Create a Group

Create public, private, or password-protected groups

Quick Reference for AI Agents & Developers

// Create a public group
const group = new CometChat.Group("guid", "Group Name", CometChat.GROUP_TYPE.PUBLIC);
const createdGroup = await CometChat.createGroup(group);

// Create a password-protected group
const group = new CometChat.Group("guid", "Name", CometChat.GROUP_TYPE.PASSWORD, "password");
await CometChat.createGroup(group);

// Create a private group (invite-only)
const group = new CometChat.Group("guid", "Name", CometChat.GROUP_TYPE.PRIVATE);
await CometChat.createGroup(group);

// Create group with initial members
const members = [
  new CometChat.GroupMember("user1", CometChat.GROUP_MEMBER_SCOPE.ADMIN),
  new CometChat.GroupMember("user2", CometChat.GROUP_MEMBER_SCOPE.PARTICIPANT)
];
await CometChat.createGroupWithMembers(group, members, []);

// Group types: PUBLIC | PASSWORD | PRIVATE
// Member scopes: ADMIN | MODERATOR | PARTICIPANT

Create groups to enable multi-user conversations. Groups can be public (anyone can join), password-protected, or private (invite-only).

Availability: SDK, API, UI Kits

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Group Types

Type	Description
PUBLIC	Anyone can join without approval
PASSWORD	Requires password to join
PRIVATE	Invite-only, not visible in group list

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Create a Group

Public Group

const GUID = "group-123";
const groupName = "Team Chat";
const groupType = CometChat.GROUP_TYPE.PUBLIC;

const group = new CometChat.Group(GUID, groupName, groupType);

CometChat.createGroup(group).then(
  (group) => console.log("Group created:", group),
  (error) => console.log("Failed:", error)
);

Password Group

const GUID = "group-123";
const groupName = "Private Team";
const groupType = CometChat.GROUP_TYPE.PASSWORD;
const password = "secret123";

const group = new CometChat.Group(GUID, groupName, groupType, password);

CometChat.createGroup(group).then(
  (group) => console.log("Group created:", group),
  (error) => console.log("Failed:", error)
);

Private Group

const GUID = "group-123";
const groupName = "Executive Team";
const groupType = CometChat.GROUP_TYPE.PRIVATE;

const group = new CometChat.Group(GUID, groupName, groupType);

CometChat.createGroup(group).then(
  (group) => console.log("Group created:", group),
  (error) => console.log("Failed:", error)
);

Async/Await

async function createGroup(guid, name, type, password = "") {
  const group = new CometChat.Group(guid, name, type, password);

  try {
    const createdGroup = await CometChat.createGroup(group);
    console.log("Group created:", createdGroup.getName());
    return createdGroup;
  } catch (error) {
    console.error("Failed to create group:", error);
    throw error;
  }
}

// Create a public group
await createGroup("team-123", "Team Chat", CometChat.GROUP_TYPE.PUBLIC);

// Create a password-protected group
await createGroup("vip-room", "VIP Room", CometChat.GROUP_TYPE.PASSWORD, "secret");

// Create a private group
await createGroup("exec-team", "Executive Team", CometChat.GROUP_TYPE.PRIVATE);

GUID Requirements: Alphanumeric characters, underscores, and hyphens only. No spaces, punctuation, or special characters.

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Create with Full Properties

const GUID = "group-123";
const groupName = "Engineering Team";
const groupType = CometChat.GROUP_TYPE.PUBLIC;
const password = "";
const icon = "https://example.com/group-icon.png";
const description = "Engineering team discussions";

const group = new CometChat.Group(
  GUID,
  groupName,
  groupType,
  password,
  icon,
  description
);

// Set additional properties
group.setMetadata({ department: "Engineering", project: "Alpha" });
group.setTags(["engineering", "development"]);

CometChat.createGroup(group).then(
  (group) => console.log("Group created:", group),
  (error) => console.log("Failed:", error)
);

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Create Group with Members

Create a group and add members in a single operation:

JavaScript

const GUID = "group-123";
const groupName = "Project Team";
const groupType = CometChat.GROUP_TYPE.PUBLIC;

const group = new CometChat.Group(GUID, groupName, groupType);

// Members to add
const members = [
  new CometChat.GroupMember("user1", CometChat.GROUP_MEMBER_SCOPE.ADMIN),
  new CometChat.GroupMember("user2", CometChat.GROUP_MEMBER_SCOPE.MODERATOR),
  new CometChat.GroupMember("user3", CometChat.GROUP_MEMBER_SCOPE.PARTICIPANT)
];

// Users to ban
const banMembers = ["user4", "user5"];

CometChat.createGroupWithMembers(group, members, banMembers).then(
  (response) => {
    console.log("Group:", response.group);
    console.log("Member results:", response.members);
    // { user1: "success", user2: "success", user3: "success" }
  },
  (error) => console.log("Failed:", error)
);

TypeScript

const GUID: string = "group-123";
const groupName: string = "Project Team";
const groupType: string = CometChat.GROUP_TYPE.PUBLIC;

const group: CometChat.Group = new CometChat.Group(GUID, groupName, groupType);

const members: CometChat.GroupMember[] = [
  new CometChat.GroupMember("user1", CometChat.GROUP_MEMBER_SCOPE.ADMIN),
  new CometChat.GroupMember("user2", CometChat.GROUP_MEMBER_SCOPE.PARTICIPANT)
];

const banMembers: string[] = ["user4"];

CometChat.createGroupWithMembers(group, members, banMembers).then(
  (response: Object) => {
    console.log("Group created:", response);
  },
  (error: CometChat.CometChatException) => console.log("Failed:", error)
);

Member Scopes

Scope	Description
ADMIN	Full control over group settings and members
MODERATOR	Can manage members but not group settings
PARTICIPANT	Regular member, can send/receive messages

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Group Properties Reference

Property	Editable	Description
guid	Create only	Unique identifier
name	Yes	Display name
type	No	PUBLIC, PASSWORD, or PRIVATE
password	No	Password for PASSWORD type groups
icon	Yes	URL to group icon
description	Yes	Group description
owner	Yes	UID of group owner
metadata	Yes	Custom JSON data
createdAt	No	Creation timestamp
updatedAt	No	Last update timestamp
hasJoined	No	If logged-in user is a member
joinedAt	No	When user joined
scope	Yes	User’s scope in group
membersCount	No	Number of members
tags	Yes	Tags for categorization

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Real-Time Group Events

Listen for group creation events:

const listenerID = "GROUP_LISTENER";

CometChat.addGroupListener(
  listenerID,
  new CometChat.GroupListener({
    onGroupMemberJoined: (message, joinedUser, joinedGroup) => {
      console.log("User joined:", joinedUser.getName());
    },
    onGroupMemberLeft: (message, leftUser, leftGroup) => {
      console.log("User left:", leftUser.getName());
    }
  })
);

// Remove listener when done
CometChat.removeGroupListener(listenerID);

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Best Practices

GUID Strategy

• Use meaningful GUIDs that relate to your app’s data model
• Consider prefixing GUIDs by type (e.g., “team-123”, “project-456”)
• Keep GUIDs consistent with your backend identifiers

Group Types

• Use PUBLIC for open communities
• Use PASSWORD for semi-private groups
• Use PRIVATE for invite-only groups (support teams, executive chats)

Initial Members

• Add the creator as ADMIN automatically
• Consider adding relevant users during creation to avoid multiple API calls

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Next Steps

Join Group

Join existing groups

Update Group

Modify group settings

Group Members

Manage group members

Retrieve Groups

Fetch group lists