ChannelContext

ChannelContext is provided by Channel. If you are not familiar with the React Context API, see the React docs.

Best Practices

• Prefer useChannelContext to avoid direct context wiring.
• Avoid using ChannelContext deep in message rows to prevent expensive re-renders.
• Use markRead instead of calling channel.markRead() directly to benefit from throttling.
• Check loading/error before rendering heavy channel UI.
• Treat read and members as read-only UI data; update via client/channel APIs.

Basic Usage

Consume ChannelContext in any child of Channel:

import { useContext } from "react";
import { ChannelContext } from "stream-chat-react-native";

const { lastRead, reloadChannel, watcherCount } = useContext(ChannelContext);

Alternatively, use the useChannelContext hook.

import { useChannelContext } from "stream-chat-react-native";

const { lastRead, reloadChannel, watcherCount } = useChannelContext();

Value

channel

enforceUniqueReaction

Limits reactions to one per user. Selecting a new reaction replaces the previous one (similar to iMessage).

disabled

error

True if any channel.query() call fails during initial load or pagination.

giphyEnabled

True if Giphy is enabled on the channel type.

hideDateSeparators

Hide inline date separators in MessageList.

hideStickyDateHeader

Note: Available in SDK version >= v3.9.0.

Hide the sticky date header in MessageList.

isAdmin

True if the current user has the admin role at app or channel level. See User Roles.

const isAdmin =
  client?.user?.role === "admin" || channel?.state.membership.role === "admin";

isModerator

True if the current user has the moderator role at app or channel level. See User Roles.

const isModerator =
  channel?.state.membership.role === "channel_moderator" ||
  channel?.state.membership.role === "moderator";

isOwner

True if the current user has owner permissions for the channel type. See User Permission.

const isOwner = channel?.state.membership.role === "owner";

lastRead

Timestamp when the current user marked the channel as read (channel.markRead()).

loadChannelAroundMessage

Load the channel with messages around a specific message in history.

loadChannelAroundMessage({
  messageId,
});

loading

True while the channel loads messages for the first time.

LoadingIndicator

Renders a full-screen loading indicator when a channel is loading.

markRead

Marks the channel as read for the current user. Internally calls channel.markRead() (throttled) if read events are enabled.

maxTimeBetweenGroupedMessages

Maximum time (ms) between consecutive messages from the same user to keep them grouped.

members

Record<
  string, // userId
  {
    banned?: boolean;
    created_at?: string;
    invite_accepted_at?: string;
    invite_rejected_at?: string;
    invited?: boolean;
    is_moderator?: boolean;
    role?: string;
    shadow_banned?: boolean;
    updated_at?: string;
    user?: UserResponse<UserType>;
    user_id?: string;
  }
>;

read

Read statuses for channel members. Received from the backend via client.queryChannels() or channel.watch().

Record<
  string, // userId
  {
    last_read: Date;
    user: UserResponse<UserType>;
  }
>;

reloadChannel

Reloads the channel at the most recent message. Resolves when reload completes.

scrollToFirstUnreadThreshold

Minimum number of unread messages a channel should have in order to set the initial scroll position to first unread message. This value is only used when initialScrollToFirstUnreadMessage is set to true.

setLastRead

Setter for the lastRead state in Channel.

setTargetedMessage

Setter for the targetedMessage state in Channel.

targetedMessage

ID of the currently highlighted message. Set when you load a channel around a message using loadChannelAroundMessage.

watchers

Watchers of current channel. This value is received from backend when you query a channel, either using client.queryChannels() or channel.watch() API call.

Record<
  string, // string
  UserResponse<UserType>
>;

watcherCount

Total users currently watching the channel.

EmptyStateIndicator

Renders when the channel has no messages.

NetworkDownIndicator

Renders an indicator at the top of the channel when the network/connection is down.