Dialogs

Before you begin

Register a QuickBlox account. This is a matter of a few minutes and you will be able to use this account to build your apps.
Configure QuickBlox SDK for your app. Check out our Setup page for more details.
Create a user session to be able to use QuickBlox functionality. See our Authentication page to learn how to do it.
Connect to the Chat server. See our Connection page to learn how to do it.

Visit our Key Concepts page to get an overall understanding of the most important QuickBlox concepts.

Dialog types

All chats between users are organized in dialogs. There are 3 types of dialogs:

private dialog - a dialog between 2 users.
group dialog - a dialog between the specified list of users.
public dialog - an open dialog. Any user from your app can be joined to it.

You need to create a new dialog and then use it to chat with other users. You also can obtain a list of your existing dialogs.

Create dialog

To create a private dialog, you need to set the dialog type field to private and ID of the opponent you want to create a chat with.

let dialog = QBChatDialog(dialogID: nil, type: .private)
dialog.occupantIDs = [34]
QBRequest.createDialog(dialog, successBlock: { (response, createdDialog) in

}, errorBlock: { (response) in
    
})

QBChatDialog *dialog = [[QBChatDialog alloc] initWithDialogID:nil type:QBChatDialogTypePrivate];
dialog.occupantIDs = @[@34]; // an ID of opponent
[QBRequest createDialog:dialog successBlock:^(QBResponse * _Nonnull response, QBChatDialog * _Nonnull createdDialog) {
        
} errorBlock:^(QBResponse * _Nonnull response) {
        
}];

To create group dialog for a predefined number of occupants, you need to set the dialog type field to group and IDs of opponents you want to create a chat with.

let chatDialog = QBChatDialog(dialogID: nil, type: .group)
chatDialog.name = "New group dialog"
chatDialog.occupantIDs = [34, 45, 55]
// Photo can be a link to a file in Content module, Custom Objects module or just a web link.
// dialog.photo = "...";
        
QBRequest.createDialog(chatDialog, successBlock: { (response, dialog) in
    dialog.join(completionBlock: { (error) in  
    })
}, errorBlock: { (response) in
    
})

QBChatDialog *chatDialog = [[QBChatDialog alloc] initWithDialogID:nil type:QBChatDialogTypeGroup];
chatDialog.name = @"Group dialog name";
chatDialog.occupantIDs = @[@34, @45, @55];
// Photo can be a link to a file in Content module, Custom Objects module or just a web link.
// dialog.photo = @"...";

[QBRequest createDialog:chatDialog successBlock:^(QBResponse * _Nonnull response, QBChatDialog * _Nonnull dialog) {
    [dialog joinWithCompletionBlock:^(NSError * _Nullable error) {
        
    }];
} errorBlock:^(QBResponse * _Nonnull response) {

}];

It's possible to create a public dialog, so any user from your application can be joined to it. There is no list of occupants. This dialog is open for everybody. You need to set the dialog type field to public.

let dialog = QBChatDialog(dialogID: nil, type: .public)
dialog.name = "Public dialog name"
dialog.dialogDescription = "Public dialog description"
// Photo can be a link to a file in Content module, Custom Objects module or just a web link.
// dialog.photo = "...";
    
QBRequest.createDialog(chatDialog, successBlock: { (response, dialog) in
    dialog.join(completionBlock: { (error) in  
    })                                             
}, errorBlock: { (response) in
    
})

QBChatDialog *dialog = [[QBChatDialog alloc] initWithDialogID:nil type:QBChatDialogTypePublicGroup];
dialog.name = @"Public dialog name";
dialog.dialogDescription = @"Public dialog description";
// Photo can be a link to a file in Content module, Custom Objects module or just a web link.
// dialog.photo = @"...";
    
[QBRequest createDialog:chatDialog successBlock:^(QBResponse * _Nonnull response, QBChatDialog * _Nonnull dialog) {
    [dialog joinWithCompletionBlock:^(NSError * _Nullable error) {
        
    }];
} errorBlock:^(QBResponse * _Nonnull response) {

}]

Create dialog with custom parameters

Any dialog can be extended with additional parameters whether it is a private, group, or public. These parameters can be used to store additional data. Also, these parameters can be used in dialogs retrieval request.

