User Management

Create, update, and manage CometChat users programmatically using the JavaScript SDK. Includes user creation, profile updates, and the User class reference.

AI Integration Quick Reference

// Create a user
const user = new CometChat.User("user1");
user.setName("Kevin");
await CometChat.createUser(user, "AUTH_KEY");

// Update a user
user.setName("Kevin Fernandez");
await CometChat.updateUser(user, "AUTH_KEY");

// Update logged-in user (no auth key needed)
await CometChat.updateCurrentUserDetails(user);

Note: User creation/deletion should ideally happen on your backend via the REST API.

Users must exist in CometChat before they can log in. Typically:

1. User registers in your app → Create user in CometChat
2. User logs into your app → Log user into CometChat

Creating a User

User creation should ideally happen on your backend via the REST API.

Security: Never expose your Auth Key in client-side production code. User creation and updates using Auth Key should ideally happen on your backend server. Use client-side creation only for prototyping or development.

For client-side creation (development only), use createUser():

JavaScript

let authKey = "AUTH_KEY";
let uid = "user1";
let name = "Kevin";

let user = new CometChat.User(uid);

user.setName(name);

CometChat.createUser(user, authKey).then(
  user => {
    console.log("user created", user);
  }, error => {
    console.log("error", error);
  }
)

TypeScript

let authKey: string = "AUTH_KEY";
let uid: string = "user1";
let name: string = "Kevin";

let user: CometChat.User = new CometChat.User(uid);

user.setName(name);

CometChat.createUser(user, authKey).then(
  (user: CometChat.User) => {
    console.log("user created", user);
  }, (error: CometChat.CometChatException) => {
    console.log("error", error);
  }
);

The method returns a User object. Access the response data using getter methods:

Field	Getter	Return Type	Description
uid	getUid()	string	Unique user ID
name	getName()	string	Display name of the user
avatar	getAvatar()	string	URL of the user’s avatar image
role	getRole()	string	Role assigned to the user
status	getStatus()	string	Online status of the user

UID can be alphanumeric with underscore and hyphen. Spaces, punctuation and other special characters are not allowed.

Updating a User

Like creation, user updates should ideally happen on your backend via the REST API.

For client-side updates (development only), use updateUser():

JavaScript

let authKey = "AUTH_KEY";
let uid = "user1";
let name = "Kevin Fernandez";

let user = new CometChat.User(uid);

user.setName(name);

CometChat.updateUser(user, authKey).then(
  user => {
    console.log("user updated", user);
  }, error => {
    console.log("error", error);
  }
)

TypeScript

let authKey: string = "AUTH_KEY";
let uid: string = "user1";
let name: string = "Kevin Fernandez";

let user: CometChat.User = new CometChat.User(uid);

user.setName(name);

CometChat.updateUser(user, authKey).then(
  (user: CometChat.User) => {
    console.log("user updated", user);
  }, (error: CometChat.CometChatException) => {
    console.log("error", error);
  }
)

Ensure the User object has the correct UID set.

The method returns a User object. Access the response data using getter methods:

Field	Getter	Return Type	Description
uid	getUid()	string	Unique user ID
name	getName()	string	Display name of the user
avatar	getAvatar()	string	URL of the user’s avatar image
role	getRole()	string	Role assigned to the user
metadata	getMetadata()	Object	Custom metadata attached to the user

Updating Logged-in User

Use updateCurrentUserDetails() to update the current user without an Auth Key. Note: You cannot update the user’s role with this method.

JavaScript

let uid = "user1";
let name = "Kevin Fernandez";

let user = new CometChat.User(uid);

user.setName(name);

CometChat.updateCurrentUserDetails(user).then(
  user => {
    console.log("user updated", user);
  }, error => {
    console.log("error", error);
  }
)

TypeScript

let uid: string = "user1";
let name: string = "Kevin Fernandez";

let user: CometChat.User = new CometChat.User(uid);

user.setName(name);

CometChat.updateCurrentUserDetails(user).then(
  (user: CometChat.User) => {
    console.log("user updated", user);
  }, (error: CometChat.CometChatException) => {
    console.log("error", error);
  }
);

Deleting a User

User deletion is only available via the REST API.

User Class

Field	Editable	Information
uid	specified on user creation. Not editable after that	Unique identifier of the user
name	Yes	Display name of the user
avatar	Yes	URL to profile picture of the user
link	Yes	URL to profile page
role	Yes	User role of the user for role based access control
metadata	Yes	Additional information about the user as JSON
status	No	Status of the user. Could be either online/offline
statusMessage	Yes	Any custom status message that needs to be set for a user
lastActiveAt	No	The unix timestamp of the time the user was last active.
hasBlockedMe	No	A boolean that determines if the user has blocked the logged in user
blockedByMe	No	A boolean that determines if the logged in user has blocked the user
tags	Yes	A list of tags to identify specific users

Next Steps

Retrieve Users

Fetch and filter user lists with pagination.

User Presence

Monitor real-time online/offline status.

Block Users

Block and unblock users.

Authentication

Log users into CometChat.