cometchat-android-v6-extensions

Companion skills: cometchat-android-v6-features (feature catalog), cometchat-android-v6-kotlin-customization, cometchat-android-v6-compose-customization

Purpose

Extend the CometChat UIKit v6 data layer using the clean architecture DataSource/Repository pattern. Create custom DataSource implementations, override repository behavior, and register custom message types.

Use this skill when

Creating a custom DataSource implementation to change how data is fetched
Overriding default repository behavior
Registering custom message types
Understanding the data flow from DataSource → Repository → ViewModel

Do not use this skill when

Customizing UI/bubble rendering (use cometchat-*-customization — that's the BubbleFactory layer)
Working with component APIs (use cometchat-*-components)

1. Clean Architecture Overview

The chatuikit-core module follows clean architecture with three layers:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  UI Layer (chatuikit-kotlin / compose)  │
│  Components observe ViewModel state     │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  ViewModel Layer (core/viewmodel/)      │
│  Calls use cases / repositories         │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Domain Layer (core/domain/)            │
│  Repository interfaces, Use cases       │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Data Layer (core/data/)                │
│  DataSource interfaces + impls          │
│  Repository implementations            │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

2. DataSource Pattern

Each feature area has a DataSource interface and default implementation:

core/data/datasource/
├── ConversationListDataSource.kt       (interface)
├── ConversationListDataSourceImpl.kt   (default implementation)
├── MessageListDataSource.kt
├── MessageListDataSourceImpl.kt
├── ...

2.1 All DataSource Types

DataSource	Implementation	What it provides
`CallButtonsDataSource`	`CallButtonsDataSourceImpl`	Call button actions
`CallLogsDataSource`	`CallLogsDataSourceImpl`	Call history fetching
`CollaborativeDataSource`	`CollaborativeDataSourceImpl`	Document/whiteboard data
`ConversationListDataSource`	`ConversationListDataSourceImpl`	Conversation list fetching
`GroupMembersDataSource`	`GroupMembersDataSourceImpl`	Group member operations
`GroupsDataSource`	`GroupsDataSourceImpl`	Group list fetching
`MessageComposerDataSource`	`MessageComposerDataSourceImpl`	Composer actions/attachments
`MessageHeaderDataSource`	`MessageHeaderDataSourceImpl`	Header data (name, status)
`MessageInformationDataSource`	`MessageInformationDataSourceImpl`	Read receipts, delivery info
`MessageListDataSource`	`MessageListDataSourceImpl`	Message fetching/pagination
`PollDataSource`	`PollDataSourceImpl`	Poll creation/voting
`ReactionListDataSource`	`ReactionListDataSourceImpl`	Reaction data
`SearchDataSource`	`SearchDataSourceImpl`	Global search
`StickerDataSource`	`StickerDataSourceImpl`	Sticker fetching
`UsersDataSource`	`UsersDataSourceImpl`	User list fetching

2.2 Additional DataSource

File	Purpose
`MessageReceiptEventListener.kt`	Listens for receipt events at the data layer

3. Repository Pattern

Repositories in core/data/repository/ implement domain interfaces from core/domain/repository/:

core/data/repository/
├── CallButtonsRepositoryImpl.kt
├── CallLogsRepositoryImpl.kt
├── ConversationListRepositoryImpl.kt
├── GroupMembersRepositoryImpl.kt
├── GroupsRepositoryImpl.kt
├── MessageComposerRepositoryImpl.kt
├── MessageHeaderRepositoryImpl.kt
├── MessageInformationRepositoryImpl.kt
├── MessageListRepositoryImpl.kt
├── PollRepositoryImpl.kt
├── ReactionListRepositoryImpl.kt
├── SearchRepositoryImpl.kt
├── StickerRepositoryImpl.kt
├── UsersRepositoryImpl.kt

Each repository wraps a DataSource and adds business logic, caching, or transformation.

4. ViewModel Layer

ViewModels in core/viewmodel/ consume repositories and expose UI state:

// Example: CometChatConversationsViewModel
// - Injected via CometChatConversationsViewModelFactory
// - Exposes StateFlow<ConversationListUIState>
// - Calls ConversationListRepositoryImpl internally

ViewModel factories in core/factory/ handle dependency injection:

Factory	ViewModel
`CometChatConversationsViewModelFactory`	`CometChatConversationsViewModel`
`CometChatMessageListViewModelFactory`	`CometChatMessageListViewModel`
`CometChatGroupsViewModelFactory`	`CometChatGroupsViewModel`
`CometChatUsersViewModelFactory`	`CometChatUsersViewModel`
`CometChatCallLogsViewModelFactory`	`CometChatCallLogsViewModel`
`CometChatMessageComposerViewModelFactory`	`CometChatMessageComposerViewModel`
`CometChatMessageHeaderViewModelFactory`	`CometChatMessageHeaderViewModel`
`CometChatGroupMembersViewModelFactory`	`CometChatGroupMembersViewModel`
`CometChatMessageInformationViewModelFactory`	`CometChatMessageInformationViewModel`
`CometChatReactionListViewModelFactory`	`CometChatReactionListViewModel`
`CometChatSearchViewModelFactory`	`CometChatSearchViewModel`
`CometChatCallButtonsViewModelFactory`	`CometChatCallButtonsViewModel`
`CometChatCreatePollViewModelFactory`	`CometChatCreatePollViewModel`
`CometChatThreadHeaderViewModelFactory`	`CometChatThreadHeaderViewModel`
`CometChatStickerKeyboardViewModelFactory`	`CometChatStickerKeyboardViewModel`
`CometChatIncomingCallViewModelFactory`	`CometChatIncomingCallViewModel`
`CometChatOutgoingCallViewModelFactory`	`CometChatOutgoingCallViewModel`
`CometChatAIAssistantChatHistoryViewModelFactory`	`CometChatAIAssistantChatHistoryViewModel`

5. UI State Classes

Each ViewModel exposes a sealed UI state from core/state/:

State Class	Used By
`CallLogsUIState`	Call logs
`MessageListUIState`	Message list
`GroupsUIState`	Groups list
`UsersUIState`	Users list
`GroupMembersUIState`	Group members
`MessageComposerUIState`	Composer
`MessageHeaderUIState`	Header
`MessageInformationUIState`	Message info
`ReactionListUIState`	Reactions
`SearchUIState`	Search
`CallButtonsUIState`	Call buttons
`CreatePollUIState`	Poll creation
`ThreadHeaderUIState`	Thread header
`StickerKeyboardUIState`	Sticker keyboard
`IncomingCallUIState`	Incoming call
`OutgoingCallUIState`	Outgoing call
`ChatHistoryUIState`	AI chat history
`ConversationStarterUIState`	AI conversation starter
`ConversationSummaryUIState`	AI conversation summary
`SmartRepliesUIState`	AI smart replies
`DeleteState`	Delete operations
`UIState`	Base UI state

6. Data Flow

User Action → Component → ViewModel → Repository → DataSource → CometChat SDK
                                                                      ↓
UI Update  ← Component ← ViewModel ← StateFlow ← Repository ← SDK Response

Hard rules

DataSources are the DATA layer — they fetch and mutate data. Do NOT confuse with BubbleFactory which is the UI rendering layer
The v5 DataSource decorator / ChatConfigurator pattern for bubble customization does NOT exist in v6 — use BubbleFactory instead (see cometchat-*-customization)
ViewModels are shared across both UI stacks (Kotlin Views and Compose) — they live in chatuikit-core
Always use the provided ViewModel factories — do not instantiate ViewModels directly