Migration Guide - CometChat Docs

This guide covers migrating from Calls SDK v4 to v5 for Flutter.

Drop-in Compatibility

Calls SDK v5 is a drop-in replacement for v4. All v4 APIs are preserved as deprecated methods that internally delegate to the new v5 implementations. You can update the package version and your existing code will compile and run without changes.

dependencies:
  cometchat_calls_sdk: ^5.0.3

If you’re using CometChat UI Kits, simply updating the Calls SDK version is sufficient. The UI Kit will continue to work with v5 through the deprecated compatibility layer.

Why Migrate to v5 APIs?

While v4 APIs will continue to work, migrating to v5 APIs gives you:

Granular event listeners — 5 focused listener classes (SessionStatusListener, ParticipantEventListener, MediaEventsListener, ButtonClickListener, LayoutListener) instead of one monolithic CometChatCallsEventsListener
CallSession singleton for cleaner session control — all actions on a single instance instead of scattered static methods
Dedicated login() method — the Calls SDK now handles its own authentication instead of depending on the Chat SDK’s auth token or REST APIs
Strongly-typed enums — SessionType, LayoutType, AudioMode, CameraFacing instead of raw strings

Initialization

No changes required. The init() API is the same in v5.

CallAppSettings callAppSettings = (CallAppSettingBuilder()
  ..appId = "APP_ID"
  ..region = "REGION"
).build();

CometChatCalls.init(
  callAppSettings,
  onSuccess: (String message) {
    // Initialized
  },
  onError: (CometChatCallsException e) {
    // Handle error
  },
);

Authentication

In v4, the Calls SDK had no dedicated authentication step. It relied on the Chat SDK’s auth token (CometChat.getUserAuthToken()) or a REST API to obtain an auth token, which you then passed manually to generateToken(). v5 introduces its own login() method. After calling login(), the SDK caches the auth token internally, so you no longer need to pass it around to other API calls.

// No dedicated Calls SDK login — relied on Chat SDK for auth token
String authToken = CometChat.getUserAuthToken();

// Had to pass authToken manually
CometChatCalls.generateToken(sessionId, authToken,
  onSuccess: (GenerateToken token) {
    // Use token.token to start session
  },
  onError: (CometChatCallsException e) {},
);

// Login to the Calls SDK once (after your Chat SDK login)
CometChatCalls.loginWithAuthToken(
  authToken: authToken,
  onSuccess: (User user) {
    // Calls SDK is now authenticated — auth token is cached internally
  },
  onError: (CometChatCallsException e) {},
);

// generateToken no longer needs the authToken parameter
CometChatCalls.generateToken(
  sessionId: sessionId,
  onSuccess: (CallToken token) {
    // Use token
  },
  onError: (CometChatCallsException e) {},
);

Call CometChatCalls.loginWithAuthToken() once after your user authenticates (e.g., right after CometChat.login() succeeds). The SDK stores the auth token internally, so subsequent calls like generateToken() and joinSession() use it automatically without you having to pass it.

Session Settings

CallSettingsBuilder is replaced by SessionSettingsBuilder. The builder methods have been renamed for clarity and use strongly-typed enums.

CallSettings callSettings = (CallSettingsBuilder()
    ..isAudioOnly = true
    ..enableDefaultLayout = true
    ..showEndCallButton = true
    ..showMuteAudioButton = true
    ..showPauseVideoButton = true
    ..showSwitchCameraButton = true
    ..showRecordingButton = true
    ..startWithAudioMuted = false
    ..startWithVideoMuted = false
    ..defaultAudioMode = "SPEAKER"
    ..mode = "DEFAULT"
    ..startRecordingOnCallStart = false
    ..listener = myCallsEventsListener)
  .build();

SessionSettings sessionSettings = (SessionSettingsBuilder()
    ..setType(SessionType.audio)
    ..startAudioMuted(false)
    ..startVideoPaused(false)
    ..setLayout(LayoutType.tile)
    ..setAudioMode(AudioMode.speaker)
    ..hideLeaveSessionButton(false)
    ..hideToggleAudioButton(false)
    ..hideToggleVideoButton(false)
    ..hideSwitchCameraButton(false)
    ..hideRecordingButton(false)
    ..hideControlPanel(false)
    ..hideHeaderPanel(false)
    ..enableAutoStartRecording(false))
  .build();

