> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.summerengine.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Show friends and messages
> Show which friends are online or playing your game, open Summer's friends, profile and chat screens over your game, and send direct messages.
Players bring their Summer friends into every game. Your game can show which
friends are online and who's playing it right now, and open Summer's own
friends list, profiles and chat on top of the game. If messaging is part of
your game, it can also read and send direct messages. Players stay in
control: your game asks before it reads their friends or messages, and it
keeps working if they say no.
## Games like this
Open the overlay to see friends and message them without leaving the game.
See which friends are online and already in the game.
Messages between friends are part of the game.
## What your players get
* **Friends and what they're doing:** each friend shows as in this game,
online, in another game, or offline. Another game is never named.
* **Summer's screens over your game:** the friends list, any player's profile
with add friend, message, invite to party and report, and a chat with a
friend. Your game opens them with no permission needed.
* **Direct messages inside your game,** when the player allows it.
Friend requests, blocking and reporting all live in the Summer app, so your
game never has to build them.
## Pick your setup
### Summer's screens over your game
The simplest setup needs no permission at all. A Friends button opens
Summer's friends list over your game. Tapping a player on your scoreboard
opens their profile, where the player can add them as a friend, message them,
invite them to a party or report them. This covers what most games need.
In my Summer project, add Summer's friends screens. Use the Summer
`summer-friends` skill; if you don't have it installed, find it in the Summer
library.
* A Friends button in \[WHERE, for example "the main menu and the pause menu"]
opens Summer's friends list over the game.
* Tapping a player in \[WHERE, for example "the scoreboard"] opens their Summer
profile.
* Where these screens aren't available, the buttons are hidden and the game
keeps working.
Read my project first and fit this into my existing menus. Then test it with
Local Play and tell me what I can only check once the game is hosted.
### A friends list with who's playing
Your game can show the player's friends in its own style, with friends who
are in this game at the top. Reading the list needs the player's permission:
your game declares that it wants it, and asks when the player opens the list.
Summer shows its own consent screen. If the player says no, the list stays
private and the game plays on as normal.
In my Summer project, show the player's Summer friends in \[WHERE, for example
"a side panel in the main menu"]. Use the Summer `summer-friends` skill; if
you don't have it installed, find it in the Summer library.
* Ask for permission only when the player opens the panel, never at startup.
* List friends in this game first, then online, in another game, and offline.
* If the player says no, keep the game fully playable and let them ask again
later.
Read my project first and fit this into my existing UI. Then test it with
Local Play and tell me what I can only check once the game is hosted.
### Direct messages in your game
When messaging is central to your game, such as a turn-based game where
friends chat between moves, your game can read and send the player's direct
messages. Reading, sending and marking messages as read are each a separate
permission the player grants. Summer filters every message, and players can
only message their friends. For chat with everyone in a match, use
[text chat](/build/chat) instead.
In my Summer project, let friends send each other direct messages inside the
game. Use the Summer `summer-friends` skill; if you don't have it installed,
find it in the Summer library.
* \[WHERE, for example "a chat panel next to each game in progress"].
* Ask for permission to read and send messages when the player first opens it.
* If a message is filtered or the friend can't be messaged, tell the player
it wasn't sent.
Read my project first and tell me whether opening Summer's own chat screen
would do the job before you build anything. Then test it with Local Play and
tell me what I can only check once the game is hosted.
Want friends to play together? [Parties](/build/parties) let them queue as a
group.
## Not sure which fits?
Read my Summer project and help me plan its friends features. Use the Summer
`summer-friends` and `summer-parties` skills; if you don't have them
installed, find them in the Summer library. Don't change any files yet.
Tell me:
1. which friends features fit my game: Summer's screens, my own friends list,
or direct messages, and which permissions each needs;
2. where players would see them, from the main menu to the end of a match;
3. anything my design needs that these features don't cover yet, and how we
can build around it.
## Testing it on your machine
Local Play has no Summer accounts, so friends features report that they
aren't available. Use it to check that your game hides them cleanly and keeps
working. Summer also keeps players under 13 out of social features, so the
same hidden version covers them. Friends lists, profiles and messages show
real data in a hosted game: test with two accounts that are friends.
***
Does this not help you? [Reach out on Discord!](https://discord.gg/summerengine)
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