To start using additional parameters, create an additional schema of your parameters. This is a Custom Objects class. Just create an empty class with all fields that you need. These fields will be additional parameters in your dialog. See this section to learn how to create a schema using Custom Objects.

Then, specify the parameters defined in the schema in a new dialog.

let chatDialog = QBChatDialog(dialogID: nil, type: .group)
chatDialog.name = "Movies"
chatDialog.occupantIDs = [34, 45, 55]
let customParameters = ["class_name": "Movie", "name": "Star Wars", "rating": 9.1, "documentary": false, "genre": "fantasy", "descriptions": "Star Wars is an American epic space opera."]
chatDialog.data = customParameters

QBRequest.createDialog(chatDialog, successBlock: { (response, dialog) in
    //Block with response and user instances if the request is succeeded.
    dialog.join(completionBlock: { (error) in
    })
}, errorBlock: { (response) in
    //Block with response instance if the request is failed.
})

QBChatDialog *chatDialog = [[QBChatDialog alloc] initWithDialogID:nil type:QBChatDialogTypeGroup];
chatDialog.name = @"Movies";
chatDialog.occupantIDs = @[@34, @45, @55];
NSDictionary<NSString *, id> *customParameters = @{@"class_name": @"Movie", @"name": @"Star Wars", @"rating": @(9.1), @"documentary": @(false), @"genre": @"fantasy", @"descriptions": @"Star Wars is an American epic space opera franchise consisting of a film series created by George Lucas."};
chatDialog.data = customParameters;

[QBRequest createDialog:chatDialog successBlock:^(QBResponse * _Nonnull response, QBChatDialog * _Nonnull dialog) {
    //Block with response and user instances if the request is succeeded.
    [dialog joinWithCompletionBlock:^(NSError * _Nullable error) {
    }];
} errorBlock:^(QBResponse * _Nonnull response) {
    //Block with response instance if the request is failed.
}];

Join dialog

Before you start chatting in a group or public dialog, you need to join it by calling the join() method. If you've successfully joined the dialog, you can send/receive messages in real-time. See this section to learn how to send/receive messages.

let groupDialog = ...
groupDialog.join { (error) in
    
}

QBChatDialog *groupDialog = ...;
[groupDialog joinWithCompletionBlock:^(NSError * _Nullable error) {
    
}];

Let's see, how the join() method is used with regard to the dialog type.

Capabilities	Public	Group	Private
Join	✓	✓	✗

📘
You can join a group dialog only if your user ID is present in the occupantIDs array, in the dialog model.
Your user ID is added to the occupantIDs array if you create a dialog or you are added to the dialog by the other user. See this section to learn how to add occupants to the group dialog.

To subscribe to the onJoinOccupant event, use the code snippet below. As a result, you will be notified by the SDK about the onJoinOccupant() event whenever the occupant has joined the current group dialog.

chatDialog.onJoinOccupant = { (userID) in
    
}

chatDialog.onJoinOccupant = ^(NSUInteger userID) {

};

Leave dialog

You can leave the group and public dialog by calling the leave() method. If the dialog is left, you can't send/receive messages. To be able to receive/send messages, you need to join it.

let groupDialog = ...
groupDialog.leave { (error) in
    
}

QBChatDialog *groupDialog = ...;
[groupDialog leaveWithCompletionBlock:^(NSError * _Nullable error) {
    
}];

Let's see, how the leave() method is used with regard to the dialog type.

Capabilities	Public	Group	Private
Leave	✓	✓	✗

📘
When a group dialog is left, your user ID is still present in the occupantIDs array, in the dialog model. As a result, the dialog will still be present in the list of dialogs and you will still have access to the chat history.
To remove yourself from the group dialog, use the update() method. See this section to learn how to remove occupants from the group dialog.

