Message Model

At the core of the framework is the IMessage interface and its concrete implementation Message. Every piece of data that flows through the system — whether it is an SMS text, an email with attachments, a push notification, or a chat message — is represented as an IMessage. This unified representation is what makes multi-channel messaging possible: the same message object can be sent through different connectors without transformation.

Messages can be constructed in two ways:

• MessageBuilder — a fluent builder class with From()/To() methods, WithText()/WithHtml() for content, and a final .Build() call

• Explicit constructors — use new Message { ... } object initializers or the copy constructor new Message(original)

The message carries five pieces of information:

• Identity — a unique Id string you assign

• Routing — Sender and Receiver endpoints, each tagged with their type

• Content — the payload, wrapped in a typed content class

• Metadata — a dictionary of properties for per-message configuration

IMessage interface

public interface IMessage
{
    string Id { get; }
    IEndpoint? Sender { get; }
    IEndpoint? Receiver { get; }
    IMessageContent? Content { get; }
    IDictionary<string, IMessageProperty>? Properties { get; }
}

The concrete Message class implements this interface with mutable settable properties, a parameterless constructor, and a copy constructor (new Message(IMessage)).

Basic construction

// Using MessageBuilder (fluent)
var message = new MessageBuilder()
    .WithId("msg-1")
    .FromEmail("[email protected]")
    .ToEmail("[email protected]")
    .WithText("Hello, Bob!")
    .WithSubject("Greetings")
    .Build();

// Using explicit constructor
var message = new Message
{
    Id = "msg-1",
    Sender = Endpoint.EmailAddress("[email protected]"),
    Receiver = Endpoint.EmailAddress("[email protected]"),
    Content = new TextContent("Hello, Bob!"),
    Properties = new Dictionary<string, MessageProperty>
    {
        ["Subject"] = new MessageProperty("Subject", "Greetings")
    }
};

Copy constructor

Create a new Message from an existing IMessage, producing an independent copy:

var copy = new Message(original);
// copy.Id == original.Id, but it's a separate instance

This deep-copies the endpoint, content, and properties.

Endpoints

An endpoint identifies who sent the message and who should receive it. Unlike passing raw strings, every endpoint carries a type tag that tells the schema validator what kind of address it is. This prevents mistakes like using an email address where a phone number is expected, and it enables connectors to enforce endpoint-specific rules.

Endpoint implements IEndpoint and provides typed static factories. Every endpoint carries a type tag and an address string.

public enum EndpointType
{
    PhoneNumber, EmailAddress, Url, Topic,
    Id, UserId, ApplicationId, DeviceId, Label, Any
}

Factory methods

Endpoint.PhoneNumber("[phone]")
Endpoint.EmailAddress("[email protected]")
Endpoint.Url("https://hooks.example.com/callback")
Endpoint.Id("chat-123")                    // generic ID
Endpoint.User("user-42")                   // user identifier
Endpoint.Device("fcm-device-token")        // push device token
Endpoint.Application("app-main")           // application identifier
Endpoint.AlphaNumeric("AD12345")           // alphanumeric sender ID

Sender identities

Beyond Endpoint, the framework provides specialised sender types that implement both IEndpoint and ISender. These carry additional semantic meaning and can be resolved at send time from the sender registry.

Type	EndpointType	Description
SenderRef	Label	Logical name reference, resolved at send time via ISenderResolver
EmailSender	EmailAddress	Email sender with an optional display name
PhoneSender	PhoneNumber	Phone number sender with an optional display name
AlphaNumericSender	Label	Alphanumeric sender ID (e.g. brand name for SMS)
BotSender	Id	Bot identifier (e.g. Telegram bot ID)

SenderRef — identity reference

SenderRef carries a logical name that the connector resolves at send time. The resolution flows through ISenderResolver → ISenderRepository<Sender> → repository, letting you decouple message composition from sender configuration.

