Build Zoom Team Chat App

/build-zoom-team-chat-app

Background reference for Zoom Team Chat integrations. Use this after the workflow is clear, especially when the Team Chat API versus Chatbot API distinction matters.

For agent-driven MCP tooling that sends or edits messages, manages Team Chat channels, or adds channel members through Zoom's hosted MCP server, use ../zoom-mcp/team-chat/SKILL.md. Keep this skill as the default for deterministic REST API implementation, chatbot apps, webhooks, retry logic, and production backend control.

Read This First (Critical)

There are two different integration types and they are not interchangeable:

1. Team Chat API (user type)

   • Sends messages as a real authenticated user
   • Uses User OAuth (authorization_code)
   • Endpoint family: /v2/chat/users/...

2. Chatbot API (bot type)

   • Sends messages as your bot identity
   • Uses Client Credentials (client_credentials)
   • Endpoint family: /v2/im/chat/messages

If you choose the wrong type early, auth/scopes/endpoints all mismatch and implementation fails.

Official Documentation: https://developers.zoom.us/docs/team-chat/
Chatbot Documentation: https://developers.zoom.us/docs/team-chat/chatbot/extend/
API Reference: https://developers.zoom.us/docs/api/rest/reference/chatbot/

Quick Links

New to Team Chat? Follow this path:

1. Get Started - End-to-end fast path (user type vs bot type)
2. Choose Your API - Team Chat API vs Chatbot API
3. Environment Setup - Credentials, scopes, app configuration
4. OAuth Setup - Complete authentication flow
5. Send First Message - Working code to send messages

Reference:

• Chatbot Message Cards - Complete card component reference
• Webhook Events - All webhook event types
• API Reference - Endpoints, methods, parameters
• Sample Applications - 10+ official sample apps
• Integrated Index - see the section below in this file

Having issues?

• Authentication errors → OAuth Troubleshooting
• Webhook not receiving events → Webhook Setup Guide
• Messages not sending → Common Issues
• Start with quick checks → 5-Minute Runbook

OAuth endpoint sanity check:

• Authorize URL: https://zoom.us/oauth/authorize
• Token URL: https://zoom.us/oauth/token
• If /oauth/token returns 404/HTML, use https://zoom.us/oauth/token.

Building Interactive Bots?

• Button Actions - Handle button clicks
• Form Submissions - Process form data
• Slash Commands - Create custom commands

Quick Decision: Which API?

Team Chat API (User-Level)

• Messages appear as sent by authenticated user
• Requires User OAuth (authorization_code flow)
• Endpoint: POST https://api.zoom.us/v2/chat/users/me/messages
• Scopes: chat_message:write, chat_channel:read

Chatbot API (Bot-Level)

• Messages appear as sent by your bot
• Requires Client Credentials grant
• Do not use an authorization-code grant or user OAuth access token for chatbot messages
• Endpoint: POST https://api.zoom.us/v2/im/chat/messages
• Scopes: imchat:bot (auto-added)
• Rich cards: buttons, forms, dropdowns, images

Prerequisites

System Requirements

• Zoom account
• Account owner, admin, or Zoom for developers role enabled
  • To enable: User Management → Roles → Role Settings → Advanced features → Enable Zoom for developers

Create Zoom App

1. Go to Zoom App Marketplace
2. Click Develop → Build App
3. Select General App (OAuth)

⚠️ Do NOT use Server-to-Server OAuth for a chatbot. S2S apps cannot enable the Team Chat chatbot/subscription feature. S2S can still call supported Team Chat admin REST APIs.

Need to create the General App by API or manifest? Use Marketplace app management first. It covers Team Chat manifest requirements such as imchat:bot, team_chat_subscription, slash_command.development_message_url, shortcut action_types, and app-owned client_credentials scopes. Select the user, admin, S2S, or chatbot variant from the Marketplace template selector.

Required Credentials

From Zoom Marketplace → Your App:

See: Environment Setup Guide for complete configuration steps.

Quick Start: Team Chat API

Send a message as a user:

// 1. Get access token via OAuth
const accessToken = await getOAuthToken(); // See examples/oauth-setup.md

// 2. Send message to channel
const response = await fetch('https://api.zoom.us/v2/chat/users/me/messages', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': `Bearer ${accessToken}`,
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    message: 'Hello from CI/CD pipeline!',
    to_channel: 'CHANNEL_ID'
  })
});

const data = await response.json();
// { "id": "msg_abc123", "date_time": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z" }

Complete example: Send Message Guide

Quick Start: Chatbot API

Build an interactive chatbot:

