Message Standard

A universal messaging format. Works for chat, email-like threads, group conversations, and channels.

Message

{
	$type: 'message',
	$version: 1,
	$kind: 'message',
	$id: 'msg-2026-0329-001',
	$from: {
		$type: 'contact',
		$name: 'John',
		$avatar: 'https://example.com/john.webp'
	},
	$to: [
		{ $type: 'contact', $name: 'Jane' }
	],
	$body: 'Did you see the new filesystem standard?',
	$format: 'text',
	$created: '2026-03-29 11:05:30',
	$thread: 'thread-2026-0328-042',
	$attachments: [
		{
			$url: 'https://hub.example.com/files/screenshot.webp',
			$mime: 'image/webp',
			$size: 48200,
			$name: 'screenshot.webp'
		}
	]
}

Thread

A conversation thread grouping related messages.

{
	$type: 'message',
	$version: 1,
	$kind: 'thread',
	$id: 'thread-2026-0328-042',
	$subject: 'WorldAPI Standards Discussion',
	$created: '2026-03-28 09:00:00',
	$updated: '2026-03-29 11:05:30',
	$participants: [
		{ $type: 'contact', $name: 'John' },
		{ $type: 'contact', $name: 'Jane' }
	],
	$messages: [ ... ],
	$count: 14
}

Channel

A named group space -- like a chat room or mailing list.

{
	$type: 'message',
	$version: 1,
	$kind: 'channel',
	$id: 'channel-dev',
	$name: 'Development',
	$description: 'General development discussion',
	$created: '2026-01-01 00:00:00',
	$owner: { $type: 'contact', $name: 'John' },
	$members: [
		{ $type: 'contact', $name: 'John', $role: 'admin' },
		{ $type: 'contact', $name: 'Jane', $role: 'member' },
		{ $type: 'contact', $name: 'Tom', $role: 'member' }
	],
	$threads: [ ... ],
	$permissions: {
		$public: false,
		$join: 'invite'
	}
}

Status & Receipts

Optional delivery and read status per message.

{
	$type: 'message',
	$version: 1,
	$kind: 'status',
	$message: 'msg-2026-0329-001',
	$delivered: '2026-03-29 11:05:31',
	$read: '2026-03-29 11:06:02',
	$user: { $type: 'contact', $name: 'Jane' }
}

Object Kinds

$kind	Use case
`message`	A single message
`thread`	A conversation grouping messages
`channel`	A named group space
`status`	Delivery/read receipt for a message

Standard Properties

Property	Type	Required	Description
`$type`	string	yes	Always `'message'`
`$version`	number	yes	Standard version
`$kind`	string	yes	message, thread, channel, or status
`$id`	string	yes	Unique identifier
`$from`	object	yes*	Sender (contact object)
`$to`	array	no	Recipients
`$body`	string	yes*	Message content
`$format`	string	no	`text` (default) or `html`
`$created`	string	yes	UTC datetime
`$updated`	string	no	UTC datetime if edited
`$thread`	string	no	Thread ID this message belongs to
`$reply_to`	string	no	Message ID being replied to
`$attachments`	array	no	Attached files
`$subject`	string	no	Thread or channel subject
`$participants`	array	no	Thread participants
`$members`	array	no	Channel members with `$role`
`$messages`	array	no	Messages in thread
`$threads`	array	no	Threads in channel
`$count`	number	no	Total message/thread count
`$permissions`	object	no	Access control for channels

* Required depends on $kind.