Message Handling

Overview

NapCat provides comprehensive message handling capabilities through the NTQQMsgApi and OneBotMsgApi layers. This guide covers sending messages, receiving messages, and working with different message segment types.

Message Architecture

NapCat uses a two-layer message system:

Raw Message Layer (NTQQMsgApi): Direct NT QQ protocol messages from msg.ts:1-314
OneBot Layer (OneBotMsgApi): OneBot 11 standard compatibility from napcat-onebot/api/msg.ts

Sending Messages

Basic Send Message

From msg.ts:232-264:

const peer: Peer = {
  chatType: ChatType.KCHATTYPEGROUP,  // or KCHATTYPEC2C for private
  peerUid: '123456789',  // Group ID or user UID
  guildId: '',
};

const msgElements: SendMessageElement[] = [
  {
    elementType: ElementType.TEXT,
    elementId: '',
    textElement: {
      content: 'Hello, World!',
      atType: NTMsgAtType.ATTYPEUNKNOWN,
      atUid: '',
      atTinyId: '',
      atNtUid: '',
    },
  },
];

const returnMsg = await core.apis.MsgApi.sendMsg(peer, msgElements, 10000);
console.log('Message sent:', returnMsg.msgId);

Generate Unique Message ID

Before sending, generate a unique message ID:

const msgId = await core.apis.MsgApi.generateMsgUniqueId(peer.chatType);
peer.guildId = msgId;  // Used for message tracking

Send with Timeout

const timeout = 10000 + (totalSize / 1024 / 256 * 1000);
const returnMsg = await core.apis.MsgApi.sendMsg(peer, msgElements, timeout);

Message Segments

NapCat supports various message segment types (CQ codes in OneBot format).

Text Messages

// Raw format
const textElement: SendMessageElement = {
  elementType: ElementType.TEXT,
  elementId: '',
  textElement: {
    content: 'Hello, World!',
    atType: NTMsgAtType.ATTYPEUNKNOWN,
    atUid: '',
    atTinyId: '',
    atNtUid: '',
  },
};

At Mentions

// At specific user
const atElement: SendMessageElement = {
  elementType: ElementType.TEXT,
  elementId: '',
  textElement: {
    content: '@User',
    atType: NTMsgAtType.ATTYPEONE,
    atUid: '123456789',
    atNtUid: 'user_uid_here',
  },
};

// At all members
const atAllElement: SendMessageElement = {
  elementType: ElementType.TEXT,
  elementId: '',
  textElement: {
    content: '@全体成员',
    atType: NTMsgAtType.ATTYPEALL,
    atUid: 'all',
    atNtUid: 'all',
  },
};

OneBot format:

{
  "type": "at",
  "data": {
    "qq": "123456789"  // or "all" for @everyone
  }
}

Images

Images are processed through createValidSendPicElement which handles local files, URLs, and base64 data.

// Send image
const imageElement = await obContext.apis.FileApi.createValidSendPicElement(
  context,
  '/path/to/image.jpg',
  'Image description',
  0  // sub_type: 0=normal, 1=表情包
);

OneBot format:

{
  "type": "image",
  "data": {
    "file": "file:///path/to/image.jpg",
    "summary": "Image description",
    "sub_type": 0
  }
}

Video

const videoElement = await obContext.apis.FileApi.createValidSendVideoElement(
  context,
  '/path/to/video.mp4',
  'video.mp4',
  '/path/to/thumb.jpg'  // Optional thumbnail
);

OneBot format:

{
  "type": "video",
  "data": {
    "file": "file:///path/to/video.mp4",
    "thumb": "/path/to/thumb.jpg"
  }
}

Voice (PTT)

const voiceElement = await obContext.apis.FileApi.createValidSendPttElement(
  context,
  '/path/to/audio.silk'
);

OneBot format:

{
  "type": "voice",
  "data": {
    "file": "file:///path/to/audio.silk"
  }
}

Reply Messages

From napcat-onebot/api/msg.ts:642-682:

const replyElement: SendMessageElement = {
  elementType: ElementType.REPLY,
  elementId: '',
  replyElement: {
    replayMsgSeq: replyMsg.msgSeq,
    replayMsgId: replyMsg.msgId,
    senderUin: replyMsg.senderUin,
    senderUinStr: replyMsg.senderUin,
    replyMsgClientSeq: replyMsg.clientSeq,
    _replyMsgPeer: replyMsgPeer,
  },
};

