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Author message:

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@livechat/livechat-visitor-sdk

---

weight: 10

Introduction

Chat Widget Visitor SDK allows you to perform a chat via LiveChat as a visitor using JavaScript.

You can use this to create your own chat widget.

Is it for me?

If you need to customize the LiveChat widget, using Chat Widget Visitor SDK is one of the options to do this.

Keep in mind, however, that interacting with this API requires significant development skills.

• If you only want to modify the look and feel of the chat widget, check our powerful yet easy to use chat widget configurator.

• If you want to integrate the chat widget with your application, you can use the the existing JS API.

However, if you need a fully custom solution and you feel brave, dive into Chat Widget Visitor SDK: we provide methods and callbacks for deep integration with the LiveChat environment.

About Chat Widget Visitor SDK

Chat Widget Visitor SDK is promise-based; all asynchronous methods return a promise. To get a promise fulfillment result, subscribe your handler to the promise's then method. Check out this article to learn more about promises.

Important! Some methods and callbacks are not implemented yet.

Tools

• React Chat UI Kit - set of React components to easily build nice-looking chat windows

Examples

• A sample chat widget implementation
• A sample chat widget implementation integrated with BotEngine, built with React Chat UI Kit
• A sample iOS React Native implementation

Resources

• Chat Widget Visitor SDK tutorial - blog post
• npm package

---

weight: 20

How to start

Install Visitor SDK

You can use Chat Widget Visitor SDK in two different ways:

Using npm

npm install --save @livechat/livechat-visitor-sdk

Now, you can import SDK in your code:

import * as LivechatVisitorSDK from "@livechat/livechat-visitor-sdk";

Using script tag - UMD module hosted on unpkg's CDN

<script src="https://unpkg.com/@livechat/livechat-visitor-sdk@0.36.0/dist/livechat-visitor-sdk.min.js"></script>

If you just want to look around and play with the SDK, check out our sample chat widget implementation

Use SDK

Now run the init function with configuration, replacing LICENSE_NUMBER with your LiveChat license number. The function will return the visitorSDK interface:

const visitorSDK = LivechatVisitorSDK.init({
  license: LICENSE_NUMBER,
})

With visitorSDK, you can attach callbacks or execute methods.

visitorSDK.on('new_message', newMessage => {
  console.log(newMessage)
})

visitorSDK
  .sendMessage({
    text: 'Hello',
    customId: 123423215,
  })
  .then(response => {
    console.log(response)
  })
  .catch(error => {
    console.log(error)
  })

---

weight: 30

Methods

init

Initializes the chat window.

import LivechatVisitorSDK from '@livechat/livechat-visitor-sdk'

const visitorSDK = LivechatVisitorSDK.init({
  license: 123,
  group: 0,
})

Parameters:

param	type	description
license	number	LiveChat license number
group	number	Group number (default: 0)

sendMessage

Sends a message.

visitorSDK
  .sendMessage({
    text: 'Hello',
    customId: '123423215',
  })
  .then(response => {
    console.log(response)
  })
  .catch(error => {
    console.log(error)
  })

Parameters:

param	type	description
text	string	Visitor message text
customId	string	Message custom id

Errors:

type	reason
connection	"Request failed"
missing argument	"Missing text or customId parameter"
state	"Chat is offline"

closeChat

Closes the chat.

visitorSDK
  .closeChat()
  .then(() => {
    console.log('Chat is closed')
  })
  .catch(error => {
    console.log(error)
  })

This method has no parameters.

Response:

param	type	description
success	boolean	Request's response status

Errors:

type	reason
"state"	There is no chat to close
"connection"	Request failed

sendFile

Enables file sharing through the chat window.

visitorSDK
  .sendFile({
    file: FileObject,
    customId: '123423215',
  })
  .then(response => {
    console.log(response.status)
  })
  .catch(error => {
    console.log(error)
  })

Parameters:

param	type	description
file	blob	File to upload
onProgress	function	Callback function. It will receive a progress value (a number between 0 and 1)

Errors:

type	reason
connection	"Request failed"
missing argument	"Missing file"
wrong argument	"Cannot upload a file over 10MB"

Response:

param	type	description
id	string	File id
timestamp	string	File timestamp
url	string	File URL address
contentType	string	File content type
size	number	File size in bytes
width	number	Image width (for image content types) - optional
height	number	Image height (for image content types) - optional

rateChat

Enables chat ratings.

