Tutorial 13 of 18

How to Delete and Manage Chat Messages

Delete persisted chat messages, update local UI state, and optionally notify peers for immediate synchronization.

11 min read

Remove a persisted chat message with deleteChatHistoryMessage. Use this for user-initiated deletes, moderation, and compliance workflows.

API Contract

Field	Required	Description
senderId	Yes	The acting user; must match the connected userId
messageId	Yes	ID of the message to delete

await notifier.deleteChatHistoryMessage({
  senderId: "user-alice",
  messageId: "message-id-to-delete",
});

The messageId typically comes from metadata.id on received messages or from chat history results.

UX Pattern

The user long-presses or opens the menu for a message and selects delete.
Call deleteChatHistoryMessage with the message's ID.
Remove the message from local UI state after the delete succeeds.
Optionally notify the peer with a separate send() containing { type: "message-deleted", messageId } if your app needs live synchronization.

JavaScript / TypeScript

Delete persisted messages with deleteChatHistoryMessage.

Basic Delete

import WebSocket from "ws";
import { DNotifier } from "@dnotifier-realtime/dnotifier";

const MY_USER_ID = "user-alice";

const notifier = new DNotifier({
  appId: process.env.DNOTIFIER_APP_ID,
  secret: process.env.DNOTIFIER_SECRET,
  transport: "ws",
  userId: MY_USER_ID,
  WebSocketImpl: WebSocket,
  onConnected: () => {},
  onMessage: (msg) => {
    const body = msg.payload.toJSON();
    // Store msg.metadata.id with each rendered message.
  },
  onDisconnected: () => {},
});

await notifier.connect();

async function deleteMessage(messageId) {
  await notifier.deleteChatHistoryMessage({
    senderId: MY_USER_ID,
    messageId,
  });
  removeFromLocalState(messageId);
}

Delete From Message List UI

function onDeleteClick(message) {
  if (!message.id) return;

  deleteMessage(message.id).catch((err) => {
    showToast(`Delete failed: ${err.message}`);
  });
}

Notify Peer (Optional)

async function deleteAndNotifyPeer(messageId, peerId) {
  await notifier.deleteChatHistoryMessage({
    senderId: MY_USER_ID,
    messageId,
  });

  await notifier.send({
    senderId: MY_USER_ID,
    receiverId: peerId,
    data: { type: "message-deleted", messageId },
    saveHistory: false,
  });

  removeFromLocalState(messageId);
}

Handle the notification on the peer:

if (body?.type === "message-deleted") {
  removeFromLocalState(body.messageId);
}

Troubleshooting

Issue	Check
messageId required	Pass the ID from metadata.id or chat history
Not connected	Reconnect before deleting
Message still in the UI after deletion	Update local state and refetch history if needed

Dart / Flutter

Delete persisted messages with deleteChatHistoryMessage.

Basic Delete

import 'package:dnotifier/dnotifier.dart';

const myUserId = 'user-alice';

Future<void> deleteMessage(
  DNotifier notifier,
  String messageId,
) async {
  await notifier.deleteChatHistoryMessage(
    senderId: myUserId,
    messageId: messageId,
  );
  removeFromLocalState(messageId);
}

Delete From Message List UI

ListTile(
  title: Text(message.text),
  trailing: IconButton(
    icon: const Icon(Icons.delete),
    onPressed: () async {
      if (message.id == null) return;
      try {
        await deleteMessage(notifier, message.id!);
      } catch (e) {
        showSnackBar('Delete failed: $e');
      }
    },
  ),
)

Notify Peer (Optional)

Future<void> deleteAndNotifyPeer(
  DNotifier notifier,
  String messageId,
  String peerId,
) async {
  await notifier.deleteChatHistoryMessage(
    senderId: myUserId,
    messageId: messageId,
  );

  await notifier.send(
    senderId: myUserId,
    receiverId: peerId,
    data: {'type': 'message-deleted', 'messageId': messageId},
    saveHistory: false,
  );

  removeFromLocalState(messageId);
}

Handle the notification on the peer:

if (body is Map && body['type'] == 'message-deleted') {
  removeFromLocalState(body['messageId']?.toString());
}

Troubleshooting

Issue	Check
ArgumentError: messageId required	Pass the ID from metadata.id or chat history
StateError: Not connected	Reconnect before deleting
Message still in the UI	Update local state and refetch history if needed

Python

Delete persisted messages with delete_chat_history_message.

Basic Delete

from dnotifier import DNotifier

MY_USER_ID = "user-alice"

async def delete_message(notifier: DNotifier, message_id: str):
    await notifier.delete_chat_history_message(
        sender_id=MY_USER_ID,
        message_id=message_id,
    )
    remove_from_local_state(message_id)

Delete From Message List UI

async def handle_delete(notifier: DNotifier, message):
    if not message.id:
        return
    try:
        await delete_message(notifier, message.id)
    except Exception as error:
        print(f"Delete failed: {error}")

Notify Peer (Optional)

async def delete_and_notify_peer(
    notifier: DNotifier,
    message_id: str,
    peer_id: str,
):
    await notifier.delete_chat_history_message(
        sender_id=MY_USER_ID,
        message_id=message_id,
    )

    await notifier.send(
        sender_id=MY_USER_ID,
        receiver_id=peer_id,
        data={"type": "message-deleted", "messageId": message_id},
        save_history=False,
    )

    remove_from_local_state(message_id)

Handle the notification on the peer:

body = msg.payload.to_json()
if isinstance(body, dict) and body.get("type") == "message-deleted":
    remove_from_local_state(body.get("messageId"))

Troubleshooting

Issue	Check
Missing message_id	Pass the ID from metadata.id or chat history
RuntimeError: Not connected	Reconnect before deleting
Message still in the UI	Update local state and refetch history if needed