Create a Chat App with React Native Gifted Chat: A Step-by-Step Guide

Unlock the Power of Real-Time Communication: A Step-by-Step Guide to Building a Mobile Chat App with React Native and Firebase

As the demand for real-time communication continues to grow, developers are seeking efficient ways to integrate reliable communication channels into mobile apps. In this comprehensive tutorial, we’ll explore how to build a mobile chat app for both iOS and Android using React Native and Firebase.

Getting Started

To follow along with this tutorial, you’ll need:

• Working knowledge of CSS, HTML, and JavaScript ES6
• Node.js and Watchman installed on your development machine
• iOS Simulator or Android Emulator for testing
• A code editor installed on your development machine
• Working knowledge of React and React Native

React-Native-Gifted-Chat Props: The Building Blocks of Our App

Let’s dive into the world of react-native-gifted-chat props, which will empower us to create our application. Some of the key props we’ll be using include:

• messages (array): Displays messages
• text (string): The type of input text. Default is undefined
• isTyping (bool): Handles the typing indicator state. Default is false
• timeFormat (string): Determines time format. Default is LT
• dateFormat (string): Determines date format. Default is ll
• placeholder (text): The placeholder for an empty text field. Default is Type a message…
• user (object): The credentials of the user sending the message, i.e., {_id, name, avatar}
• messageIdGenerator (function): Generates an id for each new message. Default is UUID V4

Installing React-Native-Gifted-Chat: Setting Up Our App

To begin, let’s set up a new React Native app. Open your terminal, navigate into your working directory, and run the command below to initialize a new React Native app. Once setup is complete, navigate into the GiftedChatApp directory and run the command below to install the required dependencies.

Building the Login Screen: The First Step in Our Journey

Before we start building the login screen, let’s update our code to allow screen navigation. Open App.js, then copy and paste the code below. Next, install one final dependency, React Native Elements, which will enable us to easily create form elements and icons.

Building the Registration Screen: Adding New Users to Our App

Now, let’s build a registration screen to add new users to our application. Navigate into the screens folder, create a new file named Register.js, and copy and paste the code below.

Setting Up Firebase for React Native: The Backbone of Our App

With our login and registration screens in place, let’s add Firebase to our application to authenticate users. Install Firebase by running the command below, then head to the Firebase website and create a new project called Gifted Chat App.

Authenticating a User with Firebase: Enabling Secure Login

Let’s enable user authentication through Firebase using email and password. Click authentication from the sidebar menu of the Firebase console and select Email/Password. Next, select enable and save.

Building the Chat Screen: The Heart of Our App

Now, let’s build the chat screen, where we’ll redirect users after a successful login. Create a new file called Chat.js in the screens directory and copy and paste the code below.

Implementing Real-Time Messaging: The Final Piece of the Puzzle

To store messages in Firestore, we’ll modify the onSend function. Also, make sure to add relevant permissions to the Firestore console for development requirements.

Conclusion

With these steps, you now have a fully functional mobile chat app with cross-platform compatibility using React Native and Firebase. Our application allows users to chat between multiple devices with an unlimited number of users. You can extend this application further by adding chat sounds, emoji support, themes, typing indicator animations, touchable links, offline notifications, offline message persistence, and various other modern chat app features.