// 1. Get chatbot token (client_credentials)
async function getChatbotToken() {
  const credentials = Buffer.from(
    `${CLIENT_ID}:${CLIENT_SECRET}`
  ).toString('base64');
  
  const response = await fetch('https://zoom.us/oauth/token', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Authorization': `Basic ${credentials}`,
      'Content-Type': 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded'
    },
    body: 'grant_type=client_credentials'
  });
  
  return (await response.json()).access_token;
}

// 2. Send chatbot message with buttons
const response = await fetch('https://api.zoom.us/v2/im/chat/messages', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': `Bearer ${accessToken}`,
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    robot_jid: process.env.ZOOM_BOT_JID,
    to_jid: payload.toJid,           // From webhook
    user_jid: payload.userJid,       // From bot_notification webhook
    account_id: payload.accountId,   // From webhook
    content: {
      head: {
        text: 'Build Notification',
        sub_head: { text: 'CI/CD Pipeline' }
      },
      body: [
        { type: 'message', text: 'Deployment successful!' },
        {
          type: 'fields',
          items: [
            { key: 'Branch', value: 'main' },
            { key: 'Commit', value: 'abc123' }
          ]
        },
        {
          type: 'actions',
          items: [
            { text: 'View Logs', value: 'view_logs', style: 'Primary' },
            { text: 'Dismiss', value: 'dismiss', style: 'Default' }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  })
});

const responseBody = await response.json().catch(() => null);
console.log('Zoom chatbot response', {
  status: response.status,
  body: responseBody
});
if (!response.ok) {
  throw new Error(`Chatbot message failed: ${JSON.stringify(responseBody)}`);
}

An HTTP 200 from the webhook only confirms that Zoom delivered the event to your server. It does not confirm that the chatbot reply succeeded. Verify the outbound API status and response body, then confirm that the reply is visible in Team Chat.

Complete example: Chatbot Setup Guide

Key Features

Team Chat API

Chatbot API

Webhook Events (Chatbot API)

See: Webhook Events Reference

Message Card Components

Build rich interactive messages with these components:

See: Message Cards Reference for complete component catalog

Architecture Patterns

Chatbot Lifecycle

User types /command → Webhook receives bot_notification
                            ↓
                     payload.cmd = "user's input"
                            ↓
                     Process command
                            ↓
                     Send response via sendChatbotMessage()

LLM Integration Pattern

case 'bot_notification': {
  const { toJid, userJid, cmd, accountId } = payload;
  
  // 1. Call your LLM
  const llmResponse = await callClaude(cmd);
  
  // 2. Send response back
  await sendChatbotMessage({
    toJid,
    userJid,
    accountId,
    content: {
      body: [{ type: 'message', text: llmResponse }]
    }
  });
}

See: LLM Integration Guide

Sample Applications

See: Sample Applications Guide for analysis of all 10 samples

Common Operations

Send Message to Channel

// Team Chat API
await fetch('https://api.zoom.us/v2/chat/users/me/messages', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${token}` },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    message: 'Hello!',
    to_channel: 'CHANNEL_ID'
  })
});

Handle Button Click

// Webhook handler
case 'interactive_message_actions': {
  const { actionItem, toJid, userJid, accountId } = payload;
  
  if (actionItem.value === 'approve') {
    await sendChatbotMessage({
      toJid,
      userJid,
      accountId,
      content: {
        body: [{ type: 'message', text: '✅ Approved!' }]
      }
    });
  }
}

Verify Webhook Signature

function verifyWebhook(req) {
  const message = `v0:${req.headers['x-zm-request-timestamp']}:${JSON.stringify(req.body)}`;
  const hash = crypto.createHmac('sha256', process.env.ZOOM_VERIFICATION_TOKEN)
    .update(message)
    .digest('hex');
  return req.headers['x-zm-signature'] === `v0=${hash}`;
}

Deployment

ngrok for Local Development

# Install ngrok
npm install -g ngrok

# Expose local server
ngrok http 4000

# Use HTTPS URL as Bot Endpoint URL in Zoom Marketplace
# Example: https://abc123.ngrok.io/webhook

Production Deployment

See: Deployment Guide for:

• Nginx reverse proxy setup
• Base path configuration
• OAuth redirect URI setup

Limitations

Security Best Practices

1. Verify webhook signatures - Always validate using x-zm-signature header
2. Sanitize messages - Limit to 4096 chars, remove control characters
3. Validate JIDs - Check format: user@domain or channel@domain
4. Environment variables - Never hardcode credentials
5. Use HTTPS - Required for production webhooks

See: Security Best Practices

Complete Documentation Library

Core Concepts (Start Here!)

