React Chat

React Chat is presently in alpha and is not meant to be a viable substitute to delicate native chat frameworks.

React Chat currently does not support pagination of messages or rooms, hence might have performance issues when loading huge volume of chat data. Handles for pagination such as scroll pagination will be added soon.

Intro

React Chat is an extensible set of presentational chat components for mobile-first ReactJS web applications. It facilitates simple messaging interactions on-the-go.

React Chat is inspired by the designs at GiftedChat, Slack, WhatsApp and Telegram.

Besides this README, you may find documentation of the design and behaviours of components in Storybook.

Examples and demos will be provided through Storybook and the Examples page in the future. This is a work in progress.

Getting Started

React Chat requires at least React 16.3.0 as a peer dependency.

To install using npm:

npm install @hliejun/react-chat

To install using yarn:

yarn add @hliejun/react-chat

To opt-in to alpha versions, please explicitly state the version.
Check on the latest version here.

Usage

React Chat comprises of:

• ChatList

• ChatRoom

ChatList

ChatList is a component used for interacting with a list of chat rooms or message groups. As a presentational component, it exposes the handles for various tasks such as displaying chat rooms, refreshing the view, filtering the list and more.

For instance, you can invoke ChatList with the following:

import { ChatList } from '@hliejun/react-chat';

class MyContainer extends React.Component {

  // ...

  render = () => {
    //...
    const { rooms } = this.state;
    //...
    return (
      <ChatList
        onItem={this.segueToChatRoom}
        rooms={this.parseRooms(rooms)}
        title='Chats'
      />
    );
  };

  // ...

  parseRooms = (rooms) => {
    // Fetch and parse data into shape of room objects
  };

  segueToChatRoom = (id) => {
    // Navigate to chat room of id when room is selected
  };

}

The following table indicates the props that ChatList accepts.

Name	Type	Description
className	string	Style classes passed down from container component
hideAvatar	bool	Flag to opt out from showing Avatar in ListItem
hideChevron	bool	Flag to opt out from showing chevron indicator as affordance to segueing
hideTitleBar	bool	Flag to opt out from showing the TitleBar
isLoading	bool	Flag to display loading animations while the ChatList is not readily populated
layout	see AppContext	Styling enumeration to match ChatRoom layout
liveSearch	bool	Flag to indicate the intended search behaviour
menuActions	see Actions	Action handlers and metadata to populate chat ListItem menu
onAvatar	func	Handler for interaction with the Avatar in a ListItem
onInfo	func	Handler for interaction with the identity Avatar in TitleBar
onItem	func	Handler for selecting a ListItem of a specific room
onMenu	func	Handler for prompting the ListItem menu of a specific room
onRefresh	func	Handler for initiating a fetch or reload to repopulate the ChatList
onResult	func	Handler for selecting a search ListItem in the search results pane
onSearch	func	Handler for search or filter logic to fetch or reload searchResults
Placeholder	React element	Component to fill the body when rooms is empty
rooms	see Rooms	Collection of objects specifying the metadata of a room
searchHint	string	Placeholder for empty search field
searchPlaceholder	React element	Placeholder for empty search results body
searchResults	see Search	Collection of objects describing the outcome of onSearch
selectedId	string	Unique identifier of the list item that is currently active
sizing	see AppContext	Device and sizing enumeration for layout responsiveness
subtitle	string	Subtitle to display on TitleBar
theme	see AppContext	Theme enumeration for styling constituent components
title	string	Title to display on TitleBar
user	see Users	Object containing metadata of a user or a user profile

ChatRoom

ChatRoom is a component used for interacting with a chat group, room, conversation, etc. Regardless of the room size, it offers generic handles for various messaging tasks such as typing, sending, searching, deleting, copying and more.

You can use ChatRoom this way:

import { ChatRoom } from '@hliejun/react-chat';

class MyContainer extends React.Component {

  // ...

  render = () => {
    //...
    const { input, messages, room, userId, users } = this.state;
    const { id, name } = room;
    //...
    return (
      <ChatRoom
        inputValue={input}
        messages={this.parseMessages(messages)}
        onInput={this.parseInput}
        onSend={this.sendMessage}
        roomId={id}
        roomName={name}
        userId={userId}
        users={users}
      />
    );
  };

  // ...

  parseMessages = (messages) => {
    // Fetch and parse data into shape of message objects
  };

  parseInput = (nextInput) => {
    // Input control to parse HTML string into desirable values
    // ...
    // When done parsing, reload ChatRoom with new input state
    // Pure components will not reload if unaffected by input
    this.setState({
      input: parsedInput
    });
  };

  sendMessage = (input) => {
    // Call API to submit message
  };

}

The following table indicates the props that ChatRoom accepts.

