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Send a message

Send a stream or a private message.

POST https://zulip.schiffrin-zulip.cloud.edu.au/api/v1/messages

Usage examples

  • Python
  • JavaScript
  • curl
  • zulip-send

#!/usr/bin/env python3

import zulip

# Pass the path to your zuliprc file here.
client = zulip.Client(config_file="~/zuliprc")

# Send a stream message
request = {
    "type": "stream",
    "to": "Denmark",
    "topic": "Castle",
    "content": "I come not, friends, to steal away your hearts.",
}
result = client.send_message(request)
# Send a private message
user_id = 10
request = {
    "type": "private",
    "to": [user_id],
    "content": "With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come.",
}
result = client.send_message(request)
print(result)

More examples and documentation can be found here.

const zulipInit = require("zulip-js");

// Pass the path to your zuliprc file here.
const config = { zuliprc: "zuliprc" };

(async () => {
    const client = await zulipInit(config);

    // Send a stream message
    let params = {
        to: "social",
        type: "stream",
        topic: "Castle",
        content: "I come not, friends, to steal away your hearts.",
    };
    console.log(await client.messages.send(params));

    // Send a private message
    const user_id = 9;
    params = {
        to: [user_id],
        type: "private",
        content: "With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come.",
    };
    console.log(await client.messages.send(params));
})();


# For stream messages
curl -X POST https://zulip.schiffrin-zulip.cloud.edu.au/api/v1/messages \
    -u BOT_EMAIL_ADDRESS:BOT_API_KEY \
    --data-urlencode type=stream \
    --data-urlencode to=Denmark \
    --data-urlencode topic=Castle \
    --data-urlencode 'content=I come not, friends, to steal away your hearts.'

# For private messages
curl -X POST https://zulip.schiffrin-zulip.cloud.edu.au/api/v1/messages \
    -u BOT_EMAIL_ADDRESS:BOT_API_KEY \
    --data-urlencode type=private \
    --data-urlencode 'to=[9]' \
    --data-urlencode 'content=With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come.'

You can use zulip-send (available after you pip install zulip) to easily send Zulips from the command-line, providing the message content via STDIN.

# For stream messages
zulip-send --stream Denmark --subject Castle \
    --user othello-bot@example.com --api-key a0b1c2d3e4f5a6b7c8d9e0f1a2b3c4d5

# For private messages
zulip-send hamlet@example.com \
    --user othello-bot@example.com --api-key a0b1c2d3e4f5a6b7c8d9e0f1a2b3c4d5

Passing in the message on the command-line

If you'd like, you can also provide the message on the command-line with the -m or --message flag, as follows:

zulip-send --stream Denmark --subject Castle \
    --message 'I come not, friends, to steal away your hearts.' \
    --user othello-bot@example.com --api-key a0b1c2d3e4f5a6b7c8d9e0f1a2b3c4d5

You can omit the user and api-key parameters if you have a ~/.zuliprc file.

Parameters

type string required

Example: "private"

The type of message to be sent. private for a private message and stream for a stream message.

Must be one of: "private", "stream".

to (integer)[] required

Example: [9, 10]

For stream messages, either the name or integer ID of the stream. For private messages, either a list containing integer user IDs or a list containing string email addresses.

Changes: Support for using user/stream IDs was added in Zulip 2.0.0.

content string required

Example: "Hello"

The content of the message. Maximum message size of 10000 bytes.

topic string optional

Example: "Castle"

The topic of the message. Only required for stream messages (type="stream"), ignored otherwise.

Maximum length of 60 characters.

Changes: New in Zulip 2.0. Previous Zulip releases encoded this as subject, which is currently a deprecated alias.

queue_id string optional

Example: "1593114627:0"

For clients supporting local echo, the event queue ID for the client. If passed, local_id is required. If the message is successfully sent, the server will include local_id in the message event that the client with this queue_id will receive notifying it of the new message via GET /events. This lets the client know unambiguously that it should replace the locally echoed message, rather than adding this new message (which would be correct if the user had sent the new message from another device).

local_id string optional

Example: "100.01"

For clients supporting local echo, a unique string-format identifier chosen freely by the client; the server will pass it back to the client without inspecting it, as described in the queue_id description.

Response

Return values

  • id: integer

    The unique ID assigned to the sent message.

  • deliver_at: string

    Present for scheduled messages, encodes the time when the message will be sent. Note that scheduled messages ("Send later") is a beta API and may change before it's a finished feature.

Example response

A typical successful JSON response may look like:

{
    "id": 42,
    "msg": "",
    "result": "success"
}

A typical failed JSON response for when a stream message is sent to a stream that does not exist:

{
    "code": "STREAM_DOES_NOT_EXIST",
    "msg": "Stream 'nonexistent_stream' does not exist",
    "result": "error",
    "stream": "nonexistent_stream"
}

A typical failed JSON response for when a private message is sent to a user that does not exist:

{
    "code": "BAD_REQUEST",
    "msg": "Invalid email 'eeshan@zulip.com'",
    "result": "error"
}