How to Build a Slack Clone with React Native

In this three-part tutorial series, you'll build a fully functional Slack clone for iOS and Android using React Native and Stream Chat.

By the end, you'll have a working app that closely mirrors Slack's UI and functionality, complete with dark mode support, emoji reactions, GIF previews, and a message action sheet.

Note: This tutorial is a guide to building a real-world chat experience using Stream's Chat API and SDKs — not a production-ready Slack replacement.

What You'll Build

Over the course of three parts, you'll implement the following features:

A real-time channel list with unread indicators, presence indicators, and direct message support
A channel screen with a custom Slack-style message UI (square avatars, inline reactions, URL previews, GIF cards)
A custom message input with attach and send buttons
Dark mode support with dynamic theming
A channel list header, floating compose button, and a bottom tab bar
A message action sheet for editing, deleting, copying, and replying to messages
A threads screen for replying within a message thread
Search screens for jumping to channels, searching direct messages, and searching messages globally

Prerequisites

Before starting, you should have:

A React Native development environment set up for iOS and/or Android. See the official React Native docs for guidance.
A free Stream account. You'll use Stream's Chat API and React Native SDK throughout this series.
Basic familiarity with React Native and React hooks.

The Tutorial Series

→ Part 1: Project Setup, Channel List, Channel Screen & Message Input

Part 1 covers everything you need to get from zero to a working messaging UI. You'll scaffold the React Native project, install all dependencies, and connect to the Stream Chat API. From there, you'll build:

A channel list with real-time event handling for new messages and read state
A channel screen powered by Stream's Channel, MessageList, and MessageInput components
A custom MessageSlack component that replicates Slack's message UI: square avatars, username headers, bottom-aligned reactions with counts, styled URL previews, and GIF cards
A custom input box with compose, attach, and send controls

→ Part 2: Icons, Top Bar, Compose Button & Message Action Sheet

Part 2 builds on the foundation from Part 1 by adding the navigational chrome and interaction patterns that make the app feel complete. You'll add:

An SVG icon system with light and dark mode variants
App-wide dark and light themes using React Navigation's theming API
A screen header with title, logo, and search button
A floating compose button for starting new conversations
A bottom tab bar (Home, DMs, Mentions, You)
A message action sheet for copy, edit, delete, and reply-in-thread actions

→ Part 3: Threads, Message Search & Channel Search

Part 3 completes the series with the features that make a chat app truly navigable. You'll build:

A thread screen for focused replies on a parent message, using Stream's built-in Thread component
A message search screen with recent search history stored in AsyncStorage and global search powered by Stream's Search API
A channel search screen that doubles as a "jump to channel" UI, with debounced queries and a horizontal strip of recent direct message contacts
A targeted message channel screen that opens a channel scrolled to a specific search result message

The complete project is available on GitHub.

Happy coding! 🎉