Edit A Message

Edit text and custom messages, listen for real-time edit events, and retrieve missed edits using the CometChat React Native SDK.

Quick Reference - Edit a text message:

let receiverID = "RECEIVER_UID";
let messageText = "Updated message text";
let receiverType = CometChat.RECEIVER_TYPE.USER;
let textMessage = new CometChat.TextMessage(receiverID, messageText, receiverType);
textMessage.setId(MESSAGE_ID);

CometChat.editMessage(textMessage).then(
  message => console.log("Message Edited", message),
  error => console.log("Edit failed:", error)
);

Available via: SDK | REST API | UI Kits

While editing a message is straightforward, receiving events for edited messages with CometChat has two parts:

1. Adding a listener to receive real-time message edits when your app is running.
2. Calling a method to retrieve missed message edits when your app was not running.

Edit a Message

In other words, as a sender, how do I edit a message?

To edit a message, you can use the editMessage() method. This method takes an object of the BaseMessage class. At the moment, you are only allowed to edit TextMessage and CustomMessage. Thus, the BaseMessage object must either be a Text or a Custom Message.

Add/Update Tags

While editing a message, you can update the tags associated with the message. Use the setTags() method to do so. The tags added while editing a message will replace the tags set when the message was sent.

JavaScript (Text)

let tags = ["pinnedMessage"];

textMessage.setTags(tags);

JavaScript (Custom)

let tags = ["pinnedMessage"];

customMessage.setTags(tags);

TypeScript (Text)

let tags: Array<String> = ["pinnedMessage"];

textMessage.setTags(tags);

TypeScript (Custom)

let tags: Array<String> = ["pinnedMessage"];

customMessage.setTags(tags);

Once the message object is ready, you can use the editMessage() method and pass the message object to it.

JavaScript

let receiverID = "RECEIVER_UID";
let messageText = "Hello world!";
let receiverType = CometChat.RECEIVER_TYPE.USER;
let messageId = "MESSAGE_ID_OF_THE_MESSAGE_TO_BE_EDITED";
let textMessage = new CometChat.TextMessage(receiverID, messageText, receiverType);

textMessage.setId(messageId);

CometChat.editMessage(textMessage).then(
message => {
  console.log("Message Edited", message);
}, error => {
  console.log("Message editing failed with error:", error);
}
);

TypeScript

let receiverID: string = "RECEIVER_UID";
let messageText: string = "Hello world!";
let receiverType: string = CometChat.RECEIVER_TYPE.USER;
let messageId: number = 1;
let textMessage: CometChat.TextMessage = new CometChat.TextMessage(receiverID, messageText, receiverType);

textMessage.setId(messageId);

CometChat.editMessage(textMessage).then(
  (message: CometChat.TextMessage) => {
      console.log("Message Edited", message);
  }, (error: CometChat.CometChatException) => {
      console.log("Message editing failed with error:", error);
  }
);

Response

On Success — editMessage() returns the edited message object with editedAt and editedBy fields:

Message Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
id	string	Unique message identifier	"25652"
conversationId	string	Conversation identifier	"cometchat-uid-6_user_cometchat-uid-7"
receiverId	string	Receiver’s UID	"cometchat-uid-7"
receiverType	string	Type of receiver	"user"
type	string	Message type	"text"
category	string	Message category	"message"
text	string	Edited message text content	"Nice, Any Update?"
sentAt	number	Unix timestamp when originally sent	1772446840
editedAt	number	Unix timestamp when edited	1772446861
editedBy	string	UID of user who edited the message	"cometchat-uid-6"
deliveredAt	number	Unix timestamp when delivered	1772446841
readAt	number	Unix timestamp when read	1772446841
updatedAt	number	Unix timestamp when updated	1772446841
sender	object	Sender user details	See below ↓
receiver	object	Receiver user details	See below ↓
data	object	Additional message data	See below ↓
metadata	object	Message metadata	See below ↓
reactions	array	Message reactions	[]
mentionedUsers	array	Users mentioned in message	[]
mentionedMe	boolean	Whether current user is mentioned	false

---

sender Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
uid	string	User’s unique identifier	"cometchat-uid-6"
name	string	User’s display name	"Ronald Jerry"
avatar	string	URL to user’s avatar	"https://assets.cometchat.io/sampleapp/v2/users/cometchat-uid-6.webp"
status	string	User’s online status	"online"
role	string	User’s role	"default"
lastActiveAt	number	Last active timestamp	1772446655
hasBlockedMe	boolean	Whether user has blocked current user	false
blockedByMe	boolean	Whether current user blocked this user	false
deactivatedAt	number	Deactivation timestamp (0 if active)	0
tags	array	User tags	[]