To subscribe to the onLeaveOccupant event, use the code snippet below. As a result, you will be notified by the SDK about the onLeaveOccupant() event whenever the occupant has left the current group dialog.

chatDialog.onLeaveOccupant = { (userID) in
    
}

chatDialog.onLeaveOccupant = ^(NSUInteger userID) {
    
};

Retrieve online users

You can get a list of online users from the chatDialog dialog. Call the requestOnlineUsers() method to get the list of online users who are joined to the dialog. As a result, a completion block with an array of user IDs or failure error is called.

chatDialog.requestOnlineUsers { (onlineUsersIDs, error) in
    
}

[chatDialog requestOnlineUsersWithCompletionBlock:^(NSMutableArray<NSNumber *> *onlineUsers, NSError *error) {
    
}];

Let's see, how the requestOnlineUsers() method is used with regard to the dialog type.

Capabilities	Public	Group	Private
Retrieve online users	✗	✓	✗

📘
You can retrieve online users from the group dialog only if are joined to it.

Retrieve list of dialogs

It's common to request all your dialogs on every app login. The request below will return private, group, and public dialogs that have been updated during the last month, sorted by the last_message_date_sent in descending order, and limited to 10 dialogs per page.

//get dialogs that have been updated during the last month and sort by the date of the last message in descending order
let monthAgoDate = Calendar.current.date( byAdding: .month, value: -1, to: Date())
let timeInterval = monthAgoDate!.timeIntervalSince1970

let paramSort = "sort_desc"
let sortValue = "last_message_date_sent"
let paramFilter = "updated_at[gte]"
let filterValue = "\(timeInterval)"

var extendedRequest: [String: String] = [:]
extendedRequest[paramSort] = sortValue
extendedRequest[paramFilter] = filterValue
let responsePage = QBResponsePage(limit: 10)

QBRequest.dialogs(for: responsePage, extendedRequest: extendedRequest, successBlock: { response, dialogs, dialogsUsersIDs, page in
    
}, errorBlock: { response in
    
})

//get dialogs that have been updated during the last month and sort by the date of the last message in descending order
NSDate *monthAgoDate = [NSCalendar.currentCalendar dateByAddingUnit:NSCalendarUnitMonth value:-1 toDate:[NSDate date] options:0];
NSTimeInterval timeInterval = [monthAgoDate timeIntervalSince1970];

NSString *paramSort = @"sort_desc";
NSString *sortValue = @"last_message_date_sent";
NSString *paramFilter = @"updated_at[gte]";
NSString *filterValue = @(timeInterval).stringValue;

NSMutableDictionary *extendedRequest = [NSMutableDictionary dictionary];
extendedRequest[paramSort] =  [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%@", sortValue];
extendedRequest[paramFilter] =  [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%@", filterValue];
QBResponsePage *responsePage = [QBResponsePage responsePageWithLimit:10];

[QBRequest dialogsForPage:responsePage extendedRequest:extendedRequest successBlock:^(QBResponse *response, NSArray *dialogs, NSSet *dialogsUsersIDs, QBResponsePage *page) {
    
    
} errorBlock:^(QBResponse *response) {
    
}];

Argument	Required	Description
responsePage	no	If you want to get a paginated list of users from the server, you can set the following fields of the `responsePage`: - `skip` allows to skip N records in search results. Default (if not specified): 0. - `limit` allows limit search results to N records. Default value: 100.
extendedRequest	yes	A dictionary that stores keys and values of the String type. The keys are formed as parameters of the List Dialogs request.

If you want to retrieve only dialogs updated after some specific date time and order the search results, you can apply operators. This is useful if you cache dialogs somehow and do not want to obtain the whole list of dialogs on every app start. Thus, you can apply search and sort operators to list dialogs on the page so that it is easier to view specific dialogs. The operators are set as key-value parameters in the extendedRequest dictionary.