// Creates a SenderRef that will be resolved when the message is sent
var message = new MessageBuilder()
    .From(new SenderRef("support"))
    .ToEmail("[email protected]")
    .WithText("Hello!")
    .Build();

The FromSender() extension method on MessageBuilder (from Ratatosk.Senders) is a shorthand:

new MessageBuilder()
    .FromSender("support")
    .ToEmail("[email protected]")
    .WithText("Hello!")
    .Build();

The connector (ChannelConnectorBase.SendMessageAsync) calls ResolveSenderAsync which uses ISenderResolver to look up the name in the registry and replace the SenderRef with the concrete sender before validation and dispatch.

EmailSender, PhoneSender, AlphaNumericSender, BotSender

These are direct sender types that carry both an address and optional display name. They are used when you know the sender details at message-construction time but want typed semantics:

// Email sender with display name
new MessageBuilder()
    .From(new EmailSender("[email protected]", "No Reply"))
    .ToEmail("[email protected]")
    .WithText("Hello!")
    .Build();

// Phone sender
new MessageBuilder()
    .From(new PhoneSender("[phone]", "MyApp"))
    .ToPhone("[phone]")
    .WithText("Hello!")
    .Build();

// Alphanumeric sender (e.g. brand name for SMS)
new MessageBuilder()
    .From(new AlphaNumericSender("MYBRAND"))
    .ToPhone("[phone]")
    .WithText("Hello!")
    .Build();

// Bot sender
new MessageBuilder()
    .From(new BotSender("my-bot-id", "My Bot"))
    .To(Endpoint.Id("user-42"))
    .WithText("Hello!")
    .Build();

Setting sender and receiver

// Using MessageBuilder with endpoint objects
new MessageBuilder()
    .WithId("msg-2")
    .From(Endpoint.PhoneNumber("[phone]"))
    .To(Endpoint.EmailAddress("[email protected]"))
    .WithText("Hello")
    .Build();

// Using convenience shortcut methods
new MessageBuilder()
    .FromPhone("[phone]")
    .ToPhone("[phone]")
    .WithText("Hello")
    .Build();

new MessageBuilder()
    .FromEmail("[email protected]")
    .ToEmail("[email protected]")
    .WithText("Hello")
    .Build();

// Using sender identity types
new MessageBuilder()
    .From(new SenderRef("support"))
    .ToEmail("[email protected]")
    .WithText("Hello")
    .Build();

new MessageBuilder()
    .From(new EmailSender("[email protected]", "No Reply"))
    .ToEmail("[email protected]")
    .WithText("Hello")
    .Build();

// Using explicit constructor
new Message
{
    Sender = Endpoint.PhoneNumber("[phone]"),
    Receiver = Endpoint.EmailAddress("[email protected]"),
    Content = new TextContent("Hello")
};

Content types

Different channels support different kinds of content. SMS carries plain text, email supports HTML and attachments, chat apps handle media and locations, and push notifications can carry structured JSON payloads. The framework models this with separate content classes, each implementing IMessageContent. When you build a message, you choose the content type that matches your channel — and the schema validator confirms the connector supports it.

Twelve content classes implement IMessageContent. The base class MessageContent provides a static factory MessageContent.Create(IMessageContent?) that auto-selects the correct subclass.

TextContent

For plain text messages — the most common content type (SMS, chat, plain-text email):

// Using MessageBuilder
new MessageBuilder().WithText("Plain text message").Build();
new MessageBuilder().WithText("Encoded text", "utf-16").Build();

// Using explicit constructor
new Message { Content = new TextContent("Plain text message") };
new Message { Content = new TextContent("Encoded text", "utf-16") };

Properties: Text, Encoding (optional, defaults to UTF-8).

HtmlContent

For rich HTML content, typically used in email:

new MessageBuilder().WithHtml("<h1>Hello</h1><p>World</p>").Build();

// With inline attachments (e.g., embedded images)
new MessageBuilder()
    .WithHtml("<h1>Hello</h1><img src='cid:logo'/>", html =>
    {
        html.Attachments.Add(new MessageAttachment(
            "logo", "logo.png", "image/png", base64ImageData));
    })
    .Build();

Properties: Html, Attachments (list of MessageAttachment).

