captivate-chat-api

Hybrid WebSocket/REST-based chat API for real-time conversations with support for bot and human agents. Features WebSocket communication for real-time messaging and REST endpoints for data retrieval operations.

Installation

Install the package using npm:

npm install captivate-chat-api

What's New

Enhanced File Handling (v4.0.0)

The CaptivateChatFileManager class has been significantly improved with:

• 🎉 Direct Usage: Use fileInput directly as files: fileInput instead of files: fileInput.files
• 🔧 Convenience Methods: Easy access to file properties with getFilename(), getTextContent(), getFileType()
• 📦 Single File Factory: New createFile() method for direct file object creation
• 🔄 Array-like Behavior: Proxy-based implementation supports array access and iteration
• 💾 Storage Options: Choose between service storage (storage: true) or developer storage (storage: false)
• 🔗 URL Support: When storage: false, provide your own URL for sendMessage compatibility
• ⚡ Performance: Eliminated API URL duplication and optimized internal structure
• 🔒 Backward Compatibility: All existing code continues to work without changes

Key Improvements

1. Simplified API: No more complex .files[0] access patterns
2. Better Developer Experience: Cleaner, more intuitive method names
3. Flexible Usage: Choose between wrapper (create()) or direct (createFile()) approaches
4. Type Safety: Full TypeScript support with proper type definitions

Usage

Single API Key Usage (CaptivateChatAPI)

Most users will only need to use a single API key. Use the CaptivateChatAPI class for all standard chat operations:

import { CaptivateChatAPI } from 'captivate-chat-api';

const api = new CaptivateChatAPI('YOUR_API_KEY');
await api.connect();

const conversation = await api.createConversation('user123');

You can use all the features described below (creating conversations, sending messages, etc.) with a single API key using this class.

Basic Setup

Import and initialize the API client:

Option 1: Using the static factory method (Recommended)

import { CaptivateChatAPI } from 'captivate-chat-api';

// Create and connect in one step
const api = await CaptivateChatAPI.create('YOUR_API_KEY');
// API is ready to use!

Option 2: Manual instantiation and connection

import { CaptivateChatAPI } from 'captivate-chat-api';

const api = new CaptivateChatAPI('YOUR_API_KEY');

// Connect to the WebSocket server
await api.connect();

Create a Conversation

Create a new conversation with the following options:

1. Basic setup with just a user ID:

   const conversation = await api.createConversation('user123');

2. Include user information and custom data:

   const conversation = await api.createConversation(
     'user123',
     {
       name: 'John Doe',
       email: 'john@example.com'
     },
     {
       customField: 'value'
     },
     'user-first' // Start the conversation with user-first or bot-first mode
   );

3. (New) Include private metadata (not visible to frontend):

   const conversation = await api.createConversation(
     'user123',
     { name: 'John Doe' },
     { publicKey: 'visible' },
     'user-first',
     { secretKey: 'hidden', internalFlag: true } // privateMetadata
   );

   • The privateMetadata parameter is optional and, if provided, will be sent under the private key in the metadata. This is intended for backend/internal use and will not be returned to the frontend when fetching metadata.
   • This change is backwards compatible: existing usages of createConversation do not need to change.

Send and Receive Messages

1. Send a text message to the conversation:

   await conversation.sendMessage('Hello!');

2. Send a file with text message (recommended format):

   await conversation.sendMessage({
     text: "Here's the document you requested",
     files: [fileObject]
   });

3. Listen for responses:

   conversation.onMessage((message, type) => {
     console.log(`${type}: ${message}`);
   });

File Handling with CaptivateChatFileManager

The CaptivateChatFileManager class provides automatic file-to-text conversion and structured file handling for chat messages. The class now includes several convenience methods and supports direct usage as a files array.

