BlazorChat 1.2.9

BlazorChat

A drop-in, embeddable real-time chat component for Blazor applications.

BlazorChat is designed to be a lightweight, yet feature-rich, chat solution that can be easily integrated into any Blazor Server or Blazor WebAssembly application. For production deployments, BlazorChat.Server provides the SignalR hub and storage interfaces, and BlazorChat.Server.SqlServer adds drop-in SQL Server persistence — just run the included SQL scripts to create the tables and stored procedures and you're ready for production.

Key Features

• ✅ Real-time Messaging: Built for instant message delivery.
• ✅ Backend Agnostic: Pluggable backend via the IChatService interface.
• ✅ In-Memory Provider: Includes a basic in-memory service for quick demos and testing.
• ✅ Message Reactions: Users can react to messages with emojis.
• ✅ Typing Indicators: Shows when other users are typing.
• ✅ Active User Presence: Displays a count and list of active users in the thread.
• ✅ Message Editing & Deletion: Users can edit or delete their own messages. Deletions are instant and show a soft-delete tombstone ("This message was deleted") to all participants in real time. The message owner can undo the deletion directly from the tombstone.
• ✅ Reply to Message: Provides context for conversations.
• ✅ Customizable Styling: Easily theme the widget using CSS variables or choose from presets.
• ✅ Accessible: Designed with ARIA attributes and keyboard navigation in mind.

Getting Started

Installation

First, add the BlazorChat NuGet package to your Blazor project.

dotnet add package BlazorChat

Backend Service Configuration

The ChatWidget requires a backend service that implements the IChatService interface. You can use the provided in-memory service for demos or a SignalR-based service for production.

Option 1: In-Memory Service (For Demos)

For quick setup and testing, you can use the built-in InMemoryChatService. This service works within a single server instance.

In your Program.cs, register it as a singleton:

// Program.cs 
	using BlazorChat.Services;

// ... other services 
	builder.Services.AddSingleton<IChatService, InMemoryChatService>();

Note: The InMemoryChatService is for demonstration purposes only. For any real multi-user application, a robust SignalR backend is required.

Option 2: BlazorChat.Server (Recommended for Production)

To unlock the full potential of BlazorChat in a scalable, multi-user production environment, we offer BlazorChat.Server.

BlazorChat.Server is a pre-built, enterprise-ready SignalR backend designed to work seamlessly with the BlazorChat component. It provides the complete SignalR hub infrastructure and well-defined interfaces for you to connect your own database and persistence layer.

Benefits of BlazorChat.Server:

• Instant Setup: Complete SignalR hub implementation ready to use.
• Flexible Persistence: Includes clean storage interfaces — implement them against your database of choice (SQL Server, PostgreSQL, Cosmos DB, MongoDB, etc.).
• Scalable Architecture: Built to handle a large number of concurrent users.
• Authentication Ready: Easily integrates with your existing authentication system.
• Professionally Supported: Receive dedicated support for your chat implementation.

Skip the hassle of building your own SignalR infrastructure. Learn more and purchase BlazorChat.Server at www.loneworx.com.

Add the Component to a Page

Once your service is configured (either the demo InMemoryChatService or the production BlazorChat.Server), embed the ChatWidget in any Razor component. The component will automatically create its own SignalRChatService instance if one is not injected.

@page "/my-chat"

<ChatWidget ThreadId="project-alpha-general" 
            ChatSender="@currentUser" 
            HubUrl="/chathub" 
            ThreadTitle="Project Alpha Chat" />

@code 
{ 
    private ChatSender currentUser = new() { Id = "user123", 
                                             DisplayName = "Sam Wilson", 
                                             AvatarUrl = "https://i.pravatar.cc/150?img=11" }; 
}

Component Parameters

Customization

You can customize the look and feel of the chat widget by overriding the available CSS variables. Apply these styles in your global stylesheet.

