Flutter Chat

Flutter Chat is a package which gives the possibility to add a (personal or group) chat to your Flutter-application. By default this package adds support for a Firebase back-end but you can also add a custom back-end (like a Websocket-API) by extending the ChatInterface interface from the flutter_chat_interface package.

The default UI is based on a Figma design that defines this component, however it's only accessible by Iconica developers: Figma design. There is also a Figma clickable prototype that demonstrates this component: [Figma clickable prototype)[https://www.figma.com/proto/PRJoVXQ5aOjAICfkQdAq2A/Iconica-User-Stories?page-id=1%3A2&type=design&node-id=56-6837&viewport=279%2C2452%2C0.2&t=E7Al3Xng2WXnbCEQ-1&scaling=scale-down&starting-point-node-id=56%3A6837&mode=design]

Setup

To use this package, add flutter_chat as a dependency in your pubspec.yaml file:

  flutter_chat:
    git:
      url: https://github.com/Iconica-Development/flutter_chat
      path: packages/flutter_chat

You can use the LocalChatService to test the package in your project:

ChatUserStoryConfiguration(
  chatService: LocalChatService(),
),

If you are going to use Firebase as the back-end of the Chat, you should also add the following package as a dependency to your pubspec.yaml file:

  flutter_chat_firebase:
    git:
      url: https://github.com/Iconica-Development/flutter_chat
      path: packages/flutter_chat_firebase

Create a Firebase project for your application and add Firebase Firestore and Storage.

Make sure you are authenticated using the firebase_auth package or adjust your firebase rules, otherwise you won't be able to retreive data.

Also make sure you have the corresponding collections in your Firebase project as defined in FirebaseChatOptions, you can override the default paths as you wish:

  const FirebaseChatOptions({
    this.groupChatsCollectionName = 'group_chats',
    this.chatsCollectionName = 'chats',
    this.messagesCollectionName = 'messages',
    this.usersCollectionName = 'users',
    this.chatsMetaDataCollectionName = 'chat_metadata',
    this.userChatsCollectionName = 'chats',
  });

Also the structure of your data should be equal to our predefined models, you can implement any model by making your own model and implementing one of the predefined interfaces like so:

class ChatMessageModel implements ChatMessageModelInterface {
  ChatMessageModel({
    required this.sender,
    required this.timestamp,
  });

  @override
  final ChatUserModel sender;

  @override
  final DateTime timestamp;
}

The various interfaces you can implement:

• ChatUserModelInterface,
• ChatImageMessageModelInterface,
• ChatTextMessageModelInterface
• ChatMessageModelInterface,
• ChatModelInterface,
• GroupChatModelInterface,
• PersonalChatModelInterface,

Add the following to your project to use the camera or photo library to send pictures:

For ios add the following lines to your info.plist:

<key>NSCameraUsageDescription</key>
<string>Access camera</string>
<key>NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription</key>
<string>Library</string>

For android add the following lines to your AndroidManifest.xml:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CAMERA" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.GALLERY"/>

How to use

To use the module within your Flutter-application with predefined go_router routes you should add the following:

Add go_router as dependency to your project, then add the following configuration to your flutter_application:

List<GoRoute> getChatRoutes() => getChatStoryRoutes(
      ChatUserStoryConfiguration(
        chatService: chatService,
        chatOptionsBuilder: (ctx) => const ChatOptions(),
      ),
    );

You can override any method in the ChatUserStoryConfiguration.

Add the getChatRoutes() to your go_router routes like so:

final GoRouter _router = GoRouter(
  routes: <RouteBase>[
    GoRoute(
      path: '/',
      builder: (BuildContext context, GoRouterState state) {
        return const MyHomePage(
          title: "home",
        );
      },
    ),
    ...getChatRoutes()
  ],
);

The routes that can be used to navigate are:

For routing to the ChatScreen:

  static const String chatScreen = '/chat';

For routing to the ChatDetailScreen:

  static String chatDetailViewPath(String chatId) => '/chat-detail/$chatId';
  static const String chatDetailScreen = '/chat-detail/:id';

For routing to the NewChatScreen:

static const String newChatScreen = '/new-chat';

For routing to the ChatProfileScreen: you can see the information about a person or group you started a chat with. If the userId is null a group profile screen will be shown otherwise the profile of a single person will be shown.

static String chatProfileScreenPath(String chatId, String? userId) =>
'/chat-profile/$chatId/$userId';
static const String chatProfileScreen = '/chat-profile/:id/:userId';

Add the following code to the build-method of a chosen widget to use the module within your Flutter-application without predefined go_router routes but with Navigator routes:

chatNavigatorUserStory(
  ChatUserStoryConfiguration(
    chatService: ChatService,
    chatOptionsBuilder: (ctx) => const ChatOptions(),
  ),
  context,
);

Just like with the go_router routes you can override any methods in the ChatUserStoryConfiguration.

Or create your own routing using the screens.

Add the following code to add the ChatScreen:

ChatScreen(
  options: options,
  onPressStartChat: onPressStartChat,
  onPressChat: onPressChat,
  onDeleteChat: onDeleteChat,
  service: service,
  pageSize: pageSize,
  );

The ChatDetailScreen shows the messages that are in the current chat you selected. To add the ChatDetailScreen add the following code:

ChatDetailScreen(
  options: options,
  onMessageSubmit: onMessageSubmit,
  onUploadImage: onUploadImage,
  onReadChat: onReadChat,
  service: service,
  );

On the NewChatScreen you can select a person to chat.

Add the following coe to add the NewChatScreen:

NewChatScreen(
  options: options,
  onPressCreateChat: onPressCreateChat,
  service: service,
  );

On the ChatProfileScreen you can see the information about a person or group you started a chat with. A group profile screen will be shown if the userId is null, otherwise the profile of a single person will be shown.

ChatProfileScreen(
  chatService: chatservice,
  chatId: chatId,
  translations: translations,
  onTapUser: onTapUser,
  userId: userId,
);

The ChatEntryWidget is a widget you can put anywhere in your app, it displays the amount of unread messages you currently have. You can choose to add an onTap to the ChatEntryWidget so it routes to the ChatScreen.

Add the following code to add the ChatEntryWidget:

ChatEntryWidget(
  chatService: chatService,
  onTap: onTap,
);

The ChatOptions has its own parameters, as specified below:

Parameter	Explanation
newChatButtonBuilder	Builds the 'New Chat' button, to initiate a new chat session. This button is displayed on the chat overview.
messageInputBuilder	Builds the text input which is displayed within the chat view, responsible for sending text messages.
chatRowContainerBuilder	Builds a chat row. A row with the users' avatar, name and eventually the last massage sended in the chat. This builder is used both in the chat overview screen as in the new chat screen.
imagePickerContainerBuilder	Builds the container around the ImagePicker.
closeImagePickerButtonBuilder	Builds the close button for the Image Picker pop-up window.
scaffoldBuilder	Builds the default Scaffold-widget around the Community Chat. The chat title is displayed within the Scaffolds' title for example.

The ImagePickerTheme also has its own parameters, how to use these parameters can be found in the documentation of the flutter_image_picker package.

Issues

Please file any issues, bugs or feature request as an issue on our GitHub page. Commercial support is available if you need help with integration with your app or services. You can contact us at support@iconica.nl.

Want to contribute

If you would like to contribute to the plugin (e.g. by improving the documentation, solving a bug or adding a cool new feature), please carefully review our contribution guide and send us your pull request.

Author

This flutter_chat for Flutter is developed by Iconica. You can contact us at support@iconica.nl