Threaded Messages

Enhance your iOS chat app with threaded messaging by integrating CometChat’s UIKit for iOS, allowing users to reply to specific messages within a focused thread view.

Overview

Threaded messages allow users to reply to specific messages within a conversation, creating a sub-conversation for improved clarity and context. With CometChat’s UIKit for iOS, you can:

• Display a dedicated thread view.
• View and send replies to a selected message.
• Maintain context between the main conversation and the thread.

Prerequisites

• A working UIKit-based iOS project.
• CometChat UIKit for iOS v4+ installed via Swift Package Manager or CocoaPods.
• Valid CometChat App ID, Region, and Auth Key.
• A navigation controller configured in your project.

Components

Component	Role
CometChatMessageList	Displays messages and provides onThreadRepliesClick handler.
CometChatThreadedMessageHeader	Shows the parent message context at the top of the thread.
CometChatMessageComposer	Composes messages with an optional parentMessageId.
ThreadedMessagesVC	View controller that hosts the threaded conversation.

Integration Steps

Show the “Reply in Thread” Option

Navigate to the thread when a message’s thread icon is tapped.

messageListView.set(onThreadRepliesClick: { [weak self] message, _ in
    guard let self = self else { return }
    let threadVC = ThreadedMessagesVC()
    threadVC.parentMessage = message
    self.navigationController?.pushViewController(threadVC, animated: true)
})

File reference:
ThreadedMessagesVC.swift

Captures user intent and opens a focused thread screen.

Navigate to the Thread Screen

Show a dedicated UI for thread replies.

In ThreadedMessagesVC.swift:

view.addSubview(parentMessageView)
view.addSubview(messageListView)
view.addSubview(composerView)

Header:

let parentMessageContainerView = CometChatThreadedMessageHeader()

Message List:

messageListView.set(user: user, parentMessage: parentMessage)

Provides a focused UI for thread interactions.

Send a Threaded Message

Ensure new replies are attached to the correct parent message.

composerView.set(parentMessageId: parentMessage?.id ?? 0)

Set the conversation context:

composerView.set(user: user)
composerView.set(group: group)

Fetch & Display Thread Replies

Only messages that are part of the thread are displayed.

Handled internally by:

messageListView.set(user: user, parentMessage: parentMessage)

Ensures CometChatMessageList fetches replies using the parentMessageId.

Customization Options

• Header Styling: Customize CometChatThreadedMessageHeader (fonts, colors, etc.).
• Composer: Modify placeholder text, input styles, and icons.
• Navigation: Add a custom navigationItem.leftBarButtonItem for back navigation.

Filtering / Edge Cases

• Parent Message Deleted: Display a fallback UI or disable the composer.
• No Replies: Show an empty state (e.g., “No replies yet”).
• Offline Mode: Disable the composer and queue thread operations.

Error Handling & Edge Cases

• Fetch Failures: Show an error UI or retry mechanism when loading thread messages.
• Send Failures: Handle send errors via delegate callbacks or show an alert with retry.
• Loading States: Display a UIActivityIndicatorView during fetch/send operations.
• Blocked Users: Remove the composer and display a blocked status label.

Summary / Feature Matrix

Feature	Implementation
Show thread option	CometChatMessageList.onThreadRepliesClick
Thread view screen	ThreadedMessagesVC.swift
Display threaded messages	CometChatMessageList.set(parentMessage:)
Send threaded message	CometChatMessageComposer.set(parentMessageId:)
Thread header	CometChatThreadedMessageHeader
Handle blocked user	Remove composer & show a blocked user label

Full Sample App

Explore a complete sample application demonstrating threaded messaging.

View on GitHub

UIKit Source Code

Browse the CometChat UIKit for iOS source code.

View on GitHub