visitorSDK
  .rateChat({
    rate: 'good',
    comment: 'Agent helped me a lot!',
  })
  .then(response => {
    console.log(response)
  })
  .catch(error => {
    console.log(error)
  })

Parameters:

param	type	description
rate	"good" \ "bad" \ "none"	Rate type
comment	string	Rate comment text (optional)

Response:

param	type	description
success	boolean	Request's response status

Errors:

type	reason
"missing argument"	Missing rate parameter
"wrong argument"	Rate argument should be equal "good", "bad" or "none"
"connection"	Request failed
"connection"	Rate Comment request failed

markMessageAsSeen

Marks a message as Seen.

Learn more about LiveChat delivery statuses here.

visitorSDK.markMessageAsSeen('123123123')

Parameters:

param	type	description
messageId	string	Id of message to be marked as seen

setSneakPeek

Enables sneak peeks to see what the visitor is typing in before they actually send the message.

visitorSDK.setSneakPeek({
  text: 'Hello, I woul',
})

Parameters:

param	type	description
text	string	Current message input text

Note: Sneak peek won't be sent every time you call a function. It will be throttled (i.e. sent not earlier than 300ms after the last sneak peek request).

forwardChatTranscript

Sends chat transcripts to the specified email address when the chat is ended.

visitorSDK
  .forwardChatTranscript({
    email: '[e-mail]',
  })
  .then(response => {
    console.log(response)
  })
  .catch(error => {
    console.log(error)
  })

Parameters:

param	type	description
email	string	Email that will automatically receive a transcript when a chat is finished

Response:

param	type	description
success	boolean	Request's response status

Errors:

type	reason
"state"	There is no chat to forward transcript
"missing argument"	Missing email parameter
"connection"	Request failed

getPostchatForm

Get post-chat survey form fields configured in chat window settings section in agent app.

visitorSDK
  .getPostchatForm()
  .then(data => {
    console.log('Post-Chat form data', data)
  })
  .catch(error => {
    console.log('error')
  })

This method has no parameters.

Response:

param	type	description
fields	formField[]	Array with form fields details - see field's description below

formField object description

param	type	description
type	"text" / "select" / "checkbox" / "radio" / "information"	Type of the field
required	boolean	Is field required?
name	string	field's name
label	string	Field's label
value	string	Optional - field's value
options	fieldOption[]	Array with fields options - only for fields of type: radio, checkbox, select, group_select. see option's description below

fieldOption object description

param	type	description
label	string	input's label
checked	boolean	input's checked flag
value	string	input's value

Errors:

type	reason
"connection"	Request failed
"state"	Post-chat survey is turned off

getPrechatForm

Get pre-chat survey form fields configured in chat window settings section in agent app.

visitorSDK
  .getPrechatForm()
  .then(data => {
    console.log('Pre-Chat form data', data)
  })
  .catch(error => {
    console.log('error')
  })

This method has no parameters.

Response:

param	type	description
fields	formField[]	Array with form fields details - see field's description below

formField object description

param	type	description
type	"name" / "text" / "email" / "select" / "checkbox" / "radio" / "group_select" / "information"	Type of the field
required	boolean	Is field required?
name	string	field's name
label	string	Field's label
value	string	Optional - field's value
options	fieldOption[]	Array with fields options - only for fields of type: radio, checkbox, select, group_select. see option's description below

fieldOption object description

param	type	description
label	string	input's label
checked	boolean	input's checked flag
value	string	input's value

Errors:

type	reason
"connection"	Request failed
"state"	Pre-chat survey is turned off

sendPrechatForm

Collects the pre-chat survey form information (it will be visible during the chat and in the archives). Pre-chat form should be rendered using fields fetched by getPrechatForm method.

const formAnswers = {
  '151913066848701614': 'Sidney Bechet', // "151913066848701614" is field's name, and "Sidney Bechet" is value provided by the visitor
  '151913066848701615': '[e-mail]',
  '15191306684870388': ['1', '2'], // Fields with "checkbox" type have multiple values.
}

visitorSDK
  .sendPrechatForm(formAnswers)
  .then(() => {
    console.log('Pre-chat sent')
  })
  .catch(error => {
    console.log('error')
  })

Parameters:

param	type	description
formAnswers	object	Pre-chat forms answers object - field.name: field.value

