Setting the status message for the user's presence

[jannistpl]

Hi everyone,

The matrix specifications allow you to define a status_msg in addition to a user's presence. See: https://spec.matrix.org/v1.18/client-server-api/#put_matrixclientv3presenceuseridstatus

I couldn't find a method in the SDK to set a user's status message. Currently, it seems a user's presence can only be set via the SyncSettings, but there is no option to set the status message.

I also tried using the low-level API of the ruma crate:

use matrix_sdk::ruma::api::client::presence::set_presence::v3::Request;

let mut request = Request::new(user_id.to_owned(), PresenceState::Unavailable);
request.status_msg = Some("Doing some stuff".to_owned());

client.send(request).await;

However, this doesn't seem to work. I suspect this is because the SDK overwrites the presence with every sync.

[zecakeh]

Using the Ruma endpoint manually looks like the right thing to do and should work in theory. Setting the presence during sync doesn't allow to set the status message, and it shouldn't influence the status message according to the spec.

So what do you mean by "it doesn't seem to work"? What do you observe that is wrong or what do you expect to observe that is missing? Also which homeserver are you testing this with? Some homeservers disable presence altogether.

[jannistpl]

Immediately after the request, I receive the correct presence event, but shortly afterward, a new presence event arrives which overwrites the changes. I suspect this is due to the sync overwriting the presence. But you're right, the status_msg remains. Only the presence is overwritten. I hadn't noticed that before.

It would be good if presence could be made optional in the sync, if that's possible.
If you manually set the presence using the endpoint, you currently still have to specify a presence during the sync. However, the sync usually runs in its own thread, which complicates things somewhat.

[zecakeh]

The thing is that when you use /sync without setting the presence, the homeserver will mark you as "online". Quote from the definition of the set_presence field in the spec:

Controls whether the client is automatically marked as online by polling this API. If this parameter is omitted then the client is automatically marked as online when it uses this API.

That's why Ruma defaults to online, and it actually doesn't set the field when serializing the request. If you want a different presence, it seems like you need to send it continuously during sync.

[jannistpl]

I've now got it working by continuously updating the presence state during synchronization too. Thank you for your help. Will close the ticket.