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Channel Resource

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Programmable Chat has been deprecated and is no longer supported. Instead, we'll be focusing on the next generation of chat: Twilio Conversations. Find out more about the EOL process here.

If you're starting a new project, please visit the Conversations Docs to begin. If you've already built on Programmable Chat, please visit our Migration Guide to learn about how to switch.

A Channel resource of Programmable Chat represents a chat room, which is a familiar concept for what is, programmatically, a scope in which Messages can be sent and received by its members. Members can be added or invited to join channels and Channels exist within a Chat Service scope.

Channels can have an optional unique_name that can replace the Channel's {ChannelSid} in the URL. This allows a channel to be named something specific and be addressed by that name. A Channel's unique_name must be unique within its Service instance.

The User Channels resource lists all the Channels to which a specific User is a Member.

Twilio Console

Chat Channels are organized by their Chat service. You can view that Channels in a Chat service by using your Twilio console when logged in to the console and selecting the Chat Service from the list. Within a Chat Service, you can browse its Channels.

Channel Properties

Each Channel resource contains these properties.

Property nameTypeRequiredDescriptionChild properties

sidSID<CH>Optional

The unique string that we created to identify the Channel resource.

Pattern: ^CH[0-9a-fA-F]{32}$Min length: 34Max length: 34

account_sidSID<AC>Optional

The SID of the Account that created the Channel resource.

Pattern: ^AC[0-9a-fA-F]{32}$Min length: 34Max length: 34

service_sidSID<IS>Optional

The SID of the Service the Channel resource is associated with.

Pattern: ^IS[0-9a-fA-F]{32}$Min length: 34Max length: 34

friendly_namestringOptional

PII MTL: 30 days

The string that you assigned to describe the resource.

unique_namestringOptional

PII MTL: 30 days

An application-defined string that uniquely identifies the resource. It can be used to address the resource in place of the resource's sid in the URL.

attributesstringOptional

PII MTL: 30 days

The JSON string that stores application-specific data. If attributes have not been set, {} is returned.

typeenum<string>Optional

The visibility of the channel. Can be: public or private.

Possible values:

publicprivate

date_createdstring<date-time>Optional

The date and time in GMT when the resource was created specified in ISO 8601 format.

date_updatedstring<date-time>Optional

The date and time in GMT when the resource was last updated specified in ISO 8601 format.

created_bystringOptional

PII MTL: 30 days

The identity of the User that created the channel. If the Channel was created by using the API, the value is system.

members_countintegerOptional

The number of Members in the Channel.

Default: 0

messages_countintegerOptional

The number of Messages that have been passed in the Channel.

Default: 0

urlstring<uri>Optional

The absolute URL of the Channel resource.

linksobject<uri-map>Optional

The absolute URLs of the Members, Messages, Invites, Webhooks and, if it exists, the last Message for the Channel.

Create a Channel resource

POST https://chat.twilio.com/v2/Services/{ServiceSid}/Channels

Headers

Property nameTypeRequiredPIIDescription

X-Twilio-Webhook-Enabledenum<string>Optional

The X-Twilio-Webhook-Enabled HTTP request header

Possible values:

truefalse

Path parameters

Property nameTypeRequiredPIIDescription

ServiceSidSID<IS>required

The SID of the Service to create the Channel resource under.

Pattern: ^IS[0-9a-fA-F]{32}$Min length: 34Max length: 34

Request body parameters

Encoding type:application/x-www-form-urlencoded

SchemaExample

Property nameTypeRequiredDescriptionChild properties

FriendlyNamestringOptional

PII MTL: 30 days

A descriptive string that you create to describe the new resource. It can be up to 64 characters long.

UniqueNamestringOptional

PII MTL: 30 days

An application-defined string that uniquely identifies the resource. It can be used to address the resource in place of the Channel resource's sid in the URL. This value must be 64 characters or less in length and be unique within the Service.

AttributesstringOptional

PII MTL: 30 days

A valid JSON string that contains application-specific data.

Typeenum<string>Optional

The visibility of the channel. Can be: public or private and defaults to public.

