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Side conversation initiating message not returned in conversation API - only replies are accessible

  • January 21, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 72 views
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When retrieving a conversation via the REST API  GET /conversations/{id}, the initial message that starts a side conversation is not included in the response. Only subsequent replies appear as part_type: "side_conversation_reply" or part_type: "side_conversation_started" as a conversation_part under the  conversation_parts section.

Observed behavior: The originating message (e.g., "Hi team, please answer clients query below...") sent by an admin to start the side conversation is completely missing. This message doesn’t appears neither in the api response nor in the main conversation thread in the intercom website, but when we click View side conversation in the main conversation thread in intercom, we can view all the side conversations opened in a separate dialog box.

We want to ingest all side conversations related to a conversationId, Is there any endpoint provided by intercom to ingest them? or any other possible way?

Best answer by Dara K

Hey ​@Kartikeya Vishnoi,

 

When someone starts a side conversation from a main conversation (e.g. “Hi team, please answer the client’s query below…”), that message is stored as the first message of the side conversation itself, not as a message on the main conversation.

 

On the main conversation we only record events that something happened, for example “side conversation started” and “side conversation reply”, without the actual message content. So when you call GET /conversations/{id} for the main conversation, you correctly see those event parts (part_type: "side_conversation_started" and part_type: "side_conversation_reply"), but the initial message you’re looking for lives in the side conversation, which is a separate conversation in our system.

 

That’s why the full thread (including the initial message) appears when you click “View side conversation” in Intercom, that view loads the side conversation, not the main one.

 

Can you ingest full side conversations via the API today?

 

Right now, no. Our Conversations REST API does not support:
  • Listing side conversations for a given conversation, or
  • Fetching a side conversation by ID (requests for a side conversation’s ID are not supported and return an error).

So there is currently no supported way to pull the full content of side conversations (including that initial message) through the API. We don’t have an endpoint that returns all side conversation messages for a conversation.

1 reply

D
Intercom Team
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  • Dara KIntercom Team
  • Intercom Team
  • Answer
  • January 30, 2026

Hey ​@Kartikeya Vishnoi,

 

When someone starts a side conversation from a main conversation (e.g. “Hi team, please answer the client’s query below…”), that message is stored as the first message of the side conversation itself, not as a message on the main conversation.

 

On the main conversation we only record events that something happened, for example “side conversation started” and “side conversation reply”, without the actual message content. So when you call GET /conversations/{id} for the main conversation, you correctly see those event parts (part_type: "side_conversation_started" and part_type: "side_conversation_reply"), but the initial message you’re looking for lives in the side conversation, which is a separate conversation in our system.

 

That’s why the full thread (including the initial message) appears when you click “View side conversation” in Intercom, that view loads the side conversation, not the main one.

 

Can you ingest full side conversations via the API today?

 

Right now, no. Our Conversations REST API does not support:
  • Listing side conversations for a given conversation, or
  • Fetching a side conversation by ID (requests for a side conversation’s ID are not supported and return an error).

So there is currently no supported way to pull the full content of side conversations (including that initial message) through the API. We don’t have an endpoint that returns all side conversation messages for a conversation.

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