When initially run, a messaging client typically shows some list of contacts and chatrooms, and whether any new messages are present in each.
The current mechanism for achieving this UX involves a complete synchronization of the server-side archive, and is both time-consuming and bandwidth-intensive. This specification proposes a solution to directly obtain such data from the server.
Moreover, the information gathered by the server to support this can be used in support of mobile push notifications.
Nomenclature used for instant messages versus ancillary messages will need to be adjusted to make it consistent with Message Fastening (XEP-0422) [1] et al.
Support for this protocol is advertised by the Service Discovery protocol defined in Service Discovery (XEP-0030) [2] using a feature
of urn:xmpp:inbox:1.
The Inbox consists semantically of a list of conversations in order of last activity. Each conversation is identified by a jid - for group chats this would be the chatroom, and for individual contacts this would be their bare jid.
Each Inbox entry includes a count of messages considered new, the last MAM stanza-id relating to this conversation, and the last MAM result for this conversation, as defined by Message Archive Management (XEP-0313) [3]. In addition, a client-controlled boolean marker can be used to indicate a manual "set unread" state.
Finding more messages from this conversation can be achieved via a MAM query using with to specify the
conversation required.
An <iq/> of type "get" is used, containing a single element <inbox/>, containing an optional RSM
filter as specified by Result Set Management (XEP-0059) [4]. This will typically be sent only to the user's own bare jid. If a client
requests the inbox without RSM, the server MAY limit the number of conversations arbitrarily by either time or number. This element has a number of attributes:
unread-only - Defaults to false. If true, the server will list only conversations with at least one unread message.messages - Defaults to true. If true, the server includes the last message; if false, this is elided.The server
responds with a sequence of <message/> stanzas, each containing an <entry/> element qualified by the
urn:xmpp:inbox:1 namespace with a number of attributes:
jid - contains the Jid of the conversation for this entry.unread - contains a count of messages which are deemed to be unread by the server. Clients may use this to indicate unread messages to the user.id - contains the last id in the MAM archive for this conversation. Clients may use this as a marker to fetch additional messages (or collated fastenings, see MAM Fastening Collation (XEP-0427) [5]) about the conversation via MAM.If the messages attribute is missing or set to true, the <entry/> element is followed by the latest instant message, if any, which is encapsulated as a
<result/> element as defined by Message Archive Management (XEP-0313) [3]. This contains collated fastenings if supported by the
server.
After all entries required have been returned, the server then responds with an <iq/> result containing a
<fin/> element qualified by urn:xmpp:inbox:1. This contains the RSM data, a total count of conversation
entries within the inbox, a count of conversations with unread messages, and a total count of unread messages.
Servers MUST track which instant messages sent to clients remain unread.
Let us assume a user has only three jids they have exchanged messages with. Asking for their inbox is simple:
<iq type='get' id='iq_stanza_id'>
<inbox xmlns='urn:xmpp:inbox:1'/>
</iq>
The server responds with a list of conversations:
<message>
<entry xmlns='urn:xmpp:inbox:1' unread='5' jid='first_contact@example.net' id='uuid-1'/>
<result xmlns='urn:xmpp:mam:2' queryid='iq_stanza_id' id='uuid-1'>
<forwarded xmlns='urn:xmpp:forward:0'>
<message xmlns='jabber:client' from='first_contact@example.net' to='user@example.org' type='chat'>
<body>Greetings from Alpha Centauri!</body>
</message>
</forwarded>
</result>
</message>
<message>
<entry xmlns='urn:xmpp:inbox:1' unread='0' jid='second_contact@example.net' id='uuid-5'/>
<result xmlns='urn:xmpp:mam:2' queryid='iq_stanza_id' id='uuid-5'>
<forwarded xmlns='urn:xmpp:forward:0'>
<message xmlns='jabber:client' from='second_contact@example.net' to='user@example.org' type='chat'>
<body>Greetings from Mars!</body>
</message>
</forwarded>
</result>
</message>
<message>
<entry xmlns='urn:xmpp:inbox:1' unread='1' jid='third_contact@example.net' id='uuid-8'/>
<result xmlns='urn:xmpp:mam:2' queryid='iq_stanza_id' id='uuid-8'>
<forwarded xmlns='urn:xmpp:forward:0'>
<message xmlns='jabber:client' from='third_contact@example.net' to='user@example.org' type='chat'>
<body>Greetings from Somewhere Else!</body>
</message>
</forwarded>
</result>
</message>
If the id of a conversation has changed, a client might fetch the missing messages and metadata by requesting the MAM archive with the jid of the entry, and after the previous known id for the conversation.
After the list of conversations, the server completes its response with a the reply to the original IQ.
<iq type='result' id='iq_stanza_id'>
<fin xmlns='urn:xmpp:inbox:1' total='3' unread='2' all-unread='6'>
<!-- RSM -->
</fin>
TODO - Hopefully roughly given by the examples.
TODO
This XEP requires no interaction with the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) [8].
None.
The author notes that this protocol is heavily based on the mod_inbox system of MongooseIM. In addition, Kevin Smith and several others at the XMPP Summit 24 provided useful feedback which has shaped this specification.
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The Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) is defined in the XMPP Core (RFC 6120) and XMPP IM (RFC 6121) specifications contributed by the XMPP Standards Foundation to the Internet Standards Process, which is managed by the Internet Engineering Task Force in accordance with RFC 2026. Any protocol defined in this document has been developed outside the Internet Standards Process and is to be understood as an extension to XMPP rather than as an evolution, development, or modification of XMPP itself.
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The following requirements keywords as used in this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119: "MUST", "SHALL", "REQUIRED"; "MUST NOT", "SHALL NOT"; "SHOULD", "RECOMMENDED"; "SHOULD NOT", "NOT RECOMMENDED"; "MAY", "OPTIONAL".
1. XEP-0422: Message Fastening <https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0422.html>.
2. XEP-0030: Service Discovery <https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0030.html>.
3. XEP-0313: Message Archive Management <https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0313.html>.
4. XEP-0059: Result Set Management <https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0059.html>.
5. XEP-0427: MAM Fastening Collation <https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0427.html>.
6. XEP-0333: Displayed Markers <https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0333.html>.
7. XEP-0184: Message Delivery Receipts <https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0184.html>.
8. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is the central coordinator for the assignment of unique parameter values for Internet protocols, such as port numbers and URI schemes. For further information, see <http://www.iana.org/>.
Note: Older versions of this specification might be available at https://xmpp.org/extensions/attic/
@report{cridland2019inbox,
title = {Inbox},
author = {Cridland, Dave},
type = {XEP},
number = {0430},
version = {0.2.0},
institution = {XMPP Standards Foundation},
url = {https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0430.html},
date = {2019-12-30/2020-02-03},
}END