Overview
VoIPBIN’s Talk API provides a modern messaging platform for real-time communication between agents. With support for threading, reactions, and group conversations, Talk enables efficient team collaboration and internal communication.
With the Talk API you can:
Create one-on-one and group conversations
Send messages with threading support
Add emoji reactions to messages
Attach media files to messages
Manage participants dynamically
How Talk Works
Talk provides a real-time messaging system where agents communicate through conversations called “talks.”
Talk Architecture
+----------+ +----------------+ +-----------+
| Agent A |--API-->| VoIPBIN |--push->| Agent B |
+----------+ | Talk Hub | +-----------+
+----------------+
|
+------+------+
| WebSocket |
| (real-time)|
+-------------+
|
+----------------+----------------+
v v v
+---------+ +---------+ +---------+
| Agent C | | Agent D | | Agent E |
+---------+ +---------+ +---------+
Key Components
Talk: A conversation container with participants and messages
Participant: An agent who can send and receive messages in a talk
Message: Text, media, or system notifications within a talk
Thread: Messages grouped as replies to a parent message
Talk Types
VoIPBIN supports different talk types for various communication needs.
One-on-One Talk
Private conversation between two agents.
+-------------------------+
| Talk (1:1) |
+-------------------------+
| |
| +---------+ |
| | Agent A |<--------+ |
| +---------+ | |
| | | |
| v | |
| +---------+ | |
| | Agent B |---------+ |
| +---------+ |
| |
+-------------------------+
Group Talk
Multi-participant conversation for team discussions.
+---------------------------------------+
| Talk (Group) |
+---------------------------------------+
| |
| +---------+ +---------+ +-------+ |
| | Agent A | | Agent B | | Agent | |
| +---------+ +---------+ | C | |
| | | +-------+ |
| | | | |
| +-----+-----+------------+ |
| | |
| v |
| +-------------+ |
| | All receive | |
| | messages | |
| +-------------+ |
| |
+---------------------------------------+
Talk Lifecycle
Talks and participants move through predictable states.
Talk States
POST /talks
|
v
+------------+
| active |<-----------------+
+-----+------+ |
| |
| close or | reopen
| all leave |
v |
+------------+ |
| closed |------------------+
+------------+
Participant States
POST /talks/{id}/participants
|
v
+------------+
| active |
+-----+------+
|
| leave or removed
v
+------------+
| left |
+------------+
Creating and Managing Talks
Create talks and manage participants through the API.
Create a Talk
$ curl -X POST 'https://api.voipbin.net/v1.0/talks?token=<token>' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data '{
"name": "Project Discussion",
"participant_ids": [
"agent-id-1",
"agent-id-2",
"agent-id-3"
]
}'
Add Participant
$ curl -X POST 'https://api.voipbin.net/v1.0/talks/<talk-id>/participants?token=<token>' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data '{
"agent_id": "agent-id-4"
}'
Remove Participant
$ curl -X DELETE 'https://api.voipbin.net/v1.0/talks/<talk-id>/participants/<participant-id>?token=<token>'
Sending Messages
Send messages within talks with support for threading and media.
Send a Message
Agent VoIPBIN Other Participants
| | |
| POST /talks/{id}/messages | |
+-------------------------->| |
| | Broadcast to participants |
| +----------------------------->|
| message_id | |
|<--------------------------+ |
| | |
Basic Message Example:
$ curl -X POST 'https://api.voipbin.net/v1.0/talks/<talk-id>/messages?token=<token>' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data '{
"text": "Hello team, let'\''s discuss the project status."
}'
Reply to Message (Threading):
$ curl -X POST 'https://api.voipbin.net/v1.0/talks/<talk-id>/messages?token=<token>' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data '{
"text": "I agree, we should prioritize the API work.",
"parent_id": "parent-message-id"
}'
Message with Media:
$ curl -X POST 'https://api.voipbin.net/v1.0/talks/<talk-id>/messages?token=<token>' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data '{
"text": "Here is the design document.",
"medias": [
{
"type": "application/pdf",
"url": "https://storage.example.com/design-doc.pdf",
"name": "design-document.pdf"
}
]
}'
Message Threading
Threading organizes conversations by grouping related messages.
