Getting Started

Learn How Easy It Can Be To Build Scalable Newsfeeds and Activity Streams

Stream has official clients for JS/Node, Ruby, Python, PHP, Go, and Java. There are framework integrations available for Rails, Django, Laravel, Doctrine, Zend, and Node. In addition to the official clients, the community has built clients for.NET and Scala.

Setup

Let’s get set up! First, install the client as specified below:

// add the stream-net to your project:
// https://www.nuget.org/packages/stream-net/
<PackageReference Include="stream-net" Version="6.5.3" />

// install via npm
npm install getstream

// or yarn
yarn add getstream

// or download the UMD built version from Github
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/GetStream/stream-js/master/dist/js/getstream.js

# install directly with gem
gem install "stream-ruby"

# or add this to your Gemfile and then run bundler
gem "stream-ruby"

// pip install stream-python

// install using composer
composer require get-stream/stream

// Add the following dependency and repository to your pom.xml file

<dependency>
  <groupId>io.getstream.client</groupId>
  <artifactId>stream-java</artifactId>
  <version>3.0.0</version>
</dependency>

// install from the command line
go get github.com/GetStream/stream-go2/v8

// import it in your code
import stream "github.com/GetStream/stream-go2/v8"

// CocoaPods
pod 'GetStream', '~> 2.0'

// Carthage
github "GetStream/stream-swift"

// install via pub 
 dart pub add stream_feed

All source code can be found on GitHub.

To instantiate the client you need an API key and secret. You can find the key and secret on the dashboard. The examples below already include your key and secret.

// Create a client, find your API keys here https://getstream.io/dashboard/
// optionally set the region of your app and default timeout 
Client = new StreamClient(
  Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("STREAM_API_KEY"),
  Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("STREAM_API_SECRET"),
  new StreamClientOptions
  {
    Location = StreamApiLocation.USEast,
    Timeout = 16000,
});

const stream = require('getstream');

// instantiate a new client (server side)
const client = stream.connect(
 '{{ api_key }}',
 '{{ api_secret }}'
);

// OR

import stream from 'getstream';

const client = stream.connect(
 '{{ api_key }}',
 '{{ api_secret }}'
);

# Instantiate a new client (server side)
require 'stream'
client = Stream::Client.new('{{ api_key }}', '{{ api_secret }}', :location => 'us-east')
# Find your API keys here https://getstream.io/dashboard/

# Instantiate a new client (server side)
import stream
client = stream.connect('{{ api_key }}', '{{ api_secret }}', location='us-east')
# Find your API keys here https://getstream.io/dashboard/

// Instantiate a new client (server side)
$client = new GetStream\Stream\Client('{{ api_key }}', '{{ api_secret }}');
// Find your API keys here https://getstream.io/dashboard/

// import io.getstream.client.Client;

Client client = Client.builder(
 '{{ api_key }}',
 '{{ api_secret }}'
 ).build();

import stream "github.com/GetStream/stream-go2/v8"

client, err := stream.New("{{ api_key }}", "{{ api_secret }}")
if err != nil {
	panic(err)
}

// import GetStream

// Setup Stream client (server side)
let client = Client(apiKey: "{{ api_secret }}", appId: "{{ app_id }}", token: "{{ feed_token }}")

import 'package:stream_feed/stream_feed.dart';

// instantiate a new client (server side)
final client = StreamFeedClient.connect('{{ api_key }}', secret: '{{ api_secret }}');

If you want to use Stream on your mobile or web application, you need to generate a token server-side that the JS/Swift/Java client can use to authenticate as a user of your application.

Generate User Token Server-Side

This code generates the token for one of your users; a common place to do this is at signup or login. The token is then passed to the frontend.

var token = client.CreateUserToken("the-user-id");

const userToken = client.createUserToken('the-user-id');

user_token = client.create_user_session_token('the-user-id')

user_token = client.create_user_token('the-user-id')

$userToken = client->createUserSessionToken("the-user-id");

Token userToken = client.frontendToken("the-user-id");

userToken, err := client.CreateUserToken("the-user-id")

final userToken = client.frontendToken("the-user-id");

Use Stream API client-side (JS, Swift)

const stream = require('getstream');

