Typing Indicators - CometChat Docs

Quick Reference for AI Agents & Developers

Start typing: CometChat.startTyping(indicator:) — pass TypingIndicator(receiverID:receiverType:)
End typing: CometChat.endTyping(indicator:)
Listen for typing: onTypingStarted(_:), onTypingEnded(_:) in message listener delegate
Receiver types: .user, .group
Related: Send Message · Receive Message · Messaging Overview

Key Characteristics

Characteristic	Description
Fire-and-forget	No success/failure callbacks
Transient	Not persisted, receiver must be online
Real-time only	No history or missed events
Supports metadata	Can send custom data with indicator

Send a Typing Indicator

In other words, as a sender, how do I let the recipient(s) know that I’m typing?

Start Typing (User)

Swift
Objective C

let typingIndicator = TypingIndicator(receiverID: "cometchat-uid-2", receiverType: .user)
CometChat.startTyping(indicator: typingIndicator)

TypingIndicator *typingIndicator = [[TypingIndicator alloc]initWithReceiverID:@"cometchat-uid-2" receiverType:ReceiverTypeUser metadata:nil];
[CometChat startTypingWithIndicator:typingIndicator];

Sample Payloads - Start Typing (User)

Request
Sent

Method: CometChat.startTyping(indicator:)

Parameter	Type	Value
receiverID	`String`	`"cometchat-uid-2"`
receiverType	`CometChat.ReceiverType`	`.user`
metadata	`[String: Any]?`	`nil`

Indicator Sent:

Parameter	Type	Value
receiverID	`String`	`"cometchat-uid-2"`
receiverType	`String`	`"user"`

Receiver Will Get:

Delegate Method	Description
`onTypingStarted(_:)`	Called with TypingIndicator object

Start Typing (Group)

Swift

let typingIndicator = TypingIndicator(receiverID: "group-guid-1", receiverType: .group)
CometChat.startTyping(indicator: typingIndicator)

Sample Payloads - Start Typing (Group)

Request
Sent

Method: CometChat.startTyping(indicator:)

Parameter	Type	Value
receiverID	`String`	`"group-guid-1"`
receiverType	`CometChat.ReceiverType`	`.group`
metadata	`[String: Any]?`	`nil`

Indicator Sent:

Parameter	Type	Value
receiverID	`String`	`"group-guid-1"`
receiverType	`String`	`"group"`

Receiver Will Get:

Delegate Method	Description
`onTypingStarted(_:)`	Called with TypingIndicator object

Start Typing with Metadata

Swift

let typingIndicator = TypingIndicator(receiverID: "cometchat-uid-2", receiverType: .user)
typingIndicator.metadata = ["isVoiceTyping": true, "language": "en"]
CometChat.startTyping(indicator: typingIndicator)

Sample Payloads - Start Typing with Metadata

Request
Sent

Method: CometChat.startTyping(indicator:)

Parameter	Type	Value
receiverID	`String`	`"cometchat-uid-2"`
receiverType	`CometChat.ReceiverType`	`.user`
metadata	`[String: Any]`	`["isVoiceTyping": true, "language": "en"]`

Indicator Sent:

Parameter	Type	Value
receiverID	`String`	`"cometchat-uid-2"`
receiverType	`String`	`"user"`
metadata	`[String: Any]`	`["isVoiceTyping": true, "language": "en"]`

You can use the metadata field of the TypingIndicator class to pass additional data along with the typing indicators. This data will be received at the receiver end and can be obtained using the metadata property.

End Typing (User)

Swift
Objective C

let typingIndicator = TypingIndicator(receiverID: "cometchat-uid-2", receiverType: .user)
CometChat.endTyping(indicator: typingIndicator)

TypingIndicator *typingIndicator = [[TypingIndicator alloc]initWithReceiverID:@"cometchat-uid-2" receiverType:ReceiverTypeUser metadata:nil];
[CometChat endTypingWithIndicator:typingIndicator];

Sample Payloads - End Typing (User)

Request
Sent

Method: CometChat.endTyping(indicator:)

Parameter	Type	Value
receiverID	`String`	`"cometchat-uid-2"`
receiverType	`CometChat.ReceiverType`	`.user`

Indicator Sent:

Parameter	Type	Value
receiverID	`String`	`"cometchat-uid-2"`
receiverType	`String`	`"user"`

