Getting started: Chat with React Native

This guide will get you started with Ably Chat on a new React Native application.

It will take you through the following steps:

Creating a client and establishing a realtime connection to Ably
Creating a room and subscribing to its messages
Sending messages to the room and editing messages
Retrieving historical messages to provide context for new joiners
Setting up typing indicators to see which clients are typing
Use presence to display the online status of users in the room
Subscribing to and sending reactions
Disconnecting and resource cleanup

Prerequisites

Ably

Sign up for an Ably account
Create a new app and get your API key. You can use the root API key that is provided by default to get started.
Install the Ably CLI:

npm install -g @ably/cli

Run the following to log in to your Ably account and set the default app and API key:

ably login

ably apps switch
ably auth keys switch

Create a new project

Create a new React Native project using the React Native CLI. For detailed instructions, refer to the React Native documentation.

npx rn-new@latest my-chat-react-native-app --nativewind
cd my-chat-react-native-app

Install the Ably Chat SDK and its dependencies:

npm install @ably/chat ably

For iOS, install the native dependencies:

cd ios && pod install && cd ..

Step 1: Setting up the Ably and Chat client providers

The Ably Pub/Sub SDK and the Ably Chat SDK expose React hooks and context providers to make it easier to use them in your React Native components. The AblyProvider and ChatClientProvider should be used at the top level of your application, typically in App.tsx. These are required when working with the useChatConnection hook and ChatRoomProvider exposed by Ably Chat.

Replace the contents of your App.tsx file with the following code to set up the providers:

React

// App.tsx
import React from 'react';
import * as Ably from 'ably';
import { ChatClient, LogLevel } from '@ably/chat';
import { ChatClientProvider } from '@ably/chat/react';
import { AblyProvider } from 'ably/react';
import './global.css';

// Create your Ably Realtime client and ChatClient instances:
const realtimeClient = new Ably.Realtime({
  key: 'demokey:*****',
  clientId: 'my-first-client',
});

const chatClient = new ChatClient(realtimeClient, {
  logLevel: LogLevel.Info,
});

export default function App() {
  return (
    <AblyProvider client={realtimeClient}>
      <ChatClientProvider client={chatClient}>
      </ChatClientProvider>
    </AblyProvider>
  );
}

API key:

DEMO ONLY

Step 2: Connect to Ably

Clients establish a connection with Ably when they instantiate an SDK. This enables them to send and receive messages in realtime across channels. This hook must be nested within a ChatClientProvider.

Create a new file ChatApp.tsx and add the following functions with the imports needed for the chat functionality:

React

// ChatApp.tsx
import React, {useCallback, useEffect, useState} from 'react';
import {
  SafeAreaView,
  ScrollView,
  Text,
  TextInput,
  TouchableOpacity,
  View,
  StyleSheet,
  KeyboardAvoidingView,
  Platform,
  Alert,
  Modal
} from 'react-native';
import {
  ChatRoomProvider,
  useChatConnection,
  useMessages,
  usePresence,
  usePresenceListener,
  useRoom,
  useRoomReactions,
  useTyping,
} from '@ably/chat/react';
import {
  ChatMessageEvent,
  Message,
  ChatMessageEventType,
  RoomReaction,
} from '@ably/chat';

// This component will display the current connection status
function ConnectionStatus() {
  const {currentStatus} = useChatConnection();
  return (
    <View className="p-4 h-full bg-gray-100">
      <Text className="text-lg font-semibold text-blue-500">Ably Chat Connection</Text>
      <Text className="mt-2">Connection: {currentStatus}!</Text>
    </View>
  );
}

function ChatApp() {
  return (
    <KeyboardAvoidingView
      className="flex-1"
      behavior={Platform.OS === 'ios' ? 'padding' : 'height'}
      keyboardVerticalOffset={0}>
      <SafeAreaView className="flex-1 pt-10">
        <View className="flex-1 w-full border border-blue-500 rounded-lg overflow-hidden">
          <View className="flex-row h-24">
            <View className="flex-1">
              <ConnectionStatus />
            </View>
            <View className="flex-1">
              {/* RoomStatus will be called here */}
            </View>
          </View>
          <View className="flex-1 flex-row">
            <View className="flex-1 bg-white">
              {/* ChatBox component will be called here */}
            </View>
          </View>
        </View>
      </SafeAreaView>
    </KeyboardAvoidingView>
  );
}

export default ChatApp;