OneBot format:

{
  "type": "reply",
  "data": {
    "id": "message_id_here"
  }
}

Face Emojis

const faceElement: SendMessageElement = {
  elementType: ElementType.FACE,
  elementId: '',
  faceElement: {
    faceIndex: 1,  // Face ID (0-255)
    faceType: 1,
    faceText: '[微笑]',
    stickerId: '',
    stickerType: 0,
    packId: '',
    sourceType: 1,
  },
};

OneBot format:

{
  "type": "face",
  "data": {
    "id": "1"
  }
}

Market Face (Stickers)

const marketFaceElement: SendMessageElement = {
  elementType: ElementType.MFACE,
  elementId: '',
  marketFaceElement: {
    emojiPackageId: '1',
    emojiId: 'emoji_id',
    key: 'sticker_key',
    faceName: '[贴图]',
  },
};

Files

const fileElement = await obContext.apis.FileApi.createValidSendFileElement(
  context,
  '/path/to/file.pdf',
  'document.pdf'
);

OneBot format:

{
  "type": "file",
  "data": {
    "file": "file:///path/to/file.pdf",
    "name": "document.pdf"
  }
}

JSON Cards

const jsonElement: SendMessageElement = {
  elementType: ElementType.ARK,
  elementId: '',
  arkElement: {
    bytesData: JSON.stringify({
      app: 'com.tencent.structmsg',
      view: 'news',
      // ... JSON card structure
    }),
    linkInfo: null,
    subElementType: null,
  },
};

Markdown

const markdownElement: SendMessageElement = {
  elementType: ElementType.MARKDOWN,
  elementId: '',
  markdownElement: {
    content: '# Title\n\nMarkdown content here',
  },
};

Receiving Messages

Parse Received Messages

From napcat-onebot/api/msg.ts:1042-1098:

// Parse raw message to OB11 format
const ob11Message = await obContext.apis.MsgApi.parseMessage(
  rawMessage,
  'array',     // or 'string' for CQ code format
  true,        // parseMultMsg: parse forward messages
  false,       // disableGetUrl: disable URL fetching
  false        // quick_reply: quick reply mode
);

console.log('Message segments:', ob11Message.message);
console.log('Raw message:', ob11Message.raw_message);

Message Event Structure

interface OB11Message {
  self_id: number;          // Bot's QQ number
  user_id: number;          // Sender's QQ number
  time: number;             // Unix timestamp
  message_id: number;       // Unique message ID
  message_seq: number;      // Message sequence
  real_id: number;          // Real message ID
  real_seq: string;         // Real sequence
  message_type: 'group' | 'private';
  sender: {
    user_id: number;
    nickname: string;
    card?: string;          // Group card name
    role?: 'owner' | 'admin' | 'member';
  };
  raw_message: string;      // CQ code format
  message: OB11MessageData[]; // Segment array
  group_id?: number;        // For group messages
  message_format: 'array' | 'string';
  post_type: 'message' | 'message_sent';
}

Forward Messages

Forward Single Message

From msg.ts:270-272:

await core.apis.MsgApi.forwardMsg(srcPeer, destPeer, [msgId]);

Multi-Forward Messages

From msg.ts:274-308:

const msgInfos = msgIds.map(id => ({
  msgId: id,
  senderShowName: core.selfInfo.nick,
}));

const returnMsg = await core.apis.MsgApi.multiForwardMsg(
  srcPeer,
  destPeer,
  msgIds
);

console.log('Forward message:', returnMsg.msgId);

Message History

Get Message History

From msg.ts:192-195:

const history = await core.apis.MsgApi.getMsgHistory(
  peer,
  msgId,        // Start from this message
  20,           // Count
  false         // isReverseOrder
);

console.log('Messages:', history.msgList);

Get Specific Message

// By message ID
const msg = await core.apis.MsgApi.getMsgsByMsgId(peer, [msgId]);

// By sequence number
const msg = await core.apis.MsgApi.getSingleMsg(peer, msgSeq);

Message Operations

Recall Message

From msg.ts:197-207:

await core.apis.MsgApi.recallMsg(peer, msgId);

