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SDK v7.x · Last verified March 2026 · iOS · Android · Web · Flutter
// 1. Create a community
const { data: community } = await CommunityRepository.createCommunity({
  displayName: 'Gaming Hub', isPublic: true,
  postSetting: CommunityPostSettings.ANYONE_CAN_POST,
});

// 2. Join a community
await CommunityRepository.joinCommunity('communityId');

// 3. Query trending communities
CommunityRepository.getTrendingCommunities(
  { limit: 10 },
  ({ data }) => { /* render */ }
);
Full walkthrough below ↓
Platform note — code samples below use TypeScript. Every method has an equivalent in the iOS (Swift), Android (Kotlin), and Flutter (Dart) SDKs — see the linked SDK reference in each step.
Communities are the organizational backbone of social apps. This guide walks through the full lifecycle: create a community, grow its membership, set governance rules, and help users discover it.

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Data Model

Prerequisites: SDK installed and authenticated → SDK Setup. By default, all authenticated users can create communities.
After completing this guide you’ll have:
  • Community creation flow (public and private) with categories
  • Member join/leave and role assignment wired up
  • Trending and recommended communities discoverable in-app

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Quick Start: Create a Community

Use AmityCommunityRepository to create a community with privacy and moderation settings: Full reference → Create Community

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Step-by-Step Implementation

1

Choose community settings

Pick the right postSettings for your community type before creating it. This controls the entire content governance model.
postSettingsWho can postBest for
ANYONE_CAN_POSTAll membersOpen communities
ADMIN_REVIEW_POST_REQUIREDAll members, but posts need approvalCurated communities
ONLY_ADMIN_CAN_POSTAdmins/moderators onlyAnnouncement channels
TypeScript
import { CommunityRepository } from '@amityco/ts-sdk';

const { data: community } = await CommunityRepository.createCommunity({
  displayName: 'My Community',
  isPublic: true,
  postSetting: 'ANYONE_CAN_POST',   // or 'ADMIN_REVIEW_POST_REQUIRED'
});
Full reference → Create Community
2

Add categories

Categorizing communities improves discoverability. Fetch available categories, then set category IDs on creation.
TypeScript
import { CategoryRepository } from '@amityco/ts-sdk';

const unsubscriber = CategoryRepository.getCategories(
  {},
  ({ data: categories, loading }) => {
    if (categories) { /* render category picker */ }
  },
);
Full reference → Community Categories
3

Handle membership — join and leave

For public communities, join is immediate. For private communities, joining sends a request that moderators can accept or reject.
TypeScript
import { CommunityRepository } from '@amityco/ts-sdk';

const unsub = CommunityRepository.getCommunity(communityId, async (response) => {
  const community = response.data;
  await community.join();
  unsub();
});
Full reference → Join / Leave Community
4

Manage member roles

Promote members to moderator or admin, ban members, or remove them from the community.
TypeScript
import { CommunityRepository } from '@amityco/ts-sdk';

await CommunityRepository.Membership.addMembers(communityId, ['userId1', 'userId2']);
Full reference → Member Management
5

Invite members (private communities)

For private communities, invite specific users by their user IDs. Invitees receive a notification and can accept or decline.
TypeScript
// Send invitations to users
await community.createInvitations(['userId1', 'userId2']);
Full reference → Community Invitation
6

Discover communities

Query trending and recommended communities for an explore page, or browse by category.
TypeScript
import { CommunityRepository } from '@amityco/ts-sdk';

const unsubscriber = CommunityRepository.getTrendingCommunities(
  { limit: 5 },
  ({ data: communities, loading }) => {
    if (communities) { /* render trending section */ }
  },
);
Full reference → Trending & Recommended Communities · Query Communities

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Connect to Moderation & Analytics

Admin Console — Community management
The Admin Console gives moderators a full view of every community: member lists, post queues (when ADMIN_REVIEW_POST_REQUIRED is set), banned users, and community settings.→ Admin Console: Social Management
Subscribe to community.created, member.joined, member.left, and post.flagged webhook events to sync community state with your own backend or trigger automation.→ Webhook Events
Subscribe users to community push notifications so they’re alerted when new posts are approved or when they’re mentioned.→ Community Notification Settings

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Common Mistakes

Creating communities without setting postSetting — If you omit postSetting, the default may prevent regular members from posting. Always specify ANYONE_CAN_POST or ADMIN_REVIEW_POST_REQUIRED explicitly.
Joining private communities without handling the pending state — joinCommunity on a private community returns a pending request, not immediate membership. Your UI should show a “Request Sent” state instead of community content.
Querying communities without filter — Without a filter, getCommunities returns all communities including ones the user isn’t a member of. Use filter: 'member' when building “My Communities” views.

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Best Practices

  • Default new communities to public unless your use case requires private — discoverability drives growth
  • Use ADMIN_REVIEW_POST_REQUIRED for communities with compliance requirements (e.g., healthcare, finance)
  • Define clear community guidelines and surface them during the join flow
  • Assign at least two moderators per community to avoid single-point-of-failure moderation
  • Cache category lists — they change infrequently
  • Paginate member queries (queryMembers) with a reasonable page size (20-50)
  • Use Live Collections for member counts so they update in real-time without manual refresh
  • Show the member count and post count on community cards to signal activity level
  • Surface trending communities on the home screen to drive initial engagement
  • Send an in-app notification when a private community approves a join request
Dive deeper: Communities API Reference has full parameter tables, method signatures, and platform-specific details for every API used in this guide.

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Next Steps

Your next step → Roles, Permissions & Governance

Communities are live — now set up moderator roles, post review gating, and ban management.
Or explore related guides:

Build a Social Feed

Query and render the community feed

Rich Content Creation

Let community members create posts

Content Moderation Pipeline

Set up moderation for community content