Send Messages

Send CometChat text, media, and custom messages to users and groups with the iOS SDK using success and error callbacks.

AI Integration Quick Reference

Field	Value
Key Classes	TextMessage, MediaMessage, CustomMessage
Key Methods	sendTextMessage(), sendMediaMessage(), sendCustomMessage()
Receiver Types	.user, .group
Message Types	.text, .image, .video, .audio, .file, custom
Prerequisites	SDK initialized, user logged in

CometChat supports three types of messages:

Type	Method	Use Case
Text	sendTextMessage()	Plain text messages
Media	sendMediaMessage()	Images, videos, audio, files
Custom	sendCustomMessage()	Location, polls, or any JSON data

You can also send metadata along with a text, media or custom message. Think, for example, if you’d want to share the user’s location with every message, you can use the metadata field.

Text Message

Send a text message using CometChat.sendTextMessage() with a TextMessage object.

Swift (User)

let receiverID = "cometchat-uid-2"
let text = "Hello"

let textMessage = TextMessage(receiverUid: receiverID, text: text, receiverType: .user)

CometChat.sendTextMessage(message: textMessage, onSuccess: { (message) in
  print("TextMessage sent successfully. " + message.stringValue())
}) { (error) in
  print("TextMessage sending failed with error: " + error!.errorDescription);
}

Objective-C (User)

NSString *receiverID = @"cometchat-uid-1";
NSString *text       = @"Hello";

TextMessage *textMessage = [[TextMessage alloc]initWithReceiverUid:receiverID text:text receiverType:ReceiverTypeUser];

[CometChat sendTextMessageWithMessage:textMessage onSuccess:^(TextMessage * message) {
    NSLog(@"TextMessage sent successfully. %@",[message stringValue]);
} onError:^(CometChatException * error) {
    NSLog(@"TextMessage sending failed with error: %@",[error errorDescription]);
}];

Swift (Group)

let receiverID = "cometchat-guid-102"
let text = "Hello"

let textMessage = TextMessage(receiverUid: receiverID, text: text, receiverType: .group)

CometChat.sendTextMessage(message: textMessage, onSuccess: { (message) in
  print("TextMessage sent successfully. " + message.stringValue())
}) { (error) in
  print("TextMessage sending failed with error: " + error!.errorDescription);
}

Objective-C (Group)

NSString *receiverID = @"cometchat-guid-101";
NSString *text       = @"Hello";

TextMessage *textMessage = [[TextMessage alloc]initWithReceiverUid:receiverID text:text receiverType:ReceiverTypeGroup];

[CometChat sendTextMessageWithMessage:textMessage onSuccess:^(TextMessage * message) {
    NSLog(@"TextMessage sent successfully. %@",[message stringValue]);
} onError:^(CometChatException * error) {
    NSLog(@"TextMessage sending failed with error: %@",[error errorDescription]);
}];

The TextMessage class constructor takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description	Required
receiverID	UID of the user or GUID of the group receiving the message	Yes
text	The text message content	Yes
receiverType	.user or .group	Yes

On success, sendTextMessage() returns a TextMessage object containing all information about the sent message.

Add Metadata

Send custom data along with a text message using the metaData property:

Swift

let metadata = ["latitude":"50.6192171633316","longitude":"-72.68182268750002"];
textMessage.metaData = metadata;

Objective-C

NSDictionary * metadata = @{@"latitude":@"50.6192171633316",@"longitude":@"-72.68182268750002"};
[textMessage setMetaData:metadata];

Add Tags

let tags = ["pinned"]
textMessage.tags = tags

Quote a Message

textMessage.quotedMessageId = 140
textMessage.quotedMessage = // Pass the BaseMessage object you want to quote

Media Message

Send images, videos, audio, or files using CometChat.sendMediaMessage().