Basic File Upload

import { CaptivateChatFileManager } from 'captivate-chat-api';

// Upload a local file with storage (default behavior)
const fileInput = await CaptivateChatFileManager.create({
  file: file,
  fileName: 'document.pdf'
  // storage defaults to true - file stored by service
});

// Send file with text message - NEW: You can use fileInput directly!
await conversation.sendMessage({
  text: "Here's the document you requested",
  files: fileInput  // 🎉 No need for .files anymore!
});

File Storage Options

The library now supports two storage modes:

1. Service Storage (Default) - storage: true

// File stored by the service (default behavior)
const fileInput = await CaptivateChatFileManager.create({
  file: file,
  fileName: 'document.pdf'
  // storage defaults to true - file stored by service
});

// File object includes storage information:
// {
//   filename: 'document.pdf',
//   type: 'application/pdf',
//   file: File,
//   textContent: { ... },
//   storage: {
//     fileKey: 'uploads/1704067200000-...',
//     presignedUrl: 'https://my-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/...',
//     expiresIn: 1704070800,
//     fileSize: 1024,
//     processingTime: 15
//   }
// }

2. Developer Storage - storage: false

// File processed without storage, provide your own URL
const fileInput = await CaptivateChatFileManager.create({
  file: file,
  fileName: 'document.pdf',
  storage: false,
  url: 'https://my-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/document.pdf'  // Required
});

// File object includes your URL:
// {
//   filename: 'document.pdf',
//   type: 'application/pdf',
//   file: File,
//   url: 'https://my-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/document.pdf',
//   textContent: { ... }
// }

Storage Benefits:

• Service Storage: Automatic file management, presigned URLs, no developer overhead
• Developer Storage: Full control over storage location, access permissions, and costs

Secure URL Management

When using service storage, you can generate fresh secure URLs for accessing stored files:

// Create file with storage
const fileInput = await CaptivateChatFileManager.create({
  file: file,
  fileName: 'document.pdf'
  // storage defaults to true
});

// Refresh secure URL (expires in 2 hours by default)
const refreshedUrl = await fileInput.refreshSecureUrl();
console.log('Refreshed secure URL:', refreshedUrl);

// Refresh secure URL with custom expiration (1 hour)
const customUrl = await fileInput.refreshSecureUrl(3600);

// Generate secure URL from file key directly
const fileKey = 'uploads/1704067200000-uuid-example.txt';
const directUrl = await CaptivateChatFileManager.getSecureFileUrl(fileKey, 7200);

Use Cases:

• Expired URLs: Refresh secure URLs when the original expires
• Custom Expiration: Set different expiration times for different use cases
• Direct Access: Generate secure URLs from file keys without file objects

Convenience Methods

The CaptivateChatFileManager class now includes several convenience methods for easier access to file properties:

const fileInput = await CaptivateChatFileManager.create({
  file: file,
  fileName: 'document.pdf'
});

// Get file information easily
console.log('Filename:', fileInput.getFilename());
console.log('File type:', fileInput.getFileType());
console.log('Text content:', fileInput.getTextContent());
console.log('Text length:', fileInput.getTextContent().length);

// Get the first file object if needed
const firstFile = fileInput.getFirstFile();

// Convert to files array explicitly (though not needed anymore)
const filesArray = fileInput.toFilesArray();

Developer Storage with URL

// Process file without service storage, provide your own URL
const fileInput = await CaptivateChatFileManager.create({
  file: file,
  fileName: 'document.pdf',
  storage: false,
  url: 'https://my-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/document.pdf'  // Required
});

await conversation.sendMessage({
  text: "Document from my storage",
  files: fileInput  // 🎉 Direct usage supported!
});

Multiple Files

Option 1: Using the new createMultiple() method (Recommended)

// Process multiple files with service storage (default)
const files = [file1, file2, file3];
const fileInput = await CaptivateChatFileManager.createMultiple({
  files: files
  // storage defaults to true
});

await conversation.sendMessage({
  text: "Multiple documents attached",
  files: fileInput  // 🎉 All files processed and ready!
});

Option 2: Multiple files with developer storage

// Process multiple files without service storage
const files = [file1, file2, file3];
const urls = [
  'https://my-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/file1.pdf',
  'https://my-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/file2.pdf',
  'https://my-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/file3.pdf'
];

const fileInput = await CaptivateChatFileManager.createMultiple({
  files: files,
  storage: false,
  urls: urls  // Required when storage is false
});

await conversation.sendMessage({
  text: "Multiple documents from my storage",
  files: fileInput
});

