cometchat-android-v6-push

Ground truth: features.android-v6.json (push-notifications) + the live notifications docs — /notifications/android-push-notifications is the manual (12 sections: Firebase+Dashboard prep, Gradle, manifest/services, application wiring, token registration, unregister, badge count, message/call pushes, payload customization, navigation). This skill is THIN and docs-first: it owns the ORDER and the traps; fetch the page for exact payloads/snippets (core → references/docs-map.md).

Companion skills (read first)

• cometchat-android-v6-core — install, credentials, initFromSettings → login, lifecycle. Assumed here, never repeated.
• cometchat-android-v6-calls — call pushes ride the same channel (ConnectionService path in the docs).

Use this skill when

"add push notifications", "set up FCM with CometChat", "pushes aren't arriving", "notification badge count", "open the right chat when a notification is tapped".

Feature check (the oracle first)

features.android-v6.json → push-notifications: gradle-package, needs_stitching: true, needs_dashboard: true. So it is never "just code": it needs (a) a Firebase project + google-services.json, (b) an FCM provider configured in the CometChat Dashboard (you get a Provider ID — you'll need it in code), and (c) client wiring. Tell the user all three up front; you cannot do (a)/(b) for them.

Enablement — the ordered path

1. Firebase + Dashboard — create/choose the Firebase project, add the Android app, download google-services.json into app/. In the CometChat Dashboard → Notifications, add the FCM provider (service-account credentials) and note the Provider ID.
2. Gradle — Google services plugin + com.google.firebase:firebase-messaging (via the Firebase BoM) alongside your kit + chat-sdk-android. Exact coordinates/versions: fetch the docs page (§2) rather than pinning from memory.
3. Manifest + service — the POST_NOTIFICATIONS runtime permission (Android 13+), your FirebaseMessagingService subclass registered in the manifest, and a notification channel. (docs §3, §5)
4. Register the token AFTER login succeeds — never before; the token binds to the logged-in user:

FirebaseMessaging.getInstance().token.addOnCompleteListener { task ->
    if (task.isSuccessful) {
        CometChatNotifications.registerPushToken(
            task.result,
            PushPlatforms.FCM_ANDROID,
            PROVIDER_ID,                       // from the Dashboard FCM provider
            object : CometChat.CallbackListener<String?>() {
                override fun onSuccess(uid: String?) { /* registered */ }
                override fun onError(e: CometChatException) { /* retry / surface */ }
            }
        )
    }
}

5. Re-register on token refresh — the same call inside your service's onNewToken(token). Without this, pushes stop silently after Firebase rotates the token.
6. Unregister on logout — BEFORE CometChatUIKit.logout():

CometChatNotifications.unregisterPushToken(object : CometChat.CallbackListener<String?>() {
    override fun onSuccess(s: String?) { /* then log out */ }
    override fun onError(e: CometChatException) { /* surface */ }
})

Skipping this leaks notifications to the previous user on a shared device. 7. Handle the payload — message pushes (§9), call pushes via ConnectionService (§10), custom text/parsing (§11), tap-to-open navigation (§12), badge count (§8, needs the Dashboard badge toggle + a badge library). Fetch these sections; don't invent payload keys.

Client token wiring — the rules that matter

• Registration is per logged-in user per device: register after every successful login, unregister before every logout, re-register on refresh.
• The Provider ID must match the Dashboard FCM provider — a wrong/blank ID registers fine and then delivers nothing.
• Handle onError — a failed registration is the single most common cause of "no notifications", and it fails quietly if you ignore it.
• Foreground behavior is yours: CometChat delivers the push; whether you show a notification while the chat is open is app logic.

Common pitfalls

Registering before login (token bound to nobody) · no onNewToken re-registration (pushes die after rotation) · no unregister on logout · wrong/omitted Provider ID · missing google-services.json or the Google-services plugin · missing POST_NOTIFICATIONS permission on Android 13+ · no notification channel (notification silently dropped) · testing on an emulator without Play services · assuming the Dashboard provider exists — ask.

Verify it works

Compile against the pinned kit (./gradlew :app:assembleDebug # in YOUR app (npm run verify:fences:android-v6 is a pack-repo gate)). Live delivery is a MANUAL device check — it cannot be auto-smoked (blocked-external; be honest about this): install on a real device with Play services, log in, confirm the registration callback hit onSuccess, background the app, send a message from another user → the notification arrives, and tapping it opens the right chat. Then log out and confirm notifications stop. Nothing arriving ⇒ check, in order: registration onError, Provider ID, Dashboard provider config, google-services.json, notification permission/channel.