Edit Message

Edit text and custom messages using the CometChat Flutter SDK.

AI Integration Quick Reference

Field	Value
Key Classes	TextMessage, CustomMessage, BaseMessage
Key Methods	CometChat.editMessage()
Listener Events	onMessageEdited
Prerequisites	SDK initialized, user logged in

// Edit a text message
TextMessage updatedMessage = TextMessage(
  text: "Updated message text",
  receiverUid: "receiver_uid",
  receiverType: CometChatReceiverType.user,
  type: CometChatMessageType.text,
);
updatedMessage.id = originalMessageId;

await CometChat.editMessage(updatedMessage,
  onSuccess: (BaseMessage message) {
    debugPrint("Message edited: $message");
  },
  onError: (CometChatException e) {
    debugPrint("Error: ${e.message}");
  },
);

// Listen for real-time edits
CometChat.addMessageListener("edits_listener", MessageListener(
  onMessageEdited: (BaseMessage message) {
    debugPrint("Message was edited: ${message.id}");
  },
));

// Remove listener when done
CometChat.removeMessageListener("edits_listener");

Editing a message is straightforward. Receiving edit events has two parts:

1. Adding a listener for real-time edits when your app is running
2. Fetching missed edits when your app was offline

Edit a Message

Use editMessage() with a TextMessage or CustomMessage object. Set the message ID using the id property.

Parameter	Type	Description
message	BaseMessage	The message object to edit. Must be a TextMessage or CustomMessage. Set the id property to the ID of the message to edit.
onSuccess	Function(BaseMessage)	Callback triggered on success with the edited message object.
onError	Function(CometChatException)	Callback triggered on error with exception details.

Add/Update Tags

Use tags to update tags when editing. New tags replace existing ones.

Text Message

List<String> tags = [];
tags.add("pinned");
textMessage.tags = tags; 

Custom Message

List<String> tags = [];
tags.add("pinned");
customMessage.tags = tags;

Once the message object is ready, call editMessage().

Dart

TextMessage updatedMessage = TextMessage(
                        text: updatedText,
                        receiverUid: receiverID,
                        receiverType: receiverType,
                        type: type);

updatedMessage.id = message.id;

await CometChat.editMessage(updatedMessage, 
  onSuccess: (BaseMessage message){
  	debugPrint("Message Edited successfully: $message");
  }, onError: (CometChatException e){
  	debugPrint("Message Edited failed with exception: ${e.message}");
  }
);

Response

On Success — A BaseMessage object containing all details of the edited message:

BaseMessage Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
id	number	Unique message ID	401
metadata	object	Custom metadata attached to the message	{}
receiver	object	Receiver user object	See below ↓
editedBy	string	UID of the user who edited the message	"cometchat-uid-1"
conversationId	string	Unique conversation identifier	"cometchat-uid-1_user_cometchat-uid-2"
sentAt	number	Epoch timestamp when the message was sent	1745554729
receiverUid	string	UID of the receiver	"cometchat-uid-2"
type	string	Type of the message	"text"
readAt	number	Epoch timestamp when the message was read	0
deletedBy	string	UID of the user who deleted the message	null
deliveredAt	number	Epoch timestamp when the message was delivered	1745554750
deletedAt	number	Epoch timestamp when the message was deleted	0
replyCount	number	Number of replies to this message	0
sender	object	Sender user object	See below ↓
receiverType	string	Type of the receiver	"user"
editedAt	number	Epoch timestamp when the message was edited	1745554800
parentMessageId	number	ID of the parent message (for threads)	0
readByMeAt	number	Epoch timestamp when read by the current user	0
category	string	Message category	"message"
deliveredToMeAt	number	Epoch timestamp when delivered to the current user	0
updatedAt	number	Epoch timestamp when the message was last updated	1745554800
unreadRepliesCount	number	Count of unread replies	0
quotedMessageId	number	ID of the quoted message	null

---

sender Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
uid	string	Unique identifier of the sender	"cometchat-uid-1"
name	string	Display name of the sender	"Andrew Joseph"
link	string	Profile link	null
avatar	string	Avatar URL	"https://assets.cometchat.io/sampleapp/v2/users/cometchat-uid-1.webp"
metadata	object	Custom metadata	{}
status	string	Online status	"online"
role	string	User role	"default"
statusMessage	string	Status message	null
tags	array	User tags	[]
hasBlockedMe	boolean	Whether this user has blocked the current user	false
blockedByMe	boolean	Whether the current user has blocked this user	false
lastActiveAt	number	Epoch timestamp of last activity	1745554700

---

receiver Object:

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
uid	string	Unique identifier of the receiver	"cometchat-uid-2"
name	string	Display name of the receiver	"George Alan"
link	string	Profile link	null
avatar	string	Avatar URL	"https://assets.cometchat.io/sampleapp/v2/users/cometchat-uid-2.webp"
metadata	object	Custom metadata	{}
status	string	Online status	"offline"
role	string	User role	"default"
statusMessage	string	Status message	null
tags	array	User tags	[]
hasBlockedMe	boolean	Whether this user has blocked the current user	false
blockedByMe	boolean	Whether the current user has blocked this user	false
lastActiveAt	number	Epoch timestamp of last activity	1745550000

Error

Parameter	Type	Description	Sample Value
code	string	Error code identifier	"ERR_CHAT_API_FAILURE"
message	string	Human-readable error message	"The message could not be modified."
details	string	Additional technical details	"An unexpected error occurred while processing the request."

The edited message object is returned with editedAt (timestamp) and editedBy (UID of editor) fields set.

The editMessage() method returns a BaseMessage object (or a subclass like TextMessage).

Relevant fields to access on the returned message:

Field	Property	Return Type	Description
editedAt	editedAt	int	Timestamp when the message was edited
editedBy	editedBy	String	UID of the user who edited the message

By default, CometChat allows certain roles to edit a message.

User Role	Conversation Type	Edit Capabilities
Message Sender	One-on-one Conversation	Messages they’ve sent
Message Sender	Group Conversation	Messages they’ve sent
Group Owner	Group Conversation	All messages in the group
Group Moderator	Group Conversation	All messages in the group

Real-time Message Edit Events

Use onMessageEdited in MessageListener to receive real-time edit events.

Dart

class Class_Name  with MessageListener {

//CometChat.addMessageListener("listenerId", this);
@override
void onMessageEdited(BaseMessage message) {
  // TODO: implement onMessageEdited
}


} 

Always remove message listeners when they’re no longer needed (e.g., in the dispose() method). Failing to remove listeners can cause memory leaks and duplicate event handling.

@override
void dispose() {
  CometChat.removeMessageListener("listenerId");
  super.dispose();
}

The onMessageEdited callback receives a BaseMessage object with the editedAt and editedBy fields set.

Relevant fields to access on the returned message:

Field	Property	Return Type	Description
editedAt	editedAt	int	Timestamp when the message was edited
editedBy	editedBy	String	UID of the user who edited the message

Missed Message Edit Events

When fetching message history, edited messages have editedAt and editedBy fields set. Additionally, an Action message is created when a message is edited.

The Action object contains:

• action — edited
• actionOn — Updated message object with the edited details
• actionBy — User object containing the details of the user who has edited the message
• actionFor — User/group object having the details of the receiver to which the message was sent

You must be the message sender or a group admin/moderator to edit a message.

---

Next Steps

Delete Message

Learn how to delete messages from conversations

Send Message

Send text, media, and custom messages

Receive Messages

Handle incoming messages in real-time

Threaded Messages

Create and manage message threads