---
source_url: https://www.pubnub.com/docs/design-patterns/channel-group-events
title: Channel group events
updated_at: 2026-10-27T09:13:26.000Z
---

# Channel group events

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A [channel group](https://www.pubnub.com/docs/architecture/core-concepts.md#channel) lets a client subscribe to many channels as one unit, while your server decides which channels the group holds. Adding or removing channels in a channel group server-side changes what every subscribed client receives without any client resubscribing. This page covers a pattern that gives each group a default events channel. Your server publishes to it, so subscribed clients know when the group changes. For how many channels a group holds and how many groups a client can subscribe to, refer to [Subscribe limits](https://www.pubnub.com/docs/architecture/limits.md#subscribe).

## Keep a default channel in every group

A subscribe to an empty channel group fails with a `400 Bad Request` error. Add a default channel when you create the group, and never remove it. The group then always holds at least one channel, and the default channel can carry events about the group. Name it after the group, for example `<group>-events`.

## Events your server can publish

An event can be anything your app needs. These are a useful start:

| Event | When your server publishes it |
| --- | --- |
| Channels added | After it adds channels to the group. The message lists the channels. |
| Channels removed | After it removes channels from the group. The message lists the channels. |
| Group full | When adding channels fails because the group reached its channel limit. |
| Group empty | When only the default channel is left in the group. |
| Group deleted | Before it deletes the group, so clients can unsubscribe and clean up. |

Don't publish an event when you add or remove the default channel itself, because no client listens to it at that moment. Your users don't have to see these events. They let your app react in the background.

## Publish events from your server

Only your server adds and removes channels. A channel group's `manage` permission lets whoever holds it add or remove any channel in that group, so grant `manage` only to server-side tokens. The server code that changes the group can also publish the event, which keeps all the logic in one place.

This JavaScript example adds channels to a group and then publishes the event:

```javascript
async function addChannels(channelGroup, channels) {
  await pubnub.channelGroups.addChannels({ channelGroup, channels });
  await pubnub.publish({
    channel: `${channelGroup}-events`,
    message: { action: 'add', channels },
  });
}
```

## Related pages

* [Friend list and status feed](https://www.pubnub.com/docs/design-patterns/friend-list-and-status-feed.md). A pattern that fans many channels into channel groups your server controls.
* [Permission model](https://www.pubnub.com/docs/security/access-control/permission-model.md). What `manage` and `read` allow on a channel group.
* [Channel groups API in the JavaScript SDK](https://www.pubnub.com/docs/sdks/javascript/api-reference/channel-groups.md). Add, list, and remove channels, and delete a group.

Last updated at: 2026-10-27T09:13:26.000Z