In the App.tsx file, add the import for this new component:

React

import ChatApp from './ChatApp';

Update tailwind.config.js content to include your ChatApp following:

React

content: ['./App.{js,ts,tsx}', './ChatApp.{js,ts,tsx}', './components/**/*.{js,ts,tsx}'],

Now in your return() within the <ChatCLientProvider></ChatClientProvider> add your new ChatApp component:

React

  return (
    <AblyProvider client={realtimeClient}>
      <ChatClientProvider client={chatClient}>
        <ChatApp />
      </ChatClientProvider>
    </AblyProvider>
  );

Run your application by starting the development server and choose the method of running (Android, iPhone, Simulator):

npm run start

The application should now be running on either your device or simulator. You should see the connection status displayed with "Connection: connected!".

Step 3: Create a room

Now that you have a connection to Ably, you can create a room. Use rooms to separate and organize clients and messages into different topics, or 'chat rooms'. Rooms are the entry object into Chat, providing access to all of its features, such as messages, presence and reactions.

Ably Chat exposes the ChatRoomProvider to help you create and manage rooms. It must be nested under the ChatClientProvider described above.

This provider also gives you access to the room via the useRoom() hook, which you can be used to interact with the room and monitor its status.

In your project, open ChatApp.tsx, and add a new component called RoomStatus:

React

// ChatApp.tsx
// ...existing code...

function RoomStatus() {
  const [currentRoomStatus, setCurrentRoomStatus] = useState('');
  const {roomName} = useRoom({
    onStatusChange: (status) => {
      setCurrentRoomStatus(status.current);
    },
  });

  return (
    <View className="p-4 h-full bg-gray-100">
      <Text className="text-lg font-semibold text-blue-500">Room Status</Text>
      <Text className="mt-2">
        Status: {currentRoomStatus}
        {'\n'}
        Room: {roomName}
      </Text>
    </View>
  );
}

Update your ChatApp() component first by wrapping the contents of the return with a ChatRoomProvider, then find the line /* RoomStatus will be called here */ and replace it with <RoomStatus />.

React

function ChatApp() {
  return (
    <ChatRoomProvider name="my-first-room">
      <KeyboardAvoidingView
        className="flex-1"
        behavior={Platform.OS === 'ios' ? 'padding' : 'height'}
        keyboardVerticalOffset={0}>
        <SafeAreaView className="flex-1 pt-10">
          <View className="flex-1 w-full border border-blue-500 rounded-lg overflow-hidden">
            <View className="flex-row h-24">
              <View className="flex-1">
                <ConnectionStatus />
              </View>
              <View className="flex-1">
                {/* Added RoomStatus component */}
                <RoomStatus />
              </View>
            </View>
            <View className="flex-1 flex-row">
              <View className="flex-1 bg-white">
                {/* ChatBox component will be called here */}
              </View>
            </View>

          </View>
        </SafeAreaView>
      </KeyboardAvoidingView>
    </ChatRoomProvider>
  );
}
// ...existing code...

The above code creates a room with the name my-first-room and sets up a listener to monitor the room status. It also displays the room name and current status in the UI.

Step 4: Send a message

Messages are how your clients interact with one another and Ably Chat exposes a useMessages() hook to interact with the messages feature of the Chat SDK. After the room provider is set up, you can use the useMessages() hook to send and receive messages in the room.

In ChatApp.tsx, add a ChatBox component which will allow users to send and receive messages:

React

// ChatApp.tsx
// ...existing code...

function ChatBox() {
  const [inputValue, setInputValue] = useState('');
  const [messages, setMessages] = useState<Message[]>([]);

  const {sendMessage} = useMessages({
    listener: (event: ChatMessageEvent) => {
      const message = event.message;
      switch (event.type) {
        case ChatMessageEventType.Created: {
          setMessages((prevMessages) => [...prevMessages, message]);
          break;
        }
        default: {
          console.error('Unhandled event', event);
        }
      }
    },
  });

  const handleSend = () => {
    if (!inputValue.trim()) return;
    sendMessage({text: inputValue.trim()}).catch((err) =>
      console.error('Error sending message', err),
    );
    setInputValue('');
  };

