Build a Social Feed

SDK v7.x · Last verified March 2026 · iOS · Android · Web · Flutter

Speed run — just the code

// 1. Query a user feed
const repository = new AmityFeedRepository();
const posts = await repository.getUserFeed(
  'user-123',
  ['user', 'community'],
  undefined,
  'lastCreated',
  false,
  true
);

// 2. Query a community feed with live updates
import { PostRepository, subscribeTopic, getCommunityTopic, SubscriptionLevels } from '@amityco/ts-sdk';

const unsubscribe = PostRepository.getPosts(
  { targetId: 'communityId', targetType: 'community', sortBy: 'lastCreated' },
  ({ data: posts }) => {
    if (posts) { /* render posts */ }
  },
);

// 3. Subscribe to real-time events (required for server-side updates)
subscribeTopic(getCommunityTopic(community, SubscriptionLevels.POST));

// 4. Unsubscribe when done
unsubscribe();

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.

Three social feed screens: mobile newsfeed with story ring bar and featured posts, community sidebar with explore and member list, and desktop feed with video post and hashtags — Social feeds in action — newsfeed with story rings, community sidebar, and video posts

A social feed is the heart of any social app. This guide walks through querying the right feed for each context, subscribing to real-time updates, and controlling post ranking.

Prerequisites: SDK installed and authenticated → SDK Setup. You’ll need a valid userId for the current user and optionally a communityId for community-scoped feeds.

After completing this guide you’ll have:

A live-updating user feed, community feed, and global feed rendering in your app
Real-time post additions and deletions via Live Collections
Post ranking configured and connected to the Admin Console

Quick Start: Query a User Feed

Use AmityFeedRepository to query a user’s combined feed (their own posts + community posts they authored):

TypeScript SDK gap: AmityFeedRepository is not yet available in the TypeScript SDK. iOS, Android, and Flutter all expose AmityFeedRepository with getCommunityFeed and user feed queries. TS FeedRepository only has queryGlobalFeed. Tracking: see .docs-ops/evals/sdk-tickets-to-file.md.

Full reference → Get User Feed

Step-by-Step Implementation

Query a community feed

Use PostRepository.getPosts() to query all posts within a specific community. Filter by post type, sort order, and deletion status.

TypeScript

import { PostRepository } from '@amityco/ts-sdk';

const unsubscribe = PostRepository.getPosts(
  { targetId: 'communityId', targetType: 'community', sortBy: 'lastCreated' },
  ({ data: posts, onNextPage, hasNextPage, loading }) => {
    if (posts) { /* render posts */ }
  },
);

Full reference → Query Posts

Query the global feed

The global feed aggregates posts across all communities. The SDK provides both chronological ordering and custom-ranked feeds based on engagement metrics.

TypeScript

import { FeedRepository } from '@amityco/ts-sdk';

const unsubscribe = FeedRepository.getGlobalFeed(
  { limit: 20, includeDeleted: false },
  ({ data: posts, onNextPage, hasNextPage, loading }) => {
    if (posts) { /* render global feed */ }
  },
);

Full reference → Query Global Feed

Query the For You feed

For You is a backend-personalized global feed. It is a network-level feature — gate the surface on Client.getForYouFeedSetting() and handle AmityForYouFeedDisabledError for networks where it is not enabled. getForYouFeed() takes no query parameters; page through the callback.

TypeScript

import { Client, FeedRepository } from '@amityco/ts-sdk';

const { forYouFeed } = await Client.getForYouFeedSetting();
if (!forYouFeed.enabled) return; // hide the For You surface

const unsubscribe = FeedRepository.getForYouFeed(
  ({ data: posts, onNextPage, hasNextPage, loading, error }) => {
    if (error instanceof FeedRepository.AmityForYouFeedDisabledError) return;
    if (posts) { /* render For You feed */ }
  },
);

Full reference → Query For You Feed

Subscribe to real-time events

Live Collections auto-update from local cache changes (e.g., the current user creates a post). To also receive server-side updates (new posts from other users, moderator deletions), you must explicitly subscribe to the relevant topic.

TypeScript

import { subscribeTopic, getCommunityTopic, getUserTopic, SubscriptionLevels } from '@amityco/ts-sdk';

// For a community feed — receive new/edited/deleted post events
const disposers: (() => void)[] = [];
disposers.push(subscribeTopic(getCommunityTopic(community, SubscriptionLevels.POST)));

// For a user feed — receive events for that user's posts
disposers.push(subscribeTopic(getUserTopic(user, SubscriptionLevels.POST)));

// Clean up when the view unmounts
disposers.forEach(fn => fn());
unsubscribe(); // also stop the Live Collection query

Full reference → Social Real-time Events

Implement pagination

Live Collections provide onNextPage and hasNextPage in the callback. Trigger load-more when the user scrolls near the bottom.

