PieSocket Realtime SDK for Android

PieSocket Realtime SDK for Android written in Java.

Installation

Let's start by adding PieSocket Android SDK as a dependency to your application.

Gradle (Kotlin)

implementation("com.piesocket:channels-sdk:7.0.0")

Gradle (Java)

implementation 'com.piesocket:channels-sdk:7.0.0'

Maven

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.piesocket</groupId>
    <artifactId>channels-sdk</artifactId>
    <version>7.0.0</version>
</dependency>

Permissions

Setup manifest permissions as instructed here.

Usage

Managed PieSocket Server

Use following code to create a Channel with PieSocket's managed WebSocket servers.

Get your API key and Cluster ID here: Get API Key

PieSocketOptions options = new PieSocketOptions();
options.setClusterId("demo");
options.setApiKey("VCXCEuvhGcBDP7XhiJJUDvR1e1D3eiVjgZ9VRiaV");

PieSocket piesocket = new PieSocket(options);
Channel channel = piesocket.join("chat-room-1");

Self-hosted PieSocket Server

Use following code to create a Channel with PieSocket self-hosted realtime servers.

PieSocketOptions options = new PieSocketOptions();
options.setClusterDomain("localhost:4001");
options.setSsl(false);

PieSocket piesocket = new PieSocket(options);
Channel channel = piesocket.join("chat-room-1");

PieSocket Channels is a scalable WebSocket API service with following features:

• Authentication
• Private Channels
• Presence Channels
• Publish messages with REST API
• Auto-scalability
• Webhooks
• Analytics
• Authentication
• Upto 60% cost savings

v4 — multi-channel over one connection

Set options.setVersion("4") to share a single WebSocket across every join() call. join() still returns a Channel synchronously — the multiplexing happens in the background.

PieSocketOptions options = new PieSocketOptions();
options.setClusterId("demo");
options.setApiKey("VCXCEuvhGcBDP7XhiJJUDvR1e1D3eiVjgZ9VRiaV");
options.setVersion("4");

PieSocket piesocket = new PieSocket(options);
Channel chat = piesocket.join("chat-room");   // opens the socket
Channel alerts = piesocket.join("alerts");    // rides the same socket

chat.listen("message", event -> { /* ... */ });
alerts.publishEvent("ping", new JSONObject().put("at", System.currentTimeMillis()), null);

• join() stays synchronous. Listen for system:connected on the primary channel (the first join()); secondary channels' subscribe acks are handled internally, not delivered to their own listeners.
• Delta presence. Full roster once as system::member_list, then kept in sync from system::member_joined / system::member_left. Call channel.refreshMembers() (returns a CompletableFuture<JSONArray>).
• All v4 system events are double-colon (system::member_joined, …).
• publishEvent(event, data, meta) sends a structured payload directly.
• Binary. Inbound binary arrives as a system::binary event whose data is a base64 string. channel.sendBinary(byte[]) sends a raw binary frame (primary channel only) — the server re-wraps it as system::binary for every other client, JS/Flutter peers included.

PieRTC — WebRTC video/audio rooms (v4 only)

Programmable WebRTC over v4, built on the bundled io.github.webrtc-sdk:android. Signalling rides its own rtc:: namespace — a plain relay, so Android, Flutter and JS/web clients interoperate in one room.

PieRTCOptions rtc = new PieRTCOptions(getApplicationContext());
rtc.video = true;
rtc.audio = true;
rtc.onLocalVideo = (stream, pieRTC) -> { /* stream.videoTracks.get(0).addSink(renderer) */ };
rtc.onParticipantJoined = (uuid, stream) -> { /* attach remote stream */ };
rtc.onParticipantLeft = uuid -> { /* remove renderer */ };

Channel room = piesocket.join("video-room", rtc);

• PieRTCOptions.context is required.
• pieRTC.getEglBaseContext() feeds SurfaceViewRenderer.init(...).
• pieRTC.shareScreen() — one call. The SDK runs the MediaProjection permission prompt and the foreground service itself (both declared in the SDK manifest, merged automatically); pieRTC.stopScreenShare() stops.
• pieRTC.dispose() / piesocket.leave(room) releases native resources.

Manifest permissions for PieRTC:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CAMERA" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.MODIFY_AUDIO_SETTINGS" />

Events

system:connected is the event fired when WebSocket connection is ready, get a full list system messages here: PieSocket System Messages

Documentation

For usage examples and more information, refer to: Official SDK docs