conversations.history
Fetches a conversation's history of messages and events.
channels:
, groups:
, im:
or mpim:
scopes corresponding to the conversation type you're working with.
This method returns a portion of message events from the specified conversation.
To read the entire history for a conversation, call the method with no latest
or
oldest
arguments, and then continue paging using the instructions below.
The scopes and token types required to use this method vary by conversation type:
- Apps using classic bot user token may use this method for direct message and multi-party direct message conversations but lack sufficient permissions to use this method on public and private channels.
- Every other type of token can be used with this method for any conversations the relevant app, bot, or user is a member of. The calling app must also have the relevant
*:history
scope for the conversation type.
Arguments
token
Authentication token bearing required scopes. Tokens should be passed as an HTTP Authorization header or alternatively, as a POST parameter.
Examplexxxx-xxxxxxxxx-xxxx
channel
Conversation ID to fetch history for.
ExampleC1234567890
cursor
Paginate through collections of data by setting the cursor
parameter to a next_cursor
attribute returned by a previous request's response_metadata
. Default value fetches the first "page" of the collection. See pagination for more detail.
dXNlcjpVMDYxTkZUVDI=
inclusive
Include messages with latest or oldest timestamp in results only when either timestamp is specified.
Default: 0
true
latest
End of time range of messages to include in results.
Default: now
1234567890.123456
limit
The maximum number of items to return. Fewer than the requested number of items may be returned, even if the end of the users list hasn't been reached.
Default: 100
20
oldest
Start of time range of messages to include in results.
Default: 0
1234567890.123456
application/x-www-form-urlencoded
querystring or POST body. This method does not currently accept application/json
.
Response
Common successful response
Typical success response containing a channel's messages
{
"ok": true,
"messages": [
{
"type": "message",
"user": "U012AB3CDE",
"text": "I find you punny and would like to smell your nose letter",
"ts": "1512085950.000216"
},
{
"type": "message",
"user": "U061F7AUR",
"text": "What, you want to smell my shoes better?",
"ts": "1512104434.000490"
}
],
"has_more": true,
"pin_count": 0,
"response_metadata": {
"next_cursor": "bmV4dF90czoxNTEyMDg1ODYxMDAwNTQz"
}
}
Alternate response
Typical success response included formatted messages from bots and incoming webhooks
{
"ok": true,
"messages": [
{
"type": "message",
"user": "U012AB3CDE",
"text": "I find you punny and would like to smell your nose letter",
"ts": "1512085950.000216"
},
{
"type": "message",
"user": "U061F7AUR",
"text": "Isn't this whether dreadful? <https://badpuns.example.com/puns/123>",
"attachments": [
{
"service_name": "Leg end nary a laugh, Ink.",
"text": "This is likely a pun about the weather.",
"fallback": "We're withholding a pun from you",
"thumb_url": "https://badpuns.example.com/puns/123.png",
"thumb_width": 1920,
"thumb_height": 700,
"id": 1
}
],
"ts": "1512085950.218404"
}
],
"has_more": true,
"pin_count": 0,
"response_metadata": {
"next_cursor": "bmV4dF90czoxNTEyMTU0NDA5MDAwMjU2"
}
}
Alternate response
Typical success response with latest
timestamp and inclusive
parameters specified
{
"ok": true,
"latest": "1512085950.000216",
"messages": [
{
"type": "message",
"user": "U012AB3CDE",
"text": "I find you punny and would like to smell your nose letter",
"ts": "1512085950.000216"
}
],
"has_more": true,
"pin_count": 0,
"response_metadata": {
"next_cursor": "bmV4dF90czoxNTEyMzU2NTI2MDAwMTMw"
}
}
Common error response
Typical error response
{
"ok": false,
"error": "channel_not_found"
}
Pagination
This method uses cursor-based pagination to make it easier to incrementally collect information. To begin pagination, specify alimit
value under 1000
. We recommend no more than 200
results at a time.Responses will include a top-level
response_metadata
attribute containing a next_cursor
value. By using this value as a cursor
parameter in a subsequent request, along with limit
, you may navigate through the collection page by virtual page.See pagination for more information.
Pagination by time
This form of pagination can be used in conjunction with cursors.
The messages
array contains up to 100 messages between latest
and oldest
. If
there were more than 100 messages between those two points, then has_more
will be true.
Provide timestamps in latest
and oldest
to specify the period in channel's history you want to cover. If a message has the same timestamp as latest
or oldest
it will not be included in the list, unless inclusive
is true. The inclusive
parameter is ignored when latest
or oldest
is not specified.