Name	Type	Description
attachOptions	see Media	Action handlers for media attachments
className	string	Style classes passed down from container component
hideAvatar	bool	Flag to opt out from showing Avatar in Message item
inputData	see Media	Object describing attached media due for posting
inputHint	string	Placeholder for input field
inputValue	string	HTML-formatted string for rendering into input field
layout	see AppContext	Styling enumeration describing layout of messages
liveSearch	bool	Flag to indicate the intended search behaviour
menuActions	see Actions	Action handlers and metadata to populate chat Message menu
messages	see Messages	Collection of objects representing Message content
onAttach	func	Handler for attaching media to input
onAvatar	func	Handler for interaction with the Avatar in a Message
onContent	func	Handler for selecting a message Content
onInfo	func	Handler for interaction with the identity Avatar in TitleBar
onInput	func	Handler for intercepting and updating input field value
onMenu	func	Handler for prompting the content Menu of a specific message
onRefresh	func	Handler for initiating a fetch or reload to repopulate the Message list
onResult	func	Handler for selecting a search ListItem in the search results pane
onReturn	func	Handler for interacting with the return button to perform a segue
onSearch	func	Handler for search or filter logic to fetch or reload searchResults
onSend	func	Handler for submitting input value
roomAvatar	string	Link to room avatar image
roomId	string	Unique identifier of the room for actions contextual to the room
roomName	string	Name or title of the chat room
searchHint	string	Placeholder for empty search field
searchPlaceholder	React element	Placeholder for empty search results body
searchResults	see Search	Collection of objects describing the outcome of onSearch
sizing	see AppContext	Device and sizing enumeration for layout responsiveness
subtitle	string	Subtitle to display on TitleBar
theme	see AppContext	Theme enumeration for styling constituent components
userId	string	Unique identifier of the current user
users	see Users	Indexed collection of objects containing metadata of all users involved in the chat room

Actions

(WIP) Here are the PropTypes declaration for menu actions for the respective components.

{/* ListItem Menu Actions */}

menuActions: PropTypes.arrayOf(PropTypes.shape({
  action: PropTypes.func.isRequired,
  icon: PropTypes.string,
  label: PropTypes.string.isRequired,
  type: PropTypes.oneOf([
    'archive',
    'delete',
    'info',
    'pin',
    'star',
    'unread'
  ]).isRequired
}))

{/* Message Menu Actions */}

menuActions: PropTypes.arrayOf(PropTypes.shape({
  action: PropTypes.func.isRequired,
  icon: PropTypes.string,
  label: PropTypes.string.isRequired,
  type: PropTypes.oneOf([
    'copy',
    'delete',
    'forward',
    'info',
    'pin',
    'reply'
  ]).isRequired
})),

AppContext

(WIP) Here are the PropTypes declaration for app context options.

{/* Layout */}

layout: PropTypes.oneOf([
  'aligned',
  'staggered'
])

{/* Sizing */}

sizing: PropTypes.oneOf([
  'desktop',
  'mobile',
  'tablet'
])

{/* Theme */}

theme: PropTypes.oneOf([
  'dark',
  'light'
])

Messages

(WIP) Here are the PropTypes declaration for messages.

{/* Messages */}

messages: PropTypes.arrayOf(PropTypes.shape({
  data: PropTypes.shape({
    coordinates: PropTypes.shape({
      lat: PropTypes.string,
      lng: PropTypes.string
    }),
    galleryId: PropTypes.string,
    markdown: PropTypes.string,
    metadata: PropTypes.object,
    source: PropTypes.string.isRequired,
    type: PropTypes.oneOf([
      'audio',
      'file',
      'gif',
      'image',
      'link',
      'location',
      'markdown',
      'pdf',
      'video'
    ]).isRequired
  }),
  eventContent: PropTypes.element,
  eventName: PropTypes.string,
  isDelivered: PropTypes.bool,
  isLoading: PropTypes.bool,
  isRead: PropTypes.bool,
  messageId: PropTypes.string.isRequired,
  senderId: PropTypes.string,
  text: PropTypes.string,
  timeStamp: PropTypes.string.isRequired,
  type: PropTypes.oneOf([
    'event',
    'media',
    'system',
    'text'
  ]).isRequired
})).isRequired

Media

(WIP) Here are the PropTypes declaration for media-related objects.

