> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.contactship.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Get Message

> Retrieve a single message by its ID

Returns the details of a specific message in a conversation thread.

## Headers

<ParamField header="x-api-key" type="string" required>
  Your API key for authentication.
</ParamField>

## Path Parameters

<ParamField path="messageId" type="string" required>
  The UUID of the message to retrieve.
</ParamField>

## Response

<ResponseField name="id" type="string">
  Unique identifier of the message (UUID).
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="thread_id" type="string">
  UUID of the thread this message belongs to.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="role" type="string">
  Sender role: `human` (sent by a user or agent) or `assistant` (sent by AI).
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="type" type="string">
  Message type: `text`, `image`, `video`, `audio`, `document`, `template`, `location`.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="content" type="string">
  Text content of the message.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="media" type="object">
  Media attachment details, present for non-text message types.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="from" type="string">
  The sender's identifier (phone number or display value).
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="source" type="string">
  How the message was sent: `webapp`, `ai_agent`, or `whatsapp` (inbound).
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="status" type="string">
  Delivery status: `pending`, `sent`, `delivered`, `read`, `failed`.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="sender_id" type="string">
  UUID of the user who sent the message. `null` for AI-generated or API key messages.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="created_at" type="string">
  Timestamp when the message was created (ISO 8601).
</ResponseField>

## Error Codes

* `401 Unauthorized` — Invalid or missing API key
* `404 Not Found` — Message not found or does not belong to your organization
* `500 Internal Server Error` — Server-side error

## Code Examples

<RequestExample>
  ```bash cURL theme={null}
  curl -X GET "https://api.contactship.ai/v1/messages/msg-a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890" \
    -H "x-api-key: your-api-key"
  ```

  ```javascript JavaScript theme={null}
  const messageId = 'msg-a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890';
  const response = await fetch(
    `https://api.contactship.ai/v1/messages/${messageId}`,
    { headers: { 'x-api-key': 'your-api-key' } }
  );
  const message = await response.json();
  console.log(`Message: ${message.content} (${message.status})`);
  ```

  ```python Python theme={null}
  import requests

  message_id = 'msg-a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890'
  response = requests.get(
      f'https://api.contactship.ai/v1/messages/{message_id}',
      headers={'x-api-key': 'your-api-key'},
  )
  print(response.json())
  ```
</RequestExample>

<ResponseExample>
  ```json Example Response theme={null}
  {
    "id": "msg-a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
    "thread_id": "thr-b2c3d4e5-f6a7-8901-bcde-f12345678901",
    "role": "human",
    "type": "text",
    "content": "Hello! How can I help you today?",
    "media": null,
    "from": "+12025551234",
    "source": "webapp",
    "status": "sent",
    "sender_id": null,
    "created_at": "2026-04-06T15:00:00Z"
  }
  ```
</ResponseExample>