CONTEXT.md

Ubiquitous Language

Rooms & Conversations

Term	Definition	Aliases to avoid
Room	A server-side conversation container with shared state (name, type, settings)	Chat, conversation
Subscription	A user's personal relationship to a Room, holding per-user state (unread count, favorite, muted, open)	Membership, room entry
Channel	A public Room (type 'c') visible to all server users	Public room
Group	A private Room (type 'p') visible only to invited members	Private room, private channel
Direct Message	A 1-on-1 private Room (type 'd') between two users	DM, PM, private message
Thread	A branched conversation spawned from a single Message, identified by tmid (thread message id)	Reply chain
Discussion	A separate Room spawned from a parent Room, identified by prid (parent room id) — unlike Threads, Discussions are full Rooms	Sub-room, sub-channel
Team	An organizational container that groups multiple Channels and users under a single entity	Workspace (ambiguous)
Broadcast Room	A Room where only authorized users can send Messages; other users can only Reply Broadcast to existing Messages	Broadcast channel
Reply Broadcast	The action of replying to a Message in a Broadcast Room when the current user cannot send regular Messages	Broadcast reply

Messages

Core

Term	Definition	Aliases to avoid
Message	A unit of communication within a Room, identified by _id with content in msg and parsed markdown in md	Chat message, text
Thread Message	A Message that belongs to a Thread, identified by presence of tmid	Reply, thread reply
Thread Parent	The Message a Thread is spawned from; the target of its Thread Messages' tmid	Thread root, parent message
Attachment	Rich media or structured data embedded in a Message (image, video, audio, file, or action buttons)	File, media
Reaction	An emoji response to a Message, tracking which usernames reacted	Emoji reaction
Mention	An @username reference within a Message that triggers notifications	Tag, ping
Draft Message	A user's unsent composition stored on a Subscription or Thread (draftMessage field)	Unsent message
Snippet	A saved excerpt from a Message	—

System Messages

A System Message is any server-generated Message (carrying a t type field) rather than a user-typed one. The code draws a hard boundary between room-event system messages and typed-event system messages — keep them apart.

Term	Definition	Aliases to avoid
System Message	A server-generated Message identified by a t type field; umbrella term covering Info Messages and the typed events below	Event, notification
Info Message	A System Message that records a room event (user joined, room archived, role changed, muted) — rendered compact and non-interactive. Excludes e2e, discussion-created, jitsi_call_started, and videoconf	System event, event message
Discussion-Created Message	A System Message (t = 'discussion-created') recording that a Discussion was spawned from this Message; rendered with a link to the new Room	—
Call Message	A System Message (t = 'jitsi_call_started' or t = 'videoconf') recording a Video Conference and offering a join affordance	Video call message
Encrypted Message	A System Message (t = 'e2e') whose content is pending E2E decryption (e2e !== 'done'); shown as an "Encrypted message" placeholder until decrypted	Pending E2E message

Content & Visibility States

Term	Definition	Aliases to avoid
Ignored Message	A Message whose author is an Ignored User in this Room; shown as a "Message ignored" placeholder until tapped to reveal	Muted message
Ignored User	A User the current user has hidden in a specific Room (room.ignored list); their Messages render as Ignored Messages	Muted user
Auto-Translate	A per-Room setting that replaces other users' Message bodies with translations in the user's chosen language	Live translate
Translated Message	A Message whose body is shown via its auto-translated text, because Auto-Translate is on for the Room and the author is another user	Auto-translated message
Blocks Message	A Message whose body is structured Blocks from a Rocket.Chat App, rendered instead of markdown	App message
Message Preview	A Message rendered outside its Room context (search, pinned, share extension, notifications); no interactions, reactions, or thread context	Preview row

Message Grouping

Term	Definition	Aliases to avoid
Message Header	The author block (avatar, name, timestamp) shown on the first Message of a grouped run; a Message either shows a Header or is grouped under the one above it	Title, byline
Grouped Message	A Message rendered without its own Header because it continues a run from the same author within the Grouping Period, visually attached to the Message above	Sequential, collapsed
Grouping Period	The maximum time gap between consecutive same-author Messages for them to share one Header (server setting Message_GroupingPeriod)	—
Previous Message	Relative to a given Message, the adjacent older Message; whether that Message shows a Header is derived from it (author, time, status, thread)	Prior message, neighbor

Message Status

The delivery lifecycle of a Message (status field). Exactly one status at a time; not to be confused with Message Flags.

Term	Definition	Aliases to avoid
Sent	Message successfully delivered to server (status 0)	Delivered
Temp	Message created locally but not yet confirmed by server (status 1)	Pending, sending
Error	Message that failed to send (status 2)	Failed

Message Flags

Independent boolean markers on a Message, orthogonal to its Status — a Message can be both Pinned and Starred, and either regardless of delivery state.

Term	Definition	Aliases to avoid
Pinned	A Message flagged as important for the whole Room; visible to all Members via the pinned list	Bookmarked
Starred	A Message bookmarked by the current user for personal reference; visible only to that user	Saved

Message Separators

Term	Definition	Aliases to avoid
Date Separator	A divider rendered between two Messages on different days, showing the date of the newer Message	Date divider
Unread Separator	A divider rendered between the last read Message and the first unread Message in a Room	Unread divider

Message Loading

Term	Definition	Aliases to avoid
Message Window	The contiguous range of Messages the Room view currently observes and renders (distinct from what is synced to the database)	Page, feed
Live Tail	The newest end of a Room's Messages; a Message Window at the Live Tail receives new Messages automatically	Bottom, latest
Live Window	A Message Window whose newest edge is the Live Tail — grows older as you scroll up and follows new Messages at the bottom	—
Anchored Window	A Message Window pinned around a Jump to Message target instead of the Live Tail; deliberately does not follow new Messages	—
Chunk	A contiguous run of Messages synced from the server into the local database, bracketed by Loader Rows where more exists	Batch, page
Gap	A region between two Chunks where Messages exist on the server but not yet locally; represented by a Loader Row	Hole
Loader Row	A placeholder Message record marking a Gap; becoming visible triggers a server fetch	Load-more, spinner row
Older Loader	A Loader Row marking older Messages (types MORE, PREVIOUS_CHUNK) — resolving it fetches Messages before it	Load previous
Newer Loader	A Loader Row marking newer Messages (type NEXT_CHUNK) — resolving it fetches Messages after it	Load next
Room History	Older Messages of a Room fetched on demand from the server (distinct from Server History)	Message history
Jump to Message	Re-position the Room view onto a target Message that may be far from the Live Tail or not yet synced — fetches a surrounding Chunk	Scroll to message

Message Action & Position State

Two distinct kinds of transient per-Room state drive how the Room view renders Messages. Keep them apart.

Term	Definition
Message Action State	The active Message Action in the Room (Quote, Edit, or React) and its target Message(s); null when none is active
Positional State	Which Message is highlighted and the jump or scroll position

Message Actions

A Message Action is the active mode on a Message in the Room view. The three actions are Quote, Edit, and React — there is no "reply" action; replying in a Thread is a separate navigation, not a Message Action.

Term	Definition	Aliases to avoid
Quote	A Message Action where one or more Messages are selected to be quoted into the composer	Multi-quote
Edit	A Message Action where a single Message is being edited by the current user	Editing
React	A Message Action where a single Message is the target of a reaction picker	Reacting

Users & Roles

Term	Definition	Aliases to avoid
User	An authenticated identity on the server with username, status, and roles	Account, profile
Logged User	The currently authenticated User session, holding auth token and preferences	Current user, session
Role	A named permission group assigned to Users (e.g., owner, moderator, leader, guest)	Permission group
Permission	A named capability mapped to one or more Roles	Privilege, access right
Active User	A User currently tracked as online/away/busy via real-time presence	Online user
Member	A User viewed in the context of a specific Room's membership list	Participant

User Status

Term	Definition	Aliases to avoid
Online	User is actively connected	Active
Away	User idle past timeout threshold	Idle
Busy	User has set do-not-disturb	DND
Offline	User is not connected	Disconnected

Omnichannel / Livechat

Term	Definition	Aliases to avoid
Omnichannel Room	A customer-service Room (type 'l') connecting a Visitor to an Agent	Livechat room, support chat
Visitor	An external customer who initiates an Omnichannel conversation, identified by a unique token	Client, customer, end-user
Agent	A User designated to handle Omnichannel conversations, with statusLivechat (available/unavailable)	Support agent, operator, rep
Inquiry	A queued Omnichannel request waiting to be picked up or routed to an Agent	Queue item, ticket
Department	An organizational unit that groups Agents for Omnichannel routing	Team (ambiguous), group
Omnichannel Source	How an Omnichannel conversation was initiated (widget, email, sms, app, api)	Channel origin
Served By	The Agent currently assigned to handle an Omnichannel Room	Assigned agent, handler
On Hold	An Omnichannel Room temporarily paused by the Agent	Paused, suspended
Transfer	Moving an Omnichannel Room to a different Agent or Department	Forward, reassign, handoff