TypeScript

// Inside your callback, capture the pagination helpers:
let nextPageFn: (() => void) | undefined;
let hasMore: boolean | undefined;

// In the callback:
hasMore = hasNextPage;
nextPageFn = onNextPage;

// When user scrolls to bottom:
if (hasMore) nextPageFn?.();

Full reference → Live Objects & Collections

Apply custom post ranking (optional)

Pin specific posts to the top of a community feed or enable the engagement-based ranking algorithm that factors in comments, reactions, and time decay.Full reference → Custom Post Ranking

Connect to Moderation & Analytics

Flagged content in feeds

When a user flags a post via the SDK, the post is submitted for moderator review. By default, flagged posts remain visible until a moderator takes action. You can configure automatic hiding of reported content in the Admin Console → Content Moderation → Settings.

SDK flagging → Content Flagging
Console review → Admin Console Moderation

Post impression analytics

Track how many users viewed posts in the feed using impression analytics.View aggregated impression data in Admin Console → Social Management → Post Analytics.Full reference → Post Impressions

Webhook: new post in feed

Receive a webhook event whenever a post is created in a community your server monitors. Use this to send push notifications or trigger downstream workflows.Reference → Webhook Events

Common Mistakes

Fetching the entire feed at once — Loading all posts without pagination causes memory spikes and slow initial renders. Always use limit and paginate with cursors.

// ❌ Bad — fetches everything at once
const allPosts = await repository.getUserFeed('user-123', ['user', 'community']);

// ✅ Good — use Live Collection with pagination
const unsubscribe = PostRepository.getPosts(
  { targetId: 'communityId', targetType: 'community', sortBy: 'lastCreated' },
  ({ data: posts, onNextPage, hasNextPage }) => {
    renderPosts(posts);
    // Load more only when the user scrolls down
  },
);

Skipping topic subscription — Live Collections auto-update from local cache, but not from server-side events (other users’ posts, moderator actions) unless you call subscribeTopic(). Without it your feed goes stale.

// ❌ Bad — no topic subscription, misses server events
const unsubscribe = PostRepository.getPosts(params, callback);

// ✅ Good — subscribe to the community topic for real-time post events
subscribeTopic(getCommunityTopic(community, SubscriptionLevels.POST));

Not handling deleted or flagged posts — Posts can be removed by moderators between fetches. Always check post.isDeleted before rendering to avoid showing blank cards.

Best Practices

Performance

Use dataTypes filtering to limit payload size when you only need specific post types
Avoid observing the global feed on low-memory devices — use paginated queries instead
Unsubscribe Live Collection observers when the screen goes off-screen (lifecycle-aware)
Use untilAt (iOS/Android) for time-bounded pagination to prevent content jumping when new posts arrive

User Experience

Always show a skeleton/placeholder while the first page loads
Show a “New posts” banner (like Twitter) rather than auto-scrolling to the top when live updates arrive
Preserve scroll position when the user navigates away and returns
Cache the first page of the feed for offline display

Security

Never expose the raw API key in client-side code — use the SDK’s built-in auth flow
Respect isPublic: false communities — the SDK automatically filters private communities from feeds
Don’t cache deleted posts — observe deletions via Live Collections and remove them immediately

Next Steps

Your next step → Rich Content Creation

Now that you have a working feed, give users something to post — text, images, videos, polls, and file posts.

Or explore related guides:

Rich Content Creation

Create the posts that appear in the feed

Comments & Reactions

Add engagement features to feed posts

Community Platform

Build the communities that power community feeds

Overview

Build Your Community

Create & Share Content

Communication

Engage & Grow

Livestream

Monetize

Quick Start: Query a User Feed

Step-by-Step Implementation

Connect to Moderation & Analytics

Common Mistakes

Best Practices

Next Steps

Your next step → Rich Content Creation

Rich Content Creation

Comments & Reactions

Community Platform

​Quick Start: Query a User Feed

​Step-by-Step Implementation

​Connect to Moderation & Analytics

​Common Mistakes

​Best Practices

​Next Steps

Your next step → Rich Content Creation

Rich Content Creation

Comments & Reactions

Community Platform

Quick Start: Query a User Feed

Step-by-Step Implementation

Connect to Moderation & Analytics

Common Mistakes

Best Practices

Next Steps