FiveMinutes Chat Client Types

This package provides TypeScript class definitions and helper types for interacting with the FiveMinutes Chat SignalR interface. It includes all necessary message contracts, enums, and data models required to perform a full authentication handshake and exchange chat messages.

Installation

npm install @fiveminutes-io/five-minute-chat-contracts

Features

• Strict Typing: Full TypeScript definitions for all Request (Client...) and Response (Server...) objects.
• Serialization Helpers: All classes include a pre-configured $type property (e.g., FiveMinutes.Model.Messages.Client.ClientChatMessage, Gateway.Contracts) to ensure correct polymorphic deserialization on the server.
• Enums: Strongly typed enums for EventType, Language, UserType, etc.

Usage

Connecting with SignalR

The library is designed to be used in conjunction with @microsoft/signalr. Because the backend uses a polymorphic message pattern, messages are sent as serialized JSON strings via a single hub method (GenericText) and received via a single event (Generic).

1. Setup Connection

import * as signalR from "@microsoft/signalr";
import { 
  ClientCredentialsResponse, 
  ClientUserInfoResponse,
  ServerWelcome,
  ServerCredentialsRequest,
  ServerUserInfoRequest 
} from "@fiveminutes-io/five-minute-chat-contracts";

// Initialize SignalR Connection
const connection = new signalR.HubConnectionBuilder()
    .withUrl("https://signalr.fiveminutes.cloud/signalr")
    .withAutomaticReconnect()
    .build();

2. Handle Incoming Messages

Incoming messages arrive on the "Generic" channel. You must inspect the $type property to determine how to cast and handle the message.

connection.on("Generic", async (message: any) => {
    const typeString = message.$type as string;
    const className = typeString.split(',')[0].split('.').pop();

    switch (className) {
        case "ServerCredentialsRequest":
            // Handle auth challenge
            const credentialsResponse = new ClientCredentialsResponse();
            credentialsResponse.ApplicationId = "YOUR_APP_ID";
            credentialsResponse.ApplicationSecret = "YOUR_SECRET";
            
            // Send response serialized as JSON
            await connection.invoke("GenericText", JSON.stringify(credentialsResponse));
            break;

        case "ServerUserInfoRequest":
            // Handle user info request
            const userResponse = new ClientUserInfoResponse();
            userResponse.UniqueUserId = crypto.randomUUID();
            userResponse.Username = "MyUsername";
            
            await connection.invoke("GenericText", JSON.stringify(userResponse));
            break;

        case "ServerWelcome":
            const welcomeMsg = message as ServerWelcome;
            console.log(`Login successful! Display ID: ${welcomeMsg.DisplayId}`);
            break;
            
        case "ServerChatMessage":
            console.log("New chat message:", message.Content);
            break;

        default:
            console.warn("Unknown message type:", className);
    }
});

3. Send Messages

To send messages (like chat messages or commands), create an instance of the class and send it via GenericText as a JSON string.

import { ClientChatMessage } from "@fiveminutes-io/five-minute-chat-contracts";

const chatMsg = new ClientChatMessage();
chatMsg.ChannelName = "Global";
chatMsg.Content = "Hello World!";

await connection.invoke("GenericText", JSON.stringify(chatMsg));

Build & Test

To build the package locally:

npm run build