There are two ways to send media messages:

1. Upload a file — Pass a file path and CometChat uploads it automatically
2. Send a URL — Provide a URL to media hosted on your server or cloud storage

Upload a File

Swift

let receiverid = "cometchat-uid-2"
let mediaUrl = "file:///Library/Developer/CoreSimulator/.../image.jpg"

let mediaMessage = MediaMessage(receiverUid: receiverid, fileurl: mediaUrl, messageType: .image, receiverType: .user)

CometChat.sendMediaMessage(message: mediaMessage, onSuccess: { (message) in
  print("MediaMessage sent successfully. " + message.stringValue())
}) { (error) in
  print("MediaMessage sending failed with error: " + error.errorDescription);
}

Objective-C

NSString *receiverID = @"cometchat-uid-1";
NSString *filePath = @"Library/Developer/CoreSimulator/.../image.jpg";

MediaMessage *mediaMessage = [[MediaMessage alloc]initWithReceiverUid:receiverID fileurl:filePath messageType:messageTypeImage receiverType:ReceiverTypeUser];

[CometChat sendMediaMessageWithMessage:mediaMessage onSuccess:^(MediaMessage * message) {
    NSLog(@"MediaMessage sent successfully. %@",[message stringValue]);
} onError:^(CometChatException * error) {
    NSLog(@"MediaMessage sending failed with error: %@",[error errorDescription]);
}];

Send a URL

Use the Attachment class to send media hosted on your server or cloud storage:

let receiverid = "cometchat-uid-2"
let mediaUrl = "https://pngimg.com/uploads/mario/mario_PNG125.png"

let mediaMessage = MediaMessage(receiverUid: receiverid, fileurl: "", messageType: .image, receiverType: .user)
mediaMessage.attachment = Attachment(fileName: "FileName", fileExtension: "png", fileMimeType: "image/png", fileUrl: mediaUrl)

CometChat.sendMediaMessage(message: mediaMessage, onSuccess: { (message) in
  print("MediaMessage sent successfully. " + message.stringValue())
}) { (error) in
  print("MediaMessage sending failed with error: " + error.errorDescription);
}

The MediaMessage class constructor takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description	Required
receiverID	UID of the user or GUID of the group	Yes
fileurl	File path or empty string if using URL	Yes
messageType	.image, .video, .audio, or .file	Yes
receiverType	.user or .group	Yes

On success, sendMediaMessage() returns a MediaMessage object.

Add Caption

mediaMessage.caption = "Message Caption"

Add Metadata and Tags

Same as text messages:

mediaMessage.metaData = ["location": "Paris"]
mediaMessage.tags = ["vacation"]

Multiple Attachments in a Media Message

The SDK supports sending multiple attachments in a single media message. A media message can carry up to a configurable maximum number of attachments (default 10, controlled by the file.count.max app setting) — read the current limit at runtime with CometChat.getMaxFileCount().

Recommended: upload first, then send. For a real composer — where you want a progress bar per file, and the ability to remove or retry individual files — create an upload request with CometChat.createUploadFileRequest(), upload your files through it, then collect the resulting Attachments (request.getAttachments()) and set them here on the message’s attachments property. This decouples the (slow, cancellable) upload from the (instant) send. See Upload Files & Send Attachments for the full flow.

There are two ways to send a multi-attachment media message using the CometChat SDK:

1. By providing an array of files: You can share an array of File objects while creating an object of the MediaMessage class. When the media message is sent using the sendMediaMessage() method, the files are uploaded to the CometChat servers & the URLs of the files are sent in the success response of the sendMediaMessage() method. This is the simplest path, but it gives no upload progress and no per-file cancel/retry — for that, upload first.

let receiverId = "cometchat-uid-1"

let data = try? Data(contentsOf: URL(string: "file:///path/to/image1.jpeg")!)
let data1 = try? Data(contentsOf: URL(string: "file:///path/to/image2.jpeg")!)

