Updating a Channel

There are two ways to update a channel with the Stream API: partial updates and full updates. A partial update preserves existing custom key–value data, while a full update replaces the entire channel object and removes any fields not included in the request.

Partial Update

A partial update lets you set or unset specific fields without affecting the rest of the channel’s custom data — essentially a patch-style update.

// Here's a channel with some custom field data that might be useful
val channelClient = client.channel(channelType = "messaging", channelId = "general")

channelClient.create(
  memberIds = listOf("thierry", "tomasso"),
  extraData = mapOf(
    "source" to "user",
    "source_detail" to mapOf("user_id" to 123),
    "channel_detail" to mapOf(
      "topic" to "Plants and Animals",
      "rating" to "pg"
    )
  )
).execute()

// let's change the source of this channel
channelClient.updatePartial(set = mapOf("source" to "system")).execute()

// since it's system generated we no longer need source_detail
channelClient.updatePartial(unset = listOf("source_detail")).execute()

// and finally update one of the nested fields in the channel_detail
channelClient.updatePartial(set = mapOf("channel_detail.topic" to "Nature")).execute()

// and maybe we decide we no longer need a rating
channelClient.updatePartial(unset = listOf("channel_detail.rating")).execute()

// Here's a channel with some custom field data that might be useful
ChannelClient channelClient = client.channel("messaging", "general");

List<String> members = Arrays.asList("thierry", "tommaso");

Map<String, String> channelDetail = new HashMap<>();
channelDetail.put("topic", "Plants and Animals");
channelDetail.put("rating", "pg");

Map<String, Integer> userId = new HashMap<>();
userId.put("user_id", 123);

Map<String, Object> extraData = new HashMap<>();
extraData.put("source", "user");
extraData.put("source_detail", userId);
extraData.put("channel_detail", channelDetail);

channelClient.create(members, extraData).execute();

// let's change the source of this channel
Map<String, Object> setField = Collections.singletonMap("source", "system");
channelClient.updatePartial(setField, emptyList()).execute();

// since it's system generated we no longer need source_detail
List<String> unsetField = Collections.singletonList("source_detail");
channelClient.updatePartial(emptyMap(), unsetField).execute();

// and finally update one of the nested fields in the channel_detail
Map<String, Object> setNestedField = Collections.singletonMap("channel_detail.topic", "Nature");
channelClient.updatePartial(setNestedField, emptyList()).execute();

// and maybe we decide we no longer need a rating
List<String> unsetNestedField = Collections.singletonList("channel_detail.rating");
channelClient.updatePartial(emptyMap(), unsetNestedField).execute();

Full Update

The update function updates all of the channel data. Any data that is present on the channel and not included in a full update will be deleted.

val channelClient = client.channel("messaging", "general")

channelClient.update(
  message = Message(
    text = "Thierry changed the channel color to green"
  ),
  extraData = mapOf(
    "name" to "myspecialchannel",
    "color" to "green",
  ),
).enqueue { result ->
  if (result is Result.Success) {
    val channel = result.value
  } else {
    // Handle Result.Failure
  }
}

ChannelClient channelClient = client.channel("messaging", "general");

Map<String, Object> channelData = new HashMap<>();
channelData.put("name", "myspecialchannel");
channelData.put("color", "green");
Message updateMessage = new Message.Builder()
    .withText("Thierry changed the channel color to green")
    .build();

channelClient.update(updateMessage, channelData).enqueue(result -> {
  if (result.isSuccess()) {
    Channel channel = result.getOrNull();
  } else {
    // Handle error
  }
 });

Request Params

Name	Type	Description	Optional
channel data	object	Object with the new channel information. One special field is "frozen". Setting this field to true will freeze the channel. Read more about freezing channels in "Freezing Channels"
text	object	Message object allowing you to show a system message in the Channel that something changed.	Yes

Updating a channel using these methods cannot be used to add or remove members. For this, you must use specific methods for adding/removing members, more information can be found here.

Querying Channels

Querying Members