react-native-gifted-chat
Advanced tools
The most complete chat UI for React Native & Web
| Requirement | Version |
|---|---|
| React Native | >= 0.70.0 |
| iOS | >= 13.4 |
| Android | API 21+ (Android 5.0) |
| Expo | SDK 50+ |
| TypeScript | >= 5.0 (optional) |
npx expo install react-native-gifted-chat react-native-reanimated react-native-gesture-handler react-native-safe-area-context react-native-keyboard-controller
Step 1: Install the packages
Using yarn:
yarn add react-native-gifted-chat react-native-reanimated react-native-gesture-handler react-native-safe-area-context react-native-keyboard-controller
Using npm:
npm install --save react-native-gifted-chat react-native-reanimated react-native-gesture-handler react-native-safe-area-context react-native-keyboard-controller
Step 2: Install iOS pods
npx pod-install
Step 3: Configure react-native-reanimated
Follow the react-native-reanimated installation guide to add the Babel plugin.
import React, { useState, useCallback, useEffect } from 'react'
import { GiftedChat } from 'react-native-gifted-chat'
import { useHeaderHeight } from '@react-navigation/elements'
export function Example() {
const [messages, setMessages] = useState([])
// keyboardVerticalOffset = distance from screen top to GiftedChat container
// useHeaderHeight() returns status bar + navigation header height
const headerHeight = useHeaderHeight()
useEffect(() => {
setMessages([
{
_id: 1,
text: 'Hello developer',
createdAt: new Date(),
user: {
_id: 2,
name: 'John Doe',
avatar: 'https://placeimg.com/140/140/any',
},
},
])
}, [])
const onSend = useCallback((messages = []) => {
setMessages(previousMessages =>
GiftedChat.append(previousMessages, messages),
)
}, [])
return (
<GiftedChat
messages={messages}
onSend={messages => onSend(messages)}
user={{
_id: 1,
}}
keyboardAvoidingViewProps={{ keyboardVerticalOffset: headerHeight }}
/>
)
}
💡 Tip: Check out more examples in the
exampledirectory including Slack-style messages, quick replies, and custom components.
Messages, system messages, and quick replies follow the structure defined in Models.ts.
interface IMessage {
_id: string | number
text: string
createdAt: Date | number
user: User
image?: string
video?: string
audio?: string
system?: boolean
sent?: boolean
received?: boolean
pending?: boolean
quickReplies?: QuickReplies
}
interface User {
_id: string | number
name?: string
avatar?: string | number | (() => React.ReactNode)
}
messages (Array) - Messages to displayuser (Object) - User sending the messages: { _id, name, avatar }onSend (Function) - Callback when sending a messagemessageIdGenerator (Function) - Generate an id for new messages. Defaults to a simple random string generator.locale (String) - Locale to localize the dates. You need first to import the locale you need (ie. require('dayjs/locale/de') or import 'dayjs/locale/fr')colorScheme ('light' | 'dark') - Force color scheme (light/dark mode). When set to 'light' or 'dark', it overrides the system color scheme. When undefined, it uses the system color scheme. Default is undefined.messagesContainerRef (FlatList ref) - Ref to the flatlisttextInputRef (TextInput ref) - Ref to the text inputkeyboardProviderProps (Object) - Props to be passed to the KeyboardProvider for keyboard handling. Default values:
statusBarTranslucent: true - Required on Android for correct keyboard height calculation when status bar is translucent (edge-to-edge mode)navigationBarTranslucent: true - Required on Android for correct keyboard height calculation when navigation bar is translucent (edge-to-edge mode)keyboardAvoidingViewProps (Object) - Props to be passed to the KeyboardAvoidingView. See keyboardVerticalOffset below for proper keyboard handling.isAlignedTop (Boolean) Controls whether or not the message bubbles appear at the top of the chat (Default is false - bubbles align to bottom)isInverted (Bool) - Reverses display order of messages; default is truekeyboardVerticalOffsetThe keyboardVerticalOffset tells the KeyboardAvoidingView where its container starts relative to the top of the screen. This is essential when GiftedChat is not positioned at the very top of the screen (e.g., when you have a navigation header).