// Instantiate new client with a user token
const client = stream.connect(
 '{{ api_key }}', 
 '{{ feed_token }}',
 '{{ app_id }}'
);

// OR

import stream from 'getstream';

const client = stream.connect(
 '{{ api_key }}', 
 '{{ feed_token }}',
 '{{ app_id }}'
);

// import GetStream

// Setup Stream client.
let client = Client(
 apiKey: "{{ api_key }}", 
 appId: "{{ app_id }}", 
 token: "{{ feed_token }}"
)

import 'package:stream_feed/stream_feed.dart';
final client = StreamClient.connect('{{ api_key }}', token: '{{ feed_token }}', appId: '{{ app_id }}');

More details about authentication can be found in the REST docs

Quick Start

The quick start below shows you how to build a scalable social network. It highlights the most common API calls:

var chrisFeed = client.Feed("user", "chris");

// Add an Activity; message is a custom field - tip: you can add unlimited custom fields!
var activity = new Activity("chris", "add", "picture:10")
{
  ForeignId = "picture:10"
};
activity.SetData("message", "Beautiful bird!");

await chrisFeed.AddActivityAsync(activity);

// Create a following relationship between Jack's "timeline" feed and Chris' "user" feed:
jackTimeline = client.Feed("timeline", "jack");
jackTimeline.FollowFeed("user", "chris");

// Read Jack's timeline and Chris' post appears in the feed:
var activities = await jackTimeline.GetActivitiesAsync(0, 10);

// Remove the activity by referencing the foreign_id you provided:
await chrisFeed.RemoveActivityAsync("picture:10", true);

// for more exaxmples check:
// https://github.com/GetStream/stream-net/blob/master/README.md

const chris = client.feed('user', 'chris');

// Add an Activity; message is a custom field - tip: you can add unlimited custom fields!
await chris.addActivity({
  actor: 'chris',
  verb: 'add',
  object: 'picture:10',
  foreign_id: 'picture:10',
  message: 'Beautiful bird!'
});

// Create a following relationship between Jack's "timeline" feed and Chris' "user" feed:
const jack = client.feed('timeline', 'jack');
await jack.follow('user', 'chris');

// Read Jack's timeline and Chris' post appears in the feed:
const results = await jack.get({ limit: 10 });

// Remove an Activity by referencing it's Foreign Id:
await chris.removeActivity({ foreignId: 'picture:10' });

chris = client.feed('user', 'chris')

# Add an Activity; message is a custom field - tip: you can add unlimited custom fields!
activity_data = { :actor => 'chris', :verb => 'add', :object => 'picture:10', :foreign_id => 'picture:10', :message => 'Beautiful bird!' }
chris.add_activity(activity_data);

# Create a following relationship between Jack's "timeline" feed and Chris' "user" feed:
jack = client.feed('timeline', 'jack')
jack.follow('user', 'chris')

# Read Jack's timeline and Chris' post appears in the feed:
activities = jack.get(:limit => 10)

# Remove an Activity by referencing it's foreign_id
chris.remove_activity('picture:10', foreign_id=true)

chris = client.feed("user", "chris")

# Add an Activity; message is a custom field - tip: you can add unlimited custom fields!
chris.add_activity({
 "actor": "chris",
 "verb": "add",
 "object": "picture:10",
 "foreign_id": "picture:10",
 "message": "Beautiful bird!"
})

# Create a following relationship between Jack's "timeline" feed and Chris' "user" feed:
jack = client.feed("timeline", "jack")
jack.follow('user', "chris")

# Read Jack's timeline and Chris' post appears in the feed:
activities = jack.get(limit=10)["results"]

# Remove an Activity by referencing it's foreign_id
chris.remove_activity(foreign_id="picture:10")

FlatFeed chris = client.flatFeed("user", "chris");
// Add an Activity; message is a custom field - tip: you can add unlimited custom fields!
chris.addActivity(Activity.builder()
    .actor("chris")
    .verb("add")
    .object("picture:10")
    .foreignID("picture:10")
    .extraField("message", "Beautiful bird!")
    .build());

// Create a following relationship between Jack's "timeline" feed and Chris' "user" feed:
FlatFeed jack = client.flatFeed("timeline", "jack");
ack.follow(chris).join();

