API object type

group

For information about private channels, refer to conversation objects. The Conversations API will tell you whether a conversation is private or not with the is_private boolean field.

For posterity, a group object contains information about a private channel that was created before March 2021. The private channel's ID will begin with G, as private channels were previously known as "private groups."

An example response is below:

    {
        "id": "G123456",
        "name": "secretplans",
        "is_group": "true",
        "created": 1360782804,
        "creator": "U123456",
        "is_archived": false,
        "is_mpim": false,
        "members": [
            "U012AB3CD"
        ],
        "topic": {
            "value": "Secret plans on hold",
            "creator": "U123456",
            "last_set": 1369677212
        },
        "purpose": {
            "value": "Discuss secret plans that nobody else should know",
            "creator": "U123456",
            "last_set": 1360782804
        },
        "last_read": "1401383885.000061",
        "latest": { … },
        "unread_count": 0,
        "unread_count_display": 0

    },
Field Type Description
id
string
The ID of the private channel.
name
string
The name of the private channel.
is_group
boolean
Whether this object is a conversation.
created
Unix timestamp
When the conversation was created.
creator
string
The user ID of the member that created this private channel.
is_archived
boolean
true if the private channel is archived.
is_mpim
boolean
Whether a multiparty instant message (mpim) is being emulated as a private channel. For compatibility with older clients, mpims can appear as private channels unless rtm.start is called with mpim_aware=1.
members
array
A list of user IDs for all users in this private channel. This includes any disabled accounts that were in this private channel when they were disabled.
topic
object
The topic of the conversation.
purpose
object
The purpose of the conversation.

Some API methods (such as conversations.create) will include extra state information for channels when the calling user is a member:

  • last_read: the Unix timestamp for the last message the calling user has read in this channel.
  • unread_count: a full count of visible messages that the calling user has yet to read.
  • unread_count_display: a count of messages that the calling user has yet to read that matter to them (this means it excludes things like join/leave messages).
  • latest: the latest message in the channel.