Encryption

Term	Definition	Aliases to avoid
E2E Encryption	End-to-end encryption for Room content using AES-SHA2, with two protocol versions (rc.v1.aes-sha2, rc.v2.aes-sha2)	Encryption, E2EE
E2E Key	A user's asymmetric key pair (public + private) for E2E Encryption	Crypto key
OTR	Off-The-Record messaging — ephemeral encrypted conversation mode between two users	—

Video & Voice

Term	Definition	Aliases to avoid
Video Conference	A video/voice call session with status lifecycle (calling, started, expired, ended, declined)	Video call, meeting
Direct Video Conference	A 1-on-1 Video Conference	—
Group Video Conference	A multi-participant Video Conference with title and anonymous user support	—
VOIP	Voice-over-IP phone-style call, separate from Video Conference — uses ICE servers and media streams	Phone call, voice call
Native Accept	An incoming VOIP call answered by native code (CallKit on iOS, Telecom on Android) before the JS runtime is available; native issues the REST accept and JS reconciles state on launch via initial events	JS accept, app accept
Per-call DDP	A short-lived DDP client opened by native code per incoming VOIP call so accept and signaling land before JS boots; separate from the main app DDP session	Native socket, side socket
Media Signal	A typed event on the @rocket.chat/media-signaling wire protocol (offer, answer, ICE candidate, state update) carried over DDP stream-notify-user and replayable via REST media-calls.stateSignals	Signal, RTC event
Pending Hangup	A VOIP call id recorded in-memory when the user taps End while the WebSocket is unhealthy, so the hangup Media Signal can be replayed through the lib's transporter on the next post-login reconnect	Hangup intent, deferred hangup

Server & Connection

Term	Definition	Aliases to avoid
Server	A Rocket.Chat server instance the app connects to, with version, settings, and enterprise modules	Workspace (used by web but not consistently in mobile), instance
Server History	List of previously connected Servers for quick reconnection	Recent servers
Meteor Connect	The WebSocket connection to the Server's DDP (Distributed Data Protocol) endpoint	Socket, connection

Navigation & Layout

Term	Definition	Aliases to avoid
Outside Stack	Navigation screens shown when unauthenticated (server selection, login, register)	Auth stack, login flow
Inside Stack	Navigation screens shown when authenticated (rooms, settings, profile)	Main stack, app stack
Master-Detail	Tablet layout with room list (master pane) and room content (detail pane) side by side	Split view, two-pane
Chats Stack	The primary messaging navigation within Inside Stack (room list, room view, room actions)	—
Drawer Navigator	Side navigation containing tabs: Chats, Profile, Settings, Admin, Accessibility	Sidebar, menu

Unread & Notification Indicators

Term	Definition	Aliases to avoid
Unread	Count of unread regular Messages in a Subscription	Badge count
User Mentions	Count of Messages that @mentioned the current user in a Subscription	Personal mentions
Group Mentions	Count of @all or @here mentions in a Subscription	Channel mentions
Tunread	Array of Thread IDs with unread replies	Thread unread
Alert	Boolean flag on a Subscription indicating it has unread mentions or special activity requiring attention	Notification flag

Relationships

• A Room can be of type Channel, Group, Direct Message, or Omnichannel Room
• A Subscription belongs to exactly one Room and one User
• A Message belongs to exactly one Room (via rid)
• A Thread is spawned from exactly one Thread Parent and contains one or more Thread Messages that reference it via tmid
• A Discussion creates a new Room linked to a parent Room (via prid); a Discussion-Created Message in the parent records the spawning
• A Team has exactly one main Room and can contain multiple Channels
• An Omnichannel Room connects exactly one Visitor with zero or one Agents (via Served By)
• An Agent belongs to one or more Departments
• An Inquiry becomes an Omnichannel Room when picked up by an Agent
• A Broadcast Room restricts sending to authorized users; others interact via Reply Broadcast
• An Ignored Message is a Message whose author is an Ignored User in the current Room; revealing it is per-Message and ephemeral
• A Call Message records a Video Conference and offers a join affordance
• A Room view shows a Live Window by default; a Jump to Message replaces it with an Anchored Window
• A Gap is bracketed by Loader Rows; resolving a Loader Row fetches a Chunk and may shrink or close the Gap
• Jump to Message fetches a Chunk centered on the target (loadSurroundingMessages), bracketed by an Older Loader and a Newer Loader when more Messages exist on either side

