Managing Web Sockets Connections Manually

Default SDK behaviour on login

When the login method of the SDK is called, the SDK performs the below operations:

1. Logs the user into the SDK
2. Saves the details of the logged in user locally.
3. Creates a web-socket connection for the logged in user.

This makes sure that the logged in user starts receiving real-time messages sent to him or any groups that he is a part of as soon as he logs in.

When the app is reopened, and the init() method is called, the web-socket connection to the server is established automatically.

This is the default behaviour of the CometChat SDKs. However, if you wish to take control of the web-socket connection i.e if you wish to connect and disconnect to the web-socket server manually, you can refer to the Managing Web-socket Connection section.

Managing the Web-socket connections manually

The CometChat SDK also allows you to modify the above default behaviour of the SDK and take the control of the web-socket connection into your own hands. In order to achieve this, you need to follow the below steps:

1. While calling the init() function on the app startup, you need to inform the SDK that you will be managing the web socket connect. You can do so by using the autoEstablishSocketConnection() method provided by the AppSettingsBuilder class. This method takes a boolean value as an input. If set to true , the SDK will manage the web-socket connection internally based on the default behaviour mentioned above. If set to false , the web socket connection can will not be managed by the SDK and you will have to handle it manually. You can refer to the below code snippet for the same:

JavaScript

let appID = "APP_ID";
let region = "APP_REGION";
let appSetting = new CometChat.AppSettingsBuilder()
  .subscribePresenceForAllUsers()
  .setRegion(region)
  .autoEstablishSocketConnection(false)
  .build();
await CometChat.init("APP_ID", appSettings);

// Manually connect/disconnect
CometChat.connect();
CometChat.disconnect();

By default, the SDK automatically establishes and manages the WebSocket connection — it connects on login, reconnects on init() when a session exists, and handles reconnection on network drops. This page covers how to disable that and manage the connection yourself.

You’d want manual control when you need to conserve resources by connecting only when the user is actively chatting, or when you need precise control over when real-time events start flowing.

Default Behavior

When autoEstablishSocketConnection is true (the default):

1. CometChat.login() logs the user in, saves their session locally, and opens a WebSocket connection
2. On app restart, CometChat.init() automatically reconnects using the saved session
3. The user immediately starts receiving real-time messages, presence updates, and call events

Manual Connection Management

To take control of the WebSocket connection, set autoEstablishSocketConnection(false) during initialization:

TypeScript

let appID: string = "APP_ID";
let region: string = "APP_REGION";
let appSetting: CometChat.AppSettings = new CometChat.AppSettingsBuilder()
  .subscribePresenceForAllUsers()
  .setRegion(region)
  .autoEstablishSocketConnection(false)
  .build();
CometChat.init(appID, appSetting).then(
  (isInitialized: boolean) => {
    console.log("Initialization completed successfully");
  },
  (error: CometChat.CometChatException) => {
    console.log("Initialization failed with error:", error);
  }
);

JavaScript

let appID = "APP_ID";
let region = "APP_REGION";
let appSetting = new CometChat.AppSettingsBuilder()
  .subscribePresenceForAllUsers()
  .setRegion(region)
  .autoEstablishSocketConnection(false)
  .build();
CometChat.init(appID, appSetting).then(
  () => {
    console.log("Initialization completed successfully");
  },
  (error) => {
    console.log("Initialization failed with error:", error);
  }
);

Once initialized with manual mode, use connect() and disconnect() to control the WebSocket connection.

Connect

Establishes the WebSocket connection. The user must be logged in first (check with CometChat.getLoggedinUser()). Once connected, real-time events start flowing. Returns void.

Connect

CometChat.connect();

Disconnect

Breaks the WebSocket connection. Real-time events stop until you call connect() again. Returns void.

Disconnect

CometChat.disconnect();

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Next Steps

Connection Status

Monitor the SDK connection state in real time

Login Listener

Listen for login and logout events

All Real-Time Listeners

Complete reference for all SDK event listeners

Setup SDK

SDK installation and initialization guide