cometchat-android-v6-builder-settings

Ground truth: the installed kit source com.cometchat.uikit.core.CometChatUIKit (6.0.5) + the live page /ui-kit/android/methods (init · authentication · logout · create user · message helpers). Symbols verified against catalog android-v6.json. Fetch exact signatures from the methods page; never guess an overload.

Companion skills (read first)

• cometchat-android-v6-core — owns the DEFAULT path: initFromSettings → login → render, the settings file, and credential handling. Come HERE only when a task needs an option or auth variant beyond that default.

Use this skill when

"what can go in the settings file?", "turn on calling in the settings", "log in with a server-minted auth token instead of the auth key", "create a CometChat user from the app", "check who's logged in", "what does the UIKitSettings builder do?".

Prerequisites & install

Same kit + init as core. Everything here is com.cometchat.uikit.core — no extra dependency.

The settings file (the DEFAULT input to initFromSettings)

app/src/main/assets/cometchat-settings.json — gitignored (it carries the dev Auth Key). Read by CometChatUIKit.initFromSettings(context, callback), which parses it, builds the settings, and persists integrationSource="ai-agent" for telemetry:

{
  "appId": "APP_ID",
  "region": "REGION",
  "credentials": { "authKey": "AUTH_KEY" },
  "uiKit": {
    "subscribePresenceForAllUsers": true,
    "enableCalling": false
  }
}

• appId + region are required — missing either fails with ERR_SETTINGS_INVALID; a missing file fails with ERR_SETTINGS_FILE_NOT_FOUND.
• credentials.authKey is optional and dev-only — omit it in production builds and log in with a server-minted auth token.
• uiKit.subscribePresenceForAllUsers defaults to true.
• uiKit.enableCalling defaults to false. Setting it true makes initFromSettings auto-initialize the Calls SDK — which means the com.cometchat:calls-sdk-android dependency becomes MANDATORY. Without it the app throws NoClassDefFoundError: CometChatCalls$SessionSettingsBuilder from initCometChatCalls during onCreate, before any UI renders (verified on device). The two must always change together (→ cometchat-android-v6-calls).
• The Chat SDK may read an optional chatSDK section from the same file. It is not required — init succeeds without it. /sdk/android/v5/setup.md documents only the classic programmatic init() + AppSettings, so it will NOT tell you the section's keys; do not send the user there for them.