List messages

This guide explains how to use the list() method on the Message resource of the Google Chat API to see a paginated, filterable list of messages in a space.

In the Chat API, a Chat message is represented by the Message resource. While Chat users can only send messages that contain text, Chat apps can use many other messaging features, including displaying static or interactive user interfaces, collecting information from users, and delivering messages privately. To learn more about messaging features available for the Chat API, see the Google Chat messages overview.

Prerequisites

Node.js

Python

Java

Apps Script

List messages

To list messages with user authentication, pass the following in your request:

  • Specify the chat.messages.readonly or chat.messages authorization scope.
  • Call the ListMessages() method.

The following example lists messages in a Chat space:

Node.js

chat/client-libraries/cloud/list-messages-user-cred.js
import {createClientWithUserCredentials} from './authentication-utils.js';

const USER_AUTH_OAUTH_SCOPES = ['https://www.googleapis.com/auth/chat.messages.readonly'];

// This sample shows how to list messages with user credential
async function main() {
  // Create a client
  const chatClient = await createClientWithUserCredentials(USER_AUTH_OAUTH_SCOPES);

  // Initialize request argument(s)
  const request = {
    // Replace SPACE_NAME here
    parent: 'spaces/SPACE_NAME'
  };

  // Make the request
  const pageResult = chatClient.listMessagesAsync(request);

  // Handle the response. Iterating over pageResult will yield results and
  // resolve additional pages automatically.
  for await (const response of pageResult) {
    console.log(response);
  }
}

main().catch(console.error);

Python

chat/client-libraries/cloud/list_messages_user_cred.py
from authentication_utils import create_client_with_user_credentials
from google.apps import chat_v1 as google_chat

SCOPES = ["https://www.googleapis.com/auth/chat.messages.readonly"]

# This sample shows how to list messages with user credential
def list_messages_with_user_cred():
    # Create a client
    client = create_client_with_user_credentials(SCOPES)

    # Initialize request argument(s)
    request = google_chat.ListMessagesRequest(
        # Replace SPACE_NAME here
        parent = 'spaces/SPACE_NAME',
        # Number of results that will be returned at once
        page_size = 100
    )

    # Make the request
    page_result = client.list_messages(request)

    # Handle the response. Iterating over page_result will yield results and
    # resolve additional pages automatically.
    for response in page_result:
        print(response)

list_messages_with_user_cred()

Java

chat/client-libraries/cloud/src/main/java/com/google/workspace/api/chat/samples/ListMessagesUserCred.java
import com.google.chat.v1.ChatServiceClient;
import com.google.chat.v1.ListMessagesRequest;
import com.google.chat.v1.ListMessagesResponse;
import com.google.chat.v1.Message;

// This sample shows how to list messages with user credential.
public class ListMessagesUserCred {

  private static final String SCOPE =
    "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/chat.messages.readonly";

  public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
    try (ChatServiceClient chatServiceClient =
        AuthenticationUtils.createClientWithUserCredentials(
          ImmutableList.of(SCOPE))) {
      ListMessagesRequest.Builder request = ListMessagesRequest.newBuilder()
        // Replace SPACE_NAME here.
        .setParent("spaces/SPACE_NAME")
        // Number of results that will be returned at once.
        .setPageSize(10);

      // Iterate over results and resolve additional pages automatically.
      for (Message response :
          chatServiceClient.listMessages(request.build()).iterateAll()) {
        System.out.println(JsonFormat.printer().print(response));
      }
    }
  }
}

Apps Script

chat/advanced-service/Main.gs
/**
 * This sample shows how to list messages with user credential
 * 
 * It relies on the OAuth2 scope 'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/chat.messages.readonly'
 * referenced in the manifest file (appsscript.json).
 */
function listMessagesUserCred() {
  // Initialize request argument(s)
  // TODO(developer): Replace SPACE_NAME here
  const parent = 'spaces/SPACE_NAME';

  // Iterate through the response pages using page tokens
  let responsePage;
  let pageToken = null;
  do {
    // Request response pages
    responsePage = Chat.Spaces.Messages.list(parent, {
      pageSize: 10,
      pageToken: pageToken
    });
    // Handle response pages
    if (responsePage.messages) {
      responsePage.messages.forEach((message) => console.log(message));
    }
    // Update the page token to the next one
    pageToken = responsePage.nextPageToken;
  } while (pageToken);
}

To run this sample, replace SPACE_NAME with the ID from the space's name field. You can obtain the ID by calling the ListSpaces() method or from the space's URL.

The Chat API returns a list of messages sent in the specified space. If there are no messages from the request, the Chat API response returns an empty object. When using a REST/HTTP interface, the response contains an empty JSON object, {}.