• API Selection Guide - Choose Team Chat API vs Chatbot API
• Environment Setup - Complete credentials guide
• Authentication Flows - OAuth vs Client Credentials
• Webhook Architecture - How webhooks work
• Message Card Structure - Card component hierarchy

Complete Examples

• OAuth Setup - Full OAuth implementation
• Send Message - Team Chat API message sending
• Chatbot Setup - Complete chatbot with webhooks
• Button Actions - Handle interactive buttons
• Form Submissions - Process form data
• Slash Commands - Create custom commands
• LLM Integration - Claude/GPT integration
• Scheduled Alerts - Cron + incoming webhooks
• Channel Management - Create/manage channels

References

• API Reference - All endpoints and methods
• Webhook Events - Complete event reference
• Message Cards - All card components
• Sample Applications - Analysis of 10 official samples
• Error Codes - Error handling guide

Troubleshooting

• OAuth Issues - Authentication failures
• Webhook Issues - Webhook debugging
• Common Issues - Quick diagnostics

Resources

• Official Docs: https://developers.zoom.us/docs/team-chat/
• API Reference: https://developers.zoom.us/docs/api/rest/reference/chatbot/
• Dev Forum: https://devforum.zoom.us/
• App Marketplace: https://marketplace.zoom.us/

Need help? Start with Integrated Index section below for complete navigation.

Integrated Index

This section was migrated from SKILL.md.

Complete navigation guide for the Zoom Team Chat skill.

Quick Start Paths

• Start here: Get Started
• Fast troubleshooting first: 5-Minute Runbook

Path 1: Team Chat API (User-Level Messaging)

For sending messages as a user account.

1. API Selection Guide - Confirm Team Chat API is right
2. Environment Setup - Get credentials
3. OAuth Setup Example - Implement authentication
4. Send Message Example - Send your first message

Path 2: Chatbot API (Interactive Bots)

For building interactive chatbots with rich messages.

1. API Selection Guide - Confirm Chatbot API is right
2. Environment Setup - Get credentials (including Bot JID)
3. Webhook Architecture - Understand webhook events
4. Chatbot Setup Example - Build your first bot
5. Message Cards Reference - Create rich messages

Core Concepts

Essential understanding for both APIs.

Complete Examples

Working code for common scenarios.

Authentication

Basic Operations

Interactive Features (Chatbot API)

Advanced Integration

References

API Documentation

Sample Applications

Field Guides

Troubleshooting

Architecture Patterns

Chatbot Lifecycle

User Action → Webhook → Process → Response

LLM Integration Pattern

User Input → Chatbot receives → Call LLM → Send response

Approval Workflow Pattern

Request → Send card with buttons → User clicks → Update status → Notify

Common Use Cases

Notifications

• CI/CD build notifications
• Server monitoring alerts
• Scheduled reports
• System health checks

Workflows

• Approval requests
• Task assignment
• Status updates
• Form submissions

Integrations

• LLM-powered assistants
• Database queries
• External API integration
• File/image sharing

Automation

• Scheduled messages
• Auto-responses
• Data collection
• Report generation

Resource Links

Official Documentation

• Team Chat Docs - Official overview
• Chatbot Docs - Chatbot guide
• API Reference - REST API docs
• App Marketplace - Create and manage apps

Sample Code

• Chatbot Quickstart - Official tutorial
• Claude Chatbot - AI integration
• Unsplash Chatbot - Image search bot
• ERP Chatbot - Enterprise integration
• Task Manager - Full CRUD app

Tools

• App Card Builder - Visual card designer
• ngrok - Local webhook testing
• Postman - API testing

Community

• Developer Forum - Ask questions
• GitHub Discussions - Community support
• Developer Support - Official support

Documentation Status

✅ Complete

• Main skill.md entry point
• API Selection Guide
• Environment Setup
• Webhook Architecture
• Chatbot Setup Example (complete working code)
• Message Cards Reference
• Common Issues Troubleshooting

📝 Pending (High Priority)

• OAuth Setup Example
• Send Message Example
• Button Actions Example
• LLM Integration Example
• Webhook Events Reference
• API Reference
• Sample Applications Analysis

📋 Planned (Lower Priority)

• Form Submissions Example
• Channel Management Examples
• Database Integration Example
• Error Codes Reference
• Rate Limits Guide
• Deployment troubleshooting

Getting Started Checklist

For Team Chat API

• Read API Selection Guide
• Complete Environment Setup
• Obtain Client ID, Client Secret
• Add required scopes
• Implement OAuth flow
• Send first message

For Chatbot API

• Read API Selection Guide
• Complete Environment Setup
• Obtain Client ID, Client Secret, Bot JID, Secret Token, Account ID
• Enable Team Chat in Features
• Configure Bot Endpoint URL and Slash Command
• Set up ngrok for local testing
• Implement webhook handler
• Send first chatbot message

Version History

• v1.0 (2026-02-09) - Initial comprehensive documentation
  • Core concepts (API selection, environment setup, webhooks)
  • Complete chatbot setup example
  • Message cards reference
  • Common issues troubleshooting

Support

Use this SKILL.md as the navigation hub for Team Chat API selection, setup, examples, and troubleshooting.

Environment Variables

• See references/environment-variables.md for standardized .env keys and where to find each value.