  return (
    <View className="flex-1">
      <ScrollView className="flex-1 p-4">
        {messages.map((msg: Message) => {
          const isMine = msg.clientId === 'my-first-client';
          return (
            <View
              key={msg.serial}
              className={`max-w-[60%] rounded-2xl px-3 py-2 shadow-sm mb-2 ${
                isMine ? 'bg-green-200 text-gray-800 self-end rounded-br-none' : 'bg-blue-50 text-gray-800 self-start rounded-bl-none'
              }`}>
              <Text>{msg.text}</Text>
            </View>
          );
        })}
      </ScrollView>
      <View className="flex flex-row items-center px-2 py-2 bg-white border-t border-gray-200">
        <TextInput
          className="flex-1 p-2 border border-gray-400 rounded outline-none bg-white"
          placeholder="Type your message..."
          value={inputValue}
          onChangeText={setInputValue}
          onSubmitEditing={handleSend}
        />
        <TouchableOpacity
          className="bg-blue-500 text-white px-4 ml-2 h-10 flex items-center justify-center rounded"
          onPress={handleSend}>
          <Text className="text-white font-semibold">Send</Text>
        </TouchableOpacity>
      </View>
    </View>
  );
}

Add ChatBox component to your ChatApp component:

React

// Update ChatApp to include ChatBox
function ChatApp() {
  return (
    <ChatRoomProvider name="my-first-room">
      <KeyboardAvoidingView
        className="flex-1"
        behavior={Platform.OS === 'ios' ? 'padding' : 'height'}
        keyboardVerticalOffset={0}>
        <SafeAreaView className="flex-1 pt-10">
          <View className="flex-1 w-full border border-blue-500 rounded-lg overflow-hidden">
            <View className="flex-row h-24">
              <View className="flex-1">
                <ConnectionStatus />
              </View>
              <View className="flex-1">
                <RoomStatus />
              </View>
            </View>
            <View className="flex-1 flex-row">
              <View className="flex-1 bg-white">
                {/* Added ChatBox component */}
                <ChatBox />
              </View>
            </View>
          </View>
        </SafeAreaView>
      </KeyboardAvoidingView>
    </ChatRoomProvider>
  );
}

The UI will automatically render the new component, and you will be able to send messages to the room.

Type a message in the input box and click the send button. You'll see the message appear in the chat box.

You can also use the Ably CLI to send a message to the room from another environment:

  ably rooms messages send my-first-room 'Hello from CLI!'

You'll see the message in your app's chat box UI. If you have sent a message via CLI, it should appear in a different color to the one you sent from the app.

Step 5: Edit a message

If your client makes a typo, or needs to update their original message then they can edit it. To do this, you can extend the functionality of the ChatBox component to allow updating of messages. The useMessages() hook exposes the updateMessage() method of the Chat SDK messages feature.

Expose the updateMessage() method from the useMessages() hook and then add a method to the ChatBox component to handle the edit action like so:

React

// ChatApp.tsx - Update ChatBox component
function ChatBox() {
  // ...existing code...
  const [editModalVisible, setEditModalVisible] = useState(false);
  const [editingMessage, setEditingMessage] = useState<Message | null>(null);
  const [editText, setEditText] = useState('');

  const onUpdateMessage = useCallback(
    (message: Message) => {
      setEditingMessage(message);
      setEditText(message.text);
      setEditModalVisible(true);
    },
    [],
  );

  const handleUpdate = useCallback(async () => {
    if (!editingMessage || !editText.trim()) {
      console.log('Early return - missing data');
      return;
    }

    updateMessage(editingMessage.serial, {text: editText.trim()}, {description: "Message update by user"})
      .then((updatedMsg: Message) => {
        console.log('Message updated:', updatedMsg);
        setEditModalVisible(false);
        setEditingMessage(null);
        setEditText('');
      })
      .catch((error) => {
        console.warn('Failed to update message', error);
        // Still close the modal even if update fails
        setEditModalVisible(false);
        setEditingMessage(null);
        setEditText('');
      });

      console.log('Update function completed');
  }, [editingMessage, editText, updateMessage]);

  const handleChange = (newValue: string) => {
    setInputValue(newValue);
  };

Update the rendering of messages in ChatBox to enable the update action in the UI:

React

  return (
    <View className="flex-1 flex-col">
      <View className="flex-1 flex-row">
        <View className="w-1/3 border-r border-blue-500">
          {/* Add PresenceStatus component here */}
        </View>
        <ScrollView className="flex-1 p-4">
          {messages.map((msg: Message) => {
            const isMine = msg.clientId === 'my-first-client';
            return (
              <TouchableOpacity
                key={msg.serial}
                className={`flex ${isMine ? 'justify-end' : 'justify-start'} mb-2`}
                onPress={() => onUpdateMessage(msg)}>
                <View
                  className={`max-w-[60%] rounded-2xl px-3 py-2 shadow-sm ${
                    isMine
                      ? 'bg-green-200 text-gray-800 rounded-br-none'
                      : 'bg-blue-50 text-gray-800 rounded-bl-none'
                  }`}>
                  <Text>{msg.text}</Text>
                </View>

              </TouchableOpacity>
            );
          })}
        </ScrollView>
      </View>
      <View className="bg-white border-t border-gray-200">
        {/* Row 1: Typing indicator */}
        {/* Add typing indicator functionality here */}

        {/* Row 2: Reactions */}
        {/* Add Reactions component here */}

        {/* Row 3: Text input & send button */}
        <View className="flex flex-row items-center px-2 py-2">
          <TextInput
            className="flex-1 p-2 border border-gray-400 rounded outline-none bg-white"
            placeholder="Type your message..."
            value={inputValue}
            onChangeText={handleChange}
            onSubmitEditing={handleSend}
          />
          <TouchableOpacity
            className="bg-blue-500 text-white px-4 ml-2 h-10 flex items-center justify-center rounded"
            onPress={handleSend}>
            <Text className="text-white font-semibold">Send</Text>
          </TouchableOpacity>
        </View>
      </View>

      <Modal
        animationType="slide"
        transparent={true}
        visible={editModalVisible}
        onRequestClose={() => setEditModalVisible(false)}>
        <View className="flex-1 justify-center items-center bg-black/50">
          <View className="bg-white rounded-lg p-6 w-80">
            <Text className="text-lg font-semibold mb-4">Edit Message</Text>
            <TextInput
              className="border border-gray-400 rounded p-2 mb-4"
              value={editText}
              onChangeText={setEditText}
              placeholder="Enter new text..."
              multiline
            />
            <View className="flex-row justify-end">
              <TouchableOpacity
                className="px-4 py-2 mr-2"
                onPress={() => setEditModalVisible(false)}>
                <Text className="text-gray-600">Cancel</Text>
              </TouchableOpacity>
              <TouchableOpacity
                className="bg-blue-500 px-4 py-2 rounded"
                onPress={() => {
                  console.log('Update button pressed');
                  handleUpdate();
                }}>
                <Text className="text-white">Update</Text>
              </TouchableOpacity>
            </View>
          </View>
        </View>
      </Modal>
    </View>
  );

Update the listener provided to the useMessages() hook to handle the ChatMessageEventType.Updated event:

React

// ChatApp.tsx - Replace the useMessages hook with the following:
const {sendMessage, updateMessage} = useMessages({
  listener: (event: ChatMessageEvent) => {
    const message = event.message;
    switch (event.type) {
      case ChatMessageEventType.Created: {
        // Add the new message to the list
        setMessages((prevMessages) => [...prevMessages, event.message]);
        break;
      }
      case ChatMessageEventType.Updated: {
        setMessages((prevMessages) => {
          // Find the index of the message to update
          const index = prevMessages.findIndex((other) => message.isSameAs(other));

          // If the message is not found, return the previous messages
          if (index === -1) {
            return prevMessages;
          }

          // Apply the update to the original message
          const newMessage = prevMessages[index].with(event);

          // Create a new array with the updated message and return it
          const updatedArray = prevMessages.slice();
          updatedArray[index] = newMessage;
          return updatedArray;
        });
        break;
      }
      default: {
        console.error('Unhandled event', event);
      }
    }
  }
});

Now, when you click on a previously sent message in the UI, it will prompt you to enter new text. After entering the required change and submitting, it will send the updated message to the room, where the listener will receive it and update the UI accordingly.

Step 6: Message history and continuity

Ably Chat enables you to retrieve previously sent messages in a room. This is useful for providing conversational context when a user first joins a room, or when they subsequently rejoin it later on. The useMessages() hook exposes the historyBeforeSubscribe() method to enable this functionality. This method returns a paginated response, which can be queried further to retrieve the next set of messages. To do this, you need to expose historyBeforeSubscribe() on the hook, and extend the ChatBox component to include a method to retrieve the last 10 messages when the component mounts.