Default value: insets.top (status bar height from useSafeAreaInsets()). This works correctly only when GiftedChat fills the entire screen without a navigation header. If you have a navigation header, you need to pass the correct offset via keyboardAvoidingViewProps.
What the value means: The offset equals the distance (in points) from the top of the screen to the top of your GiftedChat container. This typically includes:
useHeaderHeight() already includes status bar)How to use:
import { useHeaderHeight } from '@react-navigation/elements'
function ChatScreen() {
// useHeaderHeight() returns status bar + navigation header height on iOS
const headerHeight = useHeaderHeight()
return (
<GiftedChat
keyboardAvoidingViewProps={{ keyboardVerticalOffset: headerHeight }}
// ... other props
/>
)
}
Note:
useHeaderHeight()requires your chat component to be rendered inside a proper navigation screen (not conditional rendering). If it returns0, ensure your chat screen is a real navigation screen with a visible header.
Why this matters: Without the correct offset, the keyboard may overlap the input field or leave extra space. The KeyboardAvoidingView uses this value to calculate how much to shift the content when the keyboard appears.
text (String) - Input text; default is undefined, but if specified, it will override GiftedChat's internal state. Useful for managing text state outside of GiftedChat (e.g. with Redux). Don't forget to implement textInputProps.onChangeText to update the text state.initialText (String) - Initial text to display in the input fieldisSendButtonAlwaysVisible (Bool) - Always show send button in input text composer; default false, show only when text input is not emptyisTextOptional (Bool) - Allow sending messages without text (useful for media-only messages); default false. Use with isSendButtonAlwaysVisible for media attachments.minComposerHeight (Object) - Custom min-height of the composer.maxComposerHeight (Object) - Custom max height of the composer.minInputToolbarHeight (Integer) - Minimum height of the input toolbar; default is 44renderInputToolbar (Component | Function) - Custom message composer containerrenderComposer (Component | Function) - Custom text input message composerrenderSend (Component | Function) - Custom send button; you can pass children to the original Send component quite easily, for example, to use a custom icon (example)renderActions (Component | Function) - Custom action button on the left of the message composerrenderAccessory (Component | Function) - Custom second line of actions below the message composertextInputProps (Object) - props to be passed to the <TextInput>.onPressActionButton (Function) - Callback when the Action button is pressed (if set, the default actionSheet will not be used)actionSheet (Function) - Custom action sheet interface for showing action optionsactions (Array) - Custom action options for the input toolbar action button; array of objects with title (string) and action (function) propertiesactionSheetOptionTintColor (String) - Tint color for action sheet optionsmessagesContainerStyle (Object) - Custom style for the messages containerrenderMessage (Component | Function) - Custom message containerrenderLoading (Component | Function) - Render a loading view when initializingrenderChatEmpty (Component | Function) - Custom component to render in the ListView when messages are emptyrenderChatFooter (Component | Function) - Custom component to render below the MessagesContainer (separate from the ListView)listProps (Object) - Extra props to be passed to the messages <FlatList>. Supports all FlatList props including maintainVisibleContentPosition for keeping scroll position when new messages arrive (useful for AI chatbots).renderBubble (Component | Function(props: BubbleProps)) - Custom message bubble. Receives BubbleProps as parameter.renderMessageText (Component | Function) - Custom message textrenderMessageImage (Component | Function) - Custom message imagerenderMessageVideo (Component | Function) - Custom message videorenderMessageAudio (Component | Function) - Custom message audiorenderCustomView (Component | Function) - Custom view inside the bubbleisCustomViewBottom (Bool) - Determine whether renderCustomView is displayed before or after the text, image and video views; default is falseonPressMessage (Function(context, message)) - Callback when a message bubble is pressedonLongPressMessage (Function(context, message)) - Callback when a message bubble is long-pressed; you can use this to show action sheets (e.g., copy, delete, reply)imageProps (Object) - Extra props to be passed to the <Image> component created by the default renderMessageImageimageStyle (Object) - Custom style for message imagesvideoProps (Object) - Extra props to be passed to the video component created by the required renderMessageVideomessageTextProps (Object) - Extra props to be passed to the MessageText component. Useful for customizing link parsing behavior, text styles, and matchers. Supports the following props:
matchers - Custom matchers for linking message content (like URLs, phone numbers, hashtags, mentions)linkStyle - Custom style for linksemail - Enable/disable email parsing (default: true)phone - Enable/disable phone number parsing (default: true)url - Enable/disable URL parsing (default: true)hashtag - Enable/disable hashtag parsing (default: false)mention - Enable/disable mention parsing (default: false)hashtagUrl - Base URL for hashtags (e.g., 'https://x.com/hashtag')mentionUrl - Base URL for mentions (e.g., 'https://x.com')stripPrefix - Strip 'http://' or 'https://' from URL display (default: false)TextComponent - Custom Text component to use (e.g., from react-native-gesture-handler)Example:
<GiftedChat
messageTextProps={{
phone: false, // Disable default phone number linking
matchers: [
{
type: 'phone',
pattern: /\+?[1-9][0-9\-\(\) ]{7,}[0-9]/g,
getLinkUrl: (replacerArgs: ReplacerArgs): string => {
return replacerArgs[0].replace(/[\-\(\) ]/g, '')
},
getLinkText: (replacerArgs: ReplacerArgs): string => {
return replacerArgs[0]
},
style: styles.linkStyle,
onPress: (match: CustomMatch) => {
const url = match.getAnchorHref()
const options: {
title: string
action?: () => void
}[] = [
{ title: 'Copy', action: () => setStringAsync(url) },
{ title: 'Call', action: () => Linking.openURL(`tel:${url}`) },
{ title: 'Send SMS', action: () => Linking.openURL(`sms:${url}`) },
{ title: 'Cancel' },
]
showActionSheetWithOptions({
options: options.map(o => o.title),
cancelButtonIndex: options.length - 1,
}, (buttonIndex?: number) => {
if (buttonIndex === undefined)
return
const option = options[buttonIndex]
option.action?.()
})
},
},
],
linkStyle: { left: { color: 'blue' }, right: { color: 'lightblue' } },
}}
/>
See full example in LinksExample
renderAvatar (Component | Function) - Custom message avatar; set to null to not render any avatar for the messageisUserAvatarVisible (Bool) - Whether to render an avatar for the current user; default is false, only show avatars for other usersisAvatarVisibleForEveryMessage (Bool) - When false, avatars will only be displayed when a consecutive message is from the same user on the same day; default is falseonPressAvatar (Function(user)) - Callback when a message avatar is tappedonLongPressAvatar (Function(user)) - Callback when a message avatar is long-pressedisAvatarOnTop (Bool) - Render the message avatar at the top of consecutive messages, rather than the bottom; default is falseisUsernameVisible (Bool) - Indicate whether to show the user's username inside the message bubble; default is falserenderUsername (Component | Function) - Custom Username containertimeFormat (String) - Format to use for rendering times; default is 'LT' (see Day.js Format)dateFormat (String) - Format to use for rendering dates; default is 'D MMMM' (see Day.js Format)dateFormatCalendar (Object) - Format to use for rendering relative times; default is { sameDay: '[Today]' } (see Day.js Calendar)renderDay (Component | Function) - Custom day above a messagedayProps (Object) - Props to pass to the Day component:
containerStyle - Custom style for the day containerwrapperStyle - Custom style for the day wrappertextProps - Props to pass to the Text component (e.g., style, allowFontScaling, numberOfLines)renderTime (Component | Function) - Custom time inside a messagetimeTextStyle (Object) - Custom text style for time inside messages (supports left/right styles)isDayAnimationEnabled (Bool) - Enable animated day label that appears on scroll; default is truerenderSystemMessage (Component | Function) - Custom system messageloadEarlierMessagesProps (Object) - Props to pass to the LoadEarlierMessages component. The button is only visible when isAvailable is true. Supports the following props:
isAvailable - Controls button visibility (default: false)onPress - Callback when button is pressedisLoading - Display loading indicator (default: false)isInfiniteScrollEnabled - Enable infinite scroll up when reaching the top of messages container, automatically calls onPress (not yet supported for web)label - Override the default "Load earlier messages" textcontainerStyle - Custom style for the button containerwrapperStyle - Custom style for the button wrappertextStyle - Custom style for the button textactivityIndicatorStyle - Custom style for the loading indicatoractivityIndicatorColor - Color of the loading indicator (default: 'white')activityIndicatorSize - Size of the loading indicator (default: 'small')renderLoadEarlier (Component | Function) - Custom "Load earlier messages" buttonisTyping (Bool) - Typing Indicator state; default false. If you userenderFooter it will override this.renderTypingIndicator (Component | Function) - Custom typing indicator componenttypingIndicatorStyle (StyleProp) - Custom style for the TypingIndicator component.renderFooter (Component | Function) - Custom footer component on the ListView, e.g. 'User is typing...'; see CustomizedFeaturesExample.tsx for an example. Overrides default typing indicator that triggers when isTyping is true.See Quick Replies example in messages.ts
onQuickReply (Function) - Callback when sending a quick reply (to backend server)renderQuickReplies (Function) - Custom all quick reply viewquickReplyStyle (StyleProp) - Custom quick reply view stylequickReplyTextStyle (StyleProp) - Custom text style for quick reply buttonsquickReplyContainerStyle (StyleProp) - Custom container style for quick repliesrenderQuickReplySend (Function) - Custom quick reply send viewGifted Chat supports swipe-to-reply functionality out of the box. When enabled, users can swipe on a message to reply to it, displaying a reply preview in the input toolbar and the replied message above the new message bubble.
