Users & Tokens

Creating users

When creating users, there are a few important things to keep in mind:

The id field is mandatory, in most cases you want this to be the same ID you use on your database.
The role field is optional, by default it is set to user but you can specify any existing role.
Custom data can be added to users in the custom field.
name and image are optional and handled by all SDKs automatically to render users.

const newUser: UserRequest = {
  id: 'user-id',
  role: 'user',
  custom: {
    color: 'red',
  },
  name: 'This is a test user',
  image: 'link/to/profile/image',
};
await client.upsertUsers([newUser]);

from getstream.models import UserRequest

client.upsert_users(
    UserRequest(
        id="user_id",
        role="user",
        custom={"color": "red"},
        name="This is a test user",
        image="link/to/profile/image",
    )
)

response, err := client.UpdateUsers(ctx, &getstream.UpdateUsersRequest{
    Users: map[string]getstream.UserRequest{
        "user_id": {
            ID:   "user_id",
            Role: getstream.PtrTo("admin"),
            Custom: map[string]interface{}{
                "color": "red",
            },
            Name:  getstream.PtrTo("This is a test user"),
            Image: getstream.PtrTo("link/to/profile/image"),
        },
    },
})

curl -X POST https://video.stream-io-api.com/api/v2/users?api_key=${API_KEY} \
-H "Authorization: ${TOKEN}" \
-H "stream-auth-type: jwt" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
  "users": {
    "john": {
      "id": "john",
      "role": "user",
      "custom": {
        "color": "red"
      },
      "name": "John",
      "image": "link/to/profile/image"
    }
  }
}'

Updating users

You can update users in two ways:

Replace updates: replace the entire user object with the one provided to the API call
Partial update: choose which fields you want to change

const user: UserRequest = {
  id: 'userid',
  role: 'user',
  custom: {
    color: 'blue',
  },
  name: 'This is a test user',
  image: 'link/to/profile/image',
};
client.upsertUsers([user]);

// or
client.updateUsersPartial({
  users: [
    {
      id: user.id,
      set: {
        'new-field': 'value',
      },
      unset: ['name'],
    },
  ],
});

client.upsert_users(UserRequest(
  id= 'userid',
  role= 'user',
  custom= {
    "color": 'blue',
  },
  name= 'This is a test user',
  image= 'link/to/profile/image',
))

# or
client.update_users_partial(
    users=[
        UpdateUserPartialRequest(
            id="userid",
            set={
                "new-field": "value",
            },
            unset=["name"],
        )
    ],
)

response, err := client.UpdateUsers(ctx, &getstream.UpdateUsersRequest{
    Users: map[string]getstream.UserRequest{
        "user_id": {
            ID:   "user_id",
            Role: getstream.PtrTo("user"),
            Custom: map[string]any{
                "color": "blue",
            },
            Name:  getstream.PtrTo("This is a test user"),
            Image: getstream.PtrTo("link/to/profile/image"),
        },
    },
})

// or
response, err = client.UpdateUsersPartial(ctx, &getstream.UpdateUsersPartialRequest{
    Users: []getstream.UpdateUserPartialRequest{
        {
            ID: "user_id",
            Set: map[string]interface{}{
                "new-field": "value",
            },
            Unset: []string{"name"},
        },
    },
})

# Upserting a user, all existing user data will be overridden
curl -X POST https://video.stream-io-api.com/api/v2/users?api_key=${API_KEY} \
  -H "Authorization: ${TOKEN}" \
  -H "stream-auth-type: jwt" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "users": {
      "john": {
        "id": "john",
        "role": "user",
        "custom": {
          "color": "red"
        },
        "name": "John",
        "image": "link/to/profile/image"
      }
    }
  }'

# Partial update
curl -X PATCH https://video.stream-io-api.com/api/v2/users?api_key=${API_KEY} \
  -H "Authorization: ${TOKEN}" \
  -H "stream-auth-type: jwt" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "users": [
      {
        "id": "john",
        "set": {
          "color": "blue"
        },
        "unset": ["name"]
      }
    ]
  }'

Anonymous users are users that are not authenticated. It’s common to use this for watching a livestream or similar where you aren’t authenticated. Anonymous users can be connected using client-side SDKs. Anonymous users are not counted toward your MAU.