Builder Method Mapping

v4 CallSettingsBuilder	v5 SessionSettingsBuilder	Notes
`isAudioOnly = true`	`setType(SessionType.audio)`	Use `SessionType.video` for video calls
`enableDefaultLayout = bool`	`hideControlPanel(!bool)` + `hideHeaderPanel(!bool)`	Inverted logic
`showEndCallButton = bool`	`hideLeaveSessionButton(!bool)`	Inverted logic
`showMuteAudioButton = bool`	`hideToggleAudioButton(!bool)`	Inverted logic
`showPauseVideoButton = bool`	`hideToggleVideoButton(!bool)`	Inverted logic
`showSwitchCameraButton = bool`	`hideSwitchCameraButton(!bool)`	Inverted logic
`showRecordingButton = bool`	`hideRecordingButton(!bool)`	Inverted logic
`showScreenSharingButton = bool`	`hideScreenSharingButton(!bool)`	Inverted logic
`showRaiseHandButton = bool`	`hideRaiseHandButton(!bool)`	Inverted logic
`showShareInviteButton = bool`	`hideShareInviteButton(!bool)`	Inverted logic
`showParticipantListButton = bool`	`hideParticipantListButton(!bool)`	Inverted logic
`showLayoutToggleButton = bool`	`hideChangeLayoutButton(!bool)`	Inverted logic
`startWithAudioMuted = bool`	`startAudioMuted(bool)`	Same logic
`startWithVideoMuted = bool`	`startVideoPaused(bool)`	Same logic
`defaultAudioMode = "SPEAKER"`	`setAudioMode(AudioMode.speaker)`	Enum instead of string
`mode = "DEFAULT"`	`setLayout(LayoutType.tile)`	Enum instead of string
`defaultCameraFacing = "FRONT"`	`setInitialCameraFacing(CameraFacing.front)`	Enum instead of string
`startRecordingOnCallStart = bool`	`enableAutoStartRecording(bool)`	Same logic
`lowBandwidthMode = bool`	`enableLowBandwidthMode(bool)`	Same logic
`idleTimeoutPeriod = int`	`setIdleTimeoutPeriod(int)`	Same logic
`listener = listener`	Use `CallSession` listeners	See Events section

Joining a Session

startSession() is replaced by joinSession(), which returns a Widget? that you place in your Flutter widget tree.

// Step 1: Generate token with auth token
CometChatCalls.generateToken(sessionId, authToken,
  onSuccess: (GenerateToken token) {
    // Step 2: Start session with token string
    CometChatCalls.startSession(token.token ?? "", callSettings,
      onSuccess: (Widget? callWidget) {
        // Place callWidget in your widget tree
      },
      onError: (CometChatCallsException e) {},
    );
  },
  onError: (CometChatCallsException e) {},
);

// Option A: Two-step with token
CometChatCalls.generateToken(
  sessionId: sessionId,
  onSuccess: (CallToken token) {
    CometChatCalls.joinSession(
      callToken: token,
      sessionSettings: sessionSettings,
      onSuccess: (Widget? callWidget) {
        // Place callWidget in your widget tree
      },
      onError: (CometChatCallsException e) {},
    );
  },
  onError: (CometChatCallsException e) {},
);

// Option B: One-step with session ID (recommended)
CometChatCalls.joinSession(
  sessionId: sessionId,
  sessionSettings: sessionSettings,
  onSuccess: (Widget? callWidget) {
    // Token generation + join handled internally
  },
  onError: (CometChatCallsException e) {},
);

Key differences:

v5 generateToken() no longer requires the authToken parameter (uses cached token from login())
v5 joinSession() accepts a CallToken object or a sessionId string directly
v5 offers a convenience overload that takes sessionId directly and handles token generation internally

Session Control (Actions)

In v4, session actions were static methods on CometChatCalls. In v5, they’re instance methods on CallSession.

CometChatCalls.endSession(
  onSuccess: (String msg) {},
  onError: (CometChatCallsException e) {},
);
CometChatCalls.switchCamera();
CometChatCalls.muteAudio(true);
CometChatCalls.pauseVideo(true);
CometChatCalls.setAudioMode("SPEAKER");
CometChatCalls.enterPIPMode();
CometChatCalls.exitPIPMode();
CometChatCalls.startRecording();
CometChatCalls.stopRecording();

CallSession? callSession = CallSession.getInstance();

await callSession?.leaveSession();
await callSession?.switchCamera();
await callSession?.muteAudio();       // or callSession?.unMuteAudio()
await callSession?.pauseVideo();      // or callSession?.resumeVideo()
await callSession?.setAudioModeType(AudioMode.speaker);
await callSession?.enablePictureInPictureLayout();
await callSession?.disablePictureInPictureLayout();
await callSession?.startRecording();
await callSession?.stopRecording();