---

receiver Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
uid	string	User’s unique identifier	"cometchat-uid-7"
name	string	User’s display name	"Henry Marino"
avatar	string	URL to user’s avatar	"https://assets.cometchat.io/sampleapp/v2/users/cometchat-uid-7.webp"
status	string	User’s online status	"online"
role	string	User’s role	"default"
lastActiveAt	number	Last active timestamp	1772446782
hasBlockedMe	boolean	Whether user has blocked current user	false
blockedByMe	boolean	Whether current user blocked this user	false
deactivatedAt	number	Deactivation timestamp (0 if active)	0
tags	array	User tags	[]

---

data Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
text	string	Message text	"Nice, Any Update?"
resource	string	SDK resource identifier	"REACT_NATIVE-4_0_14-..."
entities	object	Sender and receiver entities	See below ↓
metadata	object	Injected metadata	See below ↓
moderation	object	Moderation status	{"status": "approved"}

---

data.entities Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
sender	object	Sender entity wrapper	See below ↓
receiver	object	Receiver entity wrapper	See below ↓

---

data.entities.sender Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
entityType	string	Type of entity	"user"
entity	object	User entity details	See below ↓

---

data.entities.sender.entity Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
uid	string	User’s unique identifier	"cometchat-uid-6"
name	string	User’s display name	"Ronald Jerry"
avatar	string	User’s avatar URL	"https://assets.cometchat.io/sampleapp/v2/users/cometchat-uid-6.webp"
role	string	User’s role	"default"
status	string	User’s online status	"online"
lastActiveAt	number	Last active timestamp	1772446655
tags	array	User tags	[]

---

data.entities.receiver Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
entityType	string	Type of entity	"user"
entity	object	User entity details	See below ↓

---

data.entities.receiver.entity Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
uid	string	User’s unique identifier	"cometchat-uid-7"
name	string	User’s display name	"Henry Marino"
avatar	string	User’s avatar URL	"https://assets.cometchat.io/sampleapp/v2/users/cometchat-uid-7.webp"
role	string	User’s role	"default"
status	string	User’s online status	"online"
lastActiveAt	number	Last active timestamp	1772446782
conversationId	string	Conversation identifier	"cometchat-uid-6_user_cometchat-uid-7"
tags	array	User tags	[]

---

data.metadata Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
edited	boolean	Indicates message was edited	true

---

metadata Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
edited	boolean	Indicates message was edited	true

The object of the edited message will be returned in the onSuccess() callback method of the listener. The message object will contain the editedAt field set with the timestamp of the time the message was edited. This will help you identify if the message was edited while iterating through the list of messages. The editedBy field is also set to the UID of the user who edited the message.

By default, CometChat allows certain roles to edit a message.

User Role	Conversation Type	Edit Capabilities
Message Sender	One-on-One Conversation	Messages they have sent.
Message Sender	Group Conversation	Messages they have sent.
Group Owner	Group Conversation	All messages in the group.
Group Moderator	Group Conversation	All messages in the group.

Real-time Message Edit Events

In other words, as a recipient, how do I know when someone has edited their message when my app is running?

To receive real-time events for a message being edited, you need to override the onMessageEdited() method of the MessageListener class.

JavaScript

var listenerID = "UNIQUE_LISTENER_ID";

CometChat.addMessageListener(
listenerID,
new CometChat.MessageListener({
  onMessageEdited: message => {
    console.log("Edited Message", message);
  }
})
);  

TypeScript

let listenerID: string = "UNIQUE_LISTENER_ID";

CometChat.addMessageListener(
listenerID,
new CometChat.MessageListener({
  onMessageEdited: (message: CometChat.BaseMessage) => {
    console.log("Edited Message", message);
  }
})
);

Response

On Event — onMessageEdited callback receives the edited message object:

Message Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
id	string	Unique message identifier	"25652"
conversationId	string	Conversation identifier	"cometchat-uid-6_user_cometchat-uid-7"
receiverId	string	Receiver’s UID	"cometchat-uid-7"
receiverType	string	Type of receiver	"user"
type	string	Message type	"text"
category	string	Message category	"message"
text	string	Edited message text content	"Nice, Any Update?"
sentAt	number	Unix timestamp when originally sent	1772446840
editedAt	number	Unix timestamp when edited	1772446861
editedBy	string	UID of user who edited the message	"cometchat-uid-6"
deliveredAt	number	Unix timestamp when delivered	1772446841
readAt	number	Unix timestamp when read	1772446841
updatedAt	number	Unix timestamp when updated	1772446841
sender	object	Sender user details	See below ↓
receiver	object	Receiver user details	See below ↓
data	object	Additional message data	See below ↓
metadata	object	Message metadata	See below ↓
reactions	array	Message reactions	[]
mentionedUsers	array	Users mentioned in message	[]
mentionedMe	boolean	Whether current user is mentioned	false

