cometchat-android-v6-kotlin-placement

Ground truth: catalog android-v6.json + contracts.android-v6.json (core-chat-surface, chat-experience) + the live recipes (conversation-message-view, tab-based-chat, one-to-one-chat). Signatures below were verified against the INSTALLED 6.0.5 source. Fetch anything else from docs (core → references/docs-map.md).

⚠️ Kotlin XML Views cohort. Screens are Activities/Fragments hosting kit Views. The Compose cohort (NavHost + composables) is a separate skill.

Companion skills (read first)

• cometchat-android-v6-core — install, credentials, initFromSettings → login → render, and references/layout.md (the ONE sizing standard). Sizing rules live THERE; this skill places screens.
• cometchat-android-v6-kotlin-components — what exists in this cohort.

Use this skill when

"put chat behind a tab", "build the full chat app", "open a chat screen for this user/group", "embed the conversation list in an existing screen", "how should I navigate between the list and the messages".

Prerequisites & install

Same kit + initFromSettings → login gate as core — no chat Activity is started before login resolves. Every Activity below must be lifecycle-aware (AppCompatActivity/ComponentActivity/FragmentActivity) — the kit hooks lifecycle events — and registered in AndroidManifest.xml.

The rule that governs every layout: one screen per Activity

Android composes by navigation, not by side-by-side panes. The list, the message screen, the thread and search are separate destinations with a real back stack. Never build a web-style two-pane split or a "side panel" on a phone.

Placement 1 — conversations → messages (the default)

The core-chat-surface contract. core carries the full code; the structure:

// ConversationActivity — the list
conversations.setOnItemClick { conversation ->
    val intent = Intent(this, MessageActivity::class.java)
    when (val entity = conversation.conversationWith) {
        is User -> intent.putExtra("user", entity)
        is Group -> intent.putExtra("group", entity)
    }
    startActivity(intent)
}
conversations.setOnSearchClick { startActivity(Intent(this, SearchActivity::class.java)) }

activity_message.xml is a vertical LinearLayout: header wrap_content → list 0dp + layout_weight="1" → composer wrap_content, all match_parent wide. The weight is what makes the list scroll instead of pushing the composer off-screen. Bind the SAME User/Group into header + list + composer, and wire header.setOnBackPress { finish() }.