Sending messages

The Channels API supports many of the features of Google RCS; however, due to the omni-channel nature of the API, there may be some differences between the Channels API message and the native Google RCS API.To send a Google RCS message, you must have an active Google RCS channel and perform an HTTP request to the following endpoint with a valid access key

Send a message

post

Send a message to a channel

Authorizations

accessKey

HTTPRequired

Uses the Authorization header: 'AccessKey ' followed by your access key token (e.g., 'Authorization: AccessKey AbCdEfGhIjKlMnOpQrStUvWxYzAbCdEfGhIj')

Path parameters

workspaceIdstring · uuidRequired

The ID of the workspace

channelIdstring · uuidRequired

The ID for a channel

Body

application/json

and

anyOptional

object · ChannelMessageCreateWithTemplateOptional

or

object · ChannelMessageCreateWithBodyOptional

Responses

202

Message was accepted for processing

application/json

400

The request did not pass validation

application/json

404

The request did not pass validation

application/json

409

Creating the message was not possible because of conflicting conditions

application/json

422

The request did not pass validation

application/json

post

/workspaces/{workspaceId}/channels/{channelId}/messages

HTTPcURLJavaScriptPython

POST /workspaces/{workspaceId}/channels/{channelId}/messages HTTP/1.1
Host: api.bird.com
Authorization: AccessKey YOUR_SECRET_TOKEN
Content-Type: application/json
Accept: */*
Content-Length: 2718

{
  "sender": {
    "connector": {
      "identifierValue": "[email protected]",
      "annotations": {
        "name": "text"
      }
    }
  },
  "receiver": {
    "contacts": [
      {
        "id": "a1405560-c8d3-4b1a-877d-3f449ad95352",
        "identifierKey": "emailaddress",
        "identifierValue": "[email protected]",
        "type": "cc",
        "identifiers": [
          {
            "identifierKey": "emailaddress",
            "identifierValue": "[email protected]"
          }
        ],
        "platformAddress": "text",
        "platformAddressSelector": "text"
      }
    ]
  },
  "reference": "my-own-identifier",
  "template": {
    "name": "text",
    "projectId": "a1405560-c8d3-4b1a-877d-3f449ad95352",
    "version": "a1405560-c8d3-4b1a-877d-3f449ad95352",
    "locale": "text",
    "attachments": [
      {
        "mediaUrl": "https://example.com",
        "filename": "text",
        "inline": true
      }
    ],
    "shortLinks": {
      "enabled": true,
      "domain": "text"
    },
    "variables": {
      "default": "text",
      "ANY_ADDITIONAL_PROPERTY": "text"
    },
    "utmParameters": [
      {
        "key": "text",
        "value": "text"
      }
    ],
    "parameters": [
      {
        "type": "string",
        "key": "text",
        "value": "text"
      }
    ],
    "settings": {
      "disallowMmLite": true
    }
  },
  "meta": {
    "extraInformation": {
      "ANY_ADDITIONAL_PROPERTY": "anything"
    },
    "referral": {
      "source": "text",
      "title": "text",
      "text": "text",
      "group": "text",
      "metadata": {
        "source_id": "text",
        "source_url": "text",
        "media_url": "text",
        "tracking_id": "text"
      }
    },
    "order": {
      "products": [
        {
          "externalCatalogId": "text",
          "externalProductId": "text",
          "quantity": 1,
          "price": {
            "amount": 1,
            "exponent": 1,
            "currencyCode": "text"
          }
        }
      ]
    },
    "referredProduct": {
      "externalCatalogId": "text",
      "externalProductId": "text"
    },
    "email": {
      "subject": "text",
      "headers": {
        "ANY_ADDITIONAL_PROPERTY": "text"
      },
      "from": {
        "username": "text",
        "displayName": "text"
      }
    },
    "pushNotifications": {
      "gatewayTypeOverride": "apns"
    },
    "navigatorId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
    "navigatorMessageId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
    "flow": {
      "id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
      "name": "text",
      "stepId": "text",
      "runId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000"
    },
    "journey": {
      "id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
      "name": "text",
      "stepId": "text",
      "runId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000"
    },
    "campaign": {
      "id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
      "name": "text"
    }
  },
  "replyTo": {
    "id": "text",
    "order": 1,
    "type": "message"
  },
  "body": {
    "type": "text",
    "text": {
      "text": "text",
      "attachments": [
        {
          "mediaUrl": "https://example.com",
          "filename": "text",
          "inline": true,
          "contentId": "text"
        }
      ],
      "actions": [
        {
          "type": "link",
          "link": {
            "text": "text",
            "url": "text"
          }
        }
      ],
      "metadata": {
        "subject": "text",
        "headers": {
          "ANY_ADDITIONAL_PROPERTY": "text"
        },
        "whatsapp": {
          "previewUrl": true
        },
        "line": {
          "emoji": {
            "items": [
              {
                "index": 1,
                "productId": "text",
                "emojiId": "text"
              }
            ]
          }
        },
        "telegram": {
          "parseMode": "Markdown"
        },
        "apple": {
          "summaryText": "text"
        }
      }
    }
  },
  "notification": {
    "url": "text"
  },
  "capFrequency": true,
  "enableLinkTracking": true,
  "ignoreQuietHours": true,
  "ignoreGlobalHoldout": true,
  "tags": [
    "text"
  ],
  "shortLinks": {
    "domain": "text"
  },
  "scheduledFor": "2025-12-12T19:36:23.773Z",
  "validity": 1
}

