Send a Message - CometChat Docs

Quick Reference

// Text message to user
const msg = new CometChat.TextMessage("USER_UID", "Hello!", CometChat.RECEIVER_TYPE.USER);
await CometChat.sendMessage(msg);

// Text message to group
const msg = new CometChat.TextMessage("GROUP_GUID", "Hello!", CometChat.RECEIVER_TYPE.GROUP);
await CometChat.sendMessage(msg);

// Media message
const msg = new CometChat.MediaMessage("UID", file, CometChat.MESSAGE_TYPE.IMAGE, CometChat.RECEIVER_TYPE.USER);
await CometChat.sendMediaMessage(msg);

// Custom message (e.g., location)
const msg = new CometChat.CustomMessage("UID", CometChat.RECEIVER_TYPE.USER, "location", {lat: 0, lng: 0});
await CometChat.sendCustomMessage(msg);

CometChat supports multiple message types to cover all your chat needs. For a deeper understanding of how messages are structured, see Message Structure & Hierarchy.

Available via: SDK | REST API | UI Kits

Type	Method	Use Case
Text	`sendMessage()`	Standard chat messages
Media	`sendMediaMessage()`	Images, videos, audio, files
Custom	`sendCustomMessage()`	Location, polls, custom data
Interactive	`sendInteractiveMessage()`	Forms, cards, buttons

Text Message

Send plain text messages to users or groups.

To User
To Group
TypeScript
Async/Await

const receiverID = "UID";
const messageText = "Hello!";
const receiverType = CometChat.RECEIVER_TYPE.USER;

const textMessage = new CometChat.TextMessage(
  receiverID,
  messageText,
  receiverType
);

CometChat.sendMessage(textMessage).then(
  (message) => console.log("Message sent:", message),
  (error) => console.log("Error:", error)
);

const receiverID = "GUID";
const messageText = "Hello everyone!";
const receiverType = CometChat.RECEIVER_TYPE.GROUP;

const textMessage = new CometChat.TextMessage(
  receiverID,
  messageText,
  receiverType
);

CometChat.sendMessage(textMessage).then(
  (message) => console.log("Message sent:", message),
  (error) => console.log("Error:", error)
);

const receiverID: string = "UID";
const messageText: string = "Hello!";
const receiverType: string = CometChat.RECEIVER_TYPE.USER;

const textMessage: CometChat.TextMessage = new CometChat.TextMessage(
  receiverID,
  messageText,
  receiverType
);

CometChat.sendMessage(textMessage).then(
  (message: CometChat.TextMessage) => console.log("Message sent:", message),
  (error: CometChat.CometChatException) => console.log("Error:", error)
);

async function sendTextMessage(receiverID, text, isGroup = false) {
  const receiverType = isGroup 
    ? CometChat.RECEIVER_TYPE.GROUP 
    : CometChat.RECEIVER_TYPE.USER;

  const textMessage = new CometChat.TextMessage(
    receiverID,
    text,
    receiverType
  );

  try {
    const message = await CometChat.sendMessage(textMessage);
    console.log("Message sent:", message.getId());
    return message;
  } catch (error) {
    console.error("Send failed:", error);
    throw error;
  }
}

// Usage
await sendTextMessage("user123", "Hello!");
await sendTextMessage("group456", "Hello everyone!", true);

TextMessage Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
`receiverID`	string	UID of user or GUID of group
`messageText`	string	The text content
`receiverType`	string	`CometChat.RECEIVER_TYPE.USER` or `GROUP`

Optional: Add Metadata

Attach custom data (like location) to any message:

const textMessage = new CometChat.TextMessage(receiverID, "Check this out!", receiverType);

textMessage.setMetadata({
  latitude: "50.6192171633316",
  longitude: "-72.68182268750002"
});

CometChat.sendMessage(textMessage);

Optional: Add Tags

Tag messages for filtering or categorization:

textMessage.setTags(["important", "starred"]);

Optional: Quote a Message

Reply to a specific message:

textMessage.setQuotedMessageId(previousMessageId);

Media Message

Send images, videos, audio files, and documents.

