Overview
CometChat’s UI Kit comes with built-in support for a wide variety of extensions that provide additional functionality. These extensions enhance the chatting experience, making it more interactive, secure, and efficient. Activating any of the extensions in CometChat is a simple process done through your application’s dashboard. Refer to our guide for detailed information on Extensions.V6 Architecture Change: In V5, extensions used a decorator/chain-of-responsibility pattern with*Extensionand*ExtensionDecoratorclasses that wrapped theDataSourceinterface. V6 removes this entire pattern. Extension behavior is now handled directly byMessageTemplateUtilsstatic methods. No registration is needed — just enable extensions in your CometChat Dashboard and they work automatically.
Built-in Extensions
Stickers
The Stickers extension allows users to express their emotions more creatively with pre-designed stickers. Once activated from your CometChat Dashboard, the feature will automatically be incorporated into the Message Composer widget.Polls
The Polls extension enhances group discussions by allowing users to create polls with predefined answers. Once activated from your CometChat Dashboard, the feature will automatically be incorporated into the Action Sheet of the Message Composer widget.Collaborative Whiteboard
The Collaborative Whiteboard extension facilitates real-time collaboration on a shared digital whiteboard. Once activated from your CometChat Dashboard, the feature will automatically be incorporated into the Action Sheet of the Message Composer widget.Collaborative Document
Users can work together on a shared document with the Collaborative Document extension. Once activated from your CometChat Dashboard, the feature will automatically be incorporated into the Action Sheet of the Message Composer widget.Message Translation
The Message Translation extension translates any message into your local locale, eliminating language barriers. Once activated from your CometChat Dashboard, the feature will automatically be incorporated into the Action Sheet of MessageList Widget.Link Preview
The Link Preview extension provides a summary of URLs shared in the chat, including title, description, and thumbnail. Once activated from your CometChat Dashboard, the feature will automatically be incorporated into the Message Bubble of MessageList Widget.Thumbnail Generation
The Thumbnail Generation extension automatically creates smaller preview images for shared images, reducing bandwidth usage. Once activated from your CometChat Dashboard, the feature will automatically be incorporated into the Message Bubble of MessageList Widget.V6 Extension Architecture
What Changed
| Aspect | V5 | V6 |
|---|---|---|
| Registration | UIKitSettings.extensions = CometChatUIKitChatExtensions.getDefaultExtensions() | Not needed — built-in |
| Architecture | Decorator chain (up to 10 layers) | MessageTemplateUtils static methods (1 hop) |
| Startup cost | 9 isExtensionEnabled() network calls | None |
| Files removed | — | 27 files (~7000+ lines) |
| UI widgets | Preserved | Preserved (bubbles, configs, styles) |
What Was Removed
- All
*Extensionclasses (e.g.,StickersExtension,PollsExtension) - All
*ExtensionDecoratorclasses (e.g.,StickersExtensionDecorator) ChatConfigurator,DataSourceinterface,ExtensionsDataSourceCometChatUIKitChatExtensions,CometChatUIKitChatAIFeaturesCometChatUIKit.getDataSource()method
What Was Preserved
All extension UI widgets remain:CometChatStickerBubble,CometChatStickerKeyboardCometChatPollsBubble,CometChatCreatePollCometChatLinkPreviewBubbleCometChatCollaborativeBubble,CometChatCollaborativeWebViewMessageTranslationBubble- All configuration and style classes