# Thread

The thread view is represented by the `ChatThreadVC` component. It is very similar with the `ChatChannelVC`, the difference is that instead of displaying messages, it displays the replies of a message thread. Just like the `ChatChannelVC` it also contains the `ComposerVC` component to create new replies.

The thread view consists of the following components:

- `ChatThreadHeaderView`: responsible to display the thread information in the `navigationItem.titleView`.
- `ChatMessageListVC`: responsible to render the replies of the thread.
- `ComposerVC`: responsible to create new replies.

## Basic Usage

By default, the `ChatThreadVC` is created when you click to see the replies of a message in the `ChatMessageListVC` component. But in case you want to create it programmatically, you can use the following code:

```swift
let cid = ChannelId(type: "messaging", id: "channel-id")
let messageId: MessageId = "message-id"
let threadVC = ChatThreadVC()
threadVC.channelController = ChatClient.shared.channelController(for: cid)
threadVC.messageController = ChatClient.shared.messageController(
    cid: cid,
    messageId: messageId
)

navigationController?.show(threadVC, sender: self)
```

## UI Customization

You can customize how the thread view looks by subclassing it and swap the component in `Components` configuration:

```swift

Components.default.threadHeaderView = CustomChatThreadHeaderView.self
Components.default.threadVC = CustomChatThreadVC.self
```

Just like the `ChatChannelVC`, the `ChatThreadVC` is only responsible for composing the `ChatThreadHeaderView`, `ChatMessageListVC` and `ComposerVC` components together. In case you want to customize the rendering of the replies, you should read the [Message](/chat/docs/sdk/ios/v4/uikit/components/message/) documentation.


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This page was last updated at 2026-04-17T17:33:37.211Z.

For the most recent version of this documentation, visit [https://getstream.io/chat/docs/sdk/ios/v4/uikit/components/thread/](https://getstream.io/chat/docs/sdk/ios/v4/uikit/components/thread/).