/* Example: In your app.css */ 

:root { 
    --blazor-chat-bubble-background-mine: #007bff; 
    --blazor-chat-bubble-color-mine: white; 
    --blazor-chat-bubble-background-other: #f1f1f1; 
    --blazor-chat-bubble-color-other: #333; 
    --blazor-chat-border-radius: 12px; 
}

📜 License

BlazorChat Component (GPL v3 - Free & Open Source)

BlazorChat is free and open-source software licensed under GPL v3:

• ✅ Full-featured chat component
• ✅ InMemory service for demos and testing
• ✅ Free for open-source projects
• ✅ Free for proprietary applications (GPL v3 allows this)
• ✅ Community support via GitHub Issues
• ⚠️ GPL v3 Requirement: Modifications to BlazorChat itself must remain open-source under GPL v3

See LICENSE for full GPL v3 terms.

BlazorChat.Server (Commercial Product)

For production environments, BlazorChat.Server provides a complete SignalR backend infrastructure:

• ✅ SignalR Hub implementation for real-time communication
• ✅ Storage interfaces to connect your own database — delivered upon purchase
• ✅ Scalable architecture for enterprise use
• ✅ Bring your own database (SQL Server, PostgreSQL, Cosmos DB, MongoDB, etc.)
• ✅ Email/phone support
• ✅ Priority bug fixes and feature requests
• ✅ Commercial license for proprietary server implementations

BlazorChat.Server requires a commercial license. Contact licensing@loneworx.com for pricing and details.

Note: You can use the free BlazorChat component with your own custom IChatService implementation without purchasing BlazorChat.Server. The commercial license is only required if you use the BlazorChat.Server package.

Copyright (C) 2024-2026 LoneWorx LLC

For more information, please visit:

• Project URL: https://www.loneworx.com/blazor-chat-demo
• Repository URL: https://github.com/simscon1/BlazorChat

Changelog

v1.2.7:

• Fixed: Emoji reactions replacing each other when multiple different emojis added to the same message

v1.2.6:

• Added: Hover/focus affordance for the active users toggle button (.people-btn)
• Fixed: Active users dropdown panel — styled list of connected users anchored to the chat header
• Fixed: Styled tooltip on the active users badge now matches the BlazorRTE toolbar tooltip (data-tooltip pseudo-element) instead of the unstyled native browser title tooltip

v1.2.5:

• Fixed: Emoji reactions not appearing under message bubbles when using InMemoryChatService directly (without a SignalR hub)
• Fixed: RestoreMessageAsync signature mismatch with IChatService interface — undo-delete was silently no-op in InMemoryChatService

v1.2.4:

• Fixed: BlazorChat.Shared is now declared as a proper package dependency — resolves assembly-not-found errors when consuming BlazorChat from NuGet
• Fixed: BlazorChat.Shared models (ChatMessage, ChatSender, ChatReactionSummary, etc.) are now automatically restored in consumer projects

v1.2.0

• New: Automatic license validation with trial badge in widget composer
• New: Offline grace period (7 days) when license server unreachable
• New: Localhost auto-skips license checks for friction-free development
• New: Trial badge displays remaining days for trial licenses
• Improved: PurchaseUrl now configurable for resellers/white-labeling
• Improved: Simplified one-line setup includes all licensing infrastructure
• Fixed: License validation supports legacy claim formats for backward compatibility

v1.1.0

• Fixed: InMemory delete now broadcasts tombstone to all subscribers in real time.
• Improved: Messages are soft-deleted rather than hard-removed — a "This message was deleted" tombstone is shown to all participants.
• New: Undo delete — the message owner can restore a deleted message instantly via an inline undo button on the tombstone. The restoration is broadcast to all open windows.
• Improved: Delete is now instant with no confirmation dialog, matching Microsoft Teams behaviour. The undo button serves as the safety net.

v1.0.2

• Updated documentation and licensing information.

v1.0.1

• Initial public release.