Livechat Widget API

The Livechat Widget API allows developers to integrate Livechat widget functionalities into their apps seamlessly. The code must be after the Livechat Widget Installation script and wrapped as a callback of RocketChat(); function.

You can call multiple Livechat widget API methods on the same page. The widget API information is stored in the local storage of the browser.

Methods

Set custom field

To set a custom field for a visitor, you can use the following:

RocketChat(function() {
    this.setCustomField('fieldName1', 'Any value you want to store');
    this.setCustomField('fieldName2', 'A value set just once', false); // you can pass false as the third parameter to not overwrite an already set value
});

Set theme options

To change the color of the online status on the Livechat widget, use the following:

RocketChat(function() {
    this.setTheme({
        color: '#04436A', // widget title background color
        fontColor: '#FFFFFF', // widget title font color
        iconColor: '#1d74f5', // widget icon color
        title: "Welcome to Rocket.Chat", // default widget title when the status of service is online
        offlineTitle: "Service is offline", // default widget title when the status of service is online
        position: 'right', // Already mentioned, can be left or right
        background: 'red', // Already mentioned, follows CSS standards
        guestBubbleBackgroundColor: 'blue', // Changes the background color of the message bubble for the guest. Accepts simple colors like hexadecimal and valid color names.
        agentBubbleBackgroundColor: 'green', // Changes the background color of the message bubble for the agent. Accepts simple colors like hexadecimal and valid color names.
        hideGuestAvatar: true, // Hides/shows guest avatar. It can be either true or false. Default is false.
        hideAgentAvatar: false, // Hides/shows agent avatar. It can be either true or false. Default is true.
    });
});

The following theme options are exclusively available to workspaces subscribed to any of Rocket.Chat's premium plans:
agentBubbleBackgroundColor
guestBubbleBackgroundColor
background
hideAgentAvatar
hideGuestAvatar
position

Remove theme options

To remove the theme options, set the field value as undefined. Note that omitting the field itself does not remove the customization value.

RocketChat(function() {
    this.setTheme({
        color: undefined,
        fontColor: '#FFFFFF',
    });
});

Assign chats to a specific department

To automatically assign a Livechat widget to a specific department (for example, to use a unique Livechat widget on more than one website), use the following :

RocketChat(function() {
    this.setDepartment('FILL HERE DEPARTMENT NAME - case sensitive');
});

Transfer chat

To transfer an ongoing chat to another department, use the following:

RocketChat(function() {
    this.transferChat('FHwaLhsy5tyeupSAj'); // Enter the department ID to which you want to transfer the chat. Note that the department must be enabled and must have at least one agent assigned to it.
});

Set visitor token

To set an external token for a visitor, use this:

RocketChat(function() {
    this.setGuestToken('FHwaLnp8fzjMupSAj');
});

Set name field

To set the visitor name field, use this:

RocketChat(function() {
    this.setGuestName('visitor name');
});

Set email field

To set the visitor email field, use this:

RocketChat(function() {
    this.setGuestEmail('sample@rocket.chat');
});

Register visitor

To register the visitor without using the registration form, use this:

RocketChat(function() {
    this.registerGuest({
        token: 'FHwaLnp8fzjMupSAj', // The token field is not required. If it is not passed, a new token will be generated
        name: 'visitor Name',
        email: 'sample@rocket.chat',
        department: 'my_department', // The department field is not required,
        customFields: [ // The customFields field is not required. If it is passed it needs to be an Array, where each item needs to be an object with key and value fields
            {key:  'my_custom_field_a', value: 'my_custom_field_a_value', overwrite: true},
            {key:  'my_custom_field_b', value: 'my_custom_field_b_value', overwrite: true}
        ]
    });
});

Set guest metadata

To determine a list of attributes and their corresponding values for a guest:

RocketChat(function () {
    this.setGuestMetadata({
        name: 'Johnnie Walker',
        serviceID: '3455566'
    });
});

This method is essential when using an external service to send livechat trigger messages.

To select a language for the widget, use this:

RocketChat(function() {
    this.setLanguage('af');
});

See supported languages here.

Set a default agent before starting a new conversation

Set a specific agent before the conversation starts. Use this to set up:

RocketChat(function() {
    this.setAgent({
        _id: 'h24yNtyoCmvp96wgt',
        username: 'rocket.chat',
  });
});

To configure all the settings in just one method, use this:

RocketChat(function() {
    this.initialize({
        theme: {
            color: '#04436A',
            fontColor: '#FFFFFF',
            iconColor: '#1d74f5',
            title: "Welcome to Rocket.Chat",
            offlineTitle: "Service is offline",
            hideGuestAvatar: false, 
            hideAgentAvatar: true
        },
        department: 'sales',
        guestToken: 'FHwaLnp8fzjMupSAj',
        language: 'en',
        setGuestMetadata: { name: 'Johnnie Walker', serviceID: '3455566'},
  });
});

It is recommended that you use either the registerGuest or the setToken property at once. Using both properties at the same time can cause intermittent issues in registering the visitor properly.