---

sender Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
uid	string	User’s unique identifier	"cometchat-uid-6"
name	string	User’s display name	"Ronald Jerry"
avatar	string	URL to user’s avatar	"https://assets.cometchat.io/sampleapp/v2/users/cometchat-uid-6.webp"
status	string	User’s online status	"online"
role	string	User’s role	"default"
lastActiveAt	number	Last active timestamp	1772446655
hasBlockedMe	boolean	Whether user has blocked current user	false
blockedByMe	boolean	Whether current user blocked this user	false
deactivatedAt	number	Deactivation timestamp (0 if active)	0
tags	array	User tags	[]

---

receiver Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
uid	string	User’s unique identifier	"cometchat-uid-7"
name	string	User’s display name	"Henry Marino"
avatar	string	URL to user’s avatar	"https://assets.cometchat.io/sampleapp/v2/users/cometchat-uid-7.webp"
status	string	User’s online status	"online"
role	string	User’s role	"default"
lastActiveAt	number	Last active timestamp	1772446782
hasBlockedMe	boolean	Whether user has blocked current user	false
blockedByMe	boolean	Whether current user blocked this user	false
deactivatedAt	number	Deactivation timestamp (0 if active)	0
tags	array	User tags	[]

---

data Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
text	string	Message text	"Nice, Any Update?"
resource	string	SDK resource identifier	"REACT_NATIVE-4_0_14-..."
entities	object	Sender and receiver entities	See below ↓
metadata	object	Injected metadata	See below ↓
moderation	object	Moderation status	{"status": "approved"}

---

data.entities Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
sender	object	Sender entity wrapper	See below ↓
receiver	object	Receiver entity wrapper	See below ↓

---

data.entities.sender Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
entityType	string	Type of entity	"user"
entity	object	User entity details	See below ↓

---

data.entities.sender.entity Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
uid	string	User’s unique identifier	"cometchat-uid-6"
name	string	User’s display name	"Ronald Jerry"
avatar	string	User’s avatar URL	"https://assets.cometchat.io/sampleapp/v2/users/cometchat-uid-6.webp"
role	string	User’s role	"default"
status	string	User’s online status	"online"
lastActiveAt	number	Last active timestamp	1772446655
tags	array	User tags	[]

---

data.entities.receiver Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
entityType	string	Type of entity	"user"
entity	object	User entity details	See below ↓

---

data.entities.receiver.entity Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
uid	string	User’s unique identifier	"cometchat-uid-7"
name	string	User’s display name	"Henry Marino"
avatar	string	User’s avatar URL	"https://assets.cometchat.io/sampleapp/v2/users/cometchat-uid-7.webp"
role	string	User’s role	"default"
status	string	User’s online status	"online"
lastActiveAt	number	Last active timestamp	1772446782
conversationId	string	Conversation identifier	"cometchat-uid-6_user_cometchat-uid-7"
tags	array	User tags	[]

---

data.metadata Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
edited	boolean	Indicates message was edited	true

---

metadata Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
edited	boolean	Indicates message was edited	true

Always remove your message listeners when the component unmounts to prevent memory leaks and unexpected behavior. Call CometChat.removeMessageListener("UNIQUE_LISTENER_ID") in your cleanup function (e.g., in a useEffect return or componentWillUnmount).

Missed Message Edit Events

In other words, as a recipient, how do I know when someone edited their message when my app was not running?

When you retrieve the list of previous messages, for the message that was edited, the editedAt and the editedBy fields will be set. Also, for example, if the total number of messages for a conversation is 100, and the message with message ID 50 was edited, the message with ID 50 will have the editedAt and the editedBy fields set whenever it is pulled from the history. Additionally, the 101st message will be an [Action] message informing you that the message with ID 50 has been edited.

Response

When fetching message history — edited messages have editedAt and editedBy fields set:

Message Object (per item in array):

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
id	string	Unique message identifier	"25652"
conversationId	string	Conversation identifier	"cometchat-uid-6_user_cometchat-uid-7"
receiverId	string	Receiver’s UID	"cometchat-uid-7"
receiverType	string	Type of receiver	"user"
type	string	Message type	"text"
category	string	Message category	"message"
text	string	Edited message text content	"Nice, Any Update?"
sentAt	number	Unix timestamp when originally sent	1772446840
editedAt	number	Unix timestamp when edited	1772446861
editedBy	string	UID of user who edited the message	"cometchat-uid-6"
deliveredAt	number	Unix timestamp when delivered	1772446841
readAt	number	Unix timestamp when read	1772446841
updatedAt	number	Unix timestamp when updated	1772446841
sender	object	Sender user details	See below ↓
receiver	object	Receiver user details	See below ↓
data	object	Additional message data	See below ↓
metadata	object	Message metadata	See below ↓
reactions	array	Message reactions	[]
mentionedUsers	array	Users mentioned in message	[]
mentionedMe	boolean	Whether current user is mentioned	false