Search operators

You can use search operators to get more specific search results. The request below will return 10 dialogs that were updated over the last month.

//get dialogs that have been updated over the last month
let monthAgoDate = Calendar.current.date( byAdding: .month, value: -1, to: Date())
let timeInterval = monthAgoDate!.timeIntervalSince1970

let paramFilter = "updated_at[gte]"
let filterValue = "\(timeInterval)"

var extendedRequest: [String: String] = [:]
extendedRequest[paramFilter] = filterValue
let responsePage = QBResponsePage(limit: 10)

QBRequest.dialogs(for: responsePage, extendedRequest: extendedRequest, successBlock: { response, dialogs, dialogsUsersIDs, page in
    
}, errorBlock: { response in
    
})

//get dialogs that have been updated during the last month and sort by the date of the last message in descending order
NSDate *monthAgoDate = [NSCalendar.currentCalendar dateByAddingUnit:NSCalendarUnitMonth value:-1 toDate:[NSDate date] options:0];
NSTimeInterval timeInterval = [monthAgoDate timeIntervalSince1970];

NSString *paramFilter = @"updated_at[gte]";
NSString *filterValue = @(timeInterval).stringValue;

NSMutableDictionary *extendedRequest = [NSMutableDictionary dictionary];
extendedRequest[paramFilter] =  [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%@", filterValue];
QBResponsePage *responsePage = [QBResponsePage responsePageWithLimit:10];

[QBRequest dialogsForPage:responsePage extendedRequest:extendedRequest successBlock:^(QBResponse *response, NSArray *dialogs, NSSet *dialogsUsersIDs, QBResponsePage *page) {
    
    
} errorBlock:^(QBResponse *response) {
    
}];

Here are the search operators that you can use to search for the exact data that you need.

Search operators	Applicable to types	Applicable to fields	Description
lt	number, string, date	last_message_date_sent, created_at, updated_at	Less Than operator.
lte	number, string, date	last_message_date_sent, created_at, updated_at	Less Than or Equal to operator.
gt	number, string, date	last_message_date_sent, created_at, updated_at	Greater Than operator.
gte	number, string, date	last_message_date_sent, created_at, updated_at	Greater Than or Equal to operator.
ne	number, string, date	_id, name, last_message_date_sent	Not Equal to operator.
in	number, string, date	type, last_message_date_sent, name	IN array operator.
nin	number, string, date	last_message_date_sent	IN array operator.
all	number, string, date	last_message_date_sent	ALL are contained in array.
ctn	number, string, date	name	All records that contain a particular substring.

Sort operators

You can use sort operators to order the search results. The request below will return dialogs sorted in descending order by the last_message_date_sent field.

let paramSort = "sort_desc"
let sortValue = "last_message_date_sent"

var extendedRequest: [String: String] = [:]
extendedRequest[paramSort] = sortValue
let responsePage = QBResponsePage(limit: 10)

QBRequest.dialogs(for: responsePage, extendedRequest: extendedRequest, successBlock: { response, dialogs, dialogsUsersIDs, page in
    
}, errorBlock: { response in
    
})

NSString *paramSort = @"sort_desc";
NSString *sortValue = @"last_message_date_sent";

NSMutableDictionary *extendedRequest = [NSMutableDictionary dictionary];
extendedRequest[paramSort] =  [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%@", sortValue];
QBResponsePage *responsePage = [QBResponsePage responsePageWithLimit:10];

[QBRequest dialogsForPage:responsePage extendedRequest:extendedRequest successBlock:^(QBResponse *response, NSArray *dialogs, NSSet *dialogsUsersIDs, QBResponsePage *page) {
    
    
} errorBlock:^(QBResponse *response) {
    
}];

Here are the sort operators that you can use to order the search results:

Sort operator	Applicable to types	Applicable to fields	Description
sort_asc	All types	id, created_at, name, last_message_date_sent	Search results will be sorted in ascending order by the specified field.
sort_desc	All types	id, created_at, name, last_message_date_sent	Search results will be sorted in descending order by the specified field.

