Query Comments

Retrieve and filter comments with advanced querying, pagination, real-time updates, and comprehensive threading support

Build powerful comment systems with advanced querying capabilities including thread filtering, real-time updates, pagination, and flexible sorting options. The social.plus SDK provides comprehensive comment retrieval with Live Collections for optimal performance.

Comment queries return Live Collections that automatically update when comments are added, edited, or deleted, providing real-time updates across all connected clients.

Common Use Cases

Social Media

Load parent comments with expandable replies, and infinite scroll for engaging social discussions.

News Comments

Display chronological comments with sorting options, moderation features, and user reputation indicators.

Forum Discussions

Implement threaded discussions with unlimited nesting, search functionality, and user mention notifications.

Product Reviews

Show product feedback with rating filters, verified purchase indicators, and helpful vote sorting.

Always implement proper pagination to ensure optimal performance and user experience. Consider your application’s specific threading requirements when choosing between flat, two-level, or infinite threading strategies.

Reference Types

Comments can be queried from different types of content by specifying the appropriate reference type.

Reference Type	Description	Use Cases
post	Comments on regular posts	Social media feeds, blog posts, news articles
story	Comments on story content	Temporary content, social stories
content	Comments on specialized content	Media galleries, documents, custom content

Query Options

The ability to query comments and their replies is essential for creating robust commenting experiences. Use various parameters to filter and organize comments based on your application’s needs.

Parameter	Type	Description
referenceId	String	ID of the content being commented on (post, story, etc.)
referenceType	Enum	Type of content (.post, .story, .content)
parentId	String?	Filter by parent comment ID (null for top-level comments)
includeDeleted	Boolean	Whether to include deleted comments in results
dataTypes	Array	Filter by comment content types (text, image, etc.)
pageSize	Integer	Number of comments to load per page.
sortBy	Enum	Sort order for results. Options: firstCreated (ascending/oldest first) or lastCreated (descending/newest first). Flutter uses .sortBy(AmityCommentSortOption)

iOS

// Query all comments on a post
let queryOptions = AmityCommentQueryOptions(
    referenceId: "post-id",
    referenceType: .post,
    filterByParentId: false,
    orderBy: .descending,
    includeDeleted: false,
    pageSize: 20  // Optional: defaults to 20
)

token = commentRepository.getComments(with: queryOptions)
    .observe { collection, changes, error in
        // Handle the Live Collection results
        if let error = error {
            print("Error querying comments: \(error.localizedDescription)")
            return
        }

        // Process comments
        let comments = collection.object
        updateCommentsUI(comments)
    }

Comment Threading

Top-Level Comments

Query parent-level comments by setting parentId to null:

// Query only top-level comments
let queryOptions = AmityCommentQueryOptions(
    referenceId: "post-id",
    referenceType: .post,
    filterByParentId: true,
    parentId: nil,              // nil = root-level comments only
    orderBy: .descending,
    includeDeleted: false,
    pageSize: 20
)

Reply Comments

Query replies to a specific comment by providing the parent comment ID:

// Query replies to a specific comment
let queryOptions = AmityCommentQueryOptions(
    referenceId: "post-id",
    referenceType: .post,
    filterByParentId: true,
    parentId: "parent-comment-id", // Replies to this comment
    orderBy: .ascending,
    includeDeleted: false,
    pageSize: 5                    // Smaller page size recommended for reply threads
)

Content Type Filtering

Filter comments by their content types using the dataTypes parameter:

Filter Options

Filter Type	Description	Example Use Case
any	Comments containing at least one specified type	Show comments with images OR text
exact	Comments containing all specified types	Show comments with images AND text

// Query image comments only
let queryOptions = AmityCommentQueryOptions(
    referenceId: "post-id",
    referenceType: .post,
    filterByParentId: false,
    dataTypes: .exact([.image]),   // Image comments only
    orderBy: .descending,
    includeDeleted: false,
    pageSize: 20
)

Related Topics

Get Comment

Learn how to retrieve individual comments by ID

Create Comment

Understand the comment creation process and options

Comment Reactions

Implement reaction features for comment engagement

Live Collections

Understand real-time data synchronization concepts