Messages & Developer Chat

Code SCE includes a built-in Interactive Messaging System that enables buyers, authors, and developers to communicate directly within the platform. Whether you need pre-purchase technical clarification, custom feature requests, or implementation support, the messaging system provides real-time, verified communication.

Key Capabilities

• Direct Conversations: One-on-one message threads between verified developers.
• Developer Search: Instant discovery of creators and developers by username or name.
• Unread Notifications: Live unread message counters in the global navigation bar.
• Rich Thread Management: View recent conversation history, timestamps, and read receipts.
• CodeSCE Design Standards: Built with Code SCE's crisp monochrome aesthetic (0px border-radius, high-contrast typography, and responsive panes).

Starting a Conversation

There are two primary ways to initiate a discussion:

1. From a Module Details Page

When viewing any module in the Explorer, click the Message Author button. This automatically opens the Messages interface with a conversation thread opened directly with the module creator.

2. Via Developer Search

Inside the Messages screen (/frontend/pages/messages/):

1. Click New Message or focus the Search Developers input.
2. Type at least one character to search by username or full name (GET /api/users/search?q=query).
3. Select a developer from the dropdown results to open an immediate chat pane.

Conversation Interface

┌───────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Conversations            │  @author_handle                          │
│  [ Search Developers... ] │  Senior Frontend Engineer                │
├───────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  ● Alex Developer         │  Alex: Hello! I had a question on the    │
│    "Sure, let me check."  │        Data Grid sorting configuration.  │
│                           │                                          │
│    Sarah UI               │  You:  Does it support multi-column?     │
│    "Thanks for the help!" │                                          │
├───────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                           │  [ Type your message...         ] [Send] │
└───────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────────────────┘

Recent Chats List

The left sidebar displays all active dialogues (GET /api/messages/chats) sorted by the latest activity. Each entry displays:

• Counterpart avatar and full name / username.
• Snippet of the latest message.
• Relative timestamp.
• Visual unread indicator badge.

Message Thread View

Selecting a conversation fetches the chronological history (GET /api/messages/history/:receiverId). Opening the thread automatically marks any incoming unread messages as read.

Sending Messages

Type your message and press Enter or click Send (POST /api/messages).

• Messages are transmitted instantly with JSON payloads ({ receiverId, text }).
• Messages support formatting and code snippets up to 4,000 characters.

Security & Anti-Abuse Rules

The messaging backend implements strict safeguards to prevent spam, phantom accounts, and platform abuse:

Protection	Implementation
Onboarding Verification	Messages can only be sent to and received by accounts that have completed their profile onboarding (profile_completed: true). Incomplete or phantom accounts are filtered from search results.
Self-Message Block	Users cannot send messages to their own account (cannot_message_self).
Account Muting	Accounts placed in moderation or muted state are restricted from dispatching messages (account_muted), though message history remains viewable.
Message Length Cap	Payloads exceeding 4,000 characters are rejected with message_too_long to prevent payload flooding.
Auth & Rate Limiting	All messaging endpoints require valid session authentication (createAuthRequired) and are protected by backend rate-limiting middleware.

API Summary for Messaging

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/api/messages/chats	Retrieve list of active conversations with last messages.
GET	/api/messages/history/:receiverId	Fetch full message transcript with a specific developer.
POST	/api/messages	Send a new message ({ receiverId, text }).
GET	/api/messages/unread-count	Fetch total unread chat count for the authenticated user.
PATCH	/api/messages/:id/read	Mark a specific message as read.
PATCH	/api/messages/read-all	Mark all inbox messages as read.
GET	/api/users/search	Search verified developer profiles by query (?q=...).

Next Step

Explore how to purchase and integrate verified modules: How Buying Works →.