Receive Messages

There are two ways to get messages in the CometChat Unreal SDK:

Fetch history — pull previous messages for a conversation using async nodes
Real-time push — listen for new messages as they arrive via the OnMessageReceived delegate

How Messages Flow

Fetch User Messages

Retrieve the message history for a 1:1 conversation.

Blueprint
C++

Call the Get Messages Async node.

Parameter	Type	Description
Uid	`FString`	The UID of the other user in the conversation
Limit	`int32`	Maximum number of messages to return (default: 50)

On Success returns a TArray<FCometChatMessage> — an array of messages sorted by timestamp.

#include "AsyncActions/CometChatGetMessagesAction.h"

void AMyActor::FetchMessages()
{
    auto* Action = UCometChatGetMessagesAction::GetMessagesAsync(
        this,
        TEXT("cometchat-uid-2"),  // Other user's UID
        30                        // Limit
    );
    Action->OnSuccess.AddDynamic(this, &AMyActor::OnMessagesFetched);
    Action->OnFailure.AddDynamic(this, &AMyActor::OnFetchFailed);
    Action->Activate();
}

void AMyActor::OnMessagesFetched(const TArray<FCometChatMessage>& Messages)
{
    for (const FCometChatMessage& Msg : Messages)
    {
        UE_LOG(LogTemp, Log, TEXT("[%s]: %s"), *Msg.SenderName, *Msg.Text);
    }
}

void AMyActor::OnFetchFailed(const FString& Error)
{
    UE_LOG(LogTemp, Error, TEXT("Fetch failed: %s"), *Error);
}

Fetch Group Messages

Retrieve the message history for a group conversation, with pagination support.

Blueprint
C++

Call the Get Group Messages Async node.

Parameter	Type	Description
Guid	`FString`	The group’s unique identifier
Limit	`int32`	Maximum messages per page (default: 50)
Before Message Id	`int32`	Pass `0` for the first page. For subsequent pages, pass the `NextCursor` value from the previous response’s `FCometChatPagination`.

On Success returns two outputs:

TArray<FCometChatMessage> — the messages for this page
FCometChatPagination — pagination metadata including HasMore and NextCursor

#include "AsyncActions/CometChatGetGroupMessagesAction.h"

void AMyActor::FetchGroupMessages(int32 BeforeId)
{
    auto* Action = UCometChatGetGroupMessagesAction::GetGroupMessagesAsync(
        this,
        TEXT("group-abc-123"),  // Group GUID
        20,                     // Limit
        BeforeId                // 0 for first page
    );
    Action->OnSuccess.AddDynamic(this, &AMyActor::OnGroupMessagesFetched);
    Action->OnFailure.AddDynamic(this, &AMyActor::OnGroupFetchFailed);
    Action->Activate();
}

void AMyActor::OnGroupMessagesFetched(
    const TArray<FCometChatMessage>& Messages,
    const FCometChatPagination& Pagination)
{
    for (const FCometChatMessage& Msg : Messages)
    {
        UE_LOG(LogTemp, Log, TEXT("[%s]: %s"), *Msg.SenderName, *Msg.Text);
    }

    if (Pagination.HasMore)
    {
        // Load next page
        FetchGroupMessages(Pagination.NextCursor);
    }
}

Pagination

The FCometChatPagination struct tells you where you are in the message history:

Property	Type	Description
`Total`	`int32`	Total messages available in the conversation
`Count`	`int32`	Messages returned in this page
`PerPage`	`int32`	Page size that was requested
`HasMore`	`bool`	`true` if there are older messages to fetch
`NextCursor`	`int32`	Pass this as `BeforeMessageId` to get the next page

Infinite scroll pattern: Start with BeforeMessageId = 0, then keep passing NextCursor from each response until HasMore is false.

Real-Time: Incoming Messages

To receive messages as they arrive (without polling), bind to the OnMessageReceived delegate on the Subsystem.

Blueprint
C++

Get a reference to the CometChat Subsystem
Drag off and search for On Message Received
Use Bind Event to connect it to a custom event
The custom event receives an FCometChatMessage parameter

Bind this before calling Login so you don’t miss any messages.

void AMyActor::BeginPlay()
{
    Super::BeginPlay();

    UCometChatSubsystem* Chat = GetGameInstance()->GetSubsystem<UCometChatSubsystem>();
    Chat->OnMessageReceived.AddDynamic(this, &AMyActor::HandleNewMessage);
}

void AMyActor::HandleNewMessage(const FCometChatMessage& Message)
{
    // This fires on the Game Thread — safe to update UI
    UE_LOG(LogTemp, Log, TEXT("New message from %s: %s"),
        *Message.SenderName, *Message.Text);

    // Check if it's a group or user message
    if (Message.ReceiverType == TEXT("group"))
    {
        // Group message — Message.ReceiverUid is the group GUID
    }
    else
    {
        // 1:1 message — Message.SenderUid is the other user
    }
}

The OnMessageReceived delegate fires for all conversations — both 1:1 and group. Use ReceiverType to distinguish between them, and ConversationId to route messages to the right chat window.

Next Steps

Users

Fetch user profiles and track presence.

Groups

Create, join, and leave groups.

Real-Time Events

All five real-time delegates explained in detail.

Authentication

Messaging

Users & Groups

Reference

How Messages Flow

Fetch User Messages

Fetch Group Messages

Real-Time: Incoming Messages

Next Steps

Users

Groups

Real-Time Events

​How Messages Flow

​Fetch User Messages

​Fetch Group Messages

​Pagination

​Real-Time: Incoming Messages

​Next Steps

Users

Groups

Real-Time Events

How Messages Flow

Fetch User Messages

Fetch Group Messages

Pagination

Real-Time: Incoming Messages

Next Steps