Send File from Input

Upload files directly from a file input:

<input type="file" id="fileInput" />

To User
To Group

const file = document.getElementById("fileInput").files[0];
const receiverID = "UID";
const messageType = CometChat.MESSAGE_TYPE.IMAGE; // or VIDEO, AUDIO, FILE
const receiverType = CometChat.RECEIVER_TYPE.USER;

const mediaMessage = new CometChat.MediaMessage(
  receiverID,
  file,
  messageType,
  receiverType
);

CometChat.sendMediaMessage(mediaMessage).then(
  (message) => console.log("Media sent:", message),
  (error) => console.log("Error:", error)
);

const file = document.getElementById("fileInput").files[0];
const receiverID = "GUID";
const messageType = CometChat.MESSAGE_TYPE.IMAGE;
const receiverType = CometChat.RECEIVER_TYPE.GROUP;

const mediaMessage = new CometChat.MediaMessage(
  receiverID,
  file,
  messageType,
  receiverType
);

CometChat.sendMediaMessage(mediaMessage).then(
  (message) => console.log("Media sent:", message),
  (error) => console.log("Error:", error)
);

Message Types

Type	Constant	File Types
Image	`CometChat.MESSAGE_TYPE.IMAGE`	jpg, png, gif, etc.
Video	`CometChat.MESSAGE_TYPE.VIDEO`	mp4, mov, etc.
Audio	`CometChat.MESSAGE_TYPE.AUDIO`	mp3, wav, etc.
File	`CometChat.MESSAGE_TYPE.FILE`	pdf, doc, etc.

Send File from URL

Send media hosted on your server or cloud storage:

const receiverID = "UID";
const messageType = CometChat.MESSAGE_TYPE.IMAGE;
const receiverType = CometChat.RECEIVER_TYPE.USER;

const mediaMessage = new CometChat.MediaMessage(
  receiverID,
  "",
  messageType,
  receiverType
);

const attachment = new CometChat.Attachment({
  name: "photo",
  extension: "png",
  mimeType: "image/png",
  url: "https://example.com/image.png"
});

mediaMessage.setAttachment(attachment);

CometChat.sendMediaMessage(mediaMessage).then(
  (message) => console.log("Media sent:", message),
  (error) => console.log("Error:", error)
);

Send Multiple Attachments

Send multiple files in a single message:

From File Input
From URLs

// HTML: <input type="file" id="fileInput" multiple />
const files = document.getElementById("fileInput").files;

const mediaMessage = new CometChat.MediaMessage(
  receiverID,
  files,  // Pass FileList directly
  CometChat.MESSAGE_TYPE.FILE,
  CometChat.RECEIVER_TYPE.USER
);

CometChat.sendMediaMessage(mediaMessage);

const mediaMessage = new CometChat.MediaMessage(
  receiverID,
  "",
  CometChat.MESSAGE_TYPE.IMAGE,
  CometChat.RECEIVER_TYPE.USER
);

const attachments = [
  new CometChat.Attachment({
    name: "photo1",
    extension: "png",
    mimeType: "image/png",
    url: "https://example.com/image1.png"
  }),
  new CometChat.Attachment({
    name: "photo2",
    extension: "jpg",
    mimeType: "image/jpeg",
    url: "https://example.com/image2.jpg"
  })
];

mediaMessage.setAttachments(attachments);

CometChat.sendMediaMessage(mediaMessage);

Optional: Add Caption

Add text description to media:

mediaMessage.setCaption("Check out this photo!");

Optional: Add Metadata & Tags

mediaMessage.setMetadata({ location: "Paris" });
mediaMessage.setTags(["vacation", "photos"]);

Custom Message

Send structured data like location coordinates, polls, or any custom payload.