Guest users

Guest users are temporary user accounts. You can use it to temporarily give someone a name and image when joining a call. Guest users can be created client-side. Guest users are counted towards your MAU usage.

Deactivating and deleting users

Depending on your use-case, you can choose to delete users or de-activating them. There are some differences between these two approach.

Deactivating users:

the user will not be allowed to perform API requests / connect
user data is retained on Stream’s side and returned from API
deactivated users can be re-activated

Deleting users:

the user will no longer be able to perform API requests / connect
the user is deleted and by default not returned from API
all data from the user is marked as deleted
by default the data is retained and “soft” deleted, you can optionally request hard deletion
deletion is not reversible

Note: Both deletion and deactivation are performed asynchronously by Stream API. A task ID is returned and you can use that to check the status of its processing.

Deactivating users

client.deactivateUser({
  user_id: '<id>',
});

// reactivate
client.reactivateUsers({
  user_ids: ['<id>'],
});

// deactivating users in bulk is performed asynchronously
const deactivateResponse = client.deactivateUsers({
  user_ids: ['<id1>', '<id2>'...],
});

# deactivate one user
client.deactivate_user(user_id=alice.id)

# reactivates the user
client.reactivate_user(user_id=alice.id)

# deactivating users in bulk is performed asynchronously
response = client.deactivate_users(user_ids=[alice.id, bob.id])

// deactivate one user
response, err := client.DeactivateUser(ctx, "alice", &getstream.DeactivateUserRequest{})

// reactivates the user
_, err = client.ReactivateUser(ctx, "alice", &getstream.ReactivateUserRequest{})

// deactivates users in bulk, this is an async operation
_, err = client.DeactivateUsers(ctx, &getstream.DeactivateUsersRequest{
    UserIds: []string{"alice", "bob"},
})

# Deactivate users
curl -X POST https://video.stream-io-api.com/api/v2/users/deactivate?api_key=${API_KEY} \
  -H "Authorization: ${TOKEN}" \
  -H "stream-auth-type: jwt" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "user_ids": ["sara"]
  }'

# Reactivate users
curl -X POST https://video.stream-io-api.com/api/v2/users/reactivate?api_key=${API_KEY} \
  -H "Authorization: ${TOKEN}" \
  -H "stream-auth-type: jwt" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "user_ids": ["sara"]
  }'

Deactivating users in bulk can take some time, this is how you can check the progress:

// Example of monitoring the status of an async task
// The logic is same for all async tasks
const response = await client.<async operation>();

// you need to poll this endpoint
const taskResponse = await client.getTask({id: response.task_id})

console.log(taskResponse.status === 'completed');

# Example of monitoring the status of an async task
# The logic is same for all async tasks
response = client.<async operation>()
task_id = response.data.task_id

# get information about the task
task_status = client.get_task(task_id)

# just an example, in reality it can take a few seconds for a task to be processed
if task_status.data.status == "completed":
    print(task_status.data.result)

# When an operation is async, a task_id will be included in the API response
# That task_id can be used to monitor the status of the task
# When finished, task status will be completed
curl -X GET https://video.stream-io-api.com/api/v2/tasks/${TASK_ID}?api_key=${API_KEY} \
    -H "Authorization: ${TOKEN}" \
    -H "stream-auth-type: jwt"

For more information, please refer to the async operations guide

Deleting users

client.deleteUsers({ user_ids: ["<id>"] });

//restore
client.restoreUsers({ user_ids: ["<id>"] });

client.delete_users(user_ids=["<id>"])

