# Reactions
## Adding Reactions
Reactions are a special kind of data that can be used to capture user interaction with specific activities. Common examples of reactions are **likes** , **comments** , and **upvotes** . Reactions are automatically returned to feeds' activities at read time when the reactions parameters are used.
Reactions are always related to activities; in order to add a reaction to an activity you need to provide its ID.
### Parameters
| name | type | description | default | optional |
| ----------------------- | ------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- | -------- |
| kind | string | The type of reaction (eg. like, comment, ...) | - | |
| activity_id | string | The ID of the activity the reaction refers to | - | |
| data | object | Additional data to attach to the reaction | - | ✓ |
| target_feeds | array | The feeds that should receive a notification activity | - | ✓ |
| target_feeds_extra_data | object | Additional data to attach to the notification activities | - | ✓ |
| user_id | string | Id of the user adding the reaction if not own user. **Required for server side.** | - | ✓ |
```csharp label="C#"
// add a like reaction to the activity with id activityId
var like = await client.Reactions.AddAsync("like", activityId);
// adds a comment reaction to the activity with id activityId
var comment = await client.Reactions.AddAsync("comment", activityId, "bob");
```
```js label="JavaScript"
// add a like reaction to the activity with id activityId
const like = await client.reactions.add("like", activityId, {});
// adds a comment reaction to the activity with id activityId
const comment = await client.reactions.add("comment", activityId, {
text: "awesome post!",
});
// for server side auth, userId is required
const comment = await client.reactions.add(
"comment",
activityId,
{ text: "awesome post!" },
{ userId },
);
```
```python label="Python"
# add a like reaction to the activity with id activity_id
client.reactions.add("like", activity_id, user_id="mike")
# adds a comment reaction to the activity with id activityId
client.reactions.add(
"comment", activity_id, user_id="mike", data={"text": "awesome post!"}
)
```
```ruby label="Ruby"
# add a like reaction to the activity with id activity_id
client.reactions.add("like", activity_id, user_id="mike")
# adds a comment reaction to the activity with id activity_id
client.reactions.add(
"comment", activity_id, user_id="mike", data: {text: "awesome post!"}
)
```
```php label="PHP"
// add a like reaction to the activity with id activity_id
$client->reactions()->add("like", $activity_id, "mike");
// adds a comment reaction to the activity with id activity_id
$client->reactions()->add("comment", $activity_id, "mike", ["text"=>"awesome post!"]);
```
```java label="Java"
Reaction like = new Reaction.Builder()
.kind("like")
.activityID(activity.getID())
.build();
// add a like reaction to the activity with id activityId
like = client.reactions().add("john-doe", like).get();
Reaction comment = new Reaction.Builder()
.kind("comment")
.activityID(activity.getID())
.extraField("text", "awesome post!")
.build();
// adds a comment reaction to the activity with id activityId
comment = client.reactions().add("john-doe", comment).get();
```
```go label="Go"
// add a like reaction to the activity with id activityID
r := stream.AddReactionRequestObject{
Kind: "like",
ActivityID: activityID,
}
like, err := client.Reactions().Add(context.TODO(), r)
if err != nil {
panic(err)
}
// adds a comment reaction to the activity with id activityId
r = stream.AddReactionRequestObject{
Kind: "comment",
ActivityID: activityID,
UserID: "bob",
}
comment, err := client.Reactions().Add(context.TODO(), r)
if err != nil {
panic(err)
}
```
Here's a complete example:
```csharp label="C#"
// first let's read current user's timeline feed and pick one activity
var response = await client.Feed("timeline", "bob").GetActivitiesAsync();
var activity = response.FirstOrDefault();
