google-chat-messages

Google Chat Messages

Send messages to Google Chat spaces via incoming webhooks. Produces text messages, rich cards (cardsV2), and threaded replies.

What You Produce

• Text messages with Google Chat formatting
• Rich card messages (cardsV2) with headers, sections, widgets
• Threaded conversations
• Reusable webhook sender utility

Workflow

Step 1: Get Webhook URL

In Google Chat:

1. Open a Space > click space name > Manage webhooks
2. Create webhook (name it, optionally add avatar URL)
3. Copy the webhook URL

Store the URL as an environment variable or in your secrets manager — never hardcode.

Step 2: Choose Message Type

Step 3: Send the Message

Use assets/webhook-sender.ts for the sender utility. Use assets/card-builder.ts for structured card construction.

Text Formatting

Google Chat does NOT use standard Markdown.

Not supported: double asterisks, headings (###), blockquotes, tables, images inline.

Text Message Example

await sendText(webhookUrl, '*Build Complete*\n\nBranch: `main`\nStatus: Passed\n<https://ci.example.com/123|View Build>');

cardsV2 Structure

Cards use the cardsV2 format (recommended over legacy cards).

const message = {
  cardsV2: [{
    cardId: 'unique-id',
    card: {
      header: {
        title: 'Card Title',
        subtitle: 'Optional subtitle',
        imageUrl: 'https://example.com/icon.png',
        imageType: 'CIRCLE'  // or 'SQUARE'
      },
      sections: [{
        header: 'Section Title',  // optional
        widgets: [
          // widgets go here
        ]
      }]
    }
  }]
};

Widget Reference

All widget types available in cardsV2 sections.

textParagraph

Formatted text block. Supports Google Chat formatting (bold, _italic_, <url|text>).

{
  textParagraph: {
    text: '*Status*: All systems operational\n_Last checked_: 5 minutes ago'
  }
}

decoratedText

Labelled value with optional icons. Most versatile widget for key-value data.

Basic:

{
  decoratedText: {
    topLabel: 'Environment',
    text: 'Production',
    bottomLabel: 'Last deployed 2h ago'
  }
}

With start icon:

{
  decoratedText: {
    topLabel: 'Status',
    text: 'Healthy',
    startIcon: { knownIcon: 'STAR' }
  }
}

With custom icon URL:

{
  decoratedText: {
    topLabel: 'GitHub',
    text: 'PR #142 merged',
    startIcon: {
      iconUrl: 'https://github.githubassets.com/favicons/favicon.svg',
      altText: 'GitHub'
    }
  }
}

With button:

{
  decoratedText: {
    topLabel: 'Alert',
    text: 'CPU at 95%',
    button: {
      text: 'View',
      onClick: { openLink: { url: 'https://monitoring.example.com' } }
    }
  }
}

Clickable (whole widget):

{
  decoratedText: {
    text: 'View full report',
    wrapText: true,
    onClick: { openLink: { url: 'https://reports.example.com' } }
  }
}

With wrap text:

{
  decoratedText: {
    topLabel: 'Description',
    text: 'This is a longer description that should wrap to multiple lines instead of being truncated',
    wrapText: true
  }
}

buttonList

One or more action buttons. Buttons open URLs or trigger actions.

Single button:

{
  buttonList: {
    buttons: [{
      text: 'Open Dashboard',
      onClick: { openLink: { url: 'https://dashboard.example.com' } }
    }]
  }
}

Multiple buttons:

{
  buttonList: {
    buttons: [
      {
        text: 'Approve',
        onClick: { openLink: { url: 'https://app.example.com/approve/123' } },
        color: { red: 0, green: 0.5, blue: 0, alpha: 1 }
      },
      {
        text: 'Reject',
        onClick: { openLink: { url: 'https://app.example.com/reject/123' } }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Button with icon:

{
  buttonList: {
    buttons: [{
      text: 'View on GitHub',
      icon: { knownIcon: 'BOOKMARK' },
      onClick: { openLink: { url: 'https://github.com/org/repo/pull/42' } }
    }]
  }
}

image

Standalone image widget.

{
  image: {
    imageUrl: 'https://example.com/chart.png',
    altText: 'Monthly usage chart'
  }
}

divider

Horizontal line separator between widgets.

{ divider: {} }

Collapsible Sections

Sections can be collapsed with only the first N widgets visible:

{
  header: 'Details',
  collapsible: true,
  uncollapsibleWidgetsCount: 2,  // Show first 2, collapse rest
  widgets: [
    { decoratedText: { topLabel: 'Status', text: 'Active' } },
    { decoratedText: { topLabel: 'Region', text: 'AU' } },
    // These start collapsed
    { decoratedText: { topLabel: 'Instance', text: 'prod-01' } },
    { decoratedText: { topLabel: 'Memory', text: '2.1 GB' } },
    { decoratedText: { topLabel: 'CPU', text: '45%' } }
  ]
}

Known Icons

Icons available via knownIcon in decoratedText and button widgets.

{ startIcon: { knownIcon: 'STAR' } }
// or
{ icon: { knownIcon: 'EMAIL' } }

For icons not in the list, use iconUrl with any publicly accessible image (square, ideally 24x24 or 48x48 pixels).

Threading

Thread messages together using threadKey:

// First message — creates thread
const response = await sendCard(webhookUrl, card, {
  threadKey: 'deploy-2026-02-16'
});

// Reply to thread — append &messageReplyOption=REPLY_MESSAGE_FALLBACK_TO_NEW_THREAD
const threadUrl = `${webhookUrl}&messageReplyOption=REPLY_MESSAGE_FALLBACK_TO_NEW_THREAD`;
await sendCard(threadUrl, replyCard, {
  threadKey: 'deploy-2026-02-16'
});

The threadKey is a client-assigned string. Use consistent keys for related messages (e.g., deploy-{date}, alert-{id}).

Common Patterns

Notification Card

import { buildCard, sendCard } from './assets/card-builder';
import { sendWebhook } from './assets/webhook-sender';

const card = buildCard({
  cardId: 'deploy-notification',
  title: 'Deployment Complete',
  subtitle: 'production - v2.1.0',
  imageUrl: 'https://example.com/your-icon.png',
  sections: [{
    widgets: [
      { decoratedText: { topLabel: 'Environment', text: 'Production' } },
      { decoratedText: { topLabel: 'Version', text: 'v2.1.0' } },
      { decoratedText: { topLabel: 'Status', text: '*Healthy*', startIcon: { knownIcon: 'STAR' } } },
      { buttonList: { buttons: [{ text: 'View Deployment', onClick: { openLink: { url: 'https://dash.example.com' } } }] } }
    ]
  }]
});

Digest Card (Weekly Summary)

const digest = buildCard({
  cardId: 'weekly-digest',
  title: 'Weekly Summary',
  subtitle: `${count} updates this week`,
  sections: [
    {
      header: 'Highlights',
      widgets: items.map(item => ({
        decoratedText: { text: item.title, bottomLabel: item.date }
      }))
    },
    {
      widgets: [{
        buttonList: {
          buttons: [{ text: 'View All', onClick: { openLink: { url: dashboardUrl } } }]
        }
      }]
    }
  ]
});

Error Prevention

Asset Files