cometchat-android-v5-testing

name	cometchat-android-v5-testing
description	Testing patterns for CometChat Android — JUnit + Mockito setup, mocking the SDK, Espresso UI tests, E2E with Maestro, and CI integration.
license	MIT
compatibility	Android 7.0+; Java 8+; Kotlin 1.8+; com.cometchat:chat-uikit-android:5.x; JUnit 4 (kit sample apps); Mockito/MockK
metadata	{"author":"CometChat","version":"3.0.0","tags":"cometchat android testing junit espresso maestro mockito ci"}

Ground truth: com.cometchat:chat-uikit-android:5.x (legacy/maintenance-only; +calls-sdk-android:5.x) — resolved AAR (javap) + ui-kit/android. Official docs: https://www.cometchat.com/docs/ui-kit/android/overview · Docs MCP: claude mcp add --transport http cometchat-docs https://www.cometchat.com/docs/mcp (or fetch the URL directly without MCP). Verify symbols against the installed package/source before relying on them.

Companion skills: cometchat-android-v5-core covers init/login patterns you're testing; cometchat-android-v5-components covers component APIs to assert against.

Purpose

This skill teaches how to write and run tests against a CometChat Android integration. Covers unit tests with JUnit + Mockito/MockK, UI tests with Espresso, E2E with Maestro, and CI integration.

---

Use this skill when

• "Add tests for my CometChat integration"
• "How do I mock CometChat in tests?"
• "Set up E2E testing"
• "CI pipeline for chat tests"

Do not use this skill when

• Setting up the integration → use cometchat-android-v5-core
• Diagnosing runtime issues → use cometchat-android-v5-troubleshooting

---

1. What to test vs what to skip

Worth testing:

• Custom components you wrote (custom bubbles, headers, empty states)
• Navigation logic triggered by CometChat events (push tap → deep-link)
• Init/login lifecycle (init before login, already-logged-in skip)
• Production auth token refresh logic
• User-ID mapping (your auth system → CometChat UID)

Skip:

• UIKit internals — that's CometChat's responsibility
• Realtime delivery (A sends, B receives) — requires real servers, flaky
• Presence/typing indicators — race-prone
• Snapshot tests of CometChat components — theme changes churn them

Golden rule: if the test fails because YOUR code changed, it's valuable. If it fails because the UIKit updated, it's churn.

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2. Toolchain

Layer	Tool	Why
Unit tests	JUnit 4 + Mockito / MockK	Standard Android unit testing
Component tests	Robolectric	Run Android component tests without emulator
UI tests	Espresso	Android's native UI testing framework
E2E	Maestro	Declarative YAML flows, fast, stable
CI	GitHub Actions / Bitrise	Automated test runs

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3. Mocking the CometChat SDK

Java (Mockito):

@RunWith(MockitoJUnitRunner.class)
public class ChatViewModelTest {
    @Test
    public void testLoginCallsInit() {
        try (MockedStatic<CometChatUIKit> mocked = mockStatic(CometChatUIKit.class)) {
            mocked.when(CometChatUIKit::getLoggedInUser).thenReturn(null);
            mocked.when(CometChatUIKit::isSDKInitialized).thenReturn(true);

            // Test your ViewModel or helper that calls login
            // Verify init was called before login
        }
    }
}

Kotlin (MockK):

@Test
fun `already logged in skips login`() {
    mockkStatic(CometChatUIKit::class)
    every { CometChatUIKit.getLoggedInUser() } returns mockk<User>()

    // Your code should skip login
    verify(exactly = 0) { CometChatUIKit.login(any(), any()) }

    unmockkAll()
}

---

4. Espresso UI tests

@RunWith(AndroidJUnit4.class)
public class MessagesActivityTest {
    @Rule
    public ActivityScenarioRule<MessagesActivity> rule =
        new ActivityScenarioRule<>(MessagesActivity.class);

    @Test
    public void messageListIsDisplayed() {
        onView(withId(R.id.messageList)).check(matches(isDisplayed()));
    }

    @Test
    public void composerIsDisplayed() {
        onView(withId(R.id.composer)).check(matches(isDisplayed()));
    }
}

---

5. E2E with Maestro

.maestro/chat-happy-path.yaml:

appId: com.yourapp.android
---
- launchApp
- tapOn: "Login"
- inputText: "cometchat-uid-1"
- tapOn: "Continue"
- assertVisible: "Chats"
- tapOn:
    id: "conversations"
    index: 0
- assertVisible: "Type a message"
- inputText: "Hello from Maestro"
- tapOn:
    id: "send_button"
- assertVisible: "Hello from Maestro"

Run: maestro test .maestro/chat-happy-path.yaml

---

6. CI integration

# .github/workflows/test.yml
name: test
on: [push, pull_request]
jobs:
  unit-tests:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-java@v4
        with:
          java-version: 17
          distribution: temurin
      - run: ./gradlew test

---

7. Common failure modes

Symptom	Cause	Fix
NoClassDefFoundError: CometChat	SDK not mocked	Add Mockito/MockK mock for static methods
Espresso test hangs	Async CometChat operation	Register IdlingResource
Tests pass locally, fail on CI	Emulator not booted	Pin emulator API level in CI
IllegalStateException: not initialized	init() not called in test setup	Mock isSDKInitialized() to return true

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Hard rules

• Mock the SDK in every unit test. Running real CometChat requires network + servers.
• Don't test UIKit internals. You're responsible for YOUR code.
• Skip realtime tests. They require real servers and produce flaky suites.
• Assert on view IDs and state, not pixels. Theme changes churn pixel assertions.
• E2E runs on emulator/device, not JUnit. Don't test real CometChat flow in unit tests.