Note: This feature uses
ReanimatedSwipeablefromreact-native-gesture-handlerandreact-native-reanimatedfor smooth, performant animations.
<GiftedChat
messages={messages}
onSend={onSend}
user={{ _id: 1 }}
reply={{
swipe: {
isEnabled: true,
direction: 'left', // swipe left to reply
},
}}
/>
The reply prop accepts an object with the following structure:
interface ReplyProps<TMessage> {
// Swipe gesture configuration
swipe?: {
isEnabled?: boolean // Enable swipe-to-reply; default false
direction?: 'left' | 'right' // Swipe direction; default 'left'
onSwipe?: (message: TMessage) => void // Callback when swiped
renderAction?: ( // Custom swipe action component
progress: SharedValue<number>,
translation: SharedValue<number>,
position: 'left' | 'right'
) => React.ReactNode
actionContainerStyle?: StyleProp<ViewStyle>
}
// Reply preview styling (above input toolbar)
previewStyle?: {
containerStyle?: StyleProp<ViewStyle>
textStyle?: StyleProp<TextStyle>
imageStyle?: StyleProp<ImageStyle>
}
// In-bubble reply styling
messageStyle?: {
containerStyle?: StyleProp<ViewStyle>
containerStyleLeft?: StyleProp<ViewStyle>
containerStyleRight?: StyleProp<ViewStyle>
textStyle?: StyleProp<TextStyle>
textStyleLeft?: StyleProp<TextStyle>
textStyleRight?: StyleProp<TextStyle>
imageStyle?: StyleProp<ImageStyle>
}
// Callbacks and state
message?: ReplyMessage // Controlled reply state
onClear?: () => void // Called when reply cleared
onPress?: (message: TMessage) => void // Called when reply preview tapped
// Custom renderers
renderPreview?: (props: ReplyPreviewProps) => React.ReactNode
renderMessageReply?: (props: MessageReplyProps) => React.ReactNode
}
When a message has a reply, it includes a replyMessage property:
interface ReplyMessage {
_id: string | number
text: string
user: User
image?: string
audio?: string
}
const [replyMessage, setReplyMessage] = useState<ReplyMessage | null>(null)
<GiftedChat
messages={messages}
onSend={messages => {
const newMessages = messages.map(msg => ({
...msg,
replyMessage: replyMessage || undefined,
}))
setMessages(prev => GiftedChat.append(prev, newMessages))
setReplyMessage(null)
}}
user={{ _id: 1 }}
reply={{
swipe: {
isEnabled: true,
direction: 'right',
onSwipe: setReplyMessage,
},
message: replyMessage,
onClear: () => setReplyMessage(null),
onPress: (msg) => scrollToMessage(msg._id),
}}
/>
The reply preview automatically animates when:
These animations use react-native-reanimated for 60fps performance.
