Getting started with a Sinch Chat Channel

This article details the steps required to set up a Sinch Chat channel for use with the Sinch Conversation API.

Prerequisites

Before you can set up a Sinch Chat channel on the Conversation API, you need to do the following:

General prerequisites

Note

If you have already completed the Conversation API Getting started steps, you can skip this section.

Sign up for the Sinch Customer Dashboard.
Get access to the Conversation API.
Create your app.
Create your access key. Any API calls you make will require authentication information provided by your access key.

Refer to the Conversation API Getting started section for more information on any of these steps.

Sinch Chat prerequisites

In order to use a Sinch Chat channel, you must configure at least one Sinch Chat client. The code for that client must include a Client ID generated from the Sinch Customer Dashboard.

For information on using the Sinch Customer Dashboard to generate a Client ID, see How do I use the Sinch Customer Dashboard to set up a Sinch Chat client? on our Community site. The customer dashboard wil also provide you with templates that can be used to create chat clients for the following platforms:

For information on how to configure a chat client for Android, click here.
For information on how to configure a chat client for iOS, click here.
For information on how to configure a chat client for the Web, click here.

Configuring the Conversation API and Sinch Chat integration

Each Sinch Chat channel is preconfigured with the creation of your Conversation API app. No additional configuration steps are required.

Next steps

Prior to sending messages, you need to set the channel priority in your app. Note that, when specifying a Sinch Chat channel, you must use the value SINCH_CHAT. Also, when sending messages, you'll need to make sure you have the recipient information of the contact to which you are sending the message.

If you already know how to set channel priority, or your channel priority is already established, you can begin sending and receiving messages in your preferred language: