Create channels

Create channels (Channel objects) of one of these types:

Direct (1:1)
Group
Public

Usage in Blueprints and C++

Requires App Context

To store data about channels, you must enable App Context for your app's keyset in the Admin Portal.

Create direct channel

Direct channels enable private conversations between two users, letting one person initiate the chat and send an invitation to another person for:

Personal conversations - you can engage in private conversations with friends, family, or colleagues, sharing personal updates, discussing sensitive matters, or planning social events.
Professional collaboration - you can use 1:1 chat to have focused discussions, exchange confidential information, provide feedback, or coordinate tasks with colleagues and business partners.

CreateDirectConversation() is a method that:

Creates a direct (one-on-one) channel type.
Sets channel membership for the channel owner (so that they can join the channel).
Invites the other user to join the channel. As a result, an event of the invite type gets created. You can listen to these events in your chat app and notify the invited users.

If you call this method to create a channel for users that already had a conversation which was not deleted, this conversation is retrieved.

Join() or Connect() to receive messages

Creating a conversation doesn't create a membership between the channel and the user.

You must call the Connect() method or Join() the channel to start receiving messages.

Method signature

Blueprint
C++ / Input parameters

Chat->CreateDirectConversation(
    UPubnubUser* User, 
    FString ChannelID, 
    FPubnubChatChannelData ChannelData, 
    FString MembershipData = ""
);

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`User`	`UPubnubUser`	Yes	User that you invite to join a channel.
`ChannelID`	`FString`	Yes	ID of the direct channel. The channel ID is created automatically by a hashing function that takes the string of two user names joined by `&`, computes a numeric value based on the characters in that string, and adds the `direct` prefix in front. For example, `direct.1234567890`. You can override this default value by providing your own ID.
`ChannelData`	`FPubnubChatChannelData`	Yes	Information about the channel.
`MembershipData`	`FString`	No	Information about the user-channel membership.

FPubnubChatChannelData

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
`ChannelName`	`FString`	No	n/a	Display name for the channel (must not be empty or consist only of whitespace characters).
`Description`	`FString`	No	n/a	Channel's identifier in an external system. You can use it to match `id` with a similar identifier from an external database.
`CustomDataJson`	`FString`	No	n/a	JSON providing custom data about the channel. Values must be scalar only; arrays or objects are not supported. Filtering App Context data through the `custom` property is not recommended in SDKs.
`Status`	`FString`	No	n/a	Tag that lets you categorize your app channels by their current state. The tag choice is entirely up to you and depends on your use case.
`Type`	`FString`	No	n/a	Tag that lets you categorize your app channels by their functional roles. The tag choice is entirely up to you and depends on your use case.

API limits

To learn about the maximum length of parameters used to set channel metadata, refer to REST API docs.

Output

Parameter	Type	Description
`FPubnubCreatedChannelWrapper`	`FPubnubCreatedChannelWrapper`	Returned object containing these fields: `CreatedChannel`, `HostMembership`, and `InviteesMemberships`.
→ `CreatedChannel`	`UPubnubChannel*`	Returned object containing the updated channel metadata.
→ `HostMembership`	`UPubnubMembership*`	Returned object containing the updated host (channel owner) metadata.
→ `InviteesMemberships`	`TArray<UPubnubMembership*>`	Returned object containing the updated data of the invited users.

Basic usage

Invite agent-007 to a 1:1 conversation to talk about customer XYZ.

#include "Kismet/GameplayStatics.h"
#include "PubnubChatSubsystem.h"

UGameInstance* GameInstance = UGameplayStatics::GetGameInstance(ContextObject);
UPubnubChatSubsystem* PubnubChatSubsystem = GameInstance->GetSubsystem<UPubnubChatSubsystem>();

UPubnubChat* Chat = PubnubChatSubsystem->InitChat("demo", "demo", "my_user");

// First, create a user object for agent-007
FString UserID = "agent-007";
FPubnubChatUserData UserData;
UserData.UserName = "Agent 007";

// Create the user
UPubnubUser* InvitedUser = Chat->CreateUser(UserID, UserData);
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Create group channel

Group channels enable communication among multiple users, promoting collaboration and teamwork. A user can initiate a group chat and invite others to be channel members for:

Team collaboration - members of a project team can use group chat to share updates, exchange ideas, ask questions, and provide status updates. This boosts real-time collaboration and productivity and ensures everyone stays on the same page.
Community building - group chat allows like-minded individuals to connect, discuss shared interests, organize events, and build strong communities around specific topics, hobbies, or professional fields.

Such a chat type is restricted by invitation, and you can access it only when invited.

CreateGroupConversation() is a method that:

Creates a group channel type.
Sets channel membership for the channel owner (so that they can join the channel).
Invites other users to join the channel.

Join() or Connect() to receive messages

Creating a conversation doesn't create a membership between the channel and the user.

You must call the Connect() method or Join() the channel to start receiving messages.