# restore
client.restore_users(user_ids=["<id>"])

response, err := client.DeleteUsers(ctx, &getstream.DeleteUsersRequest{UserIds: []string{"<id>"}})

// restore a soft-deleted user
_, err = client.RestoreUsers(ctx, &getstream.RestoreUsersRequest{UserIds: []string{"<id>"}})

# Delete users
curl -X POST https://video.stream-io-api.com/api/v2/users/delete?api_key=${API_KEY} \
  -H "Authorization: ${TOKEN}" \
  -H "stream-auth-type: jwt" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "user_ids": ["sara"]
  }'

# Restore users
curl -X POST https://video.stream-io-api.com/api/v2/users/restore?api_key=${API_KEY} \
  -H "Authorization: ${TOKEN}" \
  -H "stream-auth-type: jwt" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "user_ids": ["sara"]
  }'

The delete users endpoints supports the following parameters to control which data needs to be deleted and how. By default users and their data are soft-deleted.

Name	Type	Description	Optional
`user`	Enum (soft, pruning, hard)	- Soft: marks user as deleted and retains all user data. - Pruning: marks user as deleted and nullifies user information. - Hard: deletes user completely - this requires hard option for messages and conversation as well.	Yes
`conversations`	Enum (soft, hard)	- Soft: marks all conversation channels as deleted (same effect as Delete Channels with ‘hard’ option disabled). - Hard: deletes channel and all its data completely including messages (same effect as Delete Channels with ‘hard’ option enabled).	Yes
`messages`	Enum (soft, pruning, hard)	- Soft: marks all user messages as deleted without removing any related message data. - Pruning: marks all user messages as deleted, nullifies message information and removes some message data such as reactions and flags. - Hard: deletes messages completely with all related information.	Yes
`new_channel_owner_id`	string	Channels owned by hard-deleted users will be transferred to this userID. If you doesn’t provide a value, the channel owner will have a system generated ID like `delete-user-8219f6578a7395g`	Yes
`calls`	Enum (soft, hard)	- Soft: marks calls and related data as deleted. - Hard: deletes calls and related data completely Note that this applies only to 1:1 calls, not group calls	Yes

Deleting and restoring users in bulk can take some time, this is how you can check the progress:

// Example of monitoring the status of an async task
// The logic is same for all async tasks
const response = await client.<async operation>();

// you need to poll this endpoint
const taskResponse = await client.getTask({id: response.task_id})

console.log(taskResponse.status === 'completed');

# Example of monitoring the status of an async task
# The logic is same for all async tasks
response = client.<async operation>()
task_id = response.data.task_id

# get information about the task
task_status = client.get_task(task_id)

# just an example, in reality it can take a few seconds for a task to be processed
if task_status.data.status == "completed":
    print(task_status.data.result)

# When an operation is async, a task_id will be included in the API response
# That task_id can be used to monitor the status of the task
# When finished, task status will be completed
curl -X GET https://video.stream-io-api.com/api/v2/tasks/${TASK_ID}?api_key=${API_KEY} \
    -H "Authorization: ${TOKEN}" \
    -H "stream-auth-type: jwt"

For more information, please refer to the async operations guide

User tokens

Stream uses JWT (JSON Web Tokens) to authenticate users, enabling them to log in. Knowing whether a user is authorized to perform certain actions is managed separately via a role-based permissions system. Tokens need to be generated server-side.

You can optionally provide an expiration time.

const userId = "john";
// validity is optional, in this case we set it to 1 day
const validity = 24 * 60 * 60;
client.generateUserToken({ user_id: userId, validity_in_seconds: validity });

# in this example we use Django
# but you can use any framework you like
import time
from django.contrib.auth.decorators import login_required
from django.http import JsonResponse

# The user token endpoint is protected with the login_required decorator.
@login_required
def create_user_token(request):
    # The 'user_id' is retrieved from the request's user instance.
    user_id = request.user.id

    # the token will be valid for 1 day
    exp = 24 * 3600

    # Here client is Stream client and it's called with the 'user_id' and the expiration time.
    token = client.create_token(user_id, expiration=exp)

