Google Chat Messages

Send messages to Google Chat spaces via incoming webhooks. Produces text messages, rich cards (cardsV2), and threaded replies.

What You Produce

• Text messages with Google Chat formatting
• Rich card messages (cardsV2) with headers, sections, widgets
• Threaded conversations
• Reusable webhook sender utility

Workflow

Step 1: Get Webhook URL

In Google Chat:

1. Open a Space > click space name > Manage webhooks
2. Create webhook (name it, optionally add avatar URL)
3. Copy the webhook URL

Store the URL as an environment variable or in your secrets manager — never hardcode.

Step 2: Choose Message Type

Need	Type	Complexity
Simple notification	Text message	Low
Structured info (status, digest)	Card message (cardsV2)	Medium
Ongoing updates	Threaded replies	Medium
Action buttons (open URL)	Card with buttonList	Medium

Step 3: Send the Message

Use assets/webhook-sender.ts for the sender utility. Use assets/card-builder.ts for structured card construction.

Text Formatting

Google Chat does NOT use standard Markdown.

Format	Syntax	Example
Bold	*text*	*important*
Italic	_text_	_emphasis_
Strikethrough	~text~	~removed~
Monospace	`text`	`code`
Code block	```text```	Multi-line code
Link	<url|text>	<https://example.com|Click here>
Mention user	<users/USER_ID>	<users/123456>
Mention all	<users/all>	<users/all>

Not supported: **double asterisks**, headings (###), blockquotes, tables, images inline.

Text Message Example

await sendText(webhookUrl, '*Build Complete*\n\nBranch: `main`\nStatus: Passed\n<https://ci.example.com/123|View Build>');

cardsV2 Structure

Cards use the cardsV2 format (recommended over legacy cards).

const message = {
  cardsV2: [{
    cardId: 'unique-id',
    card: {
      header: {
        title: 'Card Title',
        subtitle: 'Optional subtitle',
        imageUrl: 'https://example.com/icon.png',
        imageType: 'CIRCLE'  // or 'SQUARE'
      },
      sections: [{
        header: 'Section Title',  // optional
        widgets: [
          // widgets go here
        ]
      }]
    }
  }]
};

Widget Reference

All widget types available in cardsV2 sections.

textParagraph

Formatted text block. Supports Google Chat formatting (*bold*, _italic_, <url|text>).

{
  textParagraph: {
    text: '*Status*: All systems operational\n_Last checked_: 5 minutes ago'
  }
}

decoratedText

Labelled value with optional icons. Most versatile widget for key-value data.

Basic:

{
  decoratedText: {
    topLabel: 'Environment',
    text: 'Production',
    bottomLabel: 'Last deployed 2h ago'
  }
}

With start icon:

{
  decoratedText: {
    topLabel: 'Status',
    text: 'Healthy',
    startIcon: { knownIcon: 'STAR' }
  }
}

With custom icon URL:

{
  decoratedText: {
    topLabel: 'GitHub',
    text: 'PR #142 merged',
    startIcon: {
      iconUrl: 'https://github.githubassets.com/favicons/favicon.svg',
      altText: 'GitHub'
    }
  }
}

With button:

{
  decoratedText: {
    topLabel: 'Alert',
    text: 'CPU at 95%',
    button: {
      text: 'View',
      onClick: { openLink: { url: 'https://monitoring.example.com' } }
    }
  }
}

Clickable (whole widget):

{
  decoratedText: {
    text: 'View full report',
    wrapText: true,
    onClick: { openLink: { url: 'https://reports.example.com' } }
  }
}

With wrap text:

{
  decoratedText: {
    topLabel: 'Description',
    text: 'This is a longer description that should wrap to multiple lines instead of being truncated',
    wrapText: true
  }
}

buttonList

One or more action buttons. Buttons open URLs or trigger actions.

Single button:

{
  buttonList: {
    buttons: [{
      text: 'Open Dashboard',
      onClick: { openLink: { url: 'https://dashboard.example.com' } }
    }]
  }
}

Multiple buttons:

{
  buttonList: {
    buttons: [
      {
        text: 'Approve',
        onClick: { openLink: { url: 'https://app.example.com/approve/123' } },
        color: { red: 0, green: 0.5, blue: 0, alpha: 1 }
      },
      {
        text: 'Reject',
        onClick: { openLink: { url: 'https://app.example.com/reject/123' } }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Button with icon:

{
  buttonList: {
    buttons: [{
      text: 'View on GitHub',
      icon: { knownIcon: 'BOOKMARK' },
      onClick: { openLink: { url: 'https://github.com/org/repo/pull/42' } }
    }]
  }
}

image

Standalone image widget.

{
  image: {
    imageUrl: 'https://example.com/chart.png',
    altText: 'Monthly usage chart'
  }
}

divider

Horizontal line separator between widgets.

{ divider: {} }

Collapsible Sections

Sections can be collapsed with only the first N widgets visible:

{
  header: 'Details',
  collapsible: true,
  uncollapsibleWidgetsCount: 2,  // Show first 2, collapse rest
  widgets: [
    { decoratedText: { topLabel: 'Status', text: 'Active' } },
    { decoratedText: { topLabel: 'Region', text: 'AU' } },
    // These start collapsed
    { decoratedText: { topLabel: 'Instance', text: 'prod-01' } },
    { decoratedText: { topLabel: 'Memory', text: '2