How to delete system message in Stream.io Chat

Question

Details of the Problem

I am working on a project where we previously used system messages in our GetStream.io chat application. Recently, our company decided to discontinue the use of system messages. As the backend developer responsible for managing the GetStream.io server, I need to delete all system messages from all channels.

I have attempted to find and delete these system messages using the GetStream.io Python client library, but I've run into some issues.

What I've Tried

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Method 1: Querying Channels and Deleting Messages

I tried querying all channels and then iterating over each channel to find and delete system messages.

def delete_system_messages():
    # Step 1: Query all channels
    result = client.query_channels(
        {},  # No filters to get all channels
        {"last_message_at": -1},
        limit=100,  # Adjust limit as needed
        offset=0,
    )
    channels = result.get("channels")

    if not channels:
        print("No channels found")
        return

    total_deleted_messages = 0
    for channel in channels:
        channel_id = channel['channel']['id']
        channel_type = channel['channel']['type']

        # Step 2: Retrieve messages from the channel
        messages_response = client.get_channel_type(channel_type).get_channel(channel_id).get_messages({
            "limit": 100,  # Adjust limit as needed
            "offset": 0,
        })
        messages = messages_response.get('messages', [])

        # Step 3: Find and delete system messages
        for message in messages:
            if message.get("type") == "system":
                msg_id = message.get("id")
                try:
                    print(f"Deleting message ID: {msg_id} in channel {channel_id}")
                    client.delete_message(msg_id, hard=True)
                    total_deleted_messages += 1
                except Exception as e:
                    print(f"Failed to delete message ID {msg_id}: {str(e)}")

    print(f"Total system messages deleted: {total_deleted_messages}")

Issues Encountered:

• Pagination Limitations: I can only retrieve the first batch of messages (limit 100) from each channel. There doesn't seem to be a straightforward way to paginate through all messages in a channel to retrieve messages beyond the initial limit.
• API Constraints: The get_messages method doesn't provide options for message pagination beyond the initial set.

---

Method 2: Using the Search API

I also tried using the search functionality to find system messages across all channels.

def search_and_delete_system_messages():
    filter_conditions = {}  # No filters to search all channels
    message_filter_conditions = {"type": {"$eq": "system"}}
    search_params = {
        "limit": 100,  # Max limit per request
        "offset": 0,
    }

    # Perform the search
    response = client.search(
        filter_conditions=filter_conditions,
        query="",  # Empty query since we're using message_filter_conditions
        message_filter_conditions=message_filter_conditions,
        **search_params,
    )

    # Extract the messages from the response
    messages = response.get("results", [])

    if not messages:
        print("No system messages found")
        return

    # Delete the found system messages
    for result in messages:
        message_data = result["message"]
        msg_id = message_data["id"]
        try:
            print(f"Deleting message ID: {msg_id}")
            client.delete_message(msg_id, hard=True)
        except Exception as e:
            print(f"Failed to delete message ID {msg_id}: {str(e)}")

Issues Encountered:

• System Messages Excluded: The search API does not return system messages. While it works correctly for regular messages, system messages are not included in the search results.
• Unable to Modify Search Behavior: I couldn't find a way to include system messages in the search results using available search filters.

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What I Expected to Happen

• Retrieve All System Messages: I expected to be able to retrieve all system messages across all channels, either by querying messages in each channel with pagination or by using the search functionality.
• Pagination Support: I anticipated that I could paginate through all messages in each channel to process and delete all system messages.
• Search API Inclusion of System Messages: I expected the search API to return system messages when filtering by type.

---

What Actually Happened

• Method 1 Limitations: Only the first page of messages (up to the limit) was retrieved from each channel, and there was no clear way to paginate further.
• Method 2 Limitations: The search API did not return any system messages, making it ineffective for finding and deleting them.

---

My Question

• How can I retrieve and delete all system messages from all channels in GetStream.io?
• Is there a way to paginate through all messages in a channel to ensure that I can access messages beyond the initial limit?
• Why does the search API exclude system messages, and is there a way to include them in the search results?

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Additional Information

• Environment:
  • Python client library for GetStream.io.
  • The client object is properly initialized and authenticated.
• What Works:
  • Deleting messages individually works when I have the message IDs.
• Main Challenge:
  • Retrieving all system messages across all channels to delete them.