var files = [File]()
files.append(File(name: "FileName 1", data: data))
files.append(File(name: "FileName 2", data: data1))

let mediaMessage = MediaMessage(receiverUid: receiverId, files: files, messageType: .image, receiverType: .user)

CometChat.sendMediaMessage(message: mediaMessage, onSuccess: { (message) in
  print("Message sent successfully")
}, onError: { (error) in
  print("Message sending failed: ", error?.errorDescription)
})

The MediaMessage class constructor takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description	Required
receiverUid	UID of the user or GUID of the group	Yes
files	Array of File objects to upload and attach	Yes
messageType	.image, .video, .audio, or .file	Yes
receiverType	.user or .group	Yes

2. By providing the URL of the multiple files: The second way to send multiple attachments using the CometChat SDK is to provide the SDK with Attachment objects that already point at files hosted on your servers or any cloud storage. This is also the path the upload-then-send flow uses — the Attachments from an upload request’s getAttachments() are ready to set straight on the message’s attachments property. For more information, you can refer to the below code snippet:

let receiverId = "cometchat-uid-1"

let attachments = [
  Attachment(fileName: "photo-1", fileExtension: "jpg", fileMimeType: "image/jpeg", fileUrl: "https://your-storage.example.com/photo-1.jpg"),
  Attachment(fileName: "photo-2", fileExtension: "jpg", fileMimeType: "image/jpeg", fileUrl: "https://your-storage.example.com/photo-2.jpg")
]

let mediaMessage = MediaMessage(receiverUid: receiverId, fileurl: "", messageType: .image, receiverType: .user)
mediaMessage.attachments = attachments
mediaMessage.caption = "Trip photos"

CometChat.sendMediaMessage(message: mediaMessage, onSuccess: { (message) in
  print("Message sent successfully")
}, onError: { (error) in
  print("Message sending failed: ", error?.errorDescription)
})

When sending a message built from pre-uploaded or already-hosted attachments, leave the message’s files property nil — build the message with the fileurl: constructor and an empty string. Passing an empty files array causes the send to fail with an invalid-message error, even though attachments is populated.

Custom Message

Send structured data that doesn’t fit text or media categories — like location coordinates, polls, or game moves.

Swift (User)

let receiverid = "cometchat-uid-2"
let customData: [String: Any] = ["customKey": "customData"]

let customMessage = CustomMessage(receiverUid: receiverid, receiverType: .user, customData: customData, type: "Custom Type")

CometChat.sendCustomMessage(message: customMessage, onSuccess: { (message) in
  print("CustomMessage sent successfully. " + message.stringValue())
}) { (error) in
  print("CustomMessage sending failed with error: " + error!.errorDescription);
}

Swift (Group)

let receiverid = "cometchat-guid-1"
let customData: [String: Any] = ["customKey": "customData"]

let customMessage = CustomMessage(receiverUid: receiverid, receiverType: .group, customData: customData, type: "Custom Type")

CometChat.sendCustomMessage(message: customMessage, onSuccess: { (message) in
  print("CustomMessage sent successfully. " + message.stringValue())
}) { (error) in
  print("CustomMessage sending failed with error: " + error!.errorDescription);
}

The CustomMessage class constructor takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description	Required
receiverID	UID of the user or GUID of the group	Yes
receiverType	.user or .group	Yes
customData	Dictionary with your custom data	Yes
type	Your custom type string (e.g., "location", "poll")	Yes

On success, sendCustomMessage() returns a CustomMessage object.

Add Tags

customMessage.tags = ["starredMessage"]

Control Conversation Update

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

customMessage.updateConversation = false

Custom Notification Text

Set custom text for push, email, and SMS notifications:

customMessage.conversationText = "Shared a location"

It is also possible to send interactive messages from CometChat. To learn more, see Interactive Messages.

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Next Steps

Receive Messages

Listen for incoming messages in real-time

Edit Message

Edit previously sent messages

Delete Message

Delete sent messages