Update dialog

You can update the information for a private, group, and public dialog.

chatDialog.name = "New dialog name"
chatDialog.dialogDescription = "New dialog description"
chatDialog.photo = "https://new_photo_url" // or it can be an ID to some file in Storage module
    
QBRequest.update(chatDialog, successBlock: { (response, updatedDialog) in

}, errorBlock: { (response) in
    
})

dialog.name = @"New dialog name";
dialog.dialogDescription = @"New dialog description";
dialog.photo = @"https://new_photo_url"; // or it can be an ID to some file in Storage module

[QBRequest updateDialog:dialog successBlock:^(QBResponse * _Nonnull response, QBChatDialog * _Nonnull updatedDialog) {

} errorBlock:^(QBResponse * _Nonnull response) {

}];

Let's see what capabilities a particular user role has with regard to the dialog type.

Capabilities	Public dialog	Group dialog	Private dialog
Update a dialog name	Owner	Owner	✗
Update a photo	Owner	Owner	✗
Update custom parameters	Owner, Occupant	Owner, Occupant	Owner, Occupant

Add occupants

Set pushOccupantsIDs field to add occupants to the group dialog. As a result, the user ID will be added to the occupantIDs array.

chatDialog.pushOccupantsIDs = ["10056", "75432"]
QBRequest.update(chatDialog, successBlock: { (response, updatedDialog) in

}, errorBlock: { (response) in
    
})

chatDialog.pushOccupantsIDs = @[@"10056", @"75432"];
[QBRequest updateDialog:chatDialog successBlock:^(QBResponse * _Nonnull response, QBChatDialog * _Nonnull updatedDialog) {

} errorBlock:^(QBResponse * _Nonnull response) {

}];

Parameters	Required	Description
chatDialog	Yes	Specifies `chatDialog` fields that should be set.

Let's see what capabilities a particular user role has with regard to the dialog type.

Capabilities	Public dialog	Group dialog	Private dialog
Add other users	✗	Owner, Occupant	✗

Remove occupants

Set the pullOccupantsIDs field to remove occupants from the group dialog. As a result, the user ID will be removed from the occupantIDs array.

chatDialog.pullOccupantsIDs = ["10056", "75432"]
QBRequest.update(chatDialog, successBlock: { (response, updatedDialog) in

}, errorBlock: { (response) in
    
})

chatDialog.pullOccupantsIDs = @[@"10056", @"75432"];
[QBRequest updateDialog:chatDialog successBlock:^(QBResponse * _Nonnull response, QBChatDialog * _Nonnull updatedDialog) {

} errorBlock:^(QBResponse * _Nonnull response) {

}];

Parameters	Required	Description
chatDialog	Yes	Specifies `chatDialog` fields that should be set.

Let's see what capabilities a particular user role has with regard to the dialog type.

Capabilities	Public dialog	Group dialog	Private dialog
Remove other users	✗	Owner	✗
Remove yourself	✗	Owner, Occupant	✗

Delete dialog

A request below will remove a dialog for a current user, but other users will be still able to chat there.

QBRequest.deleteDialogs(withIDs: Set<String>(["5356c64ab35c12bd3b108a41", "d256c64ab35c12bd3b108bc5"]), forAllUsers: false, successBlock: { (deletedObjectsIDs, notFoundObjectsIDs, wrongPermissionsObjectsIDs) in
    
}, errorBlock: { (response) in
    
})

[QBRequest deleteDialogsWithIDs:[NSSet setWithArray:@[@"5356c64ab35c12bd3b108a41", @"d256c64ab35c12bd3b108bc5"]] forAllUsers:NO successBlock:^( deletedObjectsIDs, notFoundObjectsIDs, wrongPermissionsObjectsIDs) {
    
} errorBlock:^(QBResponse * _Nonnull response) {

}];

Set the forAllUsers parameter as true to completely remove the dialog for all users. You can also delete multiple dialogs in a single request.