Example dialogue

Dev: "When a user opens the app, do they see their Subscriptions or their Rooms?" Domain expert: "Subscriptions. The sidebar shows the user's Subscriptions — each one points to a Room, but carries user-specific state like Unread count and Alert flag. A Room exists independently; a Subscription is the user's window into it." Dev: "So if someone starts a Thread in a Channel, does that create a new Subscription?" Domain expert: "No. A Thread lives inside the parent Room's Subscription. Thread unreads are tracked via Tunread on the Subscription. A Discussion, on the other hand, creates an entirely new Room with its own Subscription." Dev: "And for Omnichannel — when a Visitor sends a message from the widget, what happens?" Domain expert: "An Inquiry is created and queued. Once an Agent picks it up or routing assigns it, the Inquiry becomes an Omnichannel Room with the Agent recorded in Served By. If the Agent needs to escalate, they do a Transfer to another Agent or Department."

Flagged ambiguities

• "Workspace" is used by Rocket.Chat web to mean a server instance, but the mobile codebase uses Server. Use Server in mobile context to avoid confusion with the web admin concept.
• "Room type 'e2e'" and "Room type 'thread'" appear in SubscriptionType enum but are marked with FIXME in code — these are not true room types but flags. Do not treat them as room types in new code.
• "Account" is sometimes used loosely to mean either User (the identity) or Server (the connected instance). These are distinct: a User authenticates on a Server.
• "Channel" in everyday speech can mean any Room, but in domain terms it strictly means a public Room (type 'c'). A private Room is a Group (type 'p').
• "Forward" in omnichannel context means Transfer (reassigning a room to another agent/department). The codebase uses both forwardRoom and "transfer" — prefer Transfer as the domain term.
• "History" is overloaded: Server History is the recent-Servers reconnection list; Room History is older Messages fetched on demand. The action roomHistoryRequest and saga ROOM.HISTORY_REQUEST refer to Room History.
• "Window" is used metaphorically in the Subscriptions dialogue ("a Subscription is the user's window into it"); a Message Window is the concrete observed Message range in the Room view. Disambiguate when both could be meant.
• "Load more" is directional: older Messages are an Older Loader (MORE/PREVIOUS_CHUNK), newer Messages are a Newer Loader (NEXT_CHUNK). Avoid bare "load more".
• "System message" vs "Info message" — System Message is the umbrella (any t-bearing server Message); Info Message is the narrower set of room-event System Messages. The typed events e2e, discussion-created, jitsi_call_started, and videoconf are System Messages but NOT Info Messages — each gets its own rendering branch.
• "Thread reply" is overloaded. The glossary's Thread Message is the data concept (any Message with tmid); the code's isThreadReply is a rendering position — the first Thread Message in a run shown in the parent Room, which gets the "in reply to" header. Do not use "thread reply" for the data concept.
• "Preview" is overloaded. Message Preview (isPreview) is a Message rendered outside its Room (search, pinned, share, notifications). PreviewContent is a different concept: the compact body of a Thread Message shown in the parent Room. Disambiguate when either could be meant.
• "Muted" is overloaded: a User can be muted in a Room (a moderator action that removes send permission, recorded by user-muted/mute_unmute System Messages) OR be an Ignored User (a per-viewer filter that hides their Messages behind an Ignored Message placeholder, stored in room.ignored). Muting is a room permission; ignoring is a personal filter. Different concepts — keep them apart.
• "Reply" is overloaded: Reply Broadcast is the action available to non-authorized users in a Broadcast Room; replying in a Thread is navigation into the Thread view. Neither is a Message Action — there is no "reply" Message Action.
• "Status" vs "flags" — a Message has exactly one delivery Status (Sent, Temp, Error). Pinned and Starred are independent Message Flags, not statuses; do not group them with delivery states.
• "Interaction" retired — the selection-plus-action state was once an "interaction" concept; the canonical term is now Message Action State. Use Message Action, not "interaction", for which Message is selected and how. (Selection is not separate — it lives inside the active Message Action.)