Possible values:

publicprivate

DateCreatedstring<date-time>Optional

The date, specified in ISO 8601 format, to assign to the resource as the date it was created. The default value is the current time set by the Chat service. Note that this should only be used in cases where a Channel is being recreated from a backup/separate source.

DateUpdatedstring<date-time>Optional

The date, specified in ISO 8601 format, to assign to the resource as the date it was last updated. The default value is null. Note that this parameter should only be used in cases where a Channel is being recreated from a backup/separate source and where a Message was previously updated.

CreatedBystringOptional

PII MTL: 30 days

The identity of the User that created the channel. Default is: system.

Create a Channel resource

1// Download the helper library from https://www.twilio.com/docs/node/install
2const twilio = require("twilio"); // Or, for ESM: import twilio from "twilio";
3
4// Find your Account SID and Auth Token at twilio.com/console
5// and set the environment variables. See http://twil.io/secure
6const accountSid = process.env.TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID;
7const authToken = process.env.TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN;
8const client = twilio(accountSid, authToken);
9
10async function createChannel() {
11  const channel = await client.chat.v2
12    .services("ISaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa")
13    .channels.create();
14
15  console.log(channel.sid);
16}
17
18createChannel();

Output

1{
2  "sid": "CHaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",
3  "account_sid": "ACaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",
4  "service_sid": "ISaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",
5  "friendly_name": "friendly_name",
6  "unique_name": "unique_name",
7  "attributes": "{ \"foo\": \"bar\" }",
8  "type": "public",
9  "date_created": "2015-12-16T22:18:37Z",
10  "date_updated": "2015-12-16T22:18:38Z",
11  "created_by": "username",
12  "members_count": 0,
13  "messages_count": 0,
14  "url": "https://chat.twilio.com/v2/Services/ISaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Channels/CHaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",
15  "links": {
16    "members": "https://chat.twilio.com/v2/Services/ISaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Channels/CHaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Members",
17    "messages": "https://chat.twilio.com/v2/Services/ISaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Channels/CHaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Messages",
18    "invites": "https://chat.twilio.com/v2/Services/ISaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Channels/CHaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Invites",
19    "webhooks": "https://chat.twilio.com/v2/Services/ISaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Channels/CHaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Webhooks",
20    "last_message": null
21  }
22}

Fetch a Channel resource

GET https://chat.twilio.com/v2/Services/{ServiceSid}/Channels/{Sid}

When fetching a Channel resource, the {Sid} value can be either the sid or the unique_name of the Channel resource to fetch.

Path parameters

Property nameTypeRequiredPIIDescription

ServiceSidSID<IS>required

The SID of the Service to fetch the Channel resource from.

Pattern: ^IS[0-9a-fA-F]{32}$Min length: 34Max length: 34

Sidstringrequired

The SID of the Channel resource to fetch. This value can be either the sid or the unique_name of the Channel resource to fetch.

Fetch a Channel resource

1// Download the helper library from https://www.twilio.com/docs/node/install
2const twilio = require("twilio"); // Or, for ESM: import twilio from "twilio";
3
4// Find your Account SID and Auth Token at twilio.com/console
5// and set the environment variables. See http://twil.io/secure
6const accountSid = process.env.TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID;
7const authToken = process.env.TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN;
8const client = twilio(accountSid, authToken);
9
10async function fetchChannel() {
11  const channel = await client.chat.v2
12    .services("ISaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa")
13    .channels("Sid")
14    .fetch();
15
16  console.log(channel.sid);
17}
18
19fetchChannel();

Output

1{
2  "sid": "Sid",
3  "account_sid": "ACaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",
4  "service_sid": "ISaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",
5  "friendly_name": "friendly_name",
6  "unique_name": "unique_name",
7  "attributes": "{ \"foo\": \"bar\" }",
8  "type": "public",
9  "date_created": "2015-12-16T22:18:37Z",
10  "date_updated": "2015-12-16T22:18:37Z",
11  "created_by": "system",
12  "members_count": 0,
13  "messages_count": 0,
14  "url": "https://chat.twilio.com/v2/Services/ISaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Channels/CHaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",
15  "links": {
16    "members": "https://chat.twilio.com/v2/Services/ISaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Channels/CHaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Members",
17    "messages": "https://chat.twilio.com/v2/Services/ISaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Channels/CHaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Messages",
18    "invites": "https://chat.twilio.com/v2/Services/ISaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Channels/CHaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Invites",
19    "webhooks": "https://chat.twilio.com/v2/Services/ISaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Channels/CHaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Webhooks",
20    "last_message": null
21  }
22}

Read multiple Channel resources

GET https://chat.twilio.com/v2/Services/{ServiceSid}/Channels

Path parameters

Property nameTypeRequiredPIIDescription

ServiceSidSID<IS>required

The SID of the Service to read the Channel resources from.

