User for System Messages

October 10, 2024 10:46

Issue: When trying to send a system message using the type: "system", users are prompted to set a user_id, which can be confusing as the system itself is sending the message.

Solution: To send a system message, you can use a dedicated "system user" as the user_id. For example:

await channel.sendMessage({
    text: "Stream test 2",
    type: "system",
    user_id: "my_system_user",
});

Details:

The my_system_user in this case can be a regular user created for the purpose of sending system messages.
When sending messages from the backend, there are no permission checks applied, so there is no need to worry about roles, teams, or multitenancy issues.
Never issue a JWT for a user trying to request a token as "my_system_user"
This my_system_user can be used across different teams and conversations.

Recommendation: Consider creating a "system user" for this purpose. This user will act as the sender for all system messages, and no additional permission handling is required.

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