MediaContent

For images, audio, video, and documents:

// URL-based media (provider fetches the file)
var image = new MediaContent(MediaType.Image, "photo.jpg",
    "https://example.com/photo.jpg");
new MessageBuilder().WithContent(image).Build();

// Binary data upload
var pdf = new MediaContent(MediaType.Document, "report.pdf",
    fileUrl: null, fileData: pdfBytes);
new Message { Content = pdf };

MediaType enum: Image, Audio, Video, Document, File.

Properties: MediaType, FileName, FileUrl, Data.

BinaryContent

For raw binary payloads with a MIME type:

var binary = new BinaryContent(rawBytes, "application/octet-stream");
new MessageBuilder().WithContent(binary).Build();

Properties: RawData, MimeType.

JsonContent

For structured JSON payloads:

var json = new JsonContent("{\"key\": \"value\", \"count\": 42}");
new MessageBuilder().WithContent(json).Build();

Properties: Json (string).

LocationContent

For geographical coordinates, used in chat channels:

var location = new LocationContent(41.9028, 12.4964)   // Rome, Italy
    .WithHorizontalAccuracy(10.0)
    .WithLivePeriod(60)       // valid for 60 seconds
    .WithHeading(180)         // heading in degrees
    .WithProximityAlertRadius(50);  // alert within 50m

new MessageBuilder().WithContent(location).Build();

Properties: Latitude, Longitude, HorizontalAccuracy, LivePeriod, Heading, ProximityAlertRadius.

TemplateContent

For provider-side template rendering. The template ID and parameters are sent to the provider, which merges them server-side:

var template = new TemplateContent("welcome-template",
    new Dictionary<string, object?>
    {
        ["name"] = "Alice",
        ["link"] = "https://example.com/verify"
    });
new MessageBuilder().WithContent(template).Build();

Typical use: SendGrid dynamic templates, Twilio WhatsApp templates, Facebook message templates.

Properties: TemplateId, Parameters.

MultipartContent

Combine multiple content parts into a single message (e.g., text + image):

var multipart = new MultipartContent();
multipart.Parts.Add(new TextContent("Check out this photo"));
multipart.Parts.Add(new MediaContent(MediaType.Image, "photo.jpg",
    "https://example.com/photo.jpg"));
multipart.Parts.Add(new HtmlContent("<p>Check out <b>this</b> photo</p>"));

new Message { Content = multipart };

Each part can be any IMessageContentPart implementation: TextContentPart, HtmlContentPart.

ButtonContent

For sending interactive buttons in chat channels. Each button has a Text, ButtonType (Url, Postback, or PhoneNumber), and an optional Value (URL, callback data, or phone number):

// Using the convenience method on MessageBuilder
new MessageBuilder()
    .WithButton("Open Website", ButtonType.Url, "https://example.com")
    .Build();

// Using explicit constructor
new Message { Content = new ButtonContent("Open Website", ButtonType.Url, "https://example.com") };

Properties: Text, ButtonType, Value.

QuickReplyContent

For offering a single quick, one-tap reply option that appears above the keyboard in chat apps:

// Using the convenience method on MessageBuilder
new MessageBuilder()
    .WithQuickReply("Yes", "YES_PAYLOAD")
    .Build();

// With sub-builder configuration
new MessageBuilder()
    .WithQuickReply(qr => qr
        .WithTitle("Maybe")
        .WithPayload("MAYBE_PAYLOAD"))
    .Build();

// Using explicit constructor
new Message { Content = new QuickReplyContent("No", "NO_PAYLOAD") };

Properties: Title, Payload, ImageUrl.