Response:

param	type	description
success	boolean	Request's response status

Errors:

type	reason	fields
connection	"Request failed"
state	"You can't send prechat when chat is running"
wrong arguments		fieldError[]

wrong arguments error object contains additional array "fields" with detailed validations errors.

fieldError object description

param	type	description
reason	string	Error reason, e.g. "Required field", "Wrong type"
description	boolean	Optional. Detailed error description, e.g. "Pease fill in required field"
field	string	Field's name

sendPostchatForm

Collects the post-chat form information (it will be visible in the archives).

const formAnswers = {
  '151913066848701614': 'Good support!', // "151913066848701614" is field's name, and "Good support!" is value provided by the visitor
  '15191306684870388': ['1', '2'], // Fields with "checkbox" type have multiple values.
}

visitorSDK
  .sendPostchatForm(formAnswers)
  .then(() => {
    console.log('Pre-chat sent')
  })
  .catch(error => {
    console.log('error')
  })

Parameters:

param	type	description
formAnswers	object	Post-chat forms answers object - field.name: field.value

Response:

param	type	description
success	boolean	Request's response status

Errors:

| type | reason | fields | | --------------- | -------------------------=-------------------- | ------------ | | connection | "Request failed" | | | state | "You can't send postchat when chat is running" | | | wrong arguments | | fieldError[] |

getVisitorData

Collects the visitor information.

const visitorData = visitorSDK.getVisitorData().then(visitorData => {
  console.log(visitorData)
})

Returned value:

param	type	description
name	string	Visitor's name
email	string	Visitor's email address
pageUrl	string	Visitor's currently visiting website URL
pageTitle	string	Visitor's currently visiting website title
customProperties	object	Visitor's additional data object (custom properties)

setVisitorData

Set the visitor information.

visitorSDK.setVisitorData({
  name: 'Wynton Marsalis',
  email: '[e-mail]',
  pageUrl: 'http://example.org/pricing',
  pageTitle: 'Pricing',
  customProperties: {
    login: 'wyntonmarsalis',
    customerId: '18260556127834',
  },
})

Parameters:

param	type	description
name	string	Visitor's name
email	string	Visitor's email address
pageUrl	string	Visitor's currently visiting website URL
pageTitle	string	Visitor's currently visiting website title
customProperties	object	Visitor's additional data object (custom properties)

Errors:

type	reason
missing argument	"Missing name, email, url or customProperties"
connection	"Request failed"

getTicketForm

Get ticket form fields configured in chat window settings section in agent app.

visitorSDK
  .getTicketForm()
  .then(data => {
    console.log('Ticket form data', data)
  })
  .catch(error => {
    console.log('error')
  })

This method has no parameters.

Response:

param	type	description
fields	formField[]	Array with form fields details - see field's description below

formField object description

param	type	description
type	"name" / "subject" / "email" / "header"	Type of the field
required	boolean	Is field required?
label	string	Field's label
value	string	Optional - field's value

sendTicketForm

Send ticket form filled in by visitor. Ticket form should be rendered using fields fetched by getTicketForm method.

visitorSDK
  .sendTicketForm({
    name: 'John',
    email: '[e-mail]',
    subject: 'App support',
    message: 'I have a problem with your app',
  })
  .then(() => {
    console.log('Ticket sent')
  })
  .catch(error => {
    console.log('error')
  })

Parameters

param	type	description
name	string	Vistior's name
email	string	Visitor's email address
subject	string	Ticket subject
message	string	Visitor's message

Response:

param	type	description
success	boolean	Request's response status

Errors:

type	reason
connection	"Request failed"
missing argument	"Missing email"
missing argument	"Missing message"

disconnect

Disconnect Visitor SDK. A visitor won't be tracked, and you won't be notified about agent's availability status. You will be automatically connected again after using sendMessage or setVisitorData methods.

visitorSDK.disconnect()

Errors:

type	reason
state	"You can't disconnect during the chat"

destroy

Disconnect Visitor SDK and unsubscribe from all callbacks.

visitorSDK.destroy()

getTranslations

Get translations for current group.

visitorSDK.getTranslations().then(translations => {
  console.log('Translations', translations)
})

Errors:

type	reason
connection	"Request failed"

getPredictedAgent

Get agent details without starting a chat

Response:

param	type	description
name	string	Agent's name
id	string	Agent's ID
avatarUrl	string	Agent's avatar - path to the image on Amazon s3
jobTitle	string	Agent's job title

