Chat

The Chat table sends server messages to every player's chat. The chat window itself is not built into the game: it is a resource (the bundled chat resource, or your own). Chat resources show messages when they receive the OnChat event on the client, and send the players' own messages to the server with Net events.

Available on: Server

How chat messages flow

1. A player types a message in a chat resource's window. The chat's client script sends it to the server with Net.Send, and the chat's server script decides what to do with it (filter it, add the player's name, handle /commands...).
2. The server script calls Chat.Broadcast with the final text.
3. Every joined player's client fires the client event OnChat(sender, text) with sender set to nil (the server sent it), and the chat resources display the text.

The client's OnChat has a PlayerHandle sender only for the game's built-in chat message, which no release-build script API sends: the server then fires its own cancellable OnChat(player, text) first and, unless a handler cancels it, relays "<name>: <text>" to everyone with that player as the sender. See client events and server events for OnChat.

Functions

Chat.Broadcast(text)

Sends text to every joined player. On each client it fires OnChat with a nil sender and the text. It does not fire the server's own OnChat event, and it is not written to the server console.

Messages longer than 1023 bytes are cut at 1023 bytes, which can split a multi-byte UTF-8 character at the end. Players still connecting don't receive it.

The text is shown however the chat resource displays it; the bundled chat shows it as plain text.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
text	string	the message

Returns nothing

Example

-- server: a chat relay with a name prefix and a length limit
Net.AddEvent("mychat:say", function(text)
	local client = Net.Sender()

	if not client or type(text) ~= "string" or not text:find("%S") then
		return
	end

	Chat.Broadcast(client:GetName() .. ": " .. text:sub(1, 200))
end)

Event.Add("OnPlayerJoin", function(client)
	Chat.Broadcast(client:GetName() .. " joined the server")
end)

-- client: show chat messages (a minimal chat display)
Event.Add("OnChat", function(sender, text)
	if sender then
		print("[" .. sender:GetName() .. "] " .. text)
	else
		print("[server] " .. text)
	end
end)

To send a message to a single player, send your own event with Net.SendToPlayer and have your chat script display it.