Action Method Mapping

v4 Static Method	v5 CallSession Method
`CometChatCalls.endSession(...)`	`callSession.leaveSession()`
`CometChatCalls.switchCamera()`	`callSession.switchCamera()`
`CometChatCalls.muteAudio(true)`	`callSession.muteAudio()`
`CometChatCalls.muteAudio(false)`	`callSession.unMuteAudio()`
`CometChatCalls.pauseVideo(true)`	`callSession.pauseVideo()`
`CometChatCalls.pauseVideo(false)`	`callSession.resumeVideo()`
`CometChatCalls.setAudioMode(mode)`	`callSession.setAudioModeType(AudioMode)`
`CometChatCalls.enterPIPMode()`	`callSession.enablePictureInPictureLayout()`
`CometChatCalls.exitPIPMode()`	`callSession.disablePictureInPictureLayout()`
`CometChatCalls.startRecording()`	`callSession.startRecording()`
`CometChatCalls.stopRecording()`	`callSession.stopRecording()`
`CometChatCalls.switchToVideoCall()`	Removed

Event Listeners

This is the biggest improvement in v5. The single CometChatCallsEventsListener mixin is replaced by 5 focused listener classes.

v4: Single Monolithic Listener

class MyCallController with CometChatCallsEventsListener {

  void setupCallEvents() {
    // Set via CallSettingsBuilder
    callSettingsBuilder..listener = this;
  }

  @override
  void onCallEnded() {}

  @override
  void onCallEndButtonPressed() {}

  @override
  void onSessionTimeout() {}

  @override
  void onUserJoined(RTCUser user) {}

  @override
  void onUserLeft(RTCUser user) {}

  @override
  void onUserListChanged(List<RTCUser> users) {}

  @override
  void onAudioModeChanged(List<AudioMode> devices) {}

  @override
  void onCallSwitchedToVideo(CallSwitchRequestInfo info) {}

  @override
  void onUserMuted(RTCMutedUser muteObj) {}

  @override
  void onRecordingToggled(RTCRecordingInfo info) {}

  @override
  void onError(CometChatCallsException e) {}
}

v5: Focused Listener Classes

CallSession? callSession = CallSession.getInstance();

// Session lifecycle events
final sessionStatusListener = SessionStatusListener(
  onSessionJoined: () {},
  onSessionLeft: () {},
  onSessionTimedOut: () {},
  onConnectionLost: () {},
  onConnectionRestored: () {},
  onConnectionClosed: () {},
);
callSession?.addSessionStatusListener(sessionStatusListener);

// Participant events (replaces onUserJoined, onUserLeft, onUserListChanged, onUserMuted)
final participantEventListener = ParticipantEventListener(
  onParticipantJoined: (Participant participant) {},
  onParticipantLeft: (Participant participant) {},
  onParticipantListChanged: (List<Participant> participants) {},
  onParticipantAudioMuted: (Participant participant) {},
  onParticipantAudioUnmuted: (Participant participant) {},
  onParticipantVideoPaused: (Participant participant) {},
  onParticipantVideoResumed: (Participant participant) {},
  onParticipantHandRaised: (Participant participant) {},
  onParticipantHandLowered: (Participant participant) {},
  onParticipantStartedRecording: (Participant participant) {},
  onParticipantStoppedRecording: (Participant participant) {},
  onDominantSpeakerChanged: (Participant participant) {},
);
callSession?.addParticipantEventListener(participantEventListener);

// Media state events (replaces onAudioModeChanged, onRecordingToggled)
final mediaEventsListener = MediaEventsListener(
  onAudioMuted: () {},
  onAudioUnMuted: () {},
  onVideoPaused: () {},
  onVideoResumed: () {},
  onRecordingStarted: () {},
  onRecordingStopped: () {},
  onAudioModeChanged: (AudioMode audioMode) {},
  onCameraFacingChanged: (CameraFacing facing) {},
);
callSession?.addMediaEventsListener(mediaEventsListener);

// Button click events (replaces onCallEndButtonPressed)
final buttonClickListener = ButtonClickListener(
  onLeaveSessionButtonClicked: () {},
  onToggleAudioButtonClicked: () {},
  onToggleVideoButtonClicked: () {},
  onSwitchCameraButtonClicked: () {},
  onRaiseHandButtonClicked: () {},
  onRecordingToggleButtonClicked: () {},
);
callSession?.addButtonClickListener(buttonClickListener);

// Layout events
final layoutListener = LayoutListener(
  onCallLayoutChanged: (LayoutType layoutType) {},
  onPictureInPictureLayoutEnabled: () {},
  onPictureInPictureLayoutDisabled: () {},
);
callSession?.addLayoutListener(layoutListener);

Flutter listeners are not lifecycle-aware. You must manually remove all listeners in your widget’s dispose() method to prevent memory leaks.

