Every CoderBeams add-on follows XenForo core conventions, survives version upgrades, and ships with documentation and support. First up: Messenger.
Facebook Messenger-style instant chat for your forum, built directly on XenForo's native conversation system and delivered in real time over WebSockets — no AJAX polling, no duplicate message tables.
Messages arrive instantly over a Node.js + Socket.IO WebSocket server — no AJAX polling, no page refreshes, no delay.
Uses the core conversation system as the single source of truth. No duplicate tables — full history stays in your existing inbox and works everywhere.
Facebook-style chat windows docked at the bottom of every page, with up to three conversations open side by side.
See "is typing..." live while the other person writes, relayed instantly over the socket connection.
A live green dot shows when the other participant is online right now — updated automatically as users connect and disconnect.
A "Seen" marker appears in real time the moment the recipient opens your message.
Messenger-style notification sound for incoming messages, an unread counter on the chat button, and a live count in the browser tab title.
Full-screen chat on phones with a single-window layout — the same real-time experience on every device.
Headers, accents, and bubbles follow your active XenForo style automatically — light or dark, no extra styling work needed.
Recent messages load instantly; older history loads as you scroll up, with timestamps on every message.
HMAC-signed authentication tokens; the Node server never touches your database. Permission-based access with a master on/off switch.
If the Node server ever goes down, nothing is lost — messages still save through XenForo and appear when conversations open. An Admin CP status page monitors server health.
Messenger runs its own Node.js server, so it needs a one-time server setup. Do it yourself with the included step-by-step PDF guide, or let us handle everything.
The add-on package with everything you need to install it yourself.
We install and configure everything on your VPS — you just start chatting.
No — it sits on top of it. Every chat message is a normal XenForo conversation message, so your full history, permissions, and inbox keep working exactly as before. Messenger just adds a real-time chat interface for them.
Real-time delivery uses a persistent WebSocket connection, which PHP isn't designed to hold open. A small bundled Node.js + Socket.IO server handles delivery only — it never touches your database, and XenForo remains the single source of truth.
No. You need a VPS or dedicated server where Node.js 18+ can run as a background process. Any standard VPS (including panels like HestiaCP, cPanel with root, Plesk) works fine.
Nothing breaks. Messages still save through XenForo and appear when a conversation is opened — only the instant delivery pauses. An Admin CP status page shows server health and active connections at a glance.
Yes. Socket connections authenticate with short-lived HMAC-signed tokens issued by XenForo, server-to-server pushes use a shared secret, and all permission checks run through XenForo itself.
We SSH into your VPS, install the add-on and Node.js server, set up PM2 so the server survives reboots, configure the WebSocket reverse proxy on nginx or Apache, generate the secrets, and verify real-time delivery with a live two-user test before handing it back.