrieve Particular User Details

​Next Steps