Update A Group - CometChat Docs

Quick Reference for AI Agents & Developers

Update group: CometChat.updateGroup(group:onSuccess:onError:)
Updatable fields: name, description, icon, metadata, tags
Permission: Only group owner or admin can update
Related: Create Group · Delete Group · Groups Overview

Update Group

In other words, as a group owner, how can I update the group details? You can update the existing details of the group using the updateGroup() method.

Swift
Objective C

let GUID = "GUID";
let groupName = "Hello Group!";
let groupType: CometChat.groupType = .public;

let groupTobeUpdated = Group(guid: GUID, name: groupName, groupType: groupType, password: nil)

CometChat.updateGroup(group: groupTobeUpdated, onSuccess: { (group) in

  print("Groups details updated successfully. " + group.stringValue())

}) { (error) in

   print("Group details update failed with error: " + error!.errorDescription);
}

NSString *guid = @"cometchat-guid-101";
NSString *name = @"TestGroup1";
NSString *password = nil ; // mandatory in case of password protected group type
NSInteger limit = 30;

Group *groupToBeUpdated = [[Group alloc]initWithGuid:guid name:name groupType:groupTypePublic password:password];

[CometChat updateGroupWithGroup:groupToBeUpdated onSuccess:^(Group * group) {

    NSLog(@"Groups details updated successfully. %@",[group stringValue]);

} onError:^(CometChatException * error) {

    NSLog(@"Group details update failed with error: %@",[error errorDescription]);
}];

This method takes an instance of the Group class as a parameter that should contain the data that you wish to update.

Parameter	Description
group	an instance of class `Group`

After a successful update of the group, you will receive an instance of the Group class containing update information of the group.

Sample Payload - updateGroup() Request

Method Signature:

Parameter	Type	Description
group	Group	Group object with updated properties
onSuccess	(Group) -> Void	Success callback with updated Group object
onError	(CometChatException?) -> Void	Error callback with exception details

Group Object (Input):

Parameter	Type	Description
guid	String	Unique group identifier (required). Example: `"cometchat-guid-1"`
name	String	Updated group name. Example: `"Updated Test Group"`
groupType	GroupType	Group type (required). Example: `.public`
icon	String?	Updated group icon URL. Example: `"https://example.com/new-icon.png"`
description	String?	Updated group description. Example: `"Updated description"`
metadata	[String: Any]?	Updated custom metadata. Example: `["key": "value"]`
tags	[String]?	Updated group tags. Example: `["updated", "team"]`
password	String?	Password (required for password-protected groups). Example: `nil`

Updatable Properties:

Property	Type	Description
name	String	Group display name
icon	String?	Group icon URL
description	String?	Group description text
metadata	[String: Any]?	Custom key-value metadata
tags	[String]	Array of searchable tags

Non-Updatable Properties:

Property	Description
guid	Cannot be changed after creation
groupType	Cannot be changed after creation
owner	Use Transfer Ownership instead
membersCount	Automatically managed by system
createdAt	Set at creation time

Prerequisites:

Requirement	Description
User logged in	User must be authenticated via `CometChat.login()`
Owner/Admin permission	User must be the owner or admin of the group
Valid GUID	Group with specified GUID must exist
Valid name	Group name cannot be empty

Sample Payload - updateGroup() Success Response

Success Callback Parameter:

Parameter	Type	Description
group	Group	Updated Group object. See Group Object below

Updated Group Object:

Parameter	Type	Description
guid	String	Group’s unique ID. Example: `"cometchat-guid-1"`
name	String	Updated group name. Example: `"Updated Test Group"`
groupType	GroupType	Group type. Example: `.public`
icon	String?	Updated icon URL. Example: `"https://example.com/new-icon.png"`
description	String?	Updated description. Example: `"Updated description"`
owner	String	Group owner UID. Example: `"cometchat-uid-1"`
membersCount	Int	Number of members. Example: `15`
createdAt	Int	Creation timestamp. Example: `1699700000`
updatedAt	Int	Update timestamp. Example: `1699800000`
hasJoined	Bool	Whether current user has joined. Example: `true`
joinedAt	Int	Join timestamp. Example: `1699710000`
scope	MemberScope	Current user’s scope. Example: `.admin`
metadata	[String: Any]?	Updated custom metadata
tags	[String]	Updated group tags

GroupType Enum Values:

Value	Description
.public	Anyone can join without approval
.private	Requires invitation to join
.password	Requires password to join

MemberScope Enum Values:

Value	Description
.admin	Administrator privileges (can update group)
.moderator	Moderator privileges
.participant	Regular member (cannot update group)

