ChannelStateContext

ChannelStateContext is provided by Channel and exposes state for the active channel. Access it with useChannelStateContext.

Best Practices

Use state values from context instead of storing duplicate local copies.
Treat messages, members, and read as reactive sources for UI updates.
Prefer channelCapabilities to gate UI actions instead of hard-coding permissions.
Use suppressAutoscroll to respect user scroll position for long histories.
Guard against null channel or error states in custom components.

Basic Usage

Pull values from ChannelStateContext with our custom hook:

const { channel, watchers } = useChannelStateContext();

Values

Value	Description	Type
`channel`	The active `StreamChat` channel instance consumed by `Channel` and its children.	`Channel`
`channelCapabilities`	The allowed channel permissions for the currently connected user.	`Record<string, boolean>`
`channelConfig`	Configuration for the active channel.	`ChannelConfig`
`channelUnreadUiState`	Read state maintained for unread UI such as `UnreadMessagesSeparator` and `UnreadMessagesNotification`. Includes `last_read`, `unread_messages`, `first_unread_message_id`, and `last_read_message_id`.	`ChannelUnreadUiState`
`error`	Error from loading the channel, if any. Otherwise `null`.	`Error \| null`
`giphyVersion`	Forwarded from the `Channel` component prop `giphyVersion`. Defaults to `'fixed_height'`.	`string`
`hasMore`	Whether the channel has older messages to paginate.	`boolean`
`hasMoreNewer`	Whether the channel has newer messages to paginate.	`boolean`
`highlightedMessageId`	Used internally for jump-to-message. The message with this ID is highlighted after the jump.	`string`
`imageAttachmentSizeHandler`	Forwarded from the `Channel` component prop `imageAttachmentSizeHandler`.	`(a: Attachment, e: HTMLElement) => ImageAttachmentConfiguration`
`loading`	Whether the channel is loading.	`boolean`
`loadingMore`	Whether older messages are loading.	`boolean`
`loadingMoreNewer`	Whether newer messages are loading as the user scrolls down. Used internally by `VirtualizedMessageList`.	`boolean`
`members`	Members of this channel. Members are permanent; watchers are currently online.	`Record<string, ChannelMemberResponse>`
`messages`	Array of message objects.	`LocalMessage[]`
`mutes`	Array of muted users for the current channel.	`Mute[]`
`notifications`	Temporary notifications added to `MessageList` on specific actions.	`{id: string, text: string, type: 'success' \| 'error'}[]`
`pinnedMessages`	Messages that are pinned in the channel.	`LocalMessage[]`
`read`	Read state for each channel member.	`Record<string, ChannelReadState>`
`shouldGenerateVideoThumbnail`	Forwarded from the `Channel` component prop `shouldGenerateVideoThumbnail`.	`boolean`
`suppressAutoscroll`	Whether auto-scroll to bottom is suppressed. Used by `MessageList` and `VirtualizedMessageList`.	`boolean`
`thread`	Parent message for a thread, if there is one. Otherwise `null`.	`LocalMessage \| null`
`threadHasMore`	Whether there are more messages available in the active thread.	`boolean`
`threadLoadingMore`	Whether the thread is currently loading more messages.	`boolean`
`threadMessages`	Array of messages within a thread.	`LocalMessage[]`
`threadSuppressAutoscroll`	Whether scrolling to the bottom is prevented in the thread. Used internally by `MessageList` and `VirtualizedMessageList`.	`boolean`
`videoAttachmentSizeHandler`	Forwarded from the `Channel` component prop `videoAttachmentSizeHandler`.	`(a: Attachment, e: HTMLElement) => VideoAttachmentConfiguration`
`watcher_count`	Legacy snake-case watcher count from channel state.	`number`
`watcherCount`	The number of watchers on the channel.	`number`
`watchers`	Users who are currently watching the channel.	`Record<string, UserResponse>`