You can either hide or show widgets in your application. To hide the widget use this:

RocketChat(function() {
    this.hideWidget();
});

To show the widget, use this:.

RocketChat(function() {
    this.showWidget();
});

You can either open or close the widget on your website. To open the widget by default, use this:

RocketChat(function() {
    this.maximizeWidget();
});

To close the widget, use this:

RocketChat(function() {
    this.minimizeWidget();
});

Set business unit to filter departments on the registration page

Assign a business unit to a widget instance so that the widget will only allow the visitors to select departments connected to that particular business unit on the widget's registration form.

Enterprises need to deal with hundreds of business units in the same workspace, and each business unit represents a specific website where Livechat is installed. Therefore, once a BU is set, only departments associated with the current BU set should be available on the Livechat registration form.

RocketChat(function() {
    this.setBusinessUnit('LnM2rzbknjYSkkd5p');
});

To clear any connected business unit on the widget, use this:

RocketChat(function() {
    this.clearBusinessUnit();
});

Hide system messages

You can hide specific system messages in the livechat widget conversation. Use the method as follows:

RocketChat(function() {
  this.setHiddenSystemMessages(
    ['uj' // User joined
     'ul' // User left
     'livechat-close' // Chat closed
     'livechat-started' // Chat started
     'livechat_transfer_history' // Chat transferred ]
  )}
);

Events

`onChatMaximized`

Used when the chat widget is maximized.

RocketChat(function() {
    this.onChatMaximized(function() {
        // do whatever you want
        console.log('chat widget maximized');
    });
});

`onChatMinimized`

Used when the chat widget is minimized.

RocketChat(function() {
    this.onChatMinimized(function() {
        // do whatever you want
        console.log('chat widget minimized');
    });
});

`onChatStarted`

Used when the chat is started (when the first message is sent).

RocketChat(function() {
    this.onChatStarted(function() {
        // do whatever you want
        console.log('chat started');
    });
});

`onChatEnded`

Used when the chat is ended either by the agent or the visitor.

RocketChat(function() {
    this.onChatEnded(function() {
        // do whatever you want
        console.log('chat ended');
    });
});

`onPrechatFormSubmit`

Used when the pre-chat form is submitted.

RocketChat(function() {
    this.onPrechatFormSubmit(function(data) {
        // data is an object containing the following fields: name, email and deparment (the department _id)

        // do whatever you want
        console.log('pre-chat form submitted');
    });
});

`onOfflineFormSubmit`

Used when the offline form is submitted.

RocketChat(function() {
    this.onOfflineFormSubmit(function(data) {
        // data is an object containing the following fields: name, email and message

        // do whatever you want
        console.log('offline form submitted');
    });
});

`onWidgetHidden`

Used when the widget is hidden.

RocketChat(function() {
    this.onWidgetHidden(function(data) {
        // do whatever you want
        console.log('chat widget hidden');
    });
});

`onAssignAgent`

Used when an agent is assigned to the chat.

RocketChat(function() {
    this.onAssignAgent(function(data) {
        // data is an object containing the following fields: name, username and status

        // do whatever you want
        console.log('Agent assigned');
    });
});

`onWidgetShown`

Used when the widget is shown.

RocketChat(function() {
    this.onWidgetShown(function(data) {
        // do whatever you want
        console.log('chat widget shown');
    });
});

`onAgentStatusChange`

Fired when the status of the current agent changes.

RocketChat(function() {
    this.onAgentStatusChange(function(data) {
        // data is an object containing the following fields: name, username and status

        // do whatever you want
        console.log('The status of the agent has changed');
    });
});

`onServiceOffline`

Fired when a visitor tries to start a new conversation and the Livechat service is offline.

RocketChat(function() {
    this.onServiceOffline(function(data) {
        // do whatever you want
        console.log('The Livechat service is offline');
    });
});

Changelog

Version	Description
6.7.0	Added `setGuestMetadata` method.
3.1.0	Added `setAgent` and `initialize` methods. Also, improved the `setTheme` method adding more options to customize the widget
3.0.0	Added `onServiceOffline` callback
2.2.0	Added `maximizeWidget` and `minimizeWidget` methods.
1.3.0	Added `onAssignAgent` and `onAgentStatusChange` methods.
1.1.0	Added `showWidget` and `hideWidget` methods along with `onWidgetHidden` and `onWidgetShown` events
1.0.0	Added `setLanguage` method
0.66.0	Added `setGuestToken`, `setGuestName`, `setGuestEmail` and `registerGuest` methods.
0.53.0	Added callback events and the ability to pass a flag to `setCustomField` so the value passed does not get wrote if there is already an existing value.
0.36.0	Added `setTheme` method
0.26.0	Added `setCustomField` method