--- source_url: https://www.pubnub.com/docs/sdks/unity/api-reference/message-actions title: Message Actions API for Unity SDK updated_at: 2026-06-11T11:37:43.083Z sdk_name: PubNub Unity SDK sdk_version: v9.3.0 --- > Documentation Index > For a curated overview of PubNub documentation, see: https://www.pubnub.com/docs/llms.txt > For the full list of all documentation pages, see: https://www.pubnub.com/docs/llms-full.txt # Message Actions API for Unity SDK PubNub Unity SDK, use the latest version: v9.3.0 Use message actions to add or remove metadata on published messages. Common uses include receipts and reactions. Clients subscribe to a channel to receive message action events. Clients can also fetch past message actions from Message Persistence, either independently or when fetching original messages. :::tip Reactions "Message Reactions" is a specific application of the Message Actions API for emoji or social reactions. ::: :::note Message Actions vs. Message Reactions **Message Actions** is the flexible, low-level API for adding any metadata to messages (read receipts, delivery confirmations, custom data), while **Message Reactions** specifically refers to using Message Actions for emoji/social reactions. In PubNub [Core](https://www.pubnub.com/docs/sdks) and [Chat](https://www.pubnub.com/docs/chat/overview) SDKs, the same underlying Message Actions API is referred to as **Message Reactions** when used for emoji reactions - it's the same functionality, just different terminology depending on the use case. ::: ## Add message action :::warning Requires Message Persistence This method requires that Message Persistence is [enabled](https://support.pubnub.com/hc/en-us/articles/360051974791-How-do-I-enable-add-on-features-for-my-keys-) for your key in the [Admin Portal](https://admin.pubnub.com/). ::: Add an action to a published message. The response includes the added action. ### Method(s) Use this Unity method: ```csharp pubnub.AddMessageAction() .Channel(string) .MessageTimetoken(long) .Action(PNMessageAction) .Execute(System.Action) ``` | Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Channel | string | Yes | | Channel name to add the message action to. | | MessageTimetoken | long | Yes | | Timetoken of the target message. | | Action | PNMessageAction | Yes | | Message action payload. | | Execute | System.Action | Yes | | `System.Action` of type `PNAddMessageActionResult`. | | ExecuteAsync | None | Optional | | Returns `Task>`. | #### PNMessageAction | Parameter | Description | | --- | --- | | `Type` *Type: string | Message action type. | | `Value` *Type: string | Message action value. | ### Sample code :::tip Reference code This example is a self-contained code snippet ready to be run. It includes necessary imports and executes methods with console logging. Use it as a reference when working with other examples in this document. ::: ```csharp using PubnubApi; using PubnubApi.Unity; using UnityEngine; public class AddMessageActionExample : MonoBehaviour { // Reference to a pubnub manager previously setup in Unity Editor // For more details, see https://www.pubnub.com/docs/sdks/unity#configure-pubnub [SerializeField] private PNManagerBehaviour pubnubManager; // An editor-serialized string for the channel ID [SerializeField] private string channelId = "my_channel"; // An editor-serialized timetoken for the message [SerializeField] private long messageTimetoken = 5610547826969050; private void Start() { // Getting a reference to the Pubnub instance var pubnub = pubnubManager.pubnub; // Note that you can also initialize Pubnub instance for Unity directly from code: /* PNConfiguration pnConfiguration = new PNConfiguration(new UserId("myUniqueUserId")) { SubscribeKey = "demo", PublishKey = "demo", }; Pubnub pubnub = PubnubUnityUtils.NewUnityPubnub(pnConfiguration); */ // Adding a message action (reaction) to a specified message pubnub.AddMessageAction() .Channel(channelId) .MessageTimetoken(messageTimetoken) .Action(new PNMessageAction { Type = "reaction", Value = "smiley_face" }) .Execute((result, status) => { // Handling the result of the operation if (status.Error) { Debug.LogError($"Error adding message action: {status.ErrorData.Information}"); } else { Debug.Log($"Successfully added message action: {pubnub.JsonPluggableLibrary.SerializeToJsonString(result)}"); } }); } } ``` ### Returns The `AddMessageAction()` operation returns a `PNAddMessageActionResult` which contains the following properties: | Property Name | Type | Description | | --- | --- | --- | | MessageTimetoken | long | Timetoken of the message to be associated with message action. | | ActionTimetoken | long | Timetoken of the message action that will be associated with the message. | | Action | PNMessageAction | Message action payload. | | → Type | string | Type of the message action. | | → Value | string | Value of the message action. | | Uuid | string | UUID associated with the message action. | ```json { "MessageTimetoken":15610547826969050, "ActionTimetoken":15610547826970050, "Action":{ "type":"reaction", "value":"smiley_face" }, "Uuid":"user-456" } ``` ## Remove message action :::warning Requires Message Persistence This method requires that Message Persistence is [enabled](https://support.pubnub.com/hc/en-us/articles/360051974791-How-do-I-enable-add-on-features-for-my-keys-) for your key in the [Admin Portal](https://admin.pubnub.com/). ::: Remove a previously added action from a published message. The response is empty. ### Method(s) Use this Unity method: ```csharp pubnub.RemoveMessageAction() .Channel(string) .MessageTimetoken(long) .ActionTimetoken(long) .Uuid(string) .Execute(System.Action) ``` | Parameter | Description | | --- | --- | | `Channel` *Type: string | Channel name to remove the message action from. | | `MessageTimetoken` *Type: long | Publish `timetoken` of the original `message`. | | `ActionTimetoken` *Type: long | Publish `timetoken` of the message action to be removed. | | `Uuid` *Type: string | `UUID` of the `message`. | | `Execute` *Type: `System.Action` | `System.Action` of type `PNRemoveMessageActionResult`. | | `ExecuteAsync`Type: None | Returns `Task>`. | ### Sample code ```csharp using PubnubApi; using PubnubApi.Unity; // Configuration PNConfiguration pnConfiguration = new PNConfiguration(new UserId("myUniqueUserId")) { SubscribeKey = "demo", PublishKey = "demo", Secure = true }; // Initialize PubNub Pubnub pubnub = PubnubUnityUtils.NewUnityPubnub(pnConfiguration); // If you're using Unity Editor setup you can get the Pubnub instance from PNManagerBehaviour // For more details, see https://www.pubnub.com/docs/sdks/unity#configure-pubnub /* [SerializeField] private PNManagerBehaviour pubnubManager; Pubnub pubnub = pubnubManager.pubnub; */ pubnub.RemoveMessageAction() .Channel("my_channel") .MessageTimetoken(15701761818730000) .ActionTimetoken(15701775691010000) .Uuid("mytestuuid") .Execute(new PNRemoveMessageActionResultExt((result, status) => { //empty result of type PNRemoveMessageActionResult. })); ``` ### Returns The `RemoveMessageAction()` operation returns no actionable data. ## Get message actions :::warning Requires Message Persistence This method requires that Message Persistence is [enabled](https://support.pubnub.com/hc/en-us/articles/360051974791-How-do-I-enable-add-on-features-for-my-keys-) for your key in the [Admin Portal](https://admin.pubnub.com/). ::: Get a list of message actions in a channel. Returns a list of actions sorted by the action's timetoken in ascending order. :::note Truncated response The number of message actions in the response may be truncated when internal limits are hit. If the response is truncated, a `more` property will be returned with additional parameters. Send iterative calls to Message Persistence adjusting the parameters to fetch more message actions. ::: ### Method(s) Use this Unity method: ```csharp pubnub.GetMessageActions() .Channel(string) .Start(long) .End(long) .Limit(int) .Execute(System.Action) ``` | Parameter | Description | | --- | --- | | `Channel` *Type: stringDefault: n/a | The `channel` name. | | `Start`Type: longDefault: n/a | Message Action `timetoken` denoting the `start` of the range requested (return values will be greater than or equal to `start`). | | `End`Type: longDefault: n/a | Message Action `timetoken` denoting the `end` of the range requested (return values will be less than `end`). | | `Limit`Type: intDefault: 100 | Specifies the number of actions to return in response. Default/Maximum is `100`. | | `Execute` *Type: `System.Action`Default: n/a | `System.Action` of type `PNGetMessageActionsResult`. | | `ExecuteAsync`Type: NoneDefault: n/a | Returns `Task>`. | ### Sample code ```csharp using PubnubApi; using PubnubApi.Unity; // Configuration PNConfiguration pnConfiguration = new PNConfiguration(new UserId("myUniqueUserId")) { SubscribeKey = "demo", PublishKey = "demo", Secure = true }; // Initialize PubNub Pubnub pubnub = PubnubUnityUtils.NewUnityPubnub(pnConfiguration); // If you're using Unity Editor setup you can get the Pubnub instance from PNManagerBehaviour // For more details, see https://www.pubnub.com/docs/sdks/unity#configure-pubnub /* [SerializeField] private PNManagerBehaviour pubnubManager; Pubnub pubnub = pubnubManager.pubnub; */ pubnub.GetMessageActions() .Channel("my_channel") .Execute(new PNGetMessageActionsResultExt((result, status) => { //result is of type PNGetMessageActionsResult. })); ``` ### Returns The `GetMessageActions()` operations returns `PNGetMessageActionsResult` which contains the following properties: | Property Name | Type | Description | | --- | --- | --- | | Message Actions | `List` | List of Message Actions. | | More | MoreInfo | Pagination information. | The `PNMessageActionItem` has the following properties: | Property Name | Type | Description | | --- | --- | --- | | → MessageTimetoken | long | Timetoken associated with the message. | | → Action | PNMessageAction | Message Action payload. | | → → Type | string | Type of the Message Action. | | → → Value | string | Value of the Message Action. | | → Uuid | string | `UUID` associated with the action. | | → ActionTimetoken | long | Timetoken associated with the action. | The `More` has the following properties: | Property Name | Type | Description | | --- | --- | --- | | → → Start | long | Timetoken denoting the start of the requested range. | | → → End | long | Timetoken denoting the end of the requested range. | | → → Limit | int | Number of Message Actions returned in response. | ```json { "MessageActions": [{ "MessageTimetoken":15610547826969050, "Action":{ "type":"reaction", "value":"smiley_face" }, "Uuid":"pn-5903a053-592c-4a1e-8bfd-81d92c962968", "ActionTimetoken":15717253483027900 }], "More": { "Start": 15610547826970050, "End": 15645905639093361, "Limit": 2 } } ``` ## Terms in this document * **Channel** - A pathway for sending and receiving messages between devices, created automatically when you first use it, that can handle any number of users and messages for different communication needs, like 1-1 text chats, group conversations, and other data streaming. * **Channel pattern** - A way to group and analyze channel data to track performance metrics like message counts and user engagement over time with PubNub Insights.