{
  "id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
  "channelId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
  "sender": {
    "connector": {
      "id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
      "identifierValue": "text",
      "annotations": {
        "name": "text"
      },
      "types": [
        "text"
      ]
    }
  },
  "receiver": {
    "connector": {
      "id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
      "identifierValue": "text",
      "annotations": {
        "name": "text"
      },
      "types": [
        "text"
      ]
    }
  },
  "meta": {
    "extraInformation": {
      "ANY_ADDITIONAL_PROPERTY": "anything"
    },
    "referral": {
      "source": "text",
      "title": "text",
      "text": "text",
      "group": "text",
      "metadata": {
        "source_id": "text",
        "source_url": "text",
        "media_url": "text",
        "tracking_id": "text"
      }
    },
    "order": {
      "products": [
        {
          "externalCatalogId": "text",
          "externalProductId": "text",
          "quantity": 1,
          "price": {
            "amount": 1,
            "exponent": 1,
            "currencyCode": "text"
          }
        }
      ]
    },
    "referredProduct": {
      "externalCatalogId": "text",
      "externalProductId": "text"
    },
    "email": {
      "subject": "text",
      "headers": {
        "ANY_ADDITIONAL_PROPERTY": "text"
      },
      "from": {
        "username": "text",
        "displayName": "text"
      }
    },
    "pushNotifications": {
      "gatewayTypeOverride": "apns"
    },
    "navigatorId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
    "navigatorMessageId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
    "flow": {
      "id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
      "name": "text",
      "stepId": "text",
      "runId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000"
    },
    "journey": {
      "id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
      "name": "text",
      "stepId": "text",
      "runId": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000"
    },
    "campaign": {
      "id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
      "name": "text"
    }
  },
  "reference": "my-own-identifier",
  "parts": [
    {
      "platformReference": "text"
    }
  ],
  "status": "accepted",
  "reason": "text",
  "direction": "incoming",
  "origin": {
    "type": "text",
    "id": "text"
  },
  "replyTo": {
    "id": "text",
    "order": 1,
    "type": "message"
  },
  "lastStatusAt": "2025-12-12T19:36:23.773Z",
  "createdAt": "2025-12-12T19:36:23.773Z",
  "updatedAt": "2025-12-12T19:36:23.773Z",
  "details": "text",
  "failure": {
    "code": 1,
    "description": "Unsupported media type",
    "source": {
      "code": "text",
      "name": "text"
    }
  },
  "tags": [
    "text"
  ],
  "shortLinks": {
    "domain": "text"
  },
  "scheduledFor": "2025-12-12T19:36:23.773Z",
  "body": {
    "type": "text",
    "text": {
      "text": "text",
      "attachments": [
        {
          "mediaUrl": "https://example.com",
          "filename": "text",
          "inline": true,
          "contentId": "text"
        }
      ],
      "actions": [
        {
          "type": "link",
          "link": {
            "text": "text",
            "url": "text"
          }
        }
      ],
      "metadata": {
        "subject": "text",
        "headers": {
          "ANY_ADDITIONAL_PROPERTY": "text"
        },
        "whatsapp": {
          "previewUrl": true
        },
        "line": {
          "emoji": {
            "items": [
              {
                "index": 1,
                "productId": "text",
                "emojiId": "text",
                "length": 1
              }
            ]
          }
        },
        "telegram": {
          "parseMode": "Markdown"
        },
        "apple": {
          "summaryText": "text"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

When sending outbound messages as well as setting the receiver information you must set message body field in all cases except for sending a message template when you must only set the template field

Body

{
 "receiver": {
   "contacts": [
     {
       "identifierKey": "phonenumber",
       "identifierValue": "[phone]"
     }
   ]
 },
 "body": {...}
}

Template

{
 "receiver": {
   "contacts": [
     {
       "identifierKey": "phonenumber",
       "identifierValue": "[phone]"
     }
   ]
 },
 "template": {...}
}

You can send messages to users who have opted in to receiving messages from your Google RCS Agent and are also on a carrier that you have launched your Agent with.

