pubnub

The pubnub built-in module is available only inside a PubNub Function. It provides PubNub client SDK capabilities and Functions-specific publishing methods.

1const pubnub = require('pubnub');

Full parameter and response documentation for each capability lives on its own canonical page:

Capability	Representative methods	Canonical reference
Pub/Sub	publish(), fire(), signal()	Publish overview. Also documented in full below
Access Manager	grantToken(), parseToken()	Access control overview
Presence	hereNow(), whereNow(), setState(), getState()	Presence overview
Channel Groups	addChannels(), listChannels(), removeChannels(), deleteGroup()	Channel Groups API reference
Message Persistence	history(), fetchMessages(), deleteMessages(), messageCounts()	Message history overview
App Context	objects.* methods	Metadata overview
Message Actions	addMessageAction() and related methods	Message actions overview
Mobile Push	push.addChannels() and related methods	Mobile Push API reference
File Sharing	listFiles(), getFileUrl(), publishFile()	Files overview

The legacy grant() (Access Manager v2) method is out of scope. grantToken() supersedes it.

File Sharing methods from the pubnub module cover file metadata operations only. Uploading and downloading file content requires a PubNub client SDK. A Function cannot perform the transfer itself.

The following capabilities are Functions-specific and are not documented elsewhere.

Publish, fire, and signal

publish({message, channel}) sends a message to subscribers and Functions. fire({message, channel}) triggers Functions without delivering to subscribers.

* required

Parameter	Description
message * Type: Object	The message to send.
channel * Type: String	The channel to publish to.

Both return a Promise. The published or fired payload must be valid JSON. A string payload doesn't trigger Functions.

1const pubnub = require('pubnub');
2pubnub.publish({
3    channel: 'hello_universe',
4    message: request.message
5}).then((publishResponse) => {
6    console.log(`Publish Status: ${publishResponse[0]}:${publishResponse[1]} with TT ${publishResponse[2]}`);
7});

signal({message, channel}) sends a signal to subscribers and Functions.

* required

Parameter	Description
message * Type: Object	The signal payload.
channel * Type: String	The channel to signal on.

Returns a Promise. Signal payloads are limited to 64 bytes. The payload must also be valid JSON. A string payload doesn't trigger Functions.

1const pubnub = require('pubnub');
2pubnub.signal({
3    channel: 'hello_universe',
4    message: request.message
5}).then((signalResponse) => {
6    console.log(`Signal Status: ${signalResponse[0]}:${signalResponse[1]} with TT ${signalResponse[2]}`);
7});

Functions support chaining up to 3 hops, so a Function can trigger at most two more Functions downstream. Trigger each hop using publish(), fire(), or signal().

Related reference

• Modules and libraries. Every built-in module available inside a Function.
• Function types. Per-trigger reference for every Function type.
• API limits. Per-execution operation caps, including PubNub API calls and chain depth.