Pattern: ^IS[0-9a-fA-F]{32}$Min length: 34Max length: 34

Query parameters

Property nameTypeRequiredPIIDescription

Typearray[enum<string>]Optional

The visibility of the Channels to read. Can be: public or private and defaults to public.

Possible values:

publicprivate

PageSizeintegerOptional

How many resources to return in each list page. The default is 50, and the maximum is 1000.

Minimum: 1Maximum: 1000

PageintegerOptional

The page index. This value is simply for client state.

Minimum: 0

PageTokenstringOptional

The page token. This is provided by the API.

Read multiple Channel resources

1// Download the helper library from https://www.twilio.com/docs/node/install
2const twilio = require("twilio"); // Or, for ESM: import twilio from "twilio";
3
4// Find your Account SID and Auth Token at twilio.com/console
5// and set the environment variables. See http://twil.io/secure
6const accountSid = process.env.TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID;
7const authToken = process.env.TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN;
8const client = twilio(accountSid, authToken);
9
10async function listChannel() {
11  const channels = await client.chat.v2
12    .services("ISaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa")
13    .channels.list({ limit: 20 });
14
15  channels.forEach((c) => console.log(c.sid));
16}
17
18listChannel();

Output

1{
2  "channels": [
3    {
4      "sid": "CHaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",
5      "account_sid": "ACaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",
6      "service_sid": "ISaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",
7      "friendly_name": "friendly_name",
8      "unique_name": "unique_name",
9      "attributes": "{ \"foo\": \"bar\" }",
10      "type": "public",
11      "date_created": "2015-12-16T22:18:37Z",
12      "date_updated": "2015-12-16T22:18:37Z",
13      "created_by": "system",
14      "members_count": 0,
15      "messages_count": 0,
16      "url": "https://chat.twilio.com/v2/Services/ISaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Channels/CHaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",
17      "links": {
18        "members": "https://chat.twilio.com/v2/Services/ISaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Channels/CHaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Members",
19        "messages": "https://chat.twilio.com/v2/Services/ISaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Channels/CHaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Messages",
20        "invites": "https://chat.twilio.com/v2/Services/ISaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Channels/CHaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Invites",
21        "webhooks": "https://chat.twilio.com/v2/Services/ISaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Channels/CHaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Webhooks",
22        "last_message": null
23      }
24    }
25  ],
26  "meta": {
27    "page": 0,
28    "page_size": 50,
29    "first_page_url": "https://chat.twilio.com/v2/Services/ISaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Channels?PageSize=50&Page=0",
30    "previous_page_url": null,
31    "url": "https://chat.twilio.com/v2/Services/ISaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Channels?PageSize=50&Page=0",
32    "next_page_url": null,
33    "key": "channels"
34  }
35}

Update a Channel resource

POST https://chat.twilio.com/v2/Services/{ServiceSid}/Channels/{Sid}

When updating a Channel resource, the {Sid} value can be either the sid or the unique_name of the Channel resource to update.

Headers

Property nameTypeRequiredPIIDescription

X-Twilio-Webhook-Enabledenum<string>Optional

The X-Twilio-Webhook-Enabled HTTP request header

Possible values:

truefalse

Path parameters

Property nameTypeRequiredPIIDescription

ServiceSidSID<IS>required

The SID of the Service to update the Channel resource in.

Pattern: ^IS[0-9a-fA-F]{32}$Min length: 34Max length: 34

Sidstringrequired

The SID of the Channel resource to update. This value can be either the sid or the unique_name of the Channel resource to update.

