Group channel overview

Group channels enable multi-user communication in instant messaging applications, typically involving two or more users. NEXCONN group channel service provides rich member management and mute features, supports offline message push and historical message roaming, and is suitable for interest groups, work teams, and customer service scenarios. Chat UI offers ready-to-use group channel UI components.

Service configuration

The client SDK supports group channels by default without requiring activation. Some basic features and value-added services can be enabled and configured in the console under Service Purchase and Service Configuration pages for IM services.

• There is no limit to the number of group channels that can be created under an App Key. A single user can join an unlimited number of groups.
• Group channels have a member capacity limit, with a default maximum of 3000 members. You can submit a ticket to modify this limit.
• By default, the cloud storage for group messages service is not enabled for an App Key. You can enable this service in the console. For production App Keys, only IM Premium and IM Enterprise can enable this service.
• By default, users can only view group messages sent after they joined. When historical message access for new members is enabled, new members can retrieve group messages sent before they joined..

Client SDK notes

• Neither the client SDK (Chat UI/Chat SDK) provides APIs for group management. To create a group channel, your app server must call NEXCONN Server APIs. Other operations like disbanding groups, joining groups, or leaving groups must also be handled through server-side API calls. See Group management features below.
• Features like group owners, administrators, announcements, invitations, and group ID search are business logic that must be implemented in your app.
• NEXCONN only delivers messages to all group members and does not maintain member profiles (avatars, names, member cards, etc.). Your app must maintain this data on your business server and implement Chat UI interfaces to provide the data. See User information.

Group management features

For client developers, basic group management operations like creating or disbanding groups only require interaction with your app's business server. Your server should call the corresponding NEXCONN Server APIs to complete these operations.

Server API	Description
Create group, Dismiss group	Creates a group with creator user ID, group ID, and group name. Disbanding a group removes all member relationships.
Join group, Quit group	After joining, members can view new messages by default. After leaving, members stop receiving new messages.
Refresh group info	Updates group information used in NEXCONN push services.
Query group members	Retrieves all member user IDs for a specified group.
Query user groups	Finds all groups a user has joined by user ID, returning group IDs and names. NEXCONN doesn't store group profile data - your app server must maintain this.
Sync user groups	Synchronizes a user's current groups with NEXCONN servers to prevent inconsistencies. Useful for initial data migration. This operation isn't documented as a standalone Platform Chat API page in the current v4 API docs.
Mute group members	Mutes one or more users in specific or all groups. Muted users can receive but not send messages.
Set group-wide mute	Mutes all group members. To allow specific users to speak, add them to the mute whitelist.
Add to mute whitelist	Allows specified users to send messages when the group is muted.