Threaded Messages

Send and receive threaded messages to organize conversations around specific topics in the Android SDK

Quick Reference for AI Agents & Developers

Kotlin

// Send message in thread
val textMessage = TextMessage("UID", "Reply text", CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_USER)
textMessage.parentMessageId = 100
CometChat.sendMessage(textMessage, object : CallbackListener<TextMessage>() {
    override fun onSuccess(message: TextMessage) { }
    override fun onError(e: CometChatException) { }
})

// Fetch thread messages
val messagesRequest = MessagesRequest.MessagesRequestBuilder()
    .setParentMessageId(100)
    .setLimit(30)
    .build()
messagesRequest.fetchPrevious(callback)

// Exclude threads from main conversation
val messagesRequest = MessagesRequest.MessagesRequestBuilder()
    .setUID("user_uid")
    .hideReplies(true)
    .build()

Java

// Send message in thread
TextMessage textMessage = new TextMessage("UID", "Reply text", CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_USER);
textMessage.setParentMessageId(100);
CometChat.sendMessage(textMessage, new CallbackListener<TextMessage>() {
    @Override
    public void onSuccess(TextMessage message) { }
    @Override
    public void onError(CometChatException e) { }
});

// Fetch thread messages
MessagesRequest messagesRequest = new MessagesRequest.MessagesRequestBuilder()
    .setParentMessageId(100)
    .setLimit(30)
    .build();
messagesRequest.fetchPrevious(callback);

// Exclude threads from main conversation
MessagesRequest messagesRequest = new MessagesRequest.MessagesRequestBuilder()
    .setUID("user_uid")
    .hideReplies(true)
    .build();

Available via: SDK | REST API | UI Kits

Messages that are started from a particular message are called Threaded messages or simply threads. Each Thread is attached to a message which is the Parent message for that thread.

Send Message in a Thread

As mentioned in the Send a Message section, you can send a message to a User or a Group by mentioning the receiver (uid/guid) and receiverType(user/group).

A message can be categorized as:

1. Text Message
2. Media Message
3. Custom Message.

Any of the above messages can be sent in a thread. As a thread is identified with a parent message, the parentMessageId must be set for the message. This will indicate that the message to be sent has to be a part of the thread of the message with the specified parentMessageId.

This can be achieved using the setParentMessageId() method provided by the object of the TextMessage, MediaMessage and CustomMessage class. The id specified in the setParentMessageId() method maps the message sent to the particular thread. For more details on message types, see Message Structure & Hierarchy.

Example to Send a Text Message in a thread in a user conversation.

Java

TextMessage textMessage = new TextMessage(UID, "Hello", CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_USER);
textMessage.setParentMessageId(100);

CometChat.sendMessage(textMessage, new CometChat.CallbackListener<TextMessage>() {
  @Override
    public void onSuccess(TextMessage textMessage) {
    Log.d(TAG, "Text Message Sent successfully");
  }

  @Override
    public void onError(CometChatException e) {
    Log.d(TAG, "Text Message Failed : " + e.getMessage());
  }
}); 

Kotlin

val textMessage = TextMessage(UID, "Hello", CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_USER)
textMessage.parentMessageId = 100

CometChat.sendMessage(textMessage, object : CallbackListener<TextMessage?>() {
  override fun onSuccess(textMessage: TextMessage?) {
    Log.d(TAG, "Text Message Sent successfully")
  }

  override fun onError(e: CometChatException) {
    Log.d(TAG, "Text Message Failed : " + e.message)
  }
})

The above snippet shows how a message with the text “Hello” can be sent in the thread with parentMessageId 100.

Similarly, using the setparentMessageId() method, Media and Custom Messages can be sent in threads too.

Receiving Real-Time Messages

The procedure to receive real-time messages is exactly the same as mentioned in the Receive Messages. This can be achieved using the MessageListener class provided by the SDK. To add a MessageListener, you can use the addMessageListener() method of the SDK. The only thing that needs to be checked is if the received message belongs to the active thread. This can be done using parentMessageId field of the message object.

Java

private String listenerID = "UNIQUE_LISTENER_ID";
private int activeThreadId = 100;

CometChat.addMessageListener(listenerID, new CometChat.MessageListener() {
  @Override
  public void onTextMessageReceived(TextMessage textMessage) {
    if(message.getParentMessageId() == activeThreadId) {
      Log.d(TAG,"Text Message Received for active thread");
    }
  }

  @Override
  public void onMediaMessageReceived(MediaMessage mediaMessage) {
    if(message.getParentMessageId() == activeThreadId) {
      Log.d(TAG,"Media Message Received for active thread");
    }
  }

  @Override
    public void onCustomMessageReceived(CustomMessage customMessage) {
    if(message.getParentMessageId() == activeThreadId) {
        Log.d(TAG,"Custome Message Received for active thread");
    }
  }
});

