How to Work with Zoom In-Meeting Chat Through the API
Practical instructions for accessing and managing Zoom in-meeting chat with the Zoom API, including prerequisites, steps, verification, and common problems.
Before you start
Working with Zoom in-meeting chat through the API requires a Zoom account with access to the Zoom APIs and an app created in the Zoom App Marketplace. The in-meeting chat API is part of Zoom's Meeting APIs and runs as a service request, not a local operation. You need the meeting ID and appropriate authentication credentials. Depending on the chat action, you may need account-level or user-level permissions, and the meeting must be running or recorded in a way that makes its chat data available.
Check that you have an access token with the required scopes. For reading or sending in-meeting chat messages, Zoom documents chat-related scopes such as meeting chat read and write permissions. Keep the meeting ID ready because chat requests use it to identify the meeting. If your app uses server-to-server OAuth, confirm the app has the chat scopes enabled before making requests.
Step-by-step instructions
Follow these ordered actions to work with Zoom in-meeting chat through the API. The exact endpoints and parameters can vary by API version, so verify them against the current Zoom API reference for your app.
1) Create or open a Zoom API app in the Zoom App Marketplace and enable the meeting chat scopes you need. 2. Generate an access token using OAuth or server-to-server OAuth. 3. Identify the target meeting ID. For a live meeting, you can use the meeting ID from the meeting URL or the List Meetings endpoint. 4. To retrieve in-meeting chat messages, send a GET request to the Zoom endpoint for meeting chat messages and include the access token in the authorization header. 5. To send a chat message through the API, use a POST request with the meeting ID and the message body. 6. Check the response status code and the returned JSON for message IDs or errors.
Check the output
After a request, verify that the HTTP status code matches the expected success response for the endpoint, usually 200 or 201. For retrieving chat messages, inspect the response body for a list of messages with sender, timestamp, and message text. For sending a message, confirm the response contains an identifier for the created message or a success indicator.
Zoom API results are JSON and may include rate limits or pagination fields. Some chat data may only be available for meetings recorded to the cloud or for a limited time after the meeting ends. Confirm that the message content is plain text unless the API explicitly supports another format.
Common problems and next steps
A common issue is a 401 or 403 error when the access token lacks chat scopes or has expired. Refresh the token or add the required meeting chat permissions to the app, then retry. If you receive a 404 error, check that the meeting ID is correct and that the meeting exists for the authenticated account.
If chat messages are not returned, confirm the meeting is still running or that the chat data is available for cloud-recorded meetings. For rate limit errors, reduce request frequency and add retry logic with backoff. If you need to troubleshoot the meeting chat API, review the exact endpoint path and parameters for your Zoom API version, because older API versions may use different fields or endpoints.