CarouselContent

For sending a horizontal scrollable set of cards, each with an image, title, subtitle, and optional buttons (Facebook Messenger). Use the sub-builder API for a fluent construction:

// Using the sub-builder API
new MessageBuilder()
    .WithCarousel(carousel => carousel
        .AddCard("https://example.com/img1.jpg", "Product A", "Amazing", card =>
            card.WithButton("Buy", ButtonType.Postback, "BUY_A")
                .WithButton("Details", ButtonType.Url, "https://example.com/a"))
        .AddCard("https://example.com/img2.jpg", "Product B", "Even better", card =>
            card.WithButton("Buy", ButtonType.Postback, "BUY_B")
                .WithButton("Details", ButtonType.Url, "https://example.com/b")))
    .Build();

// Using explicit construction
var carousel = new CarouselContent();
carousel.AddCard(new CarouselCard("Product A", "Amazing", "https://example.com/img1.jpg")
{
    Buttons = { new ButtonContent("Buy", ButtonType.Postback, "BUY_A") }
});
new Message { Content = carousel };

CarouselCard properties: ImageUrl, Title, Subtitle, Buttons. CarouselContent properties: Cards (read-only), AddCard()/RemoveCard()/ClearCards() for mutation.

ListPickerContent

For sending a vertically-scrollable list of items the user can pick from (Facebook Messenger). Use the sub-builder API for a fluent construction:

// Using the sub-builder API
new MessageBuilder()
    .WithListPicker(list => list
        .WithStyle(ListPickerStyle.Compact)
        .AddItem("Pizza", "Delicious cheese pizza")
        .AddItem("Burger", "Juicy beef burger", payload: "ORDER_BURGER")
        .AddItem(item => item
            .WithTitle("Salad")
            .WithDescription("Fresh garden salad")))
    .Build();

// Using explicit construction
var list = new ListPickerContent("Our Menu", style: ListPickerStyle.Compact);
list.AddItem(new ListPickerItem("Pizza", "Delicious cheese pizza"));
new Message { Content = list };

ListPickerStyle values: Inlined (default), Compact, Large. ListPickerItem properties: Title, Description, ImageUrl, Payload. ListPickerContent properties: Title, Subtitle, Style, Items.

Channel support

Content type	Facebook Messenger	Telegram Bot
ButtonContent	Button template	InlineKeyboardMarkup
QuickReplyContent	Quick Replies	ReplyKeyboardMarkup (one-time)
CarouselContent	Generic template	—
ListPickerContent	List template	—

Carousel and List picker content throw NotSupportedException on Telegram.

Message properties

Not everything about a message fits neatly into sender, receiver, and content. Email needs a subject line, SMS has validity periods and max prices, push notifications carry badges and sounds, and every provider has its own set of per-message knobs. Properties are the escape hatch — a key-value dictionary on the message that connectors interpret for channel-specific configuration.

Properties are arbitrary key-value metadata attached to a message. They carry per-message configuration that the connector interprets.

Single property

new MessageBuilder()
    .WithProperty("priority", "high")
    .WithProperty("ttl", 3600)
    .Build();

Bulk properties

new MessageBuilder()
    .WithProperties(new Dictionary<string, object>
    {
        ["ValidityPeriod"] = 3600,
        ["MaxPrice"] = 0.05,
        ["SmartEncoded"] = true
    })
    .Build();

With MessageProperty objects

new MessageBuilder()
    .WithProperties(new Dictionary<string, MessageProperty>
    {
        ["ApiKeyOverride"] = new MessageProperty("ApiKeyOverride", "custom-key"),
        ["IsTest"] = MessageProperty.Sensitive("IsTest", true)
    })
    .Build();

Use MessageProperty.Sensitive(name, value) to mark a property that should be redacted in logs.

Known constants

Predefined property keys for common scenarios:

Constant	Key	Typical use
KnownMessageProperties.Subject	"subject"	Email subject line
KnownMessageProperties.RemoteMessageId	"remoteMessageId"	Provider-assigned message ID
KnownMessageProperties.ReplyTo	"replyTo"	Message being replied to
KnownMessageProperties.CorrelationId	"correlationId"	Cross-channel correlation

new MessageBuilder()
    .WithSubject("Your order confirmation")
    .WithRemoteId("ext-msg-456")
    .WithReplyTo("msg-123")
    .Build();

These are convenience wrappers around With(key, value) — they produce the same result.

