Core Concepts
Use five concepts—message, channel, user, device, and conversation—to understand how WuKongIM organizes communication.
You do not need to understand nodes, Raft, or data sharding before integrating WuKongIM. Start with five product concepts and most application guides will make sense:
| Concept | Question it answers | In one sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Message | What is being sent? | A piece of content such as text, an image, a notification, or a business command |
| Channel | Where is it sent? | The message target and recipient scope, such as a direct chat or group chat |
| User | Who is communicating? | A product-defined communication identity with a stable UID |
| Device | From which endpoint? | A phone, browser, desktop client, or another client instance used by a user |
| Conversation | How does a user return to a chat? | That user's view of a channel, usually with a latest message and unread count |
How the five concepts work together
Consider Alice sending a message to Bob:
Alice (user) sends a message from her phone (device)
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The message enters a direct channel
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Bob's online devices receive it; offline devices sync later
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Alice and Bob each see the chat in their conversation listFor a group chat, the channel changes from a direct target to a group ID and its members. The basic relationship among users, devices, messages, and conversations stays the same.
WuKongIM and your product system
WuKongIM is communication infrastructure. It does not replace your account and product services.
| Your product system owns | WuKongIM owns |
|---|---|
| Registration, sign-in, profiles, contacts, and group details | Client connections, message routing, and realtime delivery |
| Group membership, roles, content policy, and moderation | Per-channel order, persistence, and offline synchronization |
| Product-token issuance, risk controls, and mobile push | Online device connections and UID-scoped conversation data |
An application-developer reading path
Core Concepts explains product semantics. For nodes, Slots, Leaders, replicas, and failover, go to Server Architecture.
Explore each concept
Message
Understand message content, send outcomes, per-channel order, and offline recovery.
Channel
Understand message targets, direct and group chat, and membership.
User
Understand UID and the boundary between WuKongIM and your account system.
Device
Separate devices from connections and learn which state is shared across endpoints.
Conversation
Understand chat lists, latest messages, unread counts, and personal visibility.
With these concepts in place, run the Quick Start and exchange your first message.