Option 3: Manual processing (still supported)

// Process multiple files manually
const files = [file1, file2, file3];
const fileInputs = await Promise.all(
  files.map(file => CaptivateChatFileManager.create({
    file: file
  }))
);

// Combine all files
const allFiles = fileInputs.flatMap(input => input);

await conversation.sendMessage({
  text: "Multiple documents attached",
  files: allFiles
});

Alternative: Single File Factory Method

For even simpler usage when you only need one file object, you can use the new createFile() method:

// Get just the file object directly (no wrapper) with service storage
const fileObj = await CaptivateChatFileManager.createFile({
  file: file,
  fileName: 'document.pdf'
  // storage defaults to true
});

await conversation.sendMessage({
  text: "Here's the document",
  files: fileObj  // 🎉 Direct usage - no array wrapping needed!
});

// Or with developer storage
const fileObjWithUrl = await CaptivateChatFileManager.createFile({
  file: file,
  fileName: 'document.pdf',
  storage: false,
  url: 'https://my-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/document.pdf'
});

await conversation.sendMessage({
  text: "Here's the document from my storage",
  files: fileObjWithUrl  // 🎉 Direct usage - no array wrapping needed!
});

File Input Structure

The CaptivateChatFileManager creates a structured object with:

Service Storage (storage: true):

{
  type: 'files',
  files: [
    {
      filename: 'document.pdf',
      type: 'application/pdf',
      file: File | Blob,         // Original file
      textContent: {
        type: 'file_content',
        text: 'Extracted text from file...',
        metadata: {
          source: 'file_attachment',
          originalFileName: 'document.pdf',
          storageType: 'direct'
        }
      },
      storage: {
        fileKey: 'uploads/1704067200000-...',
        presignedUrl: 'https://my-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/...',
        expiresIn: 1704070800,
        fileSize: 1024,
        processingTime: 15
      }
    }
  ]
}

Developer Storage (storage: false):

{
  type: 'files',
  files: [
    {
      filename: 'document.pdf',
      type: 'application/pdf',
      file: File | Blob,         // Original file
      url: 'https://my-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/document.pdf',  // Developer's URL
      textContent: {
        type: 'file_content',
        text: 'Extracted text from file...',
        metadata: {
          source: 'file_attachment',
          originalFileName: 'document.pdf',
          storageType: 'direct'
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}

Supported File Types

• Documents: PDF, DOCX, TXT
• Images: PNG, JPG, JPEG (with OCR text extraction)
• Any file type supported by the file-to-text API

WebSocket Payload Format

Files are sent in the following WebSocket payload structure:

{
  "action": "sendMessage",
  "event": {
    "event_type": "user_message",
    "event_payload": {
      "type": "message_create",
      "client_msg_id": "unique-message-id-1234567890",
      "conversation_id": "your-conversation-id",
      "content": {
        "text": "Here's the document you requested",
        "files": [
          {
            "filename": "document.pdf",
            "type": "application/pdf",
            "textContent": {
              "type": "file_content",
              "text": "Extracted text from PDF...",
              "metadata": {
                "source": "file_attachment",
                "originalFileName": "document.pdf",
                "storageType": "direct"
              }
            }
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Edit a Message

Edit a previously sent message in the conversation:

await conversation.editMessage('messageId123', 'Updated message text');
// Or with a custom object:
await conversation.editMessage('messageId123', { type: 'text', text: 'Updated message text', files: [], actions: [] });

The method returns a promise that resolves when the edit is confirmed by the server (message_edited_success event).

Handle Events

Use event listeners to handle various updates, errors, or custom actions:

1. Error handling:

   conversation.onError((error) => {
     console.error('Error:', error);
   });

2. Updates on conversation status:

   conversation.onConversationUpdate((update) => {
     console.log('Conversation Update:', update);
   });

3. Handling custom actions:

   conversation.onActionReceived((actions) => {
     console.log(`Actions:`, actions);
   });

Get Conversation History

Retrieve the transcript of a conversation:

const transcript = await conversation.getTranscript();
console.log('Transcript:', transcript);

Delete Conversation

Delete the current conversation

const transcript = await conversation.delete();
console.log('Deleted conversation');

Retrieve User Conversations

Fetch a list of conversations associated with a specific user ID. This method supports both legacy (v1) and advanced (v2) usage with filter, search, and pagination. Both versions return the same response format. The method supports backward compatibility with both string and object parameters.