Request body parameters

Encoding type:application/x-www-form-urlencoded

SchemaExample

Property nameTypeRequiredDescriptionChild properties

FriendlyNamestringOptional

PII MTL: 30 days

A descriptive string that you create to describe the resource. It can be up to 256 characters long.

UniqueNamestringOptional

PII MTL: 30 days

An application-defined string that uniquely identifies the resource. It can be used to address the resource in place of the resource's sid in the URL. This value must be 256 characters or less in length and unique within the Service.

AttributesstringOptional

PII MTL: 30 days

A valid JSON string that contains application-specific data.

DateCreatedstring<date-time>Optional

The date, specified in ISO 8601 format, to assign to the resource as the date it was created. The default value is the current time set by the Chat service. Note that this should only be used in cases where a Channel is being recreated from a backup/separate source.

DateUpdatedstring<date-time>Optional

The date, specified in ISO 8601 format, to assign to the resource as the date it was last updated.

CreatedBystringOptional

PII MTL: 30 days

The identity of the User that created the channel. Default is: system.

Update a Channel resource

1// Download the helper library from https://www.twilio.com/docs/node/install
2const twilio = require("twilio"); // Or, for ESM: import twilio from "twilio";
3
4// Find your Account SID and Auth Token at twilio.com/console
5// and set the environment variables. See http://twil.io/secure
6const accountSid = process.env.TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID;
7const authToken = process.env.TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN;
8const client = twilio(accountSid, authToken);
9
10async function updateChannel() {
11  const channel = await client.chat.v2
12    .services("ISaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa")
13    .channels("Sid")
14    .update({ friendlyName: "FriendlyName" });
15
16  console.log(channel.sid);
17}
18
19updateChannel();

Output

1{
2  "sid": "Sid",
3  "account_sid": "ACaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",
4  "service_sid": "ISaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",
5  "friendly_name": "FriendlyName",
6  "unique_name": "unique_name",
7  "attributes": "{ \"foo\": \"bar\" }",
8  "type": "public",
9  "date_created": "2015-12-16T22:18:37Z",
10  "date_updated": "2015-12-16T22:18:38Z",
11  "created_by": "username",
12  "members_count": 0,
13  "messages_count": 0,
14  "url": "https://chat.twilio.com/v2/Services/ISaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Channels/CHaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",
15  "links": {
16    "members": "https://chat.twilio.com/v2/Services/ISaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Channels/CHaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Members",
17    "messages": "https://chat.twilio.com/v2/Services/ISaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Channels/CHaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Messages",
18    "invites": "https://chat.twilio.com/v2/Services/ISaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Channels/CHaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Invites",
19    "webhooks": "https://chat.twilio.com/v2/Services/ISaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Channels/CHaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Webhooks",
20    "last_message": null
21  }
22}

Delete a Channel resource

DELETE https://chat.twilio.com/v2/Services/{ServiceSid}/Channels/{Sid}

When deleting a Channel resource, the {Sid} value can be either the sid or the unique_name of the Channel resource to delete.

Headers

Property nameTypeRequiredPIIDescription

X-Twilio-Webhook-Enabledenum<string>Optional

The X-Twilio-Webhook-Enabled HTTP request header

Possible values:

truefalse

Path parameters

Property nameTypeRequiredPIIDescription

ServiceSidSID<IS>required

The SID of the Service to delete the resource from.

Pattern: ^IS[0-9a-fA-F]{32}$Min length: 34Max length: 34

Sidstringrequired

The SID of the Channel resource to delete. This value can be either the sid or the unique_name of the Channel resource to delete.

Delete a Channel resource

1// Download the helper library from https://www.twilio.com/docs/node/install
2const twilio = require("twilio"); // Or, for ESM: import twilio from "twilio";
3
4// Find your Account SID and Auth Token at twilio.com/console
5// and set the environment variables. See http://twil.io/secure
6const accountSid = process.env.TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID;
7const authToken = process.env.TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN;
8const client = twilio(accountSid, authToken);
9
10async function deleteChannel() {
11  await client.chat.v2
12    .services("ISaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa")
13    .channels("Sid")
14    .remove();
15}
16
17deleteChannel();