Search messages

Search messages stored in the local database by keyword, message type, time range, or sender.

tip

• Search operates on local data only.
• Custom messages must implement getSearchableWords to be indexed and searchable.

Search channels by keyword

Find all channels containing messages that match a keyword using searchChannels:

Swift

swift

import NexconnChatSDK
let params = SearchChannelsParams()
params.keyword = "search term"
params.setChannelTypes([.direct, .group])
// params.messageTypes = [MessageType.text] // Optional: filter by message type

BaseChannel.searchChannels(params: params) { channels, error in
    // channels: matched channel list, ordered by latest message time
}

Objective-C

Objective C

NCSearchChannelsParams *params = [[NCSearchChannelsParams alloc] init];
params.keyword = @"search term";
params.channelTypes = @[@(NCChannelTypeDirect), @(NCChannelTypeGroup)];
// params.messageTypes = @[@"RC:TxtMsg"]; // Optional: filter by message type

[NCBaseChannel searchChannelsWithParams:params
                             completion:^(NSArray<NCBaseChannel *> *channels, NCError *error) {
    // channels: matched channel list, ordered by latest message time
}];

Search messages across channels (paginated)

Use createSearchMessagesQuery to search messages across multiple channels with full-text keyword filtering:

Swift

swift

import NexconnChatSDK
let params = SearchMessagesQueryParams()
params.keyword = "search term"
params.setChannelTypes([.direct])
params.pageSize = 20
params.startTime = 0
params.endTime = 0 // 0 = current time

let query = BaseChannel.createSearchMessagesQuery(params: params)
query.loadNextPage { page, error in
    // page?.data: current page of matching messages
}

Objective-C

Objective C

NCSearchMessagesQueryParams *params = [[NCSearchMessagesQueryParams alloc] init];
params.keyword = @"search term";
params.channelTypes = @[@(NCChannelTypeDirect)];
params.pageSize = 20;
params.startTime = 0;
params.endTime = 0; // 0 = current time

NCSearchMessagesQuery *query = [NCBaseChannel createSearchMessagesQueryWithParams:params];
[query loadNextPageWithCompletion:^(NSArray<NCMessage *> *messages, NCError *error) {
    // messages: current page of matching messages
}];

NCSearchMessagesQueryParams properties:

Property	Type	Description
keyword	NSString *	Search keyword. nil means no keyword filter.
pageSize	NSInteger	Results per page. Default: 20.
isAscending	BOOL	Sort order. Default: NO (descending).
startTime	int64_t	Start timestamp in milliseconds.
endTime	int64_t	End timestamp in milliseconds. 0 = current time.
channelTypes	NSArray<NSNumber *>	Channel type filter. Empty = all types.
channelIds	NSArray<NSString *>	Channel ID filter. Empty = all channels.
senderUserIds	NSArray<NSString *>	Sender user ID filter. Empty = all senders.
messageTypes	NSArray<NSString *>	Message type filter. Empty = all types.
subChannelIds	NSArray<NSString *>	Sub-channel ID filter (for community channels).

Search messages by time range (paginated)

Use createSearchMessagesByTimeRangeQuery to search messages in a specific channel within a time range:

Swift

swift

import NexconnChatSDK
let identifier = ChannelIdentifier(channelType: .direct, channelId: "targetUserId")
let params = SearchMessagesByTimeRangeQueryParams()
params.channelIdentifier = identifier
params.keyword = "search term" // Optional
params.pageSize = 20

let query = BaseChannel.createSearchMessagesByTimeRangeQuery(params: params)
query.loadNextPage { page, error in
    // page?.data: matching messages in this time range
}

Objective-C

Objective C

NCChannelIdentifier *identifier = [[NCChannelIdentifier alloc]
    initWithChannelType:NCChannelTypeDirect
              channelId:@"targetUserId"];

NCSearchMessagesByTimeRangeQueryParams *params = [[NCSearchMessagesByTimeRangeQueryParams alloc] init];
params.channelIdentifier = identifier;
params.keyword = @"search term"; // Optional
params.pageSize = 20;

NCSearchMessagesByTimeRangeQuery *query = [NCBaseChannel createSearchMessagesByTimeRangeQueryWithParams:params];
[query loadNextPageWithCompletion:^(NSArray<NCMessage *> *messages, NCError *error) {
    // messages: matching messages in this time range
}];

Search messages by sender (paginated)

Use createSearchMessagesByUserQuery to retrieve messages sent by a specific user in a channel:

Swift

swift

import NexconnChatSDK
let params = SearchMessagesByUserQueryParams()
params.channelId = "targetUserId"
params.channelType = .direct
params.userId = "senderId"
params.pageSize = 20

let query = BaseChannel.createSearchMessagesByUserQuery(params: params)
query.loadNextPage { page, error in
    // page?.data: messages sent by the specified user
}

Objective-C

Objective C

NCSearchMessagesByUserQueryParams *params = [[NCSearchMessagesByUserQueryParams alloc] init];
params.channelId = @"targetUserId";
params.channelType = NCChannelTypeDirect;
params.userId = @"senderId";
params.pageSize = 20;

NCSearchMessagesByUserQuery *query = [NCBaseChannel createSearchMessagesByUserQueryWithParams:params];
[query loadNextPageWithCompletion:^(NSArray<NCMessage *> *messages, NCError *error) {
    // messages: messages sent by the specified user
}];