Struct Message 

pub struct Message {
    pub sender: String,
    pub content: String,
    pub timestamp: Option<DateTime<Utc>>,
    pub id: Option<u64>,
    pub reply_to: Option<u64>,
    pub edited: Option<DateTime<Utc>>,
}

A normalized chat message from any supported platform.

This struct is the core data type in chatpack. All platform-specific parsers convert their native message formats into this universal representation, enabling uniform processing, filtering, and export.

Fields

Field	Type	Description
sender	String	Display name or username of the message author
content	String	Text content of the message
timestamp	Option<DateTime<Utc>>	When the message was sent
id	Option<u64>	Platform-specific message identifier
reply_to	Option<u64>	ID of the parent message (for replies)
edited	Option<DateTime<Utc>>	When the message was last edited

Construction

Use Message::new for simple messages or the builder pattern for metadata:

use chatpack::Message;
use chrono::Utc;

// Simple message
let msg = Message::new("Alice", "Hello!");

// With metadata
let msg = Message::new("Alice", "Hello!")
    .with_timestamp(Utc::now())
    .with_id(12345);

Serialization

Implements Serialize and Deserialize with these behaviors:

• Optional fields are omitted from JSON when None
• Timestamps use RFC 3339 format
• Suitable for storage, IPC, and RAG pipelines

use chatpack::Message;

let msg = Message::new("Alice", "Hello!").with_id(123);
let json = serde_json::to_string(&msg)?;

// timestamp is omitted (None)
assert!(!json.contains("timestamp"));
assert!(json.contains("123"));

Fields

sender: String

Display name or username of the message author.

content: String

Text content of the message.

May contain newlines for multiline messages. Platform-specific attachments (images, files) are typically represented as text placeholders like [Attachment: image.png].

timestamp: Option<DateTime<Utc>>

When the message was originally sent.

Available from most platforms except some WhatsApp export formats.

id: Option<u64>

Platform-specific message identifier.

• Telegram: message ID from the chat
• Discord: snowflake ID
• WhatsApp/Instagram: typically not available in exports

reply_to: Option<u64>

ID of the message this is replying to.

Enables reconstruction of reply chains and conversation threads.

edited: Option<DateTime<Utc>>

When the message was last edited.

Present when the platform tracks edit history (Telegram, Discord).

Implementations

impl Message

pub fn new(sender: impl Into<String>, content: impl Into<String>) -> Self

Creates a new message with only sender and content.

All metadata fields (timestamp, id, reply_to, edited) are set to None.

Example

use chatpack::Message;

let msg = Message::new("Alice", "Hello!");
assert_eq!(msg.sender(), "Alice");
assert_eq!(msg.content(), "Hello!");
assert!(msg.timestamp().is_none());

pub fn with_metadata( sender: impl Into<String>, content: impl Into<String>, timestamp: Option<DateTime<Utc>>, id: Option<u64>, reply_to: Option<u64>, edited: Option<DateTime<Utc>>, ) -> Self

Creates a new message with all fields specified.

Use this when you have all metadata available upfront. For incremental construction, prefer new with builder methods.

pub fn with_timestamp(self, ts: DateTime<Utc>) -> Self

Builder method to set the timestamp.

Example

use chatpack::Message;
use chrono::Utc;

let msg = Message::new("Alice", "Hello")
    .with_timestamp(Utc::now());
assert!(msg.timestamp().is_some());

pub fn with_id(self, id: u64) -> Self

Builder method to set the message ID.

Example

use chatpack::Message;

let msg = Message::new("Alice", "Hello")
    .with_id(12345);
assert_eq!(msg.id(), Some(12345));

pub fn with_reply_to(self, reply_id: u64) -> Self

Builder method to set the reply reference.

Example

use chatpack::Message;

let msg = Message::new("Bob", "I agree!")
    .with_reply_to(12344);
assert_eq!(msg.reply_to(), Some(12344));

pub fn with_edited(self, ts: DateTime<Utc>) -> Self

Builder method to set the edited timestamp.

Example

use chatpack::Message;
use chrono::Utc;

let msg = Message::new("Alice", "Updated message")
    .with_edited(Utc::now());
assert!(msg.edited().is_some());

pub fn sender(&self) -> &str

Returns the sender name.

pub fn content(&self) -> &str

Returns the message content.

pub fn timestamp(&self) -> Option<DateTime<Utc>>

Returns the timestamp, if available.

pub fn id(&self) -> Option<u64>

Returns the message ID, if available.

pub fn reply_to(&self) -> Option<u64>

Returns the reply-to ID, if available.

pub fn edited(&self) -> Option<DateTime<Utc>>

Returns the edited timestamp, if available.

pub fn has_metadata(&self) -> bool

Returns true if this message has any metadata (timestamp, id, reply_to, or edited).

pub fn is_empty(&self) -> bool

Returns true if this message’s content is empty or whitespace-only.

Trait Implementations

impl Clone for Message

fn clone(&self) -> Message

Returns a duplicate of the value.

fn clone_from(&mut self, source: &Self)

Performs copy-assignment from source.

impl Debug for Message

fn fmt(&self, f: &mut Formatter<'_>) -> Result

Formats the value using the given formatter.

impl Default for Message

fn default() -> Self

Returns the “default value” for a type.

impl<'de> Deserialize<'de> for Message

fn deserialize<__D>(__deserializer: __D) -> Result<Self, __D::Error>

where __D: Deserializer<'de>,

Deserialize this value from the given Serde deserializer.

impl PartialEq for Message

fn eq(&self, other: &Message) -> bool

Tests for self and other values to be equal, and is used by ==.

fn ne(&self, other: &Rhs) -> bool

Tests for !=. The default implementation is almost always sufficient, and should not be overridden without very good reason.

impl Serialize for Message

fn serialize<__S>(&self, __serializer: __S) -> Result<__S::Ok, __S::Error>

where __S: Serializer,

Serialize this value into the given Serde serializer.

impl StructuralPartialEq for Message