Real-time Event Triggered:

Event	Delegate Method	Description
onGroupUpdated	`CometChatGroupDelegate`	Notifies all group members of the update

Sample Payload - updateGroup() Error Response

Error Callback Parameter:

Parameter	Type	Description
error	CometChatException?	Error object containing failure details

CometChatException Object:

Parameter	Type	Description
errorCode	String	Machine-readable error code. Example: `"ERR_NOT_A_MEMBER"`
errorDescription	String	Human-readable error message
errorDetails	[String: Any]?	Additional error context

Common Error Codes:

Error Code	Description	Resolution
ERR_NOT_LOGGED_IN	User is not logged in	Login first using `CometChat.login()`
ERR_GUID_NOT_FOUND	Group does not exist	Verify the GUID is correct
ERR_GROUP_NOT_FOUND	Group does not exist	Verify the GUID is correct
ERR_NOT_A_MEMBER	User is not a member of the group	Join the group first
ERR_PERMISSION_DENIED	No permission to update	Only owner or admin can update
ERR_EMPTY_GROUP_NAME	Group name is empty	Provide a valid group name
ERR_INVALID_GUID	GUID format is invalid	Provide a valid GUID string

Error Response Example (Not a Member):

Parameter	Type	Description
errorCode	String	Example: `"ERR_NOT_A_MEMBER"`
errorDescription	String	Example: `"The user with UID cometchat-uid-2 is not a member of group with GUID Cometchat-guid-1."`

Error Response Example (Permission Denied):

Parameter	Type	Description
errorCode	String	Example: `"ERR_PERMISSION_DENIED"`
errorDescription	String	Example: `"Only the owner or admin can update this group."`

Error Response Example (Group Not Found):

Parameter	Type	Description
errorCode	String	Example: `"ERR_GUID_NOT_FOUND"`
errorDescription	String	Example: `"Group with the specified GUID does not exist."`

Sample Payload - getGroup() Request (Pre-Update Fetch)

Method Signature:

Parameter	Type	Description
GUID	String	Group identifier to fetch. Example: `"cometchat-guid-1"`
onSuccess	(Group) -> Void	Success callback with Group object
onError	(CometChatException?) -> Void	Error callback with exception details

Request Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description
guid	String	The unique identifier of the group to fetch. Example: `"Cometchat-guid-1"`

Use Case:

Step	Action	Description
1	Fetch group	Call `CometChat.getGroup(GUID:)` to get current group details
2	Modify properties	Update desired properties on the returned Group object
3	Update group	Call `CometChat.updateGroup(group:)` with modified object

Sample Payload - getGroup() Error Response

Error Callback Parameter:

Parameter	Type	Description
error	CometChatException?	Error object containing failure details

Error Response Example:

Parameter	Type	Description
errorCode	String	Example: `"ERR_NOT_A_MEMBER"`
errorDescription	String	Example: `"The user with UID cometchat-uid-2 is not a member of group with GUID Cometchat-guid-1."`

Common getGroup() Error Codes:

Error Code	Description
ERR_NOT_LOGGED_IN	User is not logged in
ERR_GUID_NOT_FOUND	Group does not exist
ERR_NOT_A_MEMBER	User is not a member of the group
ERR_INVALID_GUID	GUID format is invalid

Real-time Events

When a group is updated, all members receive the onGroupUpdated event via CometChatGroupDelegate:

Swift

extension YourClass: CometChatGroupDelegate {
    func onGroupUpdated(action: ActionMessage, updatedGroup: Group, updatedBy: User) {
        print("Group updated: \(updatedGroup.name ?? "")")
        print("Updated by: \(updatedBy.name ?? "")")
    }
}

Sample Payload - onGroupUpdated Event

Delegate Method Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description
action	ActionMessage	Action message describing the update
updatedGroup	Group	The updated Group object
updatedBy	User	User who performed the update

ActionMessage Object:

Parameter	Type	Description
id	Int	Message ID. Example: `12345`
messageCategory	MessageCategory	Category. Example: `.action`
action	String	Action type. Example: `"groupUpdated"`
actionBy	User	User who performed action
actionOn	Group	Group that was updated
sentAt	Int	Timestamp. Example: `1699800000`

updatedBy User Object:

Parameter	Type	Description
uid	String	User’s unique ID. Example: `"cometchat-uid-1"`
name	String	User’s display name. Example: `"John Doe"`
avatar	String?	User’s avatar URL
status	UserStatus	Online status. Example: `.online`

​Update Group

​Real-time Events

Update Group

Real-time Events