Note:

• search parameter uses wildcard matching by default (e.g., "fred" matches "frederick", "alfred", etc.)
• filter parameter uses exact matching only (e.g., "fred" only matches "fred")

Legacy usage (v1) - String parameter (backward compatible):

const conversations = await api.getUserConversations('user123');
console.log('User Conversations:', conversations);
/*
 Returns Conversation Object
 */

Legacy usage (v1) - Options object:

const conversations = await api.getUserConversations({
  userId: 'user123'
});
console.log('User Conversations:', conversations);
/*
 Returns Conversation Object
 */

Advanced usage (v2, with filter and pagination):

const conversations = await api.getUserConversations({
  userId: 'user123',
  filter: { mode: 'dbfred' }, // exact match only
  pagination: { page: '1', limit: '10' }
});
console.log('Filtered & Paginated User Conversations:', conversations);
/*
 Returns Conversation Object
 */

Advanced usage (v2, with search and pagination):

const conversations = await api.getUserConversations({
  userId: 'user123',
  search: { mode: 'fred' }, // wildcard match (matches "frederick", "alfred", etc.)
  pagination: { page: '1', limit: '10' }
});
console.log('Searched & Paginated User Conversations:', conversations);
/*
 Returns Conversation Object
 */

Advanced usage (v2, with both filter and search):

const conversations = await api.getUserConversations({
  userId: 'user123',
  filter: { mode: 'dbfred' }, // exact match
  search: { mode: 'fred' }, // wildcard match
  pagination: { page: '1', limit: '10' }
});
console.log('Filtered, Searched & Paginated User Conversations:', conversations);
/*
 Returns Conversation Object
 */

Multi-API-Key Support (CaptivateChatManager)

For advanced use cases where you need to fetch and interact with conversations across multiple API keys, use the CaptivateChatManager class. This manager handles multiple CaptivateChatAPI instances and ensures each Conversation uses the correct socket for its API key.

Note: Most users do not need this. Only use the manager if you need to aggregate or interact with conversations across multiple API keys.

Option 1: Using the static factory method (Recommended)

import { CaptivateChatManager } from 'captivate-chat-api';

const apiKeys = [
  'YOUR_API_KEY_1',
  'YOUR_API_KEY_2'
];

// Create and connect all instances in one step
const manager = await CaptivateChatManager.create(apiKeys, 'dev');

const { conversations, pagination } = await manager.getUserConversations({
  userId: '66f016f09d5961b684ce05f0',
  apiKeys,
  pagination: { page: '1', limit: '90' }
});

for (const conv of conversations) {
  const transcript = await conv.getTranscript();
  console.log(`Transcript for ${conv.getConversationId()}:`, transcript);
}

Option 2: Manual instantiation and connection

import { CaptivateChatManager } from 'captivate-chat-api';

const apiKeys = [
  'YOUR_API_KEY_1',
  'YOUR_API_KEY_2'
];

const manager = new CaptivateChatManager(apiKeys, 'dev');
await manager.connectAll();

const { conversations, pagination } = await manager.getUserConversations({
  userId: '66f016f09d5961b684ce05f0',
  apiKeys,
  pagination: { page: '1', limit: '90' }
});

for (const conv of conversations) {
  const transcript = await conv.getTranscript();
  console.log(`Transcript for ${conv.getConversationId()}:`, transcript);
}

• Use CaptivateChatAPI for single-key scenarios.
• Use CaptivateChatManager for multi-key scenarios.

