Load messages by timestamp or message ID

Using the getMessagesByTimestamp(:params:completionHandler:) method or the getMessagesByMessageId(_:params:completionHandler:) method, you can retrieve a set number of previous and next messages by specifying a timestamp or message ID in a channel.

Note: The getPreviousMessages() method is deprecated as of August 2021. Accordingly, use the getMessagesByTimestamp(:params:completionHandler:) method instead.

The following code shows several types of parameters that you can configure to customize a message query by using MessageListParams. Under the MessageListParams object, you can assign specific values to previousResultSize, messageTypeFilter, and other properties.

Swift

let params = MessageListParams()
params.isInclusive = IS_INCLUSIVE
params.previousResultSize = PREVIOUS_RESULT_SIZE
params.nextResultSize = NEXT_RESULT_SIZE
params.reverse = REVERSE
params.messageTypeFilter = MESSAGE_TYPE
params.customType = CUSTOM_TYPE

MessageListParams

This table only contains properties shown in the code above. See the API reference for a complete list of properties.

Property name	Type	Description
isInclusive	Bool	Determines whether to include messages sent exactly on the specified timestamp or have the matching message ID.
previousResultSize	Int	Specifies the number of messages to retrieve, which are sent previously before a specified timestamp. Note that the actual number of results may be larger than the set value when there are multiple messages with the same timestamp as the earliest message.
nextResultSize	Int	Specifies the number of messages to retrieve, which are sent later after a specified timestamp. Note that the actual number of results may be larger than the set value when there are multiple messages with the same timestamp as the latest message.
reverse	Bool	Determines whether to sort the retrieved messages in reverse order. If set to `true`, messages are returned from the most recent to the oldest. (Default: `false`)
messageTypeFilter	MessageTypeFilter	Specifies the message type to filter the messages with the corresponding type. Acceptable values are `.all`, `.user`, `.file`, and `.admin`.
customType	String	Specifies the custom message type to filter the messages with the corresponding custom type.

By timestamp

To retrieve messages in a channel using a timestamp, pass the MessageListParams object as an argument to the parameter in the getMessagesByTimestamp(:params:completionHandler:) method.

Swift

channel.getMessagesByTimestamp(TIMESTAMP, params: params) { messages, error in
    guard error == nil else {
        // Handle error.
        return
    }

    // A list of previous and next messages of a specified timestamp
    // is successfully retrieved.
    // Through the messages parameter of the callback method,
    // you can access and display the data of each message from the result list
    // that the Sendbird server has passed to the callback method.
}

List of parameters

Parameter name	Type	Description
timestamp	Int64	Specifies the timestamp to be the reference point of a retrieval in Unix milliseconds.
params	MessageListParams	Contains a set of parameters you can use when retrieving messages.

By message ID

To retrieve a set number of previous and next messages of a specific message ID in a channel, use the getMessagesByMessageId(_:params:completionHandler:) method and the MessageListParams object.

Swift

channel.getMessagesByMessageId(MESSAGE_ID, params: params) { messages, error in
    guard error == nil else {
        // Handle error.
        return
    }

    // A list of previous and next messages of a specified message ID
    // is successfully retrieved.
    // Through the messages parameter of the callback method,
    // you can access and display the data of each message from the result list
    // that the Sendbird server has passed to the callback method.
}

List of parameters

Parameter name	Type	Description
messageId	Int64	Specifies the unique ID of the message to be the reference point of a retrieval.
params	MessageListParams	Contains a set of parameters you can use when retrieving messages.

Sample app