Group Management

Implement group creation, joining, member management, banning, scope changes, and ownership transfer.

AI Integration Quick Reference

Field	Value
Package	com.cometchat:chat-uikit-android
Key components	CometChat.createGroup(), CometChat.joinGroup(), CometChat.addMembersToGroup(), CometChat.banGroupMember(), CometChat.updateGroupMemberScope(), CometChat.transferGroupOwnership()
Purpose	Implement group creation, joining, member management, banning, scope changes, and ownership transfer.
Related	Groups, Group Members, All Guides

Enable seven core group-management features in your Android app using CometChat UIKit v5:

• Create Group
• Join Group
• View Members
• Add Member
• Ban Member
• Change Member Scope
• Transfer Ownership

These moderation tools transform a static chat into a dynamic, manageable experience, all accessible via a clean UI.

Overview

A user can create or join a group, then open a dialog to:

• View current members.
• Add or ban participants.
• Change member roles (e.g., member, moderator).
• Delegate group ownership.

Typically, a FloatingActionButton (FAB) or menu item launches the group-management dialog, which uses CometChat Core SDK calls under the hood.

Prerequisites

• Android Studio project with cometchat/cometchat-uikit-android and cometchat/chat-sdk-android in build.gradle.
• Internet permission in AndroidManifest.xml.
• Valid CometChat App ID, Region, and Auth Key configured via UIKitSettings.
• User logged in with CometChatUIKit.login().
• A MessagesActivity (or ConversationActivity) and an optional GroupDetailsActivity in your flow.

Components

Component / Class	Role
FloatingActionButton	Triggers the group-management options dialog.
GroupMembersRequest	Fetches current group members.
UsersRequest	Fetches all app users for the “Add Member” list.
CometChat.createGroup(...)	Creates a new public or private group.
CometChat.joinGroup(...)	Joins an existing group by GUID.
CometChat.addMembersToGroup(...)	Adds selected users to the group.
CometChat.banGroupMember(...)	Bans a member from the group.
CometChat.updateGroupMemberScope(...)	Changes a member’s role (scope).
CometChat.transferGroupOwnership(...)	Delegates group ownership to another member.

Integration Steps

1. Layout/UI Setup

Add a FAB to launch the group-management dialog.

<!-- activity_message.xml -->
<com.google.android.material.floatingactionbutton.FloatingActionButton
  android:id="@+id/fab_group_actions"
  android:layout_width="wrap_content"
  android:layout_height="wrap_content"
  android:layout_gravity="end|bottom"
  android:src="@drawable/ic_group_actions" />

File reference:
activity_messages.xml

2. Wiring UI in Activity

Initialize UIKit views and respond to FAB clicks.

Kotlin

MessagesActivity.kt

// In MessagesActivity.kt
val fab = findViewById<FloatingActionButton>(R.id.fab_group_actions)
fab.setOnClickListener { showGroupActionsDialog() }

private fun showGroupActionsDialog() {
    // Present options: Create, Join, View Members, etc.
}

Java

MessagesActivity.java

// In MessagesActivity.java
FloatingActionButton fab = findViewById(R.id.fab_group_actions);
fab.setOnClickListener(v -> showGroupActionsDialog());

private void showGroupActionsDialog() {
  // Present options: Create, Join, View Members, etc.
}

3. Create & Join Group

Allow users to create or join a group via Core SDK.

Kotlin

// Create Group
CometChat.createGroup(
    Group(groupGuid, groupName, CometChatConstants.GROUP_TYPE_PUBLIC, ""),
    object : CometChat.CallbackListener<Group>() {
        override fun onSuccess(group: Group) { /* handle success */ }
        override fun onError(e: CometChatException?) { /* handle error */ }
    }
)

// Join Group
CometChat.joinGroup(
    groupGuid,
    CometChatConstants.GROUP_TYPE_PUBLIC,
    "",
    object : CometChat.CallbackListener<Group>() {
        override fun onSuccess(group: Group) { /* handle success */ }
        override fun onError(e: CometChatException?) { /* handle error */ }
    }
)

Java

// Create Group
CometChat.createGroup(new Group(
  groupGuid,
  groupName,
  CometChatConstants.GROUP_TYPE_PUBLIC,
  "" // password if needed
), new CometChat.CallbackListener<Group>() {
  // handle success/error
});

// Join Group
CometChat.joinGroup(
  groupGuid,
  CometChatConstants.GROUP_TYPE_PUBLIC,
  "",
  new CometChat.CallbackListener<Group>() {
    // handle success/error
  }
);

4. View Group Members

Fetch and display the current member list.