// Read Jack's timeline and Chris' post appears in the feed:
List<Activity> response = jack.getActivities(new Pagination().limit(10)).join();
for (Activity activity : response) {
    // ...
}

// Remove an Activity by referencing it's foreign_id
chris.removeActivityByForeignID("picture:10").join();

chris, err := client.FlatFeed("user", "chris")
	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}

	// Add an Activity; message is a custom field - tip: you can add unlimited custom fields!
	_, err = chris.AddActivity(context.TODO(), stream.Activity{
		Actor:   "chris",
		Verb:   "add",
		Object:  "picture:10",
		ForeignID: "picture:10",
		Extra: map[string]any{
			"message": "Beautiful bird!",
		},
	})
	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}

	// Create a following relationship between Jack's "timeline" feed and Chris' "user" feed:
	jack, err := client.FlatFeed("timeline", "jack")
	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}

	_, err = jack.Follow(context.TODO(), chris)
	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}

	// Read Jack's timeline and Chris' post appears in the feed:
	resp, err := jack.GetActivities(context.TODO(), stream.WithActivitiesLimit(10))
	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}
	for _, activity := range resp.Results {
		fmt.Println(activity)
	}

	// Remove an Activity by referencing it's foreign_id
	_, err = chris.RemoveActivityByForeignID(context.TODO(), "picture:10")
	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}

$chris = $client->feed('user', 'chris');

// Add an Activity; message is a custom field - tip: you can add unlimited custom fields!
$data = [
 "actor" => "chris",
 "verb" => "add",
 "object" => "picture:10",
 "foreign_id" => "picture:10",
 "message" => "Beautiful bird!",
];

$chris->addActivity($data);

// Create a following relationship between Jack's "timeline" feed and Chris' "user" feed:
$jack = $client->feed('timeline', 'jack');
$jack->follow('user', 'chris');

// Read Jack's timeline and Chris' post appears in the feed:
$activities = $jack->getActivities(10)['results'];

// Remove the activity by referencing the foreign_id you provided:
$chris->removeActivity("picture:10", true);

// Setup a shared Stream Client.
let client = Client(apiKey: "{{ api_secret }}", appId: "{{ app_id }}", token: "{{ feed_token }}")

// Setup a Stream user, when your user was logged in.
Client.shared.setupUser(token: token) { _ in 
  // Do all your requests from here. Reload feeds and etc.
}

// Create a user feed.
// ⚠️ Make sure your feeds are instance variables to wait for the result: `var userFeed: FlatFeed?`
userFeed = Client.shared.flatFeed(feedSlug: "user")

// Create an Activity. You can make own Activity class or struct with custom properties.
let activity = Activity(actor: User.current!, verb: "add", object: "picture:10", foreignId: "picture:10")

userFeed?.add(activity) { result in
  // A result of the adding of the activity.
  print(result)
}

// Create a following relationship between "timeline" feed and "user" feed:
timelineFeed = Client.shared.flatFeed(feedSlug: "timeline")

timelineFeed?.follow(toTarget: userFeed!.feedId, activityCopyLimit: 1) { result in
  print(result)
}

// Read timeline and user's post appears in the feed:
timelineFeed?.get(pagination: .limit(10)) { result in
  let response = try! result.get()
  print(response.results)
}

// Remove an activity by referencing it's foreignId
userFeed?.remove(foreignId: "picture:10") { result in
  print(result)
}

final chris = client.flatFeed('user', 'chris');

// Add an Activity; message is a custom field - tip: you can add unlimited custom fields!
 await chris.addActivity(Activity(
   actor: 'chris',
   verb: 'add',
   object: 'picture:10',
   foreignId: 'picture:10',
   extraData: {'message': 'Beautiful bird!'}));

// Create a following relationship between Jack's "timeline" feed and Chris' "user" feed:
 final jack = client.flatFeed('timeline', 'jack');
 await jack.follow(chris);

// Read Jack's timeline and Chris' post appears in the feed:
final results = await jack.getActivities(limit: 10);

// Remove an Activity by referencing it's Foreign Id:
await chris.removeActivityByForeignId('picture:10');

That was a good deal of information at once. The getting started docs provide a more detailed and interactive explanation.

Feeds 101