Thread Structure
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| Talk: "Project Discussion" |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| [Message 1] "What's the status of the API integration?" |
| | |
| +-- [Reply 1.1] "Working on authentication now" |
| | |
| +-- [Reply 1.2] "Should be done by Friday" |
| | |
| +-- [Reply 1.3] "Great, let me know if you need help" |
| |
| [Message 2] "Meeting tomorrow at 2pm" |
| | |
| +-- [Reply 2.1] "I'll be there" |
| |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
Thread Benefits
Keeps related discussions organized
Easy to follow conversation context
Reduces noise in main talk view
Message Reactions
Add emoji reactions to messages for quick feedback.
Add Reaction
$ curl -X POST 'https://api.voipbin.net/v1.0/messages/<message-id>/reactions?token=<token>' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data '{
"emoji": "thumbsup"
}'
Reaction Display
+-----------------------------------------------+
| [Agent A] "The deployment was successful!" |
| |
| 👍 3 🎉 2 ❤️ 1 |
+-----------------------------------------------+
Common Reactions
Emoji |
Common Use |
|---|---|
👍 |
Agreement, acknowledgment |
👎 |
Disagreement |
❤️ |
Appreciation, love |
🎉 |
Celebration, success |
👀 |
Looking into it |
✅ |
Done, completed |
Message Types
Messages can be different types based on their origin.
Normal Messages
Regular messages sent by agents.
{
"type": "normal",
"agent_id": "agent-123",
"text": "Let's schedule a call tomorrow."
}
System Messages
Automated notifications about talk events.
{
"type": "system",
"text": "Agent B joined the conversation."
}
{
"type": "system",
"text": "Agent C left the conversation."
}
Real-Time Updates
Receive real-time message updates via WebSocket.
WebSocket Connection
Agent VoIPBIN
| |
| WebSocket connect |
+----------------------------->|
| |
| Subscribe to talk events |
+----------------------------->|
| |
|<==== message_created ========|
|<==== message_updated ========|
|<==== participant_joined =====|
|<==== reaction_added =========|
| |
Event Types
Event |
When it fires |
|---|---|
message_created |
New message sent to talk |
message_updated |
Message edited |
message_deleted |
Message removed |
reaction_added |
Reaction added to message |
reaction_removed |
Reaction removed from message |
participant_joined |
Agent joined the talk |
participant_left |
Agent left the talk |
Common Scenarios
Scenario 1: Team Project Discussion
Create a group talk for project collaboration.
1. Create talk with team members
POST /talks
{ "name": "Q1 Project", "participant_ids": [...] }
2. Send updates as messages
POST /talks/{id}/messages
{ "text": "Sprint 1 completed!" }
3. Team reacts and replies in threads
- Reactions: 🎉 👍
- Thread: "Great work! What's next?"
Scenario 2: Quick Decision
Use reactions for quick polls.
[Agent A] "Should we deploy today? 👍 for yes, 👎 for no"
|
+-- 👍 Agent B
+-- 👍 Agent C
+-- 👍 Agent D
+-- 👎 Agent E
|
Result: 3-1, deploy approved
Scenario 3: Support Escalation
Internal discussion about customer issue.
+------------------------------------------------+
| Talk: "Customer Issue #12345" |
+------------------------------------------------+
| |
| [Agent A] "Customer reporting payment failure" |
| |
| [Agent B] "Let me check the logs" |
| | |
| +-- [Reply] "Found it - gateway timeout" |
| +-- [Reply] "Retrying the transaction" |
| |
| [Agent A] "Customer confirmed it works now" |
| 👍 Agent B |
| |
+------------------------------------------------+
Best Practices
1. Talk Organization
Use descriptive talk names
Create separate talks for different topics
Archive inactive talks
2. Threading
Reply in threads to keep discussions organized
Use threads for detailed discussions
Keep main talk for announcements and new topics
3. Reactions
Use reactions for quick acknowledgments
Avoid over-reacting to every message
Use consistent reaction meanings in your team
4. Media Sharing
Use descriptive filenames
Keep file sizes reasonable
Reference shared files in message text
Troubleshooting
Message Issues
Symptom |
Solution |
|---|---|
Message not delivered |
Check agent is participant in talk; verify WebSocket connection |
Thread not showing |
Verify parent_id is correct; check message exists |
Media not loading |
Check URL accessibility; verify file format |
Participant Issues
Symptom |
Solution |
|---|---|
Can’t add participant |
Verify agent exists; check talk is active |
Not receiving messages |
Check participant status; verify WebSocket subscription |