---

sender Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
uid	string	User’s unique identifier	"cometchat-uid-6"
name	string	User’s display name	"Ronald Jerry"
avatar	string	URL to user’s avatar	"https://assets.cometchat.io/sampleapp/v2/users/cometchat-uid-6.webp"
status	string	User’s online status	"online"
role	string	User’s role	"default"
lastActiveAt	number	Last active timestamp	1772446655
hasBlockedMe	boolean	Whether user has blocked current user	false
blockedByMe	boolean	Whether current user blocked this user	false
deactivatedAt	number	Deactivation timestamp (0 if active)	0
tags	array	User tags	[]

---

receiver Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
uid	string	User’s unique identifier	"cometchat-uid-7"
name	string	User’s display name	"Henry Marino"
avatar	string	URL to user’s avatar	"https://assets.cometchat.io/sampleapp/v2/users/cometchat-uid-7.webp"
status	string	User’s online status	"online"
role	string	User’s role	"default"
lastActiveAt	number	Last active timestamp	1772446782
hasBlockedMe	boolean	Whether user has blocked current user	false
blockedByMe	boolean	Whether current user blocked this user	false
deactivatedAt	number	Deactivation timestamp (0 if active)	0
tags	array	User tags	[]

---

data Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
text	string	Message text	"Nice, Any Update?"
resource	string	SDK resource identifier	"REACT_NATIVE-4_0_14-..."
entities	object	Sender and receiver entities	See below ↓
metadata	object	Injected metadata	See below ↓
moderation	object	Moderation status	{"status": "approved"}

---

data.entities Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
sender	object	Sender entity wrapper	See below ↓
receiver	object	Receiver entity wrapper	See below ↓

---

data.entities.sender Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
entityType	string	Type of entity	"user"
entity	object	User entity details	See below ↓

---

data.entities.sender.entity Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
uid	string	User’s unique identifier	"cometchat-uid-6"
name	string	User’s display name	"Ronald Jerry"
avatar	string	User’s avatar URL	"https://assets.cometchat.io/sampleapp/v2/users/cometchat-uid-6.webp"
role	string	User’s role	"default"
status	string	User’s online status	"online"
lastActiveAt	number	Last active timestamp	1772446655
tags	array	User tags	[]

---

data.entities.receiver Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
entityType	string	Type of entity	"user"
entity	object	User entity details	See below ↓

---

data.entities.receiver.entity Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
uid	string	User’s unique identifier	"cometchat-uid-7"
name	string	User’s display name	"Henry Marino"
avatar	string	User’s avatar URL	"https://assets.cometchat.io/sampleapp/v2/users/cometchat-uid-7.webp"
role	string	User’s role	"default"
status	string	User’s online status	"online"
lastActiveAt	number	Last active timestamp	1772446782
conversationId	string	Conversation identifier	"cometchat-uid-6_user_cometchat-uid-7"
tags	array	User tags	[]

---

data.metadata Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
edited	boolean	Indicates message was edited	true

---

metadata Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
edited	boolean	Indicates message was edited	true

For the message edited event, in the Action object received, the following fields can help you get the relevant information:

1. action - edited
2. actionOn - Updated message object with the edited details.
3. actionBy - User object containing the details of the user who has edited the message.
4. actionFor - User/group object having the details of the receiver to which the message was sent.

To edit a message, you need to be either the sender of the message or the admin/moderator of the group in which the message was sent.

Best Practices

• Always verify the message type (TextMessage or CustomMessage) before attempting an edit, as other message types are not supported.
• Use the editedAt and editedBy fields to display edit indicators in your UI so users know a message has been modified.
• Register your message edit listener early in the component lifecycle to avoid missing real-time edit events.
• When updating tags via setTags(), remember that the new tags fully replace any previously set tags — merge existing tags manually if you need to preserve them.

Troubleshooting

• Edit fails with permission error: Ensure the current user is the message sender, or a group owner/moderator for group messages.
• onMessageEdited not firing: Confirm that CometChat.addMessageListener() has been called with a unique listener ID and that the listener has not been removed prematurely.
• Edited message not reflected in history: After editing, re-fetch or update the local message list. The editedAt field on the message object confirms the edit was applied.
• Tags not updating: Make sure you call setTags() on the message object before passing it to editMessage(). Tags set during editing replace all previous tags.

Next Steps

Delete a Message

Remove messages from conversations for users or groups.

Send a Message

Send text, media, and custom messages to users and groups.

Receive Messages

Listen for incoming messages in real time and fetch missed messages.

Threaded Messages

Send and receive replies within message threads.