The Channels API supports many of the features of Google RCS; however, due to the omni-channel nature of the API, there may be some differences between the Channels API message and the native Google RCS API. Here is an overview of the Google RCS message types and Channels API message types:

Google RCS API type	Channels API
basic message	text
image	image
video	file
location	location
rich messages + suggestions	text + action / image + actions / list
rich card	carousel
carousel	carousel

Supported file types

Content Type	MIME type	Channels API
Image	image/jpeg, image/jpg, image/gif, image/png	image
Video	video/h263, video/m4v, video/mp4, video/mpeg, video/mpeg4, video/webm	file
File	application/pdf	file

Outbound messages

Text

Text message

{ "type": "text", "text": { "text": "Single text message" } }

Text message with reply buttons

{ "type": "text", "text": { "text": "Single text message with reply actions", "actions": [ { "type": "reply", "reply": { "text": "Reply action 1" } }, { "type": "reply", "reply": { "text": "Reply action 2" } } ] } }

Text message with postback actions

{ "type": "text", "text": { "text": "Single text message with postback actions", "actions": [ { "type": "postback", "postback": { "text": "Postback action 1", "payload": "postback-payload-1" } }, { "type": "postback", "postback": { "text": "Postback action 2", "payload": "postback-payload-2" } } ] } }

Text message with reply and postback actions

{ "type": "text", "text": { "text": "Single text message with reply and postback actions", "actions": [ { "type": "postback", "postback": { "text": "Postback action 1", "payload": "postback-payload-1" } }, { "type": "reply", "reply": { "text": "Reply action 1" } } ] } }

Image

Single image message

{ "type": "image", "image": { "images": [ { "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FrEM9zztd8SEiJS6RQuR3%2Fimage.png?alt=media" } ] } }

Single image message with text

{ "type": "image", "image": { "images": [ { "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FrEM9zztd8SEiJS6RQuR3%2Fimage.png?alt=media" } ], "text": "Single image message" } }

Multiple image message

{ "type": "image", "image": { "images": [ { "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FrEM9zztd8SEiJS6RQuR3%2Fimage.png?alt=media" }, { "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FRPPgQAGyZE7rvIh3WM2Z%2Fimage2.avif?alt=media" } ], "text": "Multiple images message" } }

Single image message with postback actions

{ "type": "image", "image": { "images": [ { "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FrEM9zztd8SEiJS6RQuR3%2Fimage.png?alt=media" } ], "text": "Single image message with postback actions", "actions": [ { "type": "postback", "postback": { "payload": "postback-payload-1", "text": "Postback option 1" } }, { "postback": { "payload": "postback-payload-2", "text": "Postback option 2" }, "type": "postback" } ] } }

Single image message with label and reply actions

{ "type": "image", "image": { "images": [ { "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FrEM9zztd8SEiJS6RQuR3%2Fimage.png?alt=media" } ], "text": "Single image message with reply actions", "actions": [ { "type": "reply", "reply": { "text": "Reply action 1" } }, { "type": "reply", "reply": { "text": "Reply action 2" } } ] } }

Single image message with label, postback and reply actions

{ "type": "image", "image": { "text": "Single image message with postback and reply actions", "images": [ { "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FrEM9zztd8SEiJS6RQuR3%2Fimage.png?alt=media" } ], "actions": [ { "type": "postback", "postback": { "text": "Postback action", "payload": "postback-payload" } }, { "type": "reply", "reply": { "text": "Reply action" } } ] } }

Multiple images message with labels and postback actions

{ "type": "image", "image": { "images": [ { "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FrEM9zztd8SEiJS6RQuR3%2Fimage.png?alt=media" }, { "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FRPPgQAGyZE7rvIh3WM2Z%2Fimage2.avif?alt=media" } ], "text": "Multiple images message with postback actions", "actions": [ { "type": "postback", "postback": { "payload": "postback-payload-1", "text": "Postback action 1" } }, { "postback": { "payload": "postback-payload-2", "text": "Postback action 2" }, "type": "postback" } ] } }

Multiple images message with reply actions

{ "type": "image", "image": { "images": [ { "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FrEM9zztd8SEiJS6RQuR3%2Fimage.png?alt=media" }, { "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FRPPgQAGyZE7rvIh3WM2Z%2Fimage2.avif?alt=media" } ], "text": "Multiple images message with reply actions", "actions": [ { "type": "reply", "reply": { "text": "Reply action 1" } }, { "reply": { "text": "Reply action 2" }, "type": "reply" } ] } }