isScrollToBottomEnabled (Bool) - Enables the scroll to bottom Component (Default is false)scrollToBottomComponent (Function) - Custom Scroll To Bottom Component containerscrollToBottomOffset (Integer) - Custom Height Offset upon which to begin showing Scroll To Bottom Component (Default is 200)scrollToBottomStyle (Object) - Custom style for Scroll To Bottom wrapper (position, bottom, right, etc.)scrollToBottomContentStyle (Object) - Custom style for Scroll To Bottom content (size, background, shadow, etc.)For AI chat interfaces where long responses arrive and you don't want to disrupt the user's reading position, use maintainVisibleContentPosition via listProps:
// Basic usage - always maintain scroll position
<GiftedChat
listProps={{
maintainVisibleContentPosition: {
minIndexForVisible: 0,
},
}}
/>
// With auto-scroll threshold - auto-scroll if within 10 pixels of newest content
<GiftedChat
listProps={{
maintainVisibleContentPosition: {
minIndexForVisible: 0,
autoscrollToTopThreshold: 10,
},
}}
/>
// Conditionally enable based on scroll state (recommended for chatbots)
const [isScrolledUp, setIsScrolledUp] = useState(false)
<GiftedChat
listProps={{
onScroll: (event) => {
setIsScrolledUp(event.contentOffset.y > 50)
},
maintainVisibleContentPosition: isScrolledUp
? { minIndexForVisible: 0, autoscrollToTopThreshold: 10 }
: undefined,
}}
/>
If you are using Create React Native App / Expo, no Android specific installation steps are required. Otherwise, we recommend modifying your project configuration:
Make sure you have android:windowSoftInputMode="adjustResize" in your AndroidManifest.xml:
<activity
android:name=".MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:windowSoftInputMode="adjustResize"
android:configChanges="keyboard|keyboardHidden|orientation|screenSize">
For Expo, you can append KeyboardAvoidingView after GiftedChat (Android only):
<View style={{ flex: 1 }}>
<GiftedChat />
{Platform.OS === 'android' && <KeyboardAvoidingView behavior="padding" />}
</View>
yarn add -D react-app-rewiredconfig-overrides.js:module.exports = function override(config, env) {
config.module.rules.push({
test: /\.js$/,
exclude: /node_modules[/\\](?!react-native-gifted-chat)/,
use: {
loader: 'babel-loader',
options: {
babelrc: false,
configFile: false,
presets: [
['@babel/preset-env', { useBuiltIns: 'usage' }],
'@babel/preset-react',
],
plugins: ['@babel/plugin-proposal-class-properties'],
},
},
})
return config
}
Examples:
TEST_ID is exported as constants that can be used in your testing library of choice.
Gifted Chat uses onLayout to determine the height of the chat container. To trigger onLayout during your tests:
const WIDTH = 200
const HEIGHT = 2000
const loadingWrapper = getByTestId(TEST_ID.LOADING_WRAPPER)
fireEvent(loadingWrapper, 'layout', {
nativeEvent: {
layout: {
width: WIDTH,
height: HEIGHT,
},
},
})
The repository includes a comprehensive example app demonstrating all features:
# Clone and install
git clone https://github.com/FaridSafi/react-native-gifted-chat.git
cd react-native-gifted-chat/example
yarn install
# Run on iOS
npx expo run:ios
# Run on Android
npx expo run:android
# Run on Web
npx expo start --web
The example app showcases:
Make sure you have android:windowSoftInputMode="adjustResize" in your AndroidManifest.xml. See Android configuration above.
See this issue for examples.
See this issue for examples.
See this issue for examples.
See this issue for examples.
Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.
git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)yarn install)yarn test)yarn lint)yarn build)git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')git push origin feature/amazing-feature)# Install dependencies
yarn install
# Build the library
yarn build
# Run tests
yarn test
# Run linting
yarn lint
# Full validation
yarn prepublishOnly
Original Author: Farid Safi
Co-maintainer: Xavier Carpentier - Hire Xavier
Maintainer: Kesha Antonov
Please note that this project is maintained in free time. If you find it helpful, please consider becoming a sponsor.
Built with ❤️ by the React Native community
FAQs
The most complete chat UI for React Native
The npm package react-native-gifted-chat receives a total of 65,878 weekly downloads. As such, react-native-gifted-chat popularity was classified as popular.
We found that react-native-gifted-chat demonstrated a healthy version release cadence and project activity because the last version was released less than a year ago. It has 8 open source maintainers collaborating on the project.
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