Message batches

When you need to send many messages at once, individual SendMessageAsync calls create overhead. Many providers offer a bulk API that accepts multiple messages in a single HTTP request. The MessageBatch type wraps this pattern: collect your messages into a batch, send once, and get per-message results back.

For sending multiple messages in a single batch:

var batch = new MessageBatch();
batch.Id = "batch-001";
batch.Messages.Add(msg1);
batch.Messages.Add(msg2);
batch.Messages.Add(msg3);

var result = await connector.SendBatchAsync(batch, ct);

if (result.IsSuccess())
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Batch {result.Value!.BatchId} sent");
    foreach (var (msgId, sendResult) in result.Value.MessageResults)
        Console.WriteLine($"  {msgId}: {sendResult.Status}");
}

IMessageBatch also supports a Properties dictionary for batch-level metadata.

Message status lifecycle

A message passes through several states between creation and delivery. The framework models these with MessageStatus, from initial receipt through queuing, sending, delivery, and optional read receipts. Status updates arrive either by polling (GetMessageStatusAsync) or via webhook callbacks (ReceiveMessageStatusAsync).

The status lifecycle:

public enum MessageStatus
{
    Unknown,          // initial state
    Received,         // received by the messaging system
    Queued,           // queued for delivery
    Routed,           // routed to the provider
    RouteFailed,      // routing to the provider failed
    Sent,             // accepted by the provider
    Delivered,        // delivered to the recipient device
    DeliveryFailed,   // delivery to the recipient failed
    Read,             // recipient read the message
    Deleted           // message was deleted
}

StatusUpdatesResult captures the status history of a message, used by GetMessageStatusAsync queries and ReceiveMessageStatusAsync webhook receivers.

var statusResult = await connector.GetMessageStatusAsync("msg-1", ct);
if (statusResult.IsSuccess())
{
    foreach (var update in statusResult.Value!.Updates)
        Console.WriteLine($"[{update.Timestamp}] {update.Status}: {update.Description}");
}

IMessageProperty

Represents a single named property value:

public interface IMessageProperty
{
    string Name { get; }
    object? Value { get; }
    bool IsSensitive { get; }
}

The MessageProperty class implements this and provides .IsSensitive to control log redaction.

IMessageContentPart

Content parts for multipart messages. The TextContentPart and HtmlContentPart classes implement both the content interface and the content-type-specific interface:

var textPart = new TextContentPart("Hello from part 1");
var htmlPart = new HtmlContentPart("<p>Hello from part 2</p>");

MessageAttachment

Used by HtmlContent for embedding files:

var attachment = new MessageAttachment(
    id: "logo",
    fileName: "logo.png",
    mimeType: "image/png",
    content: base64Data
);

Properties: Id, FileName, MimeType, Content (base64-encoded string).

Polymorphic JSON serialization

Message.Sender and Message.Receiver are typed as IEndpoint?. The IEndpoint interface carries [JsonDerivedType] for every concrete implementation, enabling round-trip JSON serialization without custom converters:

{
  "id": "msg-1",
  "sender": { "$type": "senderref", "senderName": "support" },
  "receiver": { "$type": "endpoint", "address": "[email protected]", "type": "email" },
  "content": { "$type": "text", "text": "Hello!" }
}

The $type discriminator tells System.Text.Json which concrete type to deserialize. The available discriminator values and their corresponding types are:

$type value	CLR type	Sender-friendly
endpoint	Endpoint	Generic endpoint — specify address and type
senderref	SenderRef	Identity reference — specify senderName, resolved at send time
email	EmailSender	Email sender — specify emailAddress and optional displayName
phone	PhoneSender	Phone sender — specify phoneNumber and optional displayName
alphanumeric	AlphaNumericSender	Alphanumeric ID — specify text
bot	BotSender	Bot sender — specify botId and optional displayName

When a message with a SenderRef is deserialized at a connector endpoint, the SenderRef is resolved through the sender identity pipeline before processing.