Errors:

type	reason
connection	"Request failed"

getConfig

Get chat widget configuration

Response:

param	type	description
visitorData	object	Visitor's data
features	object	Feature toggles and settings
buttons	array	Buttons configuration
theme	object	Theme settings
domainWhitelist	array	Whitelisted domains
widgetType	"embedded" / "popup"	Chat widget type
integrations	object	Installed chat widget integrations
language	string	Chat widget language
groups	object	Groups details

Errors:

type	reason
connection	"Request failed"

startChat

Start the chat

visitorSDK.startChat().then(data => {
  console.log('data', data)
})

Response:

param	type	description
chatId	string	New Chat ID

Errors:

type	reason
connection	"Request failed"
state	"You can't start new chat during chat"

---

weight: 40

Callbacks

Callbacks let you bind a custom JavaScript function to an event. For example, your function can be executed every time agent's message has been received.

visitor_data

Callback function executed when server returns visitor's data.

visitorSDK.on('visitor_data', visitorData => {
  console.log(visitorData)
})

Payload:

param	type	description
id	string	Visitor ID

new_message

Callback function executed when a new message arrives.

visitorSDK.on('new_message', newMessage => {
  console.log(newMessage)
})

Payload:

param	type	description
id	string	Message ID
authorId	string	Message author ID
timestamp	number	Timestamp added by server
text	string	Message text
chatId	string	Message chat ID
customId	string	Message custom ID (for visitor's messages only)

visitor_banned - not implemented yet

Callback function executed when a visitor is banned.

visitorSDK.on('visitor_banned', data => {
  console.log(data)
})

chat_started

Callback function executed when a chat is started.

visitorSDK.on('chat_started', chatData => {
  console.log(chatData)
})

Payload:

param	type	description
chatId	string	New chat ID

chat_ended

Callback function executed when a chat is ended. This callback is called without any additional data.

visitorSDK.on('chat_ended', () => {
  console.log('Chat is closed')
})

status_changed

Callback function executed when the chat status is changed.

visitorSDK.on('status_changed', statusData => {
  console.log(statusData)
})

Payload:

param	type	description
status	"online" | "offline"	Current chat availability status

visitor_queued

Callback function executed when a visitor is queued.

visitorSDK.on('visitor_queued', queueData => {
  console.log(queueData)
})

Payload:

param	type	description
numberInQueue	number	Visitor's order number in queue
waitingTime	number	Estimated waiting time in seconds

connection_status_changed

Callback function executed when the connection status changes.

visitorSDK.on('connection_status_changed', statusData => {
  console.log(statusData)
})

Payload:

param	type	description
status	"connected" | "disconnected"	Current connection status

new_file

Callback function executed when a file is shared.

visitorSDK.on('new_file', newFile => {
  console.log(newFile)
})

Payload:

param	type	description
id	string	File ID
authorId	string	File author ID
timestamp	number	Timestamp added by server
url	string	File url
contentType	string	File content type (i.e. 'text/plain')
size	number	File size

agent_changed

Callback function executed when an agent takes over the chat.

visitorSDK.on('agent_changed', newAgent => {
  console.log(newAgent)
})

Payload:

param	type	description
name	string	Agent's name
id	string	Agent's ID
avatarUrl	string	Agent's avatar - path to the image on Amazon s3
jobTitle	string	Agent's job title

typing_indicator

Callback function executed when the typing indicator appears.

visitorSDK.on('typing_indicator', typingData => {
  console.log(typingData)
})

Payload:

param	type	description
authorId	string	Author ID of the writer
isTyping	boolean	Author is typing / stopped typing

message_seen

Callback function executed when a message is marked as seen.