Delete User Conversations

Delete list of conversations associated with a specific user ID:

const conversations = await api.deleteUserConversations('user123');
console.log('Conversations Deleted successfully');
/*
 Throws error if failed
 */

Example: Full Workflow

Here's a complete example of how to use the API:

import { CaptivateChatAPI, CaptivateChatFileManager } from 'captivate-chat-api';

(async () => {
  try {
    // Create and connect to the API in one step
    const api = await CaptivateChatAPI.create('YOUR_API_KEY', 'prod');
    console.log('Connected to CaptivateChat API');

    // Create a conversation
    const conversation = await api.createConversation(
      'user123',
      {
        name: 'John Doe',
        email: 'john@example.com',
      },
      { role: 'admin' },
      'bot-first'
    );

    console.log('Conversation started:', conversation);

    // Listen for messages
    conversation.onMessage((message, type) => {
      console.log(`Received (${type}): ${message}`);
    });

    // Send a text message
    await conversation.sendMessage('Hello! How can I assist you today?');

    // Send a file with text message
    const fileInput = await CaptivateChatFileManager.create({
      file: file,
      fileName: 'document.pdf'
    });
    
    await conversation.sendMessage({
      text: "Here's the document you requested",
      files: fileInput  // 🎉 Direct usage - no .files needed!
    });

    // Handle conversation updates
    conversation.onConversationUpdate((update) => {
      console.log('Conversation Update:', update);
    });

    // Fetch the transcript
    const transcript = await conversation.getTranscript();
    console.log('Transcript:', transcript);

    // Get user conversations (backward compatible)
    const conversations = await api.getUserConversations('user123');
    console.log('User Conversations:', conversations);

    // Get user conversations with advanced filtering (new API)
    const filteredConversations = await api.getUserConversations({
      userId: 'user123',
      filter: { status: 'active' },
      search: { title: 'meeting' },
      pagination: { page: '1', limit: '10' }
    });
    console.log('Filtered Conversations:', filteredConversations);

    // Delete the conversation
    await conversation.delete();
    console.log('Conversation deleted successfully.');

  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error:', error);
  }
})();

Development Mode

Switch to development mode for testing:

const api = new CaptivateChatAPI('YOUR_API_KEY', 'dev');

Environment Support

The API supports the following environments:

• Browser
• Node.js
• React Native

File Processing

File-to-text conversion is handled by the external API endpoint:

• Production: https://file-to-text.prod.captivat.io/api/file-to-text
• Supported formats: PDF, DOCX, TXT, PNG, JPG, JPEG
• Features: OCR for images, metadata extraction, automatic text conversion

API Reference

CaptivateChatFileManager

A utility class for processing files and converting them to text for chat messages. The class now supports direct usage as a files array and includes convenience methods for easier file property access.

Methods

• static create(options: { file: File | Blob; fileName?: string; fileType?: string; storage?: boolean; url?: string }): Promise<CaptivateChatFileManager>
  Creates a CaptivateChatFileManager from a local file with automatic text extraction. storage defaults to true.

• static createFile(options: { file: File | Blob; fileName?: string; fileType?: string; storage?: boolean; url?: string }): Promise<FileObject>
  (New) Creates a single file object directly (no wrapper) with automatic text extraction. storage defaults to true.

• static createMultiple(options: { files: (File | Blob)[]; storage?: boolean; urls?: string[] }): Promise<CaptivateChatFileManager>
  (New) Creates a single CaptivateChatFileManager from multiple files, processing them in parallel. storage defaults to true.

• getFilename(): string | undefined
  (New) Gets the filename of the first file.

• getTextContent(): string
  (New) Gets the text content of the first file.

• getFileType(): string | undefined
  (New) Gets the file type of the first file.

• getFirstFile(): FileObject | undefined
  (New) Gets the first file object from the files array.

• toFilesArray(): Array<FileObject>
  (New) Returns the files array explicitly.

• refreshSecureUrl(expiresIn?: number): Promise<string | undefined>
  (New) Refreshes the secure URL for the first file (if it has storage information).

• static getSecureFileUrl(fileKey: string, expiresIn?: number): Promise<string>
  (New) Generates a secure URL for accessing a stored file by file key.