Kotlin

val membersRequest = GroupMembersRequest.Builder(groupGuid).setLimit(50).build()
membersRequest.fetchNext(object : CometChat.CallbackListener<List<GroupMember>>() {
    override fun onSuccess(members: List<GroupMember>) {
        showMembersDialog(members)
    }
    override fun onError(e: CometChatException?) {}
})

Java

GroupMembersRequest membersRequest = new GroupMembersRequest.Builder(groupGuid).setLimit(50).build();
membersRequest.fetchNext(new CometChat.CallbackListener<List<GroupMember>>() {
  @Override
  public void onSuccess(List<GroupMember> members) {
    showMembersDialog(members);
  }
  @Override
  public void onError(CometChatException e) {}
});

5. Add Member

Select users not in the group and add them.

Kotlin

val usersRequest = UsersRequest.UsersRequestBuilder().setLimit(50).build()
usersRequest.fetchNext(object : CometChat.CallbackListener<List<User>>() {
    override fun onSuccess(allUsers: List<User>) {
        // filter out existing members, show selection dialog
    }
    override fun onError(e: CometChatException?) {}
})
// On selection:
CometChat.addMembersToGroup(
    groupGuid,
    selectedUids,
    CometChatConstants.SCOPE_PARTICIPANT,
    object : CometChat.CallbackListener<HashMap<String, String>>() {
        override fun onSuccess(result: HashMap<String, String>) { /* handle result */ }
        override fun onError(e: CometChatException?) { /* handle error */ }
    }
)

Java

UsersRequest usersRequest = new UsersRequest.UsersRequestBuilder().setLimit(50).build();
usersRequest.fetchNext(new CometChat.CallbackListener<List<User>>() {
  public void onSuccess(List<User> allUsers) {
    // filter out existing members, show selection dialog
  }
});
// On selection:
CometChat.addMembersToGroup(
  groupGuid,
  selectedUids,
  CometChatConstants.SCOPE_PARTICIPANT,
  new CometChat.CallbackListener<HashMap<String, String>>() {
    // handle result
  }
);

File reference:
GroupDetailsActivity.java

6. Ban Member, Change Scope & Transfer Ownership

Perform moderation actions on selected members.

Kotlin

// Ban Member
CometChat.banGroupMember(
    uid, groupGuid,
    object : CometChat.CallbackListener<String>() {
        override fun onSuccess(result: String) { /* handle success */ }
        override fun onError(e: CometChatException?) { /* handle error */ }
    }
)

// Change Scope
CometChat.updateGroupMemberScope(
    uid, groupGuid, CometChatConstants.SCOPE_MODERATOR,
    object : CometChat.CallbackListener<String>() {
        override fun onSuccess(result: String) { /* handle success */ }
        override fun onError(e: CometChatException?) { /* handle error */ }
    }
)

// Transfer Ownership
CometChat.transferGroupOwnership(
    uid, groupGuid,
    object : CometChat.CallbackListener<String>() {
        override fun onSuccess(result: String) { /* handle success */ }
        override fun onError(e: CometChatException?) { /* handle error */ }
    }
)

Java

// Ban Member
CometChat.banGroupMember(
  uid,
  groupGuid,
  new CometChat.CallbackListener<String>() { /*...*/ }
);

// Change Scope
CometChat.updateGroupMemberScope(
  uid,
  groupGuid,
  CometChatConstants.SCOPE_MODERATOR,
  new CometChat.CallbackListener<String>() { /*...*/ }
);

// Transfer Ownership
CometChat.transferGroupOwnership(
  uid,
  groupGuid,
  new CometChat.CallbackListener<String>() { /*...*/ }
);

Implementation Flow Summary

Step	Action
1	User taps FAB → showGroupActionsDialog()
2	Select operation (e.g., View Members)
3	Fetch data via GroupMembersRequest
4	Call Core SDK method for chosen operation
5	Show success or error feedback

Customization Options

• Use a BottomSheetDialog instead of a standard dialog.
• Implement multi-select for bulk actions (e.g., add multiple members).
• Replace default dialogs with custom RecyclerView lists.
• Control permissions: show options only to admins or owners.

Error Handling & Edge Cases

• Not in Group: Disable join option if user is already member.
• Permission Denied: Only show ban/transfer options to group admins.
• Empty Lists: Display an empty-state view if no members or users.
• Pagination: Implement fetchNext() in scroll listeners for large groups.

Feature Matrix

Feature	SDK Method	Selection Source
Create Group	CometChat.createGroup()	Dialog input
Join Group	CometChat.joinGroup()	Dialog input
View Members	GroupMembersRequest.fetchNext()	Group members list
Add Member	CometChat.addMembersToGroup()	App users list
Ban Member	CometChat.banGroupMember()	Group members list
Change Member Scope	CometChat.updateGroupMemberScope()	Group members list
Transfer Ownership	CometChat.transferGroupOwnership()	Group members list

Android Sample App (Java)

Explore this feature in the CometChat SampleApp: GitHub → SampleApp

Android Sample App (Kotlin)

Explore this feature in the CometChat SampleApp: GitHub → SampleApp