Kotlin

val listenerID = "UNIQUE_LISTENER_ID"
val activeThreadId = 100

CometChat.addMessageListener(listenerID, object : MessageListener() {
    override fun onTextMessageReceived(textMessage: TextMessage) {
        if (message!!.parentMessageId === activeThreadId) {
            Log.d(TAG, "Text Message Received for active thread")
        }
    }

    override fun onMediaMessageReceived(mediaMessage: MediaMessage) {
        if (message!!.parentMessageId === activeThreadId) {
            Log.d(TAG, "Media Message Received for active thread")
        }
    }

    override fun onCustomMessageReceived(customMessage: CustomMessage) {
        if (message!!.parentMessageId === activeThreadId) {
            Log.d(TAG, "Custome Message Received for active thread")
        }
    }
})

Fetch all the messages for any particular thread.

You can fetch all the messages belonging to a particular thread by using the MessagesRequest class. For more information on message filtering, see Additional Message Filtering.

The MessageRequestBuilder builds the MessageRequest object using the following functions:

1. setParentMessageId(): Takes the parentId of the message as argument whose thread needs to be requested.
2. build(): returns the MessageRequest object.

Once you have the MessagesRequest object, you can call the fetchPrevious() method to get the latest messages in the thread. In one iteration, a maximum of 100 messages can be fetched. If you wish to fetch the next set of messages, you need to call the fetchPrevious() method again on the same object.

Java

MessagesRequest messagesRequest = neMessagesRequest.MessagesRequestBuilder()
  .setLimit(30)
  .setParentMessageId(100)
  .build();
      
messagesRequest.fetchPrevious(new CometChat.CallbackListener<List<BaseMessage>>() {
  @Override
    public void onSuccess(List<BaseMessage> messages) {
    Log.d(TAG, "Messages for thread fetched successfully");        
  }

  @Override
    public void onError(CometChatException e) {
    Log.d(TAG, "Message Fetching failed : "+ e.getMessage());
  }
});

Kotlin

val messagesRequest: MessagesRequest = neMessagesRequest.MessagesRequestBuilder()
  .setLimit(30)
  .setParentMessageId(100)
  .build()

messagesRequest.fetchPrevious(object : CallbackListener<List<BaseMessage?>?>() {
  override fun onSuccess(messages: List<BaseMessage?>?) {
    Log.d(TAG, "Messages for thread fetched successfully")
  }

  override fun onError(e: CometChatException) {
    Log.d(TAG, "Message Fetching failed : " + e.message)
  }
})

Avoid Threaded Messages in User/Group Conversations

While fetching messages for normal user/group conversations using the MessagesRequest, the threaded messages by default will be a part of the list of messages received. In order to exclude the threaded messages from the list of user/group messages, you need to use the hideReplies() method of the MessagesRequestBuilder class. This method takes a boolean argument which when set to true excludes the messages belonging to threads from the list of messages.

Java

MessagesRequest messagesRequest = neMessagesRequest.MessagesRequestBuilder()
  .setLimit(30)
  .setUID("cometchat-uid-1")
  .hideReplies(true)
  .build();
      
messagesRequest.fetchPrevious(new CometChat.CallbackListener<List<BaseMessage>>() {
  @Override
    public void onSuccess(List<BaseMessage> messages) {
    Log.d(TAG, "Messages for thread fetched successfully");        
  }

  @Override
    public void onError(CometChatException e) {
    Log.d(TAG, "Message Fetching failed : "+ e.getMessage());
  }
});

Kotlin

val messagesRequest: MessagesRequest = neMessagesRequest.MessagesRequestBuilder()
  .setLimit(30)
  .setUID("cometchat-uid-1")
  .hideReplies(true)
  .build()

messagesRequest.fetchPrevious(object : CallbackListener<List<BaseMessage?>?>() {
  override fun onSuccess(messages: List<BaseMessage?>?) {
    Log.d(TAG, "Messages for thread fetched successfully")
  }

  override fun onError(e: CometChatException) {
    Log.d(TAG, "Message Fetching failed : " + e.message)
  }
}) 

The above snippet will return messages between the logged in user and cometchat-uid-1 excluding all the threaded messages belonging to the same conversation.

Best Practices

Use hideReplies() for Main Conversations

Always use hideReplies(true) when fetching messages for main user/group conversations to keep threads separate and maintain a clean conversation view. This prevents thread replies from cluttering the main message list.

Check parentMessageId for Thread Context

When receiving real-time messages, always check the parentMessageId to determine if a message belongs to an active thread. This ensures proper message routing in your UI.

Validate Parent Message Exists

Before allowing users to reply in a thread, verify that the parent message still exists and hasn’t been deleted. This prevents orphaned thread messages.

---

Next Steps

Send Messages

Learn how to send text, media, and custom messages

Receive Messages

Handle real-time message events with listeners

Message Structure

Understand message objects and their properties

Reactions

Add emoji reactions to messages