Properties

• type: 'files' - Always 'files' for file inputs
• files: Array<FileObject> - Array of processed file objects
• length: number - (New) Returns the length of the files array for array-like behavior

Array-like Behavior

The CaptivateChatFileManager class now supports array-like behavior through a proxy, allowing you to use it directly as a files array:

const fileInput = await CaptivateChatFileManager.create(file, options);

// All of these work:
files: fileInput           // ✅ Direct usage
files: fileInput.files     // ✅ Traditional usage (still supported)
fileInput[0]               // ✅ Array access
fileInput.length           // ✅ Array length

FileObject Structure

Service Storage (storage: true):

{
  filename: string;
  type: string;
  file: File | Blob;         // Original file
  textContent: {
    type: 'file_content';
    text: string;
    metadata: {
      source: 'file_attachment';
      originalFileName: string;
      storageType: 'direct';
    };
  };
  storage: {
    fileKey: string;
    presignedUrl: string;
    expiresIn: number;
    fileSize: number;
    processingTime: number;
  };
}

Developer Storage (storage: false):

{
  filename: string;
  type: string;
  file: File | Blob;         // Original file
  url: string;               // Developer's URL (required when storage is false)
  textContent: {
    type: 'file_content';
    text: string;
    metadata: {
      source: 'file_attachment';
      originalFileName: string;
      storageType: 'direct';
    };
  };
}

CaptivateChatAPI

Methods

• constructor(apiKey: string, mode: 'prod' | 'dev' = 'prod')
  Initializes the API with the given API key and mode.

• static create(apiKey: string, mode: 'prod' | 'dev' = 'prod'): Promise<CaptivateChatAPI>
  (New) Static factory method that creates and connects a CaptivateChatAPI instance. Returns a promise that resolves to a ready-to-use, connected API instance.

• connect(): Promise<void>
  Connects to the WebSocket server.

• isSocketActive(): boolean
  (New) Checks if the WebSocket connection is active and open. Returns true if the socket is open, false otherwise.

• createConversation(userId: string, userBasicInfo?: object, userData?: object, autoConversationStart?: 'bot-first' | 'user-first'): Promise<Conversation>
  Creates a new conversation.

• getConversation(conversationId: string): Conversation
  Retrieves an existing conversation by its ID.

• getUserConversations(userIdOrOptions: string | { userId: string; filter?: object; search?: object; pagination?: { page?: string | number; limit?: string | number }; apiKeys?: string[] }): Promise<Conversation[]>
  Fetches a list of conversations associated with the given user ID. Supports backward compatibility with string parameter or options object. If filter, search, pagination, or apiKeys is provided, uses the v2 API for advanced querying. Both filter and search parameters are supported for different querying needs. The apiKeys parameter allows grouping conversations by API key. Returns Conversation Object

• deleteUserConversations(userId: string): Promise<void>
  Deletes all conversations associated with the given user ID

Conversation

Methods

• sendMessage(content: string): Promise<void>
  Sends a text message to the conversation.

• sendMessage(content: object): Promise<void>
  Sends a structured message. Supports:

  • Text only: { type: 'text', text: 'Hello' }
  • Files only: { type: 'files', files: [...] }
  • Combined: { text: 'Hello', files: [...] } (recommended)

• setMetadata(metadata: object): Promise<void>
  Updates metadata for the conversation.

• setPrivateMetadata(privateMeta: object): Promise<void>
  (New) Updates private metadata for the conversation (not visible to frontend). Example:

  await conversation.setPrivateMetadata({ secret: 'mySecretValue', internalFlag: true });

  This will set the metadata under the private key. The private metadata is intended for backend/internal use only and will not be returned to the frontend when fetching metadata.

• getMetadata(): Promise<object>
  Returns the metadata for that current conversation session

• sendAction(actionId: string, data?: object): Promise<void>
  Sends a custom action to the conversation.

• editMessage(messageId: string, content: string | object): Promise<void>
  Edits a previously sent message in the conversation. Resolves when the edit is confirmed by the server.

• getTranscript(): Promise<object[]>
  Retrieves the conversation transcript.

• delete(): Promise<void>
  Deletes the current conversation

Events

• onMessage(callback: (message: string, type: string) => void): void
  Listens for new messages.

• onError(callback: (error: any) => void): void
  Listens for errors.

• onConversationUpdate(callback: (update: any) => void): void
  Listens for updates to the conversation.

• onActionReceived(callback: (actions:[Action]) => void): void
  Handles custom actions received during the conversation.

Interfaces

interface Action {
  id: string;
  data: any;
}