Create an open channel

Creates an open channel. See this page to learn more about channel types.

Note: Sendbird applications created after December 15, 2020, will only be able to create dynamic partitioned open channels. Classic open channels in applications created prior to this date remain fully functional.

HTTP request

POST https://api-{application_id}.sendbird.com/v3/open_channels

Request body

The following table lists the properties of an HTTP request that this action supports.

Optional

Property name	Type	Description
name	string	Specifies the channel topic, or the name of the channel. The length is limited to 191 characters. (Default: open channel)
channel_url	string	Specifies the URL of the channel. Only numbers, characters, and underscores are allowed. The allowed length is 4 to 100 characters, inclusive. If not specified, a URL is automatically generated.
cover_url	string	Specifies the URL of the channel's cover image. The length is limited to 2,048 characters.
cover_file	file	Uploads a file for the channel's cover image.
custom_type	string	Specifies the custom channel type which is used for channel grouping. The length is limited to 128 characters. * Custom types are also used within Sendbird's Advanced analytics to segment metrics as channel metrics can be grouped by channel custom type.
data	string	Specifies additional channel information such as a long description of the channel or `JSON` formatted string.
is_ephemeral	boolean	Determines whether to preserve messages in the channel for the purpose of later retrieving chat history. If set to true, messages in the channel are not saved in the Sendbird database and chat history can't be retrieved. (Default: false)
is_dynamic_partitioned	boolean	Determines whether the channel to be created is an open channel based on a dynamic partitioning structure. The value of true indicates that the open channel can create several subchannels in order to accommodate a massive number of users. (Default: false) * For Sendbird applications created after December 15, 2020, this property is set to true by default.
operator_ids[]	array of strings	Specifies an array of one or more user IDs to register as operators of the channel. The maximum number of operators allowed per channel is 100. Operators can delete any messages in the channel, and even receive all messages that have been throttled. * Operators can't view messages that have been moderated by the domain filter or profanity filter. Only the sender will be notified that the message has been blocked.
~~operators[]~~	array of strings	*(Deprecated)* Specifies the string IDs of the users registered as channel operators. Operators can delete any messages in the channel and even receive all messages that have been throttled.

Note: If you want to upload a profile picture by passing an image file instead of a URL, see Multipart requests.

Request body example

{
    "name": "Live streaming show on channel 5!",
    "channel_url": "monday_channel_5_at_10_pm",
    "cover_url": "https://sendbird.com/main/img/cover/cover_02.jpg",
    "data": "{event_trigger:100,500,1000,2000}",
    "operator_ids": ["Alek", "Leslie"],
    "custom_type": "Live"
}

Response

If successful, this action returns an open channel resource in the response body.

Status: 200 OK

{
    "name": "Live streaming show on channel 5!",
    "channel_url": "monday_channel5_at_10_pm",
    "custom_type": "live",
    "is_ephemeral": false,
    "participant_count": 0,
    "max_length_message": 5000,
    "created_at": 1484787758,
    "cover_url": "https://sendbird.com/main/img/cover/cover_02.jpg",
    "data": "{event_trigger:100,500,1000,2000}",
    "operators": [
        {
            "user_id": "Alek",
            "nickname": "Alexander the Great",
            "profile_url": "https://sendbird.com/main/img/profiles/profile_26_512px.png"
        },
        {
            "user_id": "Leslie",
            "nickname": "Crystal",
            "profile_url": "https://sendbird.com/main/img/profiles/profile_27_512px.png"
        }
    ],
    "freeze": false
}

In the case of an error, an error object is returned. A detailed list of error codes is available here.