{/* Attach Options */}

attachOptions: PropTypes.arrayOf(PropTypes.shape({
  action: PropTypes.func.isRequired,
  icon: PropTypes.string,
  label: PropTypes.string.isRequired,
  type: PropTypes.oneOf([
    'audio',
    'file',
    'gif',
    'image',
    'link',
    'location',
    'markdown',
    'pdf',
    'video'
  ]).isRequired
}))

{/* Input Data */}

inputData: PropTypes.shape({
  coordinates: PropTypes.shape({
    lat: PropTypes.string,
    lng: PropTypes.string
  }),
  galleryId: PropTypes.string,
  markdown: PropTypes.string,
  metadata: PropTypes.object,
  source: PropTypes.string.isRequired,
  type: PropTypes.oneOf([
    'audio',
    'file',
    'gif',
    'image',
    'link',
    'location',
    'markdown',
    'pdf',
    'video'
  ]).isRequired
})

Rooms

(WIP) Here are the PropTypes declaration for rooms.

{/* Rooms */}

rooms: PropTypes.arrayOf(PropTypes.shape({
  avatar: PropTypes.string,
  description: PropTypes.string,
  id: PropTypes.string.isRequired,
  name: PropTypes.string.isRequired,
  status: PropTypes.oneOf([
    'archive',
    'pin',
    'star',
    'new'
  ]),
  subtitle: PropTypes.string,
  timeStamp: PropTypes.string
})).isRequired

Search

(WIP) Here are the PropTypes declaration for search results.

{/* Search Results */}

PropTypes.arrayOf(PropTypes.shape({
  avatar: PropTypes.string,
  description: PropTypes.string,
  id: PropTypes.string.isRequired,
  name: PropTypes.string.isRequired,
  timeStamp: PropTypes.string
}))

Users

(WIP) Here are the PropTypes declaration for user(s).

{/* User */}

user: PropTypes.shape({
  avatar: PropTypes.string,
  description: PropTypes.string,
  email: PropTypes.string,
  id: PropTypes.string.isRequired,
  name: PropTypes.string.isRequired,
  phone: PropTypes.string,
  website: PropTypes.string
})

{/* Users */}

users: PropTypes.objectOf(PropTypes.shape({
  avatar: PropTypes.string,
  description: PropTypes.string,
  email: PropTypes.string,
  id: PropTypes.string.isRequired,
  name: PropTypes.string.isRequired,
  phone: PropTypes.string,
  website: PropTypes.string
})).isRequired

Style Classes

(WIP) Formats and variants off CSS classes.

Development

(WIP) Code Design, Linters, Storybook, RollUp, AppContext, Classnames. DOMPurify.

TODOs

Summary of upcoming TODOs:

Features

• Animations
• Children buttons in TitleBar
• Dividers
• Expose child components for use
• Media preview
• Message markdown
• Message replies
• Refresh
• Scroll pagination
• Themes and abstract colors usage

Performance

• Recycle views
• Reduce bundle size with UglifyJS
• Split bundles for selective import
• Switch to PureComponent(s)
• Trim style classes

Code Quality

• Add Jest tests
• Refactor all stories
• Switch to SCSS for stories

Documentation

• Add example screenshots
• Complete README
• Complete Storybook
• Examples with ChatKit

Maintenance

• Setup issues

Credits and Licenses

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for copyright credits to the respective sources. The following people and resources have helped this project greatly in one way or another:

Throttling without Lodash
Author: Jhey Tompkins
Web: Throttling and Debouncing in Javascript

Default to Polymer SVG Icons
Author: PolymerElements and David Francisco
Repo (polymerelements): https://github.com/PolymerElements/iron-icons
Repo (dmfrancisco): https://github.com/dmfrancisco/react-icons

Web URL Regex
Author: Diego Perini
Gist: https://gist.github.com/dperini/729294

SASS Mixins
Authors: Richard Torres and Engage Interactive
Repo (engageinteractive): https://github.com/engageinteractive/core
Gist (richardtorres314): https://gist.github.com/richardtorres314/26b18e12958ba418bb37993fdcbfc1bd

SASS Material Colors
Author: minusfive
Repo: https://github.com/minusfive/sass-material-colors

Support

(WIP) Issues and contact.