Let's see what capabilities a particular user role has with regard to the dialog type.

Capabilities	Public	Group	Private
Delete a dialog for all users using the `forAllUsers` parameter	Owner	Owner	Owner
Delete a dialog for a current user	Owner	Owner, Occupant	Owner, Occupant

Get number of dialogs

You can get a number of dialogs using the countOfDialogs(withExtendedRequest:) method. The request below will return a count of dialogs updated over the last month.

//get dialogs that have been updated during the last month and sort by the date of the last message in descending order
let monthAgoDate = Calendar.current.date( byAdding: .month, value: -1, to: Date())
let timeInterval = monthAgoDate!.timeIntervalSince1970

let paramFilter = "updated_at[gte]"
let filterValue = "\(timeInterval)"

var extendedRequest: [String: String] = [:]
extendedRequest[paramFilter] = filterValue

QBRequest.countOfDialogs(withExtendedRequest: extendedRequest, successBlock: { response, count in
    
}, errorBlock: { response in
    
})

//get dialogs that have been updated during the last month and sort by the date of the last message in descending order
NSDate *monthAgoDate = [NSCalendar.currentCalendar dateByAddingUnit:NSCalendarUnitMonth value:-1 toDate:[NSDate date] options:0];
NSTimeInterval timeInterval = [monthAgoDate timeIntervalSince1970];

NSString *paramFilter = @"updated_at[gte]";
NSString *filterValue = @(timeInterval).stringValue;

NSMutableDictionary *extendedRequest = [NSMutableDictionary dictionary];
extendedRequest[paramFilter] =  [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%@", filterValue];

[QBRequest countOfDialogsWithExtendedRequest:extendedRequest successBlock:^(QBResponse * _Nonnull response, NSUInteger count) {
    
} errorBlock:^(QBResponse *response) {
    
}];

Argument	Required	Description
extendedRequest	yes	A dictionary that stores keys and values of the String type. The keys are formed as patameters of the List Dialogs request.

Get number of unread messages

To get a number of unread messages from a particular dialog, use the code snippet below.

let unreadMessagesCount = dialog.unreadMessagesCount

NSUInteger unreadMessagesCount = chatDialog.unreadMessagesCount;

You can also retrieve the total number of unread messages using the totalUnreadMessageCountForDialogs() method . It returns the total count of unread messages for all dialogs of the user in totalUnreadCount. It also returns unread messages count for dialogs with IDs in dialogsDictionary if any dialogIDs are specified.

let dialogIDs: Set<String> = ["8b23aa4f5d0b0be0900041aa", "1c23aa4f5d0b0be0900041ad"]
QBRequest.totalUnreadMessageCountForDialogs(withIDs: dialogIDs, successBlock: { ( response, totalUnreadCount, dialogsDictionary) in
    
}, errorBlock: { (response) in
    
})

[QBRequest totalUnreadMessageCountForDialogsWithIDs:[NSSet setWithArray:@[@"8b23aa4f5d0b0be0900041aa", @"1c23aa4f5d0b0be0900041ad"]]
successBlock:^(QBResponse * _Nonnull response, NSUInteger count, NSDictionary<NSString *,id> * _Nonnull dialogs) {
    
} errorBlock:^(QBResponse * _Nonnull response) {
    
}];

Argument	Required	Description
dialogIDs	yes	IDs of dialogs. - If `dialogIDs` are not specified, the total number of unread messages for all dialogs of the user will be returned. - If `dialogIDs` are specified, the number of unread messages for each specified dialog will be returned. Also, the total number of unread messages for all dialogs of the user will be returned.

Resources

A sequence of steps a user takes to start a dialog by moving through the application lifecycle.