Search Messages Service

Signal-based service for message search state, SDK queries, attachment-type filtering, and pagination.

The SearchMessagesService manages message search state using Angular signals. It handles SDK query building with keyword, attachment-type, and user/group scoping, plus pagination for loading more results.

Import

import { SearchMessagesService } from '@cometchat/chat-uikit-angular';

Signals (Reactive State)

Signal	Type	Default	Description
messages	WritableSignal<CometChat.BaseMessage[]>	[]	Current message search results (newest first after reversal)
fetchState	WritableSignal<States>	States.loaded	Current fetch state: loading, loaded, empty, or error
hasMoreResults	WritableSignal<boolean>	false	Whether more pages of results are available

Methods

search()

Initiates a message search. Resets state, validates criteria, builds the SDK request, and fetches the first page.

async search(
  keyword: string,
  filters: CometChatSearchFilter[],
  uid?: string,
  guid?: string,
  customBuilder?: CometChat.MessagesRequestBuilder,
  alwaysShowSeeMore?: boolean
): Promise<void>

Parameter	Type	Description
keyword	string	Search keyword
filters	CometChatSearchFilter[]	Active filters that determine attachment type filtering
uid	string	Optional user UID to scope search to a specific user’s messages
guid	string	Optional group GUID to scope search to a specific group’s messages
customBuilder	MessagesRequestBuilder	Optional custom builder that overrides the default
alwaysShowSeeMore	boolean	When true, limits initial results to 3 (preview mode with “See more” button)

Validation: search requires at least one of: non-empty keyword, active message filter, uid, or guid. Otherwise fetchState is set to States.empty.

loadMore()

Fetches the next page of results and appends to the existing list.

async loadMore(): Promise<void>

reset()

Resets all signals to their default values and clears the internal request reference.

reset(): void

Request Building

The service builds a CometChat.MessagesRequest based on the search criteria:

• hideDeletedMessages(true) — always excludes deleted messages
• setSearchKeyword() — when keyword is non-empty
• setUID() — when uid is provided (scoped to user)
• setGUID() — when guid is provided (scoped to group)
• hasLinks(true) — when the Links filter is active
• setAttachmentTypes() — maps filters to SDK attachment types:

Filter	SDK Attachment Type
Photos	CometChat.AttachmentType.IMAGE
Videos	CometChat.AttachmentType.VIDEO
Documents	CometChat.AttachmentType.FILE
Audio	CometChat.AttachmentType.AUDIO

• Limit is 3 when alwaysShowSeeMore is true (preview mode), 30 otherwise
• Results are reversed after fetch to show newest first

Usage

The service is typically used internally by CometChatSearchMessagesListComponent, but can be injected directly:

import { Component, inject } from '@angular/core';
import { SearchMessagesService } from '@cometchat/chat-uikit-angular';
import { CometChatSearchFilter, States } from '@cometchat/chat-uikit-angular';

@Component({
  selector: 'app-message-search',
  template: `
    @if (service.fetchState() === States.loaded) {
      @for (msg of service.messages(); track msg.getId()) {
        <div>{{ msg.getSender()?.getName() }}: {{ msg.getType() }}</div>
      }
      @if (service.hasMoreResults()) {
        <button (click)="service.loadMore()">Load more</button>
      }
    }
  `
})
export class MessageSearchComponent {
  readonly service = inject(SearchMessagesService);
  readonly States = States;

  searchPhotos(keyword: string): void {
    this.service.search(keyword, [CometChatSearchFilter.Photos]);
  }

  searchInGroup(keyword: string, guid: string): void {
    this.service.search(keyword, [], undefined, guid);
  }
}

Differences from SearchConversationsService

Aspect	SearchConversationsService	SearchMessagesService
Real-time listeners	Yes (message, user, group, call, typing, receipt)	No
Scoping	Keyword + filters only	Keyword + filters + uid/guid
Attachment filtering	N/A	Photos, Videos, Documents, Audio, Links
Typing indicators	Yes (typingIndicatorMap signal)	No
Preview mode	3 results when no filters	3 results when alwaysShowSeeMore is true