Mark as Read

// Mark specific chat as read
await core.apis.MsgApi.setMsgRead(peer);

// Mark all messages as read
await core.apis.MsgApi.markAllMsgAsRead();

Emoji Reactions

// Add emoji like
await core.apis.MsgApi.setEmojiLike(
  peer,
  msgSeq,
  '128077',  // Emoji ID (thumbs up)
  true       // true to add, false to remove
);

// Get emoji likes list
const likes = await core.apis.MsgApi.getMsgEmojiLikesList(
  peer,
  msgSeq,
  '128077',
  '1',       // Emoji type
  '',        // Cookie for pagination
  20         // Count
);

CQ Code Encoding/Decoding

From cqcode.ts:34-86:

Decode CQ Code

import { decodeCQCode } from '@/napcat-onebot/helper/cqcode';

const segments = decodeCQCode('[CQ:at,qq=123456] Hello [CQ:face,id=1]');
// [
//   { type: 'at', data: { qq: '123456' } },
//   { type: 'text', data: { text: ' Hello ' } },
//   { type: 'face', data: { id: '1' } }
// ]

Encode to CQ Code

import { encodeCQCode } from '@/napcat-onebot/helper/cqcode';

const cqCode = encodeCQCode({
  type: 'image',
  data: {
    file: 'file:///path/to/image.jpg',
    summary: 'An image'
  }
});
// [CQ:image,file=file:///path/to/image.jpg,summary=An image]

Complete Example

import { ChatType, ElementType, Peer, SendMessageElement } from 'napcat-core';

const peer: Peer = {
  chatType: ChatType.KCHATTYPEGROUP,
  peerUid: '123456789',
  guildId: '',
};

const msgElements: SendMessageElement[] = [
  // Text
  {
    elementType: ElementType.TEXT,
    elementId: '',
    textElement: {
      content: 'Check out this image:',
      atType: 0,
      atUid: '',
      atTinyId: '',
      atNtUid: '',
    },
  },
  // Image
  await obContext.apis.FileApi.createValidSendPicElement(
    { peer, deleteAfterSentFiles: [] },
    '/path/to/image.jpg',
    'Cool image',
    0
  ),
];

const result = await core.apis.MsgApi.sendMsg(peer, msgElements, 10000);
console.log('Message sent:', result.msgId);

Large media files (images, videos, voice) may require longer timeouts. Calculate timeout based on file size: 10000 + (fileSize / 1024 / 256 * 1000) milliseconds.

Best Practices

Always set appropriate timeouts for send operations based on message content
Handle file paths correctly - support URLs, local paths, and base64 data
Clean up temporary files after sending to save disk space
Use message IDs for tracking rather than sequence numbers when possible
Parse messages carefully - handle all segment types your bot needs
Implement error handling for network failures and invalid messages

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Configuration

Guides

Advanced

​Overview

​Message Architecture

​Sending Messages

​Basic Send Message

​Generate Unique Message ID

​Send with Timeout

​Message Segments

​Text Messages

​At Mentions

​Images

​Video

​Voice (PTT)

​Reply Messages

​Face Emojis

​Market Face (Stickers)

​Files

​JSON Cards

​Markdown

​Receiving Messages

​Parse Received Messages

​Message Event Structure

​Forward Messages

​Forward Single Message

​Multi-Forward Messages

​Message History

​Get Message History

​Get Specific Message

​Message Operations

​Recall Message

​Mark as Read

​Emoji Reactions

​CQ Code Encoding/Decoding

​Decode CQ Code

​Encode to CQ Code

​Complete Example

​Best Practices

​Next Steps

Plugin Development

Packet Inspection

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Message Architecture

Sending Messages

Basic Send Message

Generate Unique Message ID

Send with Timeout

Message Segments

Text Messages

At Mentions

Images

Video

Voice (PTT)

Reply Messages

Face Emojis

Market Face (Stickers)

Files

JSON Cards

Markdown

Receiving Messages

Parse Received Messages

Message Event Structure

Forward Messages

Forward Single Message

Multi-Forward Messages

Message History

Get Message History

Get Specific Message

Message Operations

Recall Message

Mark as Read

Emoji Reactions

CQ Code Encoding/Decoding

Decode CQ Code

Encode to CQ Code

Complete Example

Best Practices

Next Steps