@override
void dispose() {
  CallSession.getInstance()?.removeSessionStatusListener(sessionStatusListener);
  CallSession.getInstance()?.removeParticipantEventListener(participantEventListener);
  CallSession.getInstance()?.removeMediaEventsListener(mediaEventsListener);
  CallSession.getInstance()?.removeButtonClickListener(buttonClickListener);
  CallSession.getInstance()?.removeLayoutListener(layoutListener);
  super.dispose();
}

Event Mapping

v4 Event	v5 Listener	v5 Event
`onCallEnded()`	`SessionStatusListener`	`onSessionLeft()`
`onCallEndButtonPressed()`	`ButtonClickListener`	`onLeaveSessionButtonClicked()`
`onSessionTimeout()`	`SessionStatusListener`	`onSessionTimedOut()`
`onUserJoined(RTCUser)`	`ParticipantEventListener`	`onParticipantJoined(Participant)`
`onUserLeft(RTCUser)`	`ParticipantEventListener`	`onParticipantLeft(Participant)`
`onUserListChanged(List<RTCUser>)`	`ParticipantEventListener`	`onParticipantListChanged(List<Participant>)`
`onAudioModeChanged(List<AudioMode>)`	`MediaEventsListener`	`onAudioModeChanged(AudioMode)`
`onCallSwitchedToVideo(CallSwitchRequestInfo)`	Removed	—
`onUserMuted(RTCMutedUser)`	`ParticipantEventListener`	`onParticipantAudioMuted(Participant)`
`onRecordingToggled(RTCRecordingInfo)`	`MediaEventsListener`	`onRecordingStarted()` / `onRecordingStopped()`
`onError(CometChatCallsException)`	—	Errors returned via `onError` callbacks

New Events in v5

These events are only available with the v5 listener APIs:

Listener	Event	Description
`SessionStatusListener`	`onConnectionLost()`	Network interrupted
`SessionStatusListener`	`onConnectionRestored()`	Network restored
`SessionStatusListener`	`onConnectionClosed()`	Connection permanently closed
`ParticipantEventListener`	`onParticipantVideoResumed()`	Participant turned camera on
`ParticipantEventListener`	`onParticipantVideoPaused()`	Participant turned camera off
`ParticipantEventListener`	`onParticipantHandRaised()`	Participant raised hand
`ParticipantEventListener`	`onParticipantHandLowered()`	Participant lowered hand
`ParticipantEventListener`	`onParticipantStartedScreenShare()`	Participant started screen share
`ParticipantEventListener`	`onParticipantStoppedScreenShare()`	Participant stopped screen share
`ParticipantEventListener`	`onDominantSpeakerChanged()`	Active speaker changed
`MediaEventsListener`	`onCameraFacingChanged()`	Camera switched front/back
`ButtonClickListener`	Various button events	Individual button click tracking
`LayoutListener`	`onCallLayoutChanged()`	Layout type changed
`LayoutListener`	`onPictureInPictureLayoutEnabled/Disabled()`	PiP state changed

Call Logs

The CallLogRequest API is unchanged. The only difference is that auth is now handled by CometChatCalls.login() instead of passing the auth token manually.

CallLogRequest callLogRequest = CallLogRequest.CallLogRequestBuilder()
    .setLimit(30)
    .build();

callLogRequest.fetchNext(
  onSuccess: (List<CallLog> callLogs) {
    for (CallLog callLog in callLogs) {
      debugPrint("Session: ${callLog.sessionID}");
    }
  },
  onError: (CometChatCallsException e) {
    debugPrint("Error: ${e.message}");
  },
);

Deprecated Classes Summary

These classes still exist in v5 for backward compatibility but are deprecated:

Deprecated Class	Replacement
`CallSettings`	`SessionSettings`
`CallSettingsBuilder`	`SessionSettingsBuilder`
`CometChatCallsEventsListener`	5 focused listeners on `CallSession`
`GenerateToken`	`CallToken`
`RTCUser`	`Participant`
`RTCMutedUser`	`ParticipantEventListener.onParticipantAudioMuted(Participant)`
`RTCRecordingInfo`	`MediaEventsListener.onRecordingStarted()` / `onRecordingStopped()`
`CallSwitchRequestInfo`	Removed (no replacement)
`CometChatCalls.startSession()`	`CometChatCalls.joinSession()`
`CometChatCalls.endSession()`	`CallSession.getInstance()?.leaveSession()`

​Drop-in Compatibility

​Why Migrate to v5 APIs?

​Initialization

​Authentication

​Session Settings

​Builder Method Mapping

​Joining a Session

​Session Control (Actions)

​Action Method Mapping

​Event Listeners

​v4: Single Monolithic Listener

​v5: Focused Listener Classes

​Event Mapping

​New Events in v5

​Call Logs

​Deprecated Classes Summary

Drop-in Compatibility

Why Migrate to v5 APIs?

Initialization

Authentication

Session Settings

Builder Method Mapping

Joining a Session

Session Control (Actions)

Action Method Mapping

Event Listeners

v4: Single Monolithic Listener

v5: Focused Listener Classes

Event Mapping

New Events in v5

Call Logs

Deprecated Classes Summary