Method signature

Blueprint
C++ / Input parameters

Chat->CreateGroupConversation(
    TArray<UPubnubUser*> Users, 
    FString ChannelID, 
    FPubnubChatChannelData ChannelData, 
    FString MembershipData = ""
);

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`Users`	`TArray<UPubnubUser*>`	Yes	Array of users that you invite to join a channel. You can invite a maximum number of 100 users at once.
`ChannelID`	`FString`	Yes	ID of the group channel.
`ChannelData`	`FPubnubChatChannelData`	Yes	Information about the channel. If you don't provide the name, the channel will get the same name as `id`.
`MembershipData`	`FString`	Yes	Information about the user-channel membership. Any custom properties or metadata associated with the channel membership in the form of a JSON. Values must be scalar only; arrays or objects are not supported. App Context filtering language doesn’t support filtering by custom properties.

Output

Parameter	Type	Description
`FPubnubCreatedChannelWrapper`	`FPubnubCreatedChannelWrapper`	Returned object containing these fields: `CreatedChannel`, `HostMembership`, and `InviteesMemberships`.
→ `CreatedChannel`	`UPubnubChannel*`	Returned object containing the updated channel metadata.
→ `HostMembership`	`UPubnubMembership*`	Returned object containing the updated host (channel owner) metadata.
→ `InviteesMemberships`	`TArray<UPubnubMembership*>`	Returned object containing the updated data of the invited users.

Basic usage

Create a group conversation and invite agent-007 and agent-008 to have weekly syncs on customer XYZ.

#include "Kismet/GameplayStatics.h"
#include "PubnubChatSubsystem.h"

// Get the GameInstance and Chat subsystem
UGameInstance* GameInstance = UGameplayStatics::GetGameInstance(ContextObject);
UPubnubChatSubsystem* PubnubChatSubsystem = GameInstance->GetSubsystem<UPubnubChatSubsystem>();
UPubnubChat* Chat = PubnubChatSubsystem->InitChat("demo", "demo", "my_user");

// Create user objects for agent-007 and agent-008
FString UserID_007 = "agent-007";
FPubnubChatUserData UserData_007;
UserData_007.UserName = "Agent 007";
UPubnubUser* InvitedUser_007 = Chat->CreateUser(UserID_007, UserData_007);

FString UserID_008 = "agent-008";
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Create public channel

Supported features

The public channel type comes with certain limitations in place - you'll get errors when trying to implement such Unreal Chat SDK features as typing indicator, invites, or read receipts in public channels since these features are neither useful nor practical for large audiences.

Public channels let users engage in open conversations with many people. Unlike group chats, anyone can join public channels. Example use cases include:

Knowledge sharing and Q&A - public chats provide a platform for users to seek advice, share knowledge, and participate in discussions related to specific topics, fostering a community-driven environment.
Events and webinars - organizations can host public chats during live events, webinars, or panel discussions, allowing attendees to interact with presenters, ask questions, and share insights in real time.

CreatePublicConversation() is a method that creates such a public channel type with specified metadata.

Join() or Connect() to receive messages

Creating a conversation doesn't create a membership between the channel and the user.

You must call the Connect() method or Join() the channel to start receiving messages.

Method signature

Blueprint
C++ / Input parameters

Chat->CreatePublicConversation(
    FString ChannelID, 
    FPubnubChatChannelData ChannelData
);

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`ChannelID`	`FString`	Yes	ID of the group channel.
`ChannelData`	`FPubnubChatChannelData`	Yes	Information about the channel. If you don't provide the name, the channel will get the same name as `id`.

API limits

To learn about the maximum length of parameters used to set channel metadata, refer to REST API docs.

Output

Parameter	Type	Description
`Channel`	`UPubnubChannel*`	Object returning the created channel metadata.

Basic usage

Create a public ask-support channel.

#include "Kismet/GameplayStatics.h"
#include "PubnubChatSubsystem.h"

UGameInstance* GameInstance = UGameplayStatics::GetGameInstance(ContextObject);
UPubnubChatSubsystem* PubnubChatSubsystem = GameInstance->GetSubsystem<UPubnubChatSubsystem>();

UPubnubChat* Chat = PubnubChatSubsystem->InitChat("demo", "demo", "my_user");

// Define the conversation/channel ID
FString ChannelID = "ask-support"; 

// Define the channel data
FPubnubChatChannelData ChannelData;
ChannelData.ChannelName = "ask-support";
ChannelData.Description = "Space dedicated to answering all support-related questions";
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Usage in Blueprints and C++

Requires App Context

Create direct channel​

Join() or Connect() to receive messages

Method signature​

FPubnubChatChannelData​

API limits

Output​

Basic usage​

Create group channel​

Join() or Connect() to receive messages

Method signature​

Output​

Basic usage​

Create public channel​

Supported features

Join() or Connect() to receive messages

Method signature​

API limits

Output​

Basic usage​

Create direct channel

Method signature

FPubnubChatChannelData

Output

Basic usage

Create group channel

Method signature

Output

Basic usage

Create public channel

Method signature

Output

Basic usage