# Silent & System Messages
Silent and system messages provide ways to add informational content to channels without disrupting users.
## Silent Messages
Silent messages do not increment unread counts or mark channels as unread. Use them for transactional or automated content such as:
- "Your ride is waiting"
- "James updated the trip information"
- "You and Jane are now matched"
Set `silent: true` when sending a message.
```js
const message = {
text: "You completed your trip",
user: systemUser,
silent: true,
attachments: [{ type: "trip", ...tripData }],
};
await channel.sendMessage(message);
```
```kotlin
val message = Message(
text = "You and Jane are now matched!",
user = systemUser,
silent = true,
)
channelClient.sendMessage(message).enqueue { /* ... */ }
```
```swift
let channelController = client.channelController(for: .init(type: .messaging, id: "general"))
channelController.createNewMessage(text: "You completed your trip", isSilent: true)
```
```dart
final message = Message(
text: 'You completed your trip',
user: systemUser,
silent: true,
attachments: tripAttachments,
);
await channel.sendMessage(message);
```
```java
// Android SDK
Message message = new Message();
message.setText("You and Jane are now matched!");
message.setUser(systemUser);
message.setSilent(true);
channelClient.sendMessage(message).enqueue(result -> { /* ... */ });
// Backend SDK
chat.sendMessage(type, id, SendMessageRequest.builder()
.message(MessageRequest.builder()
.text("You completed your trip")
.userID(systemUserId)
.silent(true)
.build())
.build()).execute();
```
```python
from getstream.models import MessageRequest
channel.send_message(
MessageRequest(text="You completed your trip", silent=True, user_id=user_id)
)
```
```php
$client->sendMessage("messaging", "general", new Models\SendMessageRequest(
message: new Models\MessageRequest(
text: "You completed your trip",
silent: true,
userID: "jenny",
),
));
```
```ruby
require 'getstream_ruby'
Models = GetStream::Generated::Models
client.chat.send_message('messaging', channel_id, Models::SendMessageRequest.new(
message: Models::MessageRequest.new(
text: 'You completed your trip',
silent: true,
user_id: user_id
)
))
```
```go
channel.SendMessage(ctx, &getstream.SendMessageRequest{
Message: getstream.MessageRequest{
Text: getstream.PtrTo("You completed your trip"),
Silent: getstream.PtrTo(true),
UserID: getstream.PtrTo(userID),
},
})
```
```csharp
var resp = await chat.SendMessageAsync("messaging", channelId,
new SendMessageRequest
{
Message = new MessageRequest
{
Text = "You completed your trip",
UserID = userId,
Silent = true
}
});
```
```csharp
var silentMessage = await channel.SendNewMessageAsync(new StreamSendMessageRequest
{
Text = "System message",
Silent = true
});
```
```cpp
FMessage Message{TEXT("You completed your trip")};
Message.User = SystemUser;
Message.bIsSilent = true;
Channel->SendMessage(Message);
```
Existing messages cannot be converted to silent messages.
Silent replies still increment the parent message's `reply_count`.
Silent messages still trigger push notifications by default. Set `skip_push: true` to disable push notifications. See [Messages Overview](/chat/docs//send_message/) for details.
## System Messages
System messages have a distinct visual presentation, typically styled differently from user messages. Set `type: "system"` to create a system message.
Stream's UI SDKs include default styling for system messages. However, customizing their appearance is common to match your application's design. See your platform's UI customization documentation for details on styling system messages.
Client-side users require the `Create System Message` permission. Server-side system messages do not require this permission.
```js
const message = {
text: "You completed your trip",
user: systemUser,
type: "system",
};
await channel.sendMessage(message);
```
```java
// Backend SDK
chat.sendMessage(type, id, SendMessageRequest.builder()
.message(MessageRequest.builder()
.text(text)
.type("system")
.userID(systemUserId)
.build())
.build()).execute();
```
```python
from getstream.models import MessageRequest
channel.send_message(
MessageRequest(text="You completed your trip", type="system", user_id=user_id)
)
```
```php
$client->sendMessage("messaging", "general", new Models\SendMessageRequest(
message: new Models\MessageRequest(
text: "You completed your trip",
type: "system",
userID: "jenny",
),
));
```
```ruby
require 'getstream_ruby'
Models = GetStream::Generated::Models
client.chat.send_message('messaging', channel_id, Models::SendMessageRequest.new(
message: Models::MessageRequest.new(
text: 'You completed your trip',
type: 'system',
user_id: user_id
)
))
```
```go
resp, err := channel.SendMessage(ctx, &getstream.SendMessageRequest{
Message: getstream.MessageRequest{
Text: getstream.PtrTo("You completed your trip"),
Type: getstream.PtrTo("system"),
UserID: getstream.PtrTo(systemUserID),
},
})
```
---
This page was last updated at 2026-03-13T13:17:09.169Z.
For the most recent version of this documentation, visit [https://getstream.io/chat/docs/ruby/silent_messages/](https://getstream.io/chat/docs/ruby/silent_messages/).