Receiver Will Get:

Delegate Method	Description
`onTypingEnded(_:)`	Called with TypingIndicator object

End Typing (Group)

Swift

let typingIndicator = TypingIndicator(receiverID: "group-guid-1", receiverType: .group)
CometChat.endTyping(indicator: typingIndicator)

Sample Payloads - End Typing (Group)

Request
Sent

Method: CometChat.endTyping(indicator:)

Parameter	Type	Value
receiverID	`String`	`"group-guid-1"`
receiverType	`CometChat.ReceiverType`	`.group`

Indicator Sent:

Parameter	Type	Value
receiverID	`String`	`"group-guid-1"`
receiverType	`String`	`"group"`

Receiver Will Get:

Delegate Method	Description
`onTypingEnded(_:)`	Called with TypingIndicator object

Real-time Typing Indicators

In other words, as a recipient, how do I know when someone is typing? To receive typing indicators, implement CometChatMessageDelegate:

Swift
Objective C

extension YourViewController: CometChatMessageDelegate {
    
    func onTypingStarted(_ typingDetails: TypingIndicator) {
        print("User started typing")
        print("Sender UID: \(typingDetails.sender?.uid ?? "")")
        print("Sender Name: \(typingDetails.sender?.name ?? "")")
        print("Receiver ID: \(typingDetails.receiverID)")
        print("Receiver Type: \(typingDetails.receiverType)")
        print("Metadata: \(typingDetails.metadata ?? [:])")
    }
    
    func onTypingEnded(_ typingDetails: TypingIndicator) {
        print("User stopped typing")
        print("Sender: \(typingDetails.sender?.name ?? "")")
    }
}

// Register the delegate:
CometChat.messagedelegate = self

@interface ViewController ()<CometChatMessageDelegate>
@end

@implementation ViewController

- (void)viewDidLoad {
    [super viewDidLoad];
    CometChat.messagedelegate = self;
}

- (void)onTypingStarted:(TypingIndicator *)typingDetails {
    NSLog(@"Typing started received successfully");
}

- (void)onTypingEnded:(TypingIndicator *)typingDetails {
    NSLog(@"Typing ended received successfully");
}

@end

Sample Payloads - Receive Typing Started

Delegate Payload

Method: onTypingStarted(_ typingDetails: TypingIndicator)TypingIndicator Object:

Parameter	Type	Value
sender.uid	`String`	`"cometchat-uid-1"`
sender.name	`String`	`"John Doe"`
sender.avatar	`String`	`"https://example.com/avatar.png"`
receiverID	`String`	`"cometchat-uid-2"`
receiverType	`ReceiverType`	`.user`
metadata	`[String: Any]?`	`nil`

Sample Payloads - Receive Typing Ended

Delegate Payload

Method: onTypingEnded(_ typingDetails: TypingIndicator)TypingIndicator Object:

Parameter	Type	Value
sender.uid	`String`	`"cometchat-uid-1"`
sender.name	`String`	`"John Doe"`
receiverID	`String`	`"cometchat-uid-2"`
receiverType	`ReceiverType`	`.user`

TypingIndicator Object Properties

Property	Type	Description
`sender`	`User?`	User object of the person typing
`receiverID`	`String`	UID of user or GUID of group
`receiverType`	`ReceiverType`	`.user` or `.group`
`metadata`	`[String: Any]?`	Custom data sent with indicator

Receiver Types

Type	Value	Description
User	`.user`	One-on-one conversation
Group	`.group`	Group conversation

Delegate Methods

Method	Description
`onTypingStarted(_:)`	Called when user starts typing
`onTypingEnded(_:)`	Called when user stops typing

Typing indicators are transient and not persisted. The receiver must be online to receive them.

​Key Characteristics

​Send a Typing Indicator

​Start Typing (User)

​Start Typing (Group)

​Start Typing with Metadata

​End Typing (User)

​End Typing (Group)

​Real-time Typing Indicators

​TypingIndicator Object Properties

​Receiver Types

​Delegate Methods

Key Characteristics

Send a Typing Indicator

Start Typing (User)

Start Typing (Group)

Start Typing with Metadata

End Typing (User)

End Typing (Group)

Real-time Typing Indicators

TypingIndicator Object Properties

Receiver Types

Delegate Methods