In your ChatApp.tsx file, add the following useEffect to your ChatBox component:

React

// ChatApp.tsx - Add to ChatBox component
function ChatBox() {
  // ...existing code...

  const {sendMessage, updateMessage, historyBeforeSubscribe} = useMessages({
    // ...existing code...
  });

  useEffect(() => {
    async function loadHistory() {
      try {
        if (!historyBeforeSubscribe) return;
        const history = await historyBeforeSubscribe({limit: 10});
        setMessages(history.items);
      } catch (error) {
        console.error('Error loading message history:', error);
      }
    }
    loadHistory();
  }, [historyBeforeSubscribe]);

  // ...existing code...
}

The above code will retrieve the last 10 messages when the component mounts, and set them in the state.

Try the following to test this feature:

Use the Ably CLI to simulate sending some messages to the room from another client such as ably rooms messages send --count 10 my-first-room 'Message number {{.Count}}'
Refresh the app, this will cause the ChatBox component to mount again and call the historyBeforeSubscribe() method.
You'll see the last 10 messages appear in the chat box.

Step 7: Show who is typing a message

Typing indicators enable you to display messages to clients when someone is currently typing. An event is emitted when someone starts typing, when they press a keystroke, and then another event is emitted after a configurable amount of time has passed without a key press.

The Chat SDK exposes the useTyping() hook to enable this feature. The currentlyTyping array from the hook tells you which clients are currently typing, allowing you to render them in the UI. The hook also exposes keystroke() and stop() methods to start and stop typing.

In your ChatApp.tsx file, update the existing ChatBox component. It should include the typing indicator hook, a function to handle text input and a modification to the existing handleSend method so typing stops on message send:

React

// ChatApp.tsx - Update ChatBox component
function ChatBox() {
  {/* ...existing code... */}

  const {currentlyTyping, keystroke, stop} = useTyping();

  const handleSend = () => {
    {/* ...existing code... */}
    stop().catch((err) => console.error('Error stopping typing', err));
  };

  const handleChange = (newValue: string) => {
    setInputValue(newValue);
    if (newValue.trim().length > 0) {
      keystroke().catch((err) =>
        console.error('Error starting typing', err),
      );
    } else {
      stop().catch((err) => console.error('Error stopping typing', err));
    }
  };
}

To render the typing indicator, update the {/* Row 1: Typing indicator */} part of ChatBox rendering section like so:

React

  return (
    <View className="flex-1 flex-col">
      <View className="flex-1 flex-row">
      {/* ...Existing code... */}
      </View>
      <View className="bg-white border-t border-gray-200">
        {/* Row 1: Typing indicator */}
        {/* Add typing indicator functionality here */}
        {currentlyTyping.size > 0 && (
          <View className="px-4 py-2 border-b border-gray-100">
            <Text className="text-sm text-gray-700">
              {Array.from(currentlyTyping).join(', ')}
              {' '}
              {currentlyTyping.size > 1 ? 'are' : 'is'} typing...
            </Text>
          </View>
        )}
      {/* ...Existing code... */}
    </View>
  );

When you start typing in the input box, your client will be indicated as typing, and if you clear all text, the indicator will stop. Other connected clients can also be displayed in the list if they're typing, you can use the Ably CLI to simulate typing from another client by running the following command:

  ably rooms typing keystroke my-first-room --client-id "my-cli"

Step 8: Display who is present in the room

Display the online status of clients using the presence feature. This enables clients to be aware of one another if they are present in the same room. You can then show clients who else is online, provide a custom status update for each, and notify the room when someone enters it, or leaves it, such as by going offline.

The Chat SDK exposes both the usePresence() and usePresenceListener() hooks to interact with the presence feature. The usePresence() hook allows you to enter the room and update your presence status, while the usePresenceListener() hook allows you to subscribe to presence updates for the room. The usePresenceListener() hook also returns an object with the presenceData array, which contains the current presence data for the room.