To User
To Group

const receiverID = "UID";
const receiverType = CometChat.RECEIVER_TYPE.USER;
const customType = "location";
const customData = {
  latitude: "50.6192171633316",
  longitude: "-72.68182268750002",
  address: "123 Main St"
};

const customMessage = new CometChat.CustomMessage(
  receiverID,
  receiverType,
  customType,
  customData
);

CometChat.sendCustomMessage(customMessage).then(
  (message) => console.log("Custom message sent:", message),
  (error) => console.log("Error:", error)
);

const receiverID = "GUID";
const receiverType = CometChat.RECEIVER_TYPE.GROUP;
const customType = "poll";
const customData = {
  question: "Where should we meet?",
  options: ["Coffee Shop", "Restaurant", "Park"]
};

const customMessage = new CometChat.CustomMessage(
  receiverID,
  receiverType,
  customType,
  customData
);

CometChat.sendCustomMessage(customMessage).then(
  (message) => console.log("Poll sent:", message),
  (error) => console.log("Error:", error)
);

CustomMessage Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
`receiverID`	string	UID of user or GUID of group
`receiverType`	string	`USER` or `GROUP`
`customType`	string	Your custom type (e.g., “location”, “poll”)
`customData`	object	JSON payload with your data

Control Conversation Update

By default, custom messages update the conversation’s last message. To prevent this:

customMessage.shouldUpdateConversation(false);

Custom Notification Text

Set custom text for push/email/SMS notifications:

customMessage.setConversationText("📍 Shared a location");

Common Options

These options work with all message types:

Quote a Message (Reply)

message.setQuotedMessageId(originalMessageId);

Add Metadata

message.setMetadata({
  customKey: "customValue",
  priority: "high"
});

Add Tags

message.setTags(["important", "follow-up"]);

Message Response

On success, you receive a message object with:

Property	Description
`id`	Unique message ID
`sender`	User object of sender
`receiver`	User/Group object of receiver
`sentAt`	Timestamp when sent
`type`	Message type (text, image, etc.)
`category`	Message category
`data`	Message content/payload

JavaScript
Async/Await

CometChat.sendMessage(textMessage).then((message) => {
  console.log("Message ID:", message.getId());
  console.log("Sent at:", message.getSentAt());
  console.log("Sender:", message.getSender().getName());
});

async function sendAndLogMessage(textMessage) {
  try {
    const message = await CometChat.sendMessage(textMessage);
    console.log("Message ID:", message.getId());
    console.log("Sent at:", message.getSentAt());
    console.log("Sender:", message.getSender().getName());
    return message;
  } catch (error) {
    console.log("Error:", error);
    throw error;
  }
}

Next Steps

Receive Messages

Handle incoming messages in real-time

Interactive Messages

Send forms, cards, and actionable content

Edit Messages

Allow users to edit sent messages

Typing Indicators

Show when users are typing

​Text Message

​TextMessage Parameters

​Optional: Add Metadata

​Optional: Add Tags

​Optional: Quote a Message

​Media Message

​Send File from Input

​Message Types

​Send File from URL

​Send Multiple Attachments

​Optional: Add Caption

​Optional: Add Metadata & Tags

​Custom Message

​CustomMessage Parameters

​Control Conversation Update

​Custom Notification Text

​Common Options

​Quote a Message (Reply)

​Add Metadata

​Add Tags

​Message Response

​Next Steps

Receive Messages

Interactive Messages

Edit Messages

Typing Indicators

Text Message

TextMessage Parameters

Optional: Add Metadata

Optional: Add Tags

Optional: Quote a Message

Media Message

Send File from Input

Message Types

Send File from URL

Send Multiple Attachments

Optional: Add Caption

Optional: Add Metadata & Tags

Custom Message

CustomMessage Parameters

Control Conversation Update

Custom Notification Text

Common Options

Quote a Message (Reply)

Add Metadata

Add Tags

Message Response

Next Steps