    # The token is then returned in the response.
    return JsonResponse({"token": token})

// the token will be valid for 1 day
token, err := client.CreateToken("user-id", getstream.WithExpiration(24*time.Hour))

HEADER=$(echo -n '{"alg": "HS256", "typ": "JWT"}' | openssl base64 -e -A | tr '+/' '-_' | tr -d '=');
USER_ID='<user id>';
CURRENT_TIMESTAMP=$(date +%s);
HOUR_FROM_NOW=$((CURRENT_TIMESTAMP + 3600))
PAYLOAD=$(echo -n '{"user_id": "'${USER_ID}'", "iat": '${CURRENT_TIMESTAMP}', "exp": '${HOUR_FROM_NOW}'}' | openssl base64 -e -A | tr '+/' '-_' | tr -d '=');
SECRET='<API secret>';
SIGNATURE=$(echo -n ${HEADER}.${PAYLOAD} | openssl dgst -sha256 -hmac ${SECRET} -binary | openssl base64 -e -A | tr '+/' '-_' | tr -d '=');

echo "${HEADER}.${PAYLOAD}.${SIGNATURE}"

You need to provide the generated tokens to the client SDKs. Stream SDKs accept a token provider, that can be called to retrieve and renew tokens. You need to implement the token provider in your own application, this is usually an HTTP endpoint.

Call tokens

Call tokens contain a list of call IDs. When a user utilizes a call token, they will automatically be assigned the membership role for all the calls specified in the token’s claims. Additionally, the token may optionally include alternative roles, such as admin or moderator.

const user_id = "john";
// validity is optional (by default the token is valid for an hour)
const validity_in_seconds = 60 * 60;

const call_cids = ["default:call1", "livestream:call2"];

client.generateCallToken({ user_id, call_cids, validity_in_seconds });

// Optionally provide a role for the call(s)
client.generateCallToken({ user_id, call_cids, role: "admin" });

user_id = "john"

# exp and iat are optional, token will be valid for 1 hour
exp = 3600

call_cids = ["default:call1", "livestream:call2"]

client.create_call_token(user_id=user_id, expiration=exp, call_cids=call_cids)

// the list of call IDs this token applies to
tokenClaims := getstream.Claims{CallCIDs: []string{"default:call1", "livestream:call2"}}

token, err := client.CreateToken("john",
    getstream.WithClaims(tokenClaims),
    getstream.WithExpiration(24*time.Hour),
)

HEADER=$(echo -n '{"alg": "HS256", "typ": "JWT"}' | openssl base64 -e -A | tr '+/' '-_' | tr -d '=');
USER_ID='<user id>';
CURRENT_TIMESTAMP=$(date +%s);
HOUR_FROM_NOW=$((CURRENT_TIMESTAMP + 3600))
CALL_CID1='livestream:1';
CALL_CID2='livestream:2';
# Optionally provide a role for the call(s)
ROLE='admin'
PAYLOAD=$(echo -n '{"user_id": "'${USER_ID}'", "role": "'${ROLE}'", "call_cids": ["'${CALL_CID1}'", "'${CALL_CID2}'"], "iat": '${CURRENT_TIMESTAMP}', "exp": '${HOUR_FROM_NOW}'}' | openssl base64 -e -A | tr '+/' '-_' | tr -d '=');
SECRET='<API secret>';
SIGNATURE=$(echo -n ${HEADER}.${PAYLOAD} | openssl dgst -sha256 -hmac ${SECRET} -binary | openssl base64 -e -A | tr '+/' '-_' | tr -d '=');

echo "${HEADER}.${PAYLOAD}.${SIGNATURE}"

Note: Call tokens are designed to grant additional access, not restrict it. Most call types let regular users join calls. If all users can access any call, call tokens won’t change this. Remove call access from the user role and grant it to specific members instead.

Get started

Calls