In your ChatApp.tsx file, create a new component called PresenceStatus like so:

React

// ChatApp.tsx
function PresenceStatus() {
  usePresence();
  const {presenceData} = usePresenceListener();

  return (
    <View className="flex flex-col bg-white w-full h-full px-4 py-2">
      <Text className="text-green-700 font-semibold text-center border-b border-gray-900">
        Online: {presenceData.length}
      </Text>
      <ScrollView className="flex-1 flex-col">
        {presenceData.map((member, idx) => (
          <View key={idx} className="flex flex-row items-center gap-1 my-2">
            <View className="w-2 h-2 rounded-full bg-green-500" />
            <Text className="text-gray-800">{member.clientId}</Text>
          </View>
        ))}
      </ScrollView>
    </View>
  );
}

Add the PresenceStatus component to the ChatBox component:

React

// Update ChatBox to include presence
function ChatBox() {
  return (
    <View className="flex-1 flex-col">
      <View className="flex-1 flex-row">
        <View className="w-1/3 border-r border-blue-500">
          {/* Adding PresenceStatus component */}
          <PresenceStatus />
        </View>
        <ScrollView className="flex-1 p-4">
        {/* ...existing code... */}
  );
}

You'll now see your current client ID in the list of present users.

You can also use the Ably CLI to enter the room from another client by running the following command:

  ably rooms presence enter my-first-room --client-id "my-cli"

Step 9: Send a reaction

Clients can send a reaction to a room to show their sentiment for what is happening, such as a point being scored in a sports game. Ably Chat provides a useReactions() hook to send and receive reactions in a room. These are short-lived (ephemeral) and are not stored in the room history.

In your ChatApp.tsx file, add a new component called ReactionComponent, like so:

React

// ChatApp.tsx
function ReactionComponent() {
  const reactions = ['👍', '❤️', '💥', '🚀', '👎', '💔'];
  const [roomReactions, setRoomReactions] = useState<RoomReaction[]>([]);
  const {sendRoomREaction} = useRoomReactions({
    listener: (reactionEvent) => {
      setRoomReactions((prev) => [...prev, reactionEvent.reaction]);
    },
  });

  return (
    <View>
      {/* Reactions buttons */}
      <View className="flex flex-row justify-evenly items-center px-4 py-2 border-t border-gray-300 bg-white">
        {reactions.map((reaction) => (
          <TouchableOpacity
            key={reaction}
            onPress={() =>
              sendRoomREaction({name: reaction}).catch((err) =>
                console.error('Error sending reaction', err),
              )
            }
            className="text-xl p-1 border border-blue-500 rounded">
            <Text className="text-blue-500">{reaction}</Text>
          </TouchableOpacity>
        ))}
      </View>

      {/* Received reactions */}
      <View className="flex flex-row gap-2 px-2 py-2 border-t border-gray-300">
        <Text>Received reactions:</Text>
        <ScrollView
          horizontal
          className="flex-1 flex-row"
          showsHorizontalScrollIndicator={false}>
          {roomReactions.map((r, idx) => (
            <Text
              key={idx}
              className="px-2 py-1 bg-white rounded text-blue-600">
              {r.name}
            </Text>
          ))}
        </ScrollView>
      </View>
    </View>
  );
}

Add the ReactionComponent component to the ChatBox component:

React

// Update ChatBox to include reactions
function ChatBox() {
  return (
    <View className="flex-1 flex-col">
      <View className="flex-1 flex-row">
        {/* ...Existing code... */}
      </View>
      <View className="bg-white border-t border-gray-200">
        {/* ...Existing code... */}
        {/* Row 2: Reactions */}
        <ReactionComponent />
      {/* ...Existing code... */
      </View>
    </View>
  );
}

The above code should display a list of reactions that can be sent to the room. When you click on a reaction, it will send it to the room and display it in the UI.

You can also send a reaction to the room via the Ably CLI by running the following command:

  ably rooms reactions send my-first-room 👍

Step 10: Disconnection and release

The disconnection and release section remains largely the same for React Native:

Automatic detachment on unmount

When a React Native component using the ChatRoomProvider unmounts, the room will automatically detach and clean up all associated resources.

Closing the realtime connection

To close the realtime connection in React Native:

React

// In your ChatProviders.tsx or where you manage the realtime client
const handleDisconnect = () => {
  realtimeClient.connection.close();
};

Next steps

Continue exploring Ably Chat with React Native:

Read more about the concepts covered in this guide:

Read more about using rooms and sending messages.
Find out more regarding presence.
Understand how to use typing indicators.
Send reactions to your rooms.
Read into pulling messages from history and providing context to new joiners.
Understand token authentication before going to production.

Explore the Ably CLI further, or check out the Chat JS API references for additional functionality.