Get up and running with the Business Messaging API in under five minutes. This guide walks you through the three core steps: creating a delivery channel, designing a message template, and sending a notification.
You need your CometChat appId and apiKey before starting. Find them in the CometChat Dashboard.

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Step 1: Create a channel

A channel defines how notifications are delivered — in-app, push, email, SMS, WhatsApp, or a custom transport. 
curl -X POST https://{appId}.api-{region}.cometchat.io/v3/business-messaging/api/channels \
  -H "appid: YOUR_APP_ID" \
  -H "apikey: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "In-App Alerts",
    "type": "in_app",
    "templateType": "ui",
    "enabled": true
  }'
The response includes the channel id and a generated key slug. You’ll use the channel ID when creating templates.

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Step 2: Create a template with variables

Templates define the content of your notifications. Link them to one or more channels and declare variables for per-user personalization. 
curl -X POST https://{appId}.api-{region}.cometchat.io/v3/business-messaging/api/templates \
  -H "appid: YOUR_APP_ID" \
  -H "apikey: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Order Confirmation",
    "channelIds": ["CHANNEL_ID"],
    "variableSchema": {
      "customerName": { "type": "string" },
      "orderId": { "type": "string" },
      "viewOrderUrl": { "type": "action" }
    }
  }'
Variables use {{placeholder}} syntax in your template content. The three variable types are string, image, and action.
After creating a template, set its status to approved before sending notifications. Draft templates cannot be used for delivery.

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Step 3: Send a notification

Use the one-call send endpoint to deliver a personalized notification. Pass the template key, target users, and variable values. 
curl -X POST https://{appId}.api-{region}.cometchat.io/v3/business-messaging/api/notifications/send \
  -H "appid: YOUR_APP_ID" \
  -H "apikey: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "template": {
      "key": "order-confirmation",
      "variables": {
        "customerName": "Jane",
        "orderId": "ORD-12345",
        "viewOrderUrl": "https://example.com/orders/12345"
      }
    },
    "targets": ["user-jane-123"],
    "mode": "realtime",
    "title": "Order Confirmed"
  }'
The response returns a notificationId you can use for tracking.

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What’s next?