// then let's add a like reaction to that activity
await client.Reactions.AddAsync("like", activity.Id, "bob");
```
```js label="JavaScript"
// first let's read current user's timeline feed and pick one activity
const response = await client.feed("timeline", "mike").get();
const activity = response.activities[0];
// then let's add a like reaction to that activity
await client.reactions.add("like", activity.id);
```
```python label="Python"
# first let's read current user's timeline feed and pick one activity
response = client.feed("timeline", "mike").get()
activity = response["results"][0]
# then let's add a like reaction to that activity
client.reactions.add("like", activity["id"], user_id="bob")
```
```ruby label="Ruby"
# first let's read current user's timeline feed and pick one activity
response = client.feed("timeline", "mike").get()
activity = response["results"][0]
# then let's add a like reaction to that activity
client.reactions.add("like", activity["id"], "bob")
```
```php label="PHP"
// first let's read current user's timeline feed and pick one activity
$activity = $client->feed('timeline', 'mike')->getActivities(0,1)["results"][0];
// then let's add a like reaction to that activity
$client->reactions()->add("like", $activity["id"], "bob");
```
```java label="Java"
// first let's read current user's timeline feed and pick one activity
List response = client.flatFeed("timeline", "mike").getActivities().get();
Activity activity = response.get(0);
// then let's add a like reaction to that activity
client.reactions().add("john-doe", Reaction.builder()
.kind("like")
.activityID(activity.getID())
.build()).join();
```
```go label="Go"
// first let's read current user's timeline feed and pick one activity
feed, err := client.FlatFeed("timeline", "bob")
if err != nil {
panic(err)
}
resp, err := feed.GetActivities(context.TODO())
if err != nil {
panic(err)
}
activity := resp.Results[0]
// then let's add a like reaction to that activity
r := stream.AddReactionRequestObject{
Kind: "like",
ActivityID: activity.ID,
UserID: "bob",
}
_, err := client.Reactions().Add(context.TODO(), r)
if err != nil {
panic(err)
}
```
The size of a reaction can not exceed 10kB
## Retrieving Reactions
You can read reactions and filter them based on their `user_id` or `activity_id` values.
Further filtering can be done with the `kind` parameter (e.g. retrieve all likes by one user, retrieve all comments for one activity, etc.).
Reactions are returned in descending order (newest to oldest) by default and when using `id_lt[e]` , and in ascending order (oldest to newest) when using `id_gt[e]` .
### Parameters
| name | type | description | default | optional |
| ------------------ | ------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------- | -------- |
| activity_id | string | Retrieve reactions by activity_id | - | |
| user_id | string | Retrieve reactions by user_id | - | |
| reaction_id | string | Retrieve children reaction by reaction_id | - | ✓ |
| kind | string | If provided it will only retrieve reactions of a certain kind (e.g. "like") | - | ✓ |
| limit | integer | The number of reactions to retrieve (Max. 25) | 10 | ✓ |
| id_gte | string | Retrieve reactions created after the one with ID equal to the parameter (inclusive) | - | ✓ |
| id_gt | string | Retrieve reactions created after the one with ID equal to the parameter. | - | ✓ |
| id_lte | string | Retrieve reactions created before the one with ID equal to the parameter (inclusive) | - | ✓ |
| id_lt | string | Retrieve reactions before the one with ID equal to the parameter | - | ✓ |
| with_activity_data | boolean | Returns activity data when paginating using activity_id | - | ✓ |
| with_own_children | boolean | Enable returning the children reactions when filtering reactions by parent ID | - | ✓ |
If you want to filter reactions by `activity_id` or `reaction_id` and `user_id` you need to use the parameter `filter_user_id` instead of the `user_id` parameter described above.