Multiple images message with labels, postback and reply actions

{ "type": "image", "image": { "images": [ { "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FrEM9zztd8SEiJS6RQuR3%2Fimage.png?alt=media" }, { "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FrEM9zztd8SEiJS6RQuR3%2Fimage.png?alt=media" } ], "text": "Multiple images message with postback and reply actions", "actions": [ { "type": "postback", "postback": { "payload": "postback-payload", "text": "Postback action" } }, { "reply": { "text": "Reply action" }, "type": "reply" } ] } }

File

Single file message

{ "type": "file", "file": { "text": "Single file message", "files": [ { "contentType": "video/mp4", "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FtXMQ4lIinia9ehf4EpC4%2Fvideo.mp4?alt=media" } ] } }

Multiple files message

{ "type": "file", "file": { "text": "Multiple files message", "files": [ { "contentType": "video/mp4", "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FtXMQ4lIinia9ehf4EpC4%2Fvideo.mp4?alt=media" }, { "contentType": "application/pdf", "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FPnRToYX2feW96HAOrh4x%2Fdocument.pdf?alt=media" } ] } }

Location

With Coordinates

{ "type": "location", "location": { "coordinates": { "latitude": 52.37164323041201, "longitude": 4.884335169232767 }, "location": { "label": "MessageBird Amsterdam office" } } }

Carousel

Single card with title, description and actions

{ "type": "carousel", "carousel": { "items": [ { "title": "Card 1", "description": "First card", "actions": [ { "type": "reply", "reply": { "text": "reply" } }, { "type": "postback", "postback": { "text": "postback", "payload": "postback" } }, { "type": "link", "link": { "url": "https://www.messagebird.com", "text": "Visit MessageBird" } } ] } ] } }

Single card with image, title, description and actions

{ "type": "carousel", "carousel": { "items": [ { "title": "Card 1", "description": "First card", "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FRPPgQAGyZE7rvIh3WM2Z%2Fimage2.avif?alt=media", "actions": [ { "type": "reply", "reply": { "text": "reply" } }, { "type": "postback", "postback": { "text": "postback", "payload": "postback" } }, { "type": "link", "link": { "url": "https://www.bird.com", "text": "Visit Bird" } } ] } ] } }

Multiple cards with title, description and actions

{ "type": "carousel", "carousel": { "items": [ { "title": "Card 1", "description": "First card", "actions": [ { "type": "reply", "reply": { "text": "reply" } }, { "type": "postback", "postback": { "text": "postback", "payload": "postback" } }, { "type": "link", "link": { "url": "https://www.bird.com", "text": "Visit Bird" } } ] }, { "title": "Card 2", "description": "Second card", "actions": [ { "type": "reply", "reply": { "text": "reply" } }, { "type": "postback", "postback": { "text": "postback", "payload": "postback" } }, { "type": "link", "link": { "url": "https://www.bird.com", "text": "Visit Bird" } } ] }, { "title": "Card 3", "description": "Third card", "actions": [ { "type": "reply", "reply": { "text": "reply" } }, { "type": "postback", "postback": { "text": "postback", "payload": "postback" } }, { "type": "link", "link": { "url": "https://www.bird.com", "text": "Visit Bird" } } ] } ] } }

Multiple cards with image title, description and actions

{ "type": "carousel", "carousel": { "items": [ { "title": "Card 1", "description": "First card", "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FRPPgQAGyZE7rvIh3WM2Z%2Fimage2.avif?alt=media", "actions": [ { "type": "reply", "reply": { "text": "reply" } }, { "type": "postback", "postback": { "text": "postback", "payload": "postback" } }, { "type": "link", "link": { "url": "https://www.bird.com", "text": "Visit Bird" } } ] }, { "title": "Card 2", "description": "Second card", "mediaUrl": "https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FdnJZeZvhOMhDQA8SpjQM%2Fuploads%2FRPPgQAGyZE7rvIh3WM2Z%2Fimage2.avif?alt=media", "actions": [ { "type": "reply", "reply": { "text": "reply" } }, { "type": "postback", "postback": { "text": "postback", "payload": "postback" } }, { "type": "link", "link": { "url": "https://www.bird.com", "text": "Visit Bird" } } ] } ] } }

Template

Basic text template with variable

	{ "projectId":"ce6a2fd6-b2fa-4f5a-a2cd-f3bd15883318", "version":"latest", "locale":"en", "parameters":[ { "type":"string", "key":"name", "value":"Robert" } ] }

Rich card template with button and variables

	{ "projectId":"2bbf6fe2-7297-454d-9e8c-1419e21be803", "version":"latest", "locale":"en", "parameters":[ { "type":"string", "key":"imageURL", "value":"https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1546538670936801280/ZBIxKfMq_400x400.jpg" }, { "type":"string", "key":"name", "value":"Robert" } ] }