If the response includes has_more
then the client can make another call, using the ts
value of the final messages as the latest
param to get the next page of messages.
If there are more than 100 messages between the two timestamps then the
messages returned are the ones closest to latest
. In most cases an
application will want the most recent messages and will page backward from
there. If oldest
is provided but not latest
then the messages returned are
those closest to oldest
, allowing you to page forward through history if
desired.
Retrieving a single message
conversations.history
can also be used to pluck a single message from the archive.
You'll need a message's ts
value, uniquely identifying it within a conversation. You'll also need that conversation's ID.
Provide another message's ts
value as the latest
parameter. Set limit
to 1
. If it exists, you'll receive the queried message in return.
Finally, use inclusive=true
because otherwise we'll never retrieve the message we're actually after, just the ones that come after it.
GET /api/conversations.history?channel=C2EB2QT8A&latest=1476909142.000007&inclusive=true&limit=1
Authorization: Bearer TOKEN_WITH_CHANNELS_HISTORY_SCOPE
You can easily generate a permalink URL for any specific message using chat.getPermalink
.
Message types
Messages of type "message"
are user-entered text messages sent to the channel, while other types are events that happened within the channel. All messages have both a type
and a sortable ts
, but the other fields depend on the type
. For a list of all possible events, see the channel messages documentation.
Messages that have been reacted to by team members will have a reactions array delightfully included.
If a message has been starred by the calling user, the is_starred
property will be present and true. This property is only added for starred items, so is not present in the majority of messages.
The is_limited
boolean property is only included for free teams that have
reached the free message limit. If true, there are messages before the current
result set, but they are beyond the message limit.
Errors
This table lists the expected errors that this method could return. However, other errors can be returned in the case where the service is down or other unexpected factors affect processing. Callers should always check the value of the ok
params in the response.
Error | Description |
---|---|
channel_not_found | Value passed for |
missing_scope | The token used is not granted the specific scope permissions required to complete this request. |
invalid_cursor | Value passed for |
pagination_not_available | Pagination does not currently function on Enterprise Grid workspaces. |
invalid_ts_latest | Value passed for |
invalid_ts_oldest | Value passed for |
not_authed | No authentication token provided. |
invalid_auth | Some aspect of authentication cannot be validated. Either the provided token is invalid or the request originates from an IP address disallowed from making the request. |
account_inactive | Authentication token is for a deleted user or workspace. |
token_revoked | Authentication token is for a deleted user or workspace or the app has been removed. |
no_permission | The workspace token used in this request does not have the permissions necessary to complete the request. Make sure your app is a member of the conversation it's attempting to post a message to. |
org_login_required | The workspace is undergoing an enterprise migration and will not be available until migration is complete. |
ekm_access_denied | Administrators have suspended the ability to post a message. |
not_allowed_token_type | The token type used in this request is not allowed. |
method_deprecated | The method has been deprecated. |
deprecated_endpoint | The endpoint has been deprecated. |
two_factor_setup_required | Two factor setup is required. |
enterprise_is_restricted | The method cannot be called from an Enterprise. |
team_access_not_granted | The token used is not granted the specific workspace access required to complete this request. |
invalid_arguments | The method was either called with invalid arguments or some detail about the arguments passed are invalid, which is more likely when using complex arguments like blocks or attachments. |
invalid_arg_name | The method was passed an argument whose name falls outside the bounds of accepted or expected values. This includes very long names and names with non-alphanumeric characters other than |
invalid_array_arg | The method was passed an array as an argument. Please only input valid strings. |
invalid_charset | The method was called via a |
invalid_form_data | The method was called via a |
invalid_post_type | The method was called via a |
missing_post_type | The method was called via a |
team_added_to_org | The workspace associated with your request is currently undergoing migration to an Enterprise Organization. Web API and other platform operations will be intermittently unavailable until the transition is complete. |
ratelimited | The request has been ratelimited. Refer to the |
accesslimited | Access to this method is limited on the current network |
request_timeout | The method was called via a |
service_unavailable | The service is temporarily unavailable |
fatal_error | The server could not complete your operation(s) without encountering a catastrophic error. It's possible some aspect of the operation succeeded before the error was raised. |
internal_error | The server could not complete your operation(s) without encountering an error, likely due to a transient issue on our end. It's possible some aspect of the operation succeeded before the error was raised. |
Warnings
This table lists the expected warnings that this method will return. However, other warnings can be returned in the case where the service is experiencing unexpected trouble.
Warning | Description |
---|---|
missing_charset | The method was called via a |
superfluous_charset | The method was called via a |
Sample code
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