```csharp label="C#"
// retrieve all kind of reactions for an activity
var reactions = await client.Reactions.FilterAsync(ReactionFiltering.Default, ReactionPagination.By.ActivityID("ed2837a6-0a3b-4679-adc1-778a1704852d"));
// retrieve first 10 likes for an activity
var response = await client.Reactions.FilterAsync(ReactionFiltering.Default.WithLimit(10), ReactionPagination.By.ActivityID("ed2837a6-0a3b-4679-adc1-778a1704852d").Kind("like"));
// retrieve the next 10 likes using the id_lt param
var filter = ReactionFiltering.Default.WithFilter(FeedFilter.Where().IdLessThan("e561de8f-00f1-11e4-b400-0cc47a024be0"));
var pagination = ReactionPagination.By.ActivityID("ed2837a6-0a3b-4679-adc1-778a1704852d").Kind("like");
var response2 = await client.Reactions.FilterAsync(filter, pagination);
```
```js label="JavaScript"
// retrieve all kind of reactions for an activity
const reactions = await client.reactions.filter({
activity_id: "ed2837a6-0a3b-4679-adc1-778a1704852d",
});
// retrieve first 10 likes for an activity
const response = await client.reactions.filter({
activity_id: "ed2837a6-0a3b-4679-adc1-778a1704852d",
kind: "like",
limit: 10,
});
// retrieve the next 10 likes using the id_lt param
const response = await client.reactions.filter({
activity_id: "ed2837a6-0a3b-4679-adc1-778a1704852d",
kind: "like",
id_lt: "e561de8f-00f1-11e4-b400-0cc47a024be0",
});
```
```python label="Python"
# retrieve all kind of reactions for an activity
reactions = client.reactions.filter(
activity_id="ed2837a6-0a3b-4679-adc1-778a1704852d"
)
# retrieve first 10 likes for an activity
response = client.reactions.filter(
activity_id="ed2837a6-0a3b-4679-adc1-778a1704852d", kind="like", limit=10
)
# retrieve the next 10 likes using the id_lt param
response = client.reactions.filter(
activity_id="ed2837a6-0a3b-4679-adc1-778a1704852d",
kind="like",
id_lt="e561de8f-00f1-11e4-b400-0cc47a024be0",
)
```
```ruby label="Ruby"
# retrieve all kind of reactions for an activity
reactions = client.reactions.filter(
activity_id: "ed2837a6-0a3b-4679-adc1-778a1704852d"
)
# retrieve first 10 likes for an activity
response = client.reactions.filter(
activity_id: "ed2837a6-0a3b-4679-adc1-778a1704852d", kind: "like", limit: 10
)
# retrieve the next 10 likes using the id_lt param
response = client.reactions.filter(
activity_id: "ed2837a6-0a3b-4679-adc1-778a1704852d",
kind: "like",
id_lt: "e561de8f-00f1-11e4-b400-0cc47a024be0",
)
```
```php label="PHP"
// retrieve all kind of reactions for an activity
$client->reactions()->filter("activity_id", "827509c1-2872-11e9-8ec6-0a544dd61b80", "comment");
// retrieve first 10 likes for an activity
$client->reactions()->filter(
"activity_id",
"827509c1-2872-11e9-8ec6-0a544dd61b80",
"like",
["limit" => 10],
);
// retrieve the next 10 likes using the id_lt param
$client->reactions()->filter(
"activity_id",
"827509c1-2872-11e9-8ec6-0a544dd61b80",
"like",
["limit" => 10
"id_lt" => "e561de8f-00f1-11e4-b400-0cc47a024be0"],
);
```
```java label="Java"
// retrieve all kind of reactions for an activity
List reactions = client.reactions().filter(LookupKind.ACTIVITY, "ed2837a6-0a3b-4679-adc1-778a1704852d").get();
// retrieve first 10 likes for an activity
reactions = client.reactions()
.filter(LookupKind.ACTIVITY,
"ed2837a6-0a3b-4679-adc1-778a1704852d",
new Filter().limit(10),
"like").join();
// retrieve the next 10 likes using the id_lt param
reactions = client.reactions()
.filter(LookupKind.ACTIVITY,
"ed2837a6-0a3b-4679-adc1-778a1704852d",
new Filter().idLessThan("e561de8f-00f1-11e4-b400-0cc47a024be0"),
"like").join();
```
```go label="Go"
// retrieve all kind of reactions for an activity
resp, err := client.Reactions().Filter(context.TODO(), stream.ByActivityID("ed2837a6-0a3b-4679-adc1-778a1704852d"))