Learn more about LiveChat delivery statuses here.

visitorSDK.on('message_seen', data => {
  console.log(data)
})

Payload:

param	type	description
id	string	Seen message id
customId	string	Seen message custom id
type	"agent" / "visitor"	Original message author type

chat_rated

Callback function executed when the chat is rated or commented by visitor.

visitorSDK.on('chat_rated', data => {
  console.log(messageData)
})

Payload:

param	type	description
rate	"good" \ "bad" \ "none"	Rate type
comment	string	Rate comment text

new_invitation

Callback function executed when an invitation was sent to visitor.

visitorSDK.on('new_invitation', invitationData => {
  console.log(invitationData)
})

Payload:

param	type	description
id	string	Message ID
authorId	string	Message author ID
text	string	Message text
receivedFirstTime	boolean	Was invitation received for the first time

ready

Callback executed when SDK finished initialization and all chat history was fetched. This callback is called without any additional data.

visitorSDK.on('ready', () => {
  console.log('Visitor SDK is ready')
})

---

weight: 50

Changelog

Subscribe to LiveChat Developers Newsletter to be notified about changes in Visitor SDK.

[v0.36.0] - 08.08.2019

Fixed

• Fixed CORS error

[v0.35.2] - 20.06.2018

Fixed

• Fixed sendTicketForm method

[v0.35.1] - 08.05.2018

Fixes

• Fixed CORS error

[v0.35.0] - 01.05.2018

Added

• Added sendPostChatForm method
• Added getPostChatForm method
• Added acceptInvitation method

[v0.34.0] - 19.03.2018

Added

• Added getPredictedAgent method

Fixed

• Fixed getPrechatForm method documentation - error description

[v0.33.3] - 8.03.2018

Fixed

• Fix sendTicketForm method - incorrect data passed to request

[v0.33.2] - 6.03.2018

Fixed

• Fix sendPrechatForm method - incorrect answers bug

[v0.33.1] - 27.02.2018

Fixed

• Fix sendMessage method - reject promise if chat is offline

[v0.33.0] - 26.02.2018

Added

• Added getPrechatForm method
• Added sendPrechatForm method

[v0.32.0] - 16.02.2018

Added

• Added new_invitation callback

Fixed

• Fix documentation - npm installation code snippet

[v0.31.3] - 31.01.2018

Fixed

• Fix fielsharing bug - use correct chat id after starting a new chat again

[v0.31.2] - 30.01.2018

Fixed

• Fix group init parameter

[v0.31.1] - 25.01.2018

Fixed

• sendFile method - correct server address
• fix URL rules - correct visitor's current URL detection

[v0.31.0] - 9.01.2018

Added

• Added sendFile method

[v0.30.0] - 3.01.2018

Added

• Support Data Centers in Europe

[v0.29.2] - 28.12.2017

Fixed

• Docs fix - correct date in changelog

[v0.29.0] - 28.12.2017

Added

• Added chat_rated callback
• Added URL rules support

Fixed

• sendMessage parameter "customId" now parsed to string by default

[v0.28.4] - 27.11.2017

Fixed

• Fixed docs

[v0.28.3] - 22.11.2017

Fixed

• Fixed npm build Safari support

[v0.28.2] - 22.11.2017

Fixed

• Fixed iOS Safari support

Changed

• New reject type for setVisitorData method: "connection"

[v0.28.1] - 30.10.2017

Fixed

• Fixed npm build

[v0.28.0] - 30.10.2017

Added

• Added destroy method

Changed

• Added customId parameter to new_message callback's data

[v0.27.1] - 30.10.2017

Fixed

• Adjust docs according to Docs Changelog Guidelines

[v0.27.0] - 16.10.2017

Added

• Added getVisitorData method

Changed

• setVisitorData method: Added possibility to set customProperties

[v0.0.26] - 13.10.2017

Added

• Added getTicketForm method
• Added sendTicketForm method

Fixed

• Fixed error handling

Changed

• setVistiorData method renamed to setVisitorData

[v0.0.25] - 03.10.2017

Added

• Added disconnect method

[v0.0.24] - 12.09.2017

Added

• Added iOS React Native sample app to Examples

[v0.0.23] - 11.09.2017

Added

• Added visitor_data callback

[v0.0.22] - 07.09.2017

Added

• Support for non-browser environments

[v0.0.21] - 06.09.2017

Added

• Added closeChat method

[v0.0.20] - 05.09.2017

Fixed

• Fix npm package - add all dependencies

[v0.0.19] - 31.08.2017

Added

• Added forwardChatTranscript method

[v0.0.18] - 30.08.2017

Added

• Added setSneakPeek method

[v0.0.17] - 29.08.2017

Added

• Added rateChat method
• Added changelog section

[v0.0.16] - 24.08.2017

Fixed

• Docs fixes - correct method names

[v0.0.15] - 24.08.2017

First public Release