if err != nil {
panic(err)
}
// retrieve first 10 likes for an activity
resp, err := client.Reactions().Filter(
context.TODO(),
stream.ByActivityID("ed2837a6-0a3b-4679-adc1-778a1704852d").ByKind("like"),
stream.WithLimit(10),
)
if err != nil {
panic(err)
}
// retrieve the next 10 likes using the id_lt param
filterAttribute := stream.ByActivityID("ed2837a6-0a3b-4679-adc1-778a1704852d").ByKind("like")
pagination := stream.WithIDLT("e561de8f-00f1-11e4-b400-0cc47a024be0")
resp, err := client.Reactions().Filter(context.TODO(), filterAttribute, pagination)
if err != nil {
panic(err)
}
```
## Retrieving Reactions by ID
```js label="JavaScript"
await client.reactions.get(reactionId);
```
```ruby label="Ruby"
client.reactions.get(reaction_id)
```
```go label="Go"
resp, err := client.Reactions().Get(context.TODO(), id)
if err != nil {
panic(err)
}
```
## Updating Reactions
Reactions can be updated by providing reaction ID parameter. Changes to reactions are propagated to all notified feeds; if the `target_feeds` list is updated, notifications will be added and removed accordingly.
### Parameters
| name | type | description | default | optional |
| ------------ | ------ | ------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- | -------- |
| reaction_id | string | The ID of the reaction | - | |
| data | object | Reaction data | - | ✓ |
| target_feeds | string | The list of feeds that should receive a copy of the reaction. | - | ✓ |
```csharp label="C#"
var reactionData = new Dictionary()
{
{ "text", "love it!"}
};
await client.Reactions.UpdateAsync(reactionId, reactionData);
```
```js label="JavaScript"
client.reactions.update(reactionId, { text: "love it!" });
```
```python label="Python"
client.reactions.update(reaction_id, {"text": "love it!"});
```
```ruby label="Ruby"
client.reactions.update(reaction_id, data: {text: "I love it"})
```
```php label="PHP"
$client->reactions()->update($reaction_id, ["text"=> "I love it"]);
```
```java label="Java"
client.reactions().update(Reaction.builder()
.id(reaction.getId())
.extraField("text", "love it!")
.build());
```
```go label="Go"
resp, err := client.Reactions().Update(context.TODO(), reactionID, map[string]any{"text": "love it!"}, nil)
if err != nil {
panic(err)
}
```
## Removing Reactions
Reactions are easy to remove. Simply pass in their ID, like so:
```csharp label="C#"
await client.Reactions.DeleteAsync(reactionId)
```
```js label="JavaScript"
client.reactions.delete(reactionId);
```
```python label="Python"
client.reactions.delete(reaction_id)
```
```ruby label="Ruby"
client.reactions.delete(reaction_id)
```
```java label="Java"
client.reactions().delete(reaction.getId()).join();
```
```go label="Go"
_, err := client.Reactions().Delete(context.TODO(), reactionID)
if err != nil {
panic(err)
}
```
## Soft delete and restore
This feature is currently supported only selected SDKs. If you need support for other SDKs, please contact support.
Reactions can be soft deleted and restored by ID:
```csharp label="C#"
await client.Reactions.DeleteAsync(reactionId, soft: true);
await client.Reactions.RestoreSoftDeletedAsync(reactionId);
```
```python label="Python"
client.reactions.delete(reaction_id, soft=True)
client.reactions.restore(reaction_id)
```
```java label="Java"
client.reactions().softDelete(reaction.getId()).join();
client.reactions().restore(reaction.getId()).join();
```
```js label="JavaScript"
client.reactions.delete(reactionId, true);
client.reactions.restore(reactionId);
```
---
This page was last updated at 2026-05-22T16:31:48.592Z.
For the most recent version of this documentation, visit [https://getstream.io/activity-feeds/docs/php/v2/reactions-introduction/](https://getstream.io/activity-feeds/docs/php/v2/reactions-introduction/).