# Channels : how to list sockets connected to a group ?

**URL:** <https://forum.djangoproject.com/t/channels-how-to-list-sockets-connected-to-a-group/27587>\
**Category:** Async/Channels\
**Created:** [January 30, 2024, 3:08pm UTC](https://forum.djangoproject.com/t/channels-how-to-list-sockets-connected-to-a-group/27587 "2024-01-30T15:08:31Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Ruff9](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/forum.djangoproject.com/ruff9/32/17786_2.png) [@Ruff9](https://forum.djangoproject.com/u/Ruff9)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2024, 3:08pm UTC](https://forum.djangoproject.com/t/channels-how-to-list-sockets-connected-to-a-group/27587/1 "2024-01-30T15:08:31Z")

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Can I get a list of connected sockets for a group, that I can use in a consumer ?

My use case : I built a chat app that only allows for two users chat. I’m creating notifications for messages sent, but I don’t want to create a notification if the recipient is currently watching the conversation.

My first thought was to look for a list of connected sockets in the conversation group. I’m creating the notification in a consumer, so if I could know which sockets are currently connected, I could make it work.

I found this 8 years old issue : [https://github.com/django/channels/issues/293](https://github.com/django/channels/issues/293) , but since it’s based on Channels 2.0, I thought I’d ask again.

What is the proper way to do that ?

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**Author:** ![KenWhitesell](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/forum.djangoproject.com/kenwhitesell/32/280_2.png) [@KenWhitesell](https://forum.djangoproject.com/u/KenWhitesell)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2024, 3:21pm UTC](https://forum.djangoproject.com/t/channels-how-to-list-sockets-connected-to-a-group/27587/2 "2024-01-30T15:21:22Z")

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> [@Ruff9](#):
>
> Can I get a list of connected sockets for a group, that I can use in a consumer ?

Nope. Quoting directly from [Groups](https://channels.readthedocs.io/en/latest/topics/channel_layers.html#groups)

> They do not allow you to enumerate or list the channels in a group; it’s a pure broadcast system. If you need more precise control or need to know who is connected, you should build your own system or use a suitable third-party one.

I currently use [django-channels-presence](https://pypi.org/project/django-channels-presence-4.0/) to provide this functionality - there are other ways to do it as well.

> [@Ruff9](#):
>
> I don’t want to create a notification if the recipient is currently watching the conversation.

Note: This is tough. There are a number of edge cases where a user will remain being shown as present in a room after being disconnected because the server hasn’t yet caught up with that fact. So there’s a timing issue / race condition that you need to be aware of. (You need to decide just how critical this is for those marginal situations.)

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**Author:** ![carltongibson](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/forum.djangoproject.com/carltongibson/32/267_2.png) [@carltongibson](https://forum.djangoproject.com/u/carltongibson)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2024, 3:31pm UTC](https://forum.djangoproject.com/t/channels-how-to-list-sockets-connected-to-a-group/27587/3 "2024-01-30T15:31:26Z")

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> [@KenWhitesell](#):
>
> I currently use [django-channels-presence](https://pypi.org/project/django-channels-presence-4.0/) to provide this functionality

I was going to say that Redis sets might be a way… I’d forgotten about this app.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Ruff9](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/forum.djangoproject.com/ruff9/32/17786_2.png) [@Ruff9](https://forum.djangoproject.com/u/Ruff9)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2024, 6:44pm UTC](https://forum.djangoproject.com/t/channels-how-to-list-sockets-connected-to-a-group/27587/4 "2024-01-30T18:44:54Z")

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Thanks for your replies. I can’t use this app because I’m using a custom User model, and it just don’t work.

But now I know how hard this notification system is, and I’m going to change the spec to simplify it. I can do that, it’s a personal project, and it feels like it’s the reasonable thing to do.

Thanks again.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![KenWhitesell](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/forum.djangoproject.com/kenwhitesell/32/280_2.png) [@KenWhitesell](https://forum.djangoproject.com/u/KenWhitesell)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2024, 7:06pm UTC](https://forum.djangoproject.com/t/channels-how-to-list-sockets-connected-to-a-group/27587/5 "2024-01-30T19:06:46Z")

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> [@Ruff9](#):
>
> I can’t use this app because I’m using a custom User model, and it just don’t work.

Please clarify. I don’t see anything in the code that would prevent it from working with a custom user model.

Since the models are designed to work with custom users, I think that if it _doesn’t_ work, the maintainer of the project would be interested in knowing that.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Ruff9](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/forum.djangoproject.com/ruff9/32/17786_2.png) [@Ruff9](https://forum.djangoproject.com/u/Ruff9)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2024, 7:45pm UTC](https://forum.djangoproject.com/t/channels-how-to-list-sockets-connected-to-a-group/27587/6 "2024-01-30T19:45:41Z")

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Sure. We don’t mean the same thing with “custom User”. I didn’t follow the usual process for custom users. I’m building a proof of concept chat app, with no User connection or any User managment.

So I created a `ChatUser` model with two fields, I’m using the session to fake the authentication process. It don’t inherit the classic User model in any way. So when I tried to use the app you recommend, I got this :

```auto
  File ".../lib/python3.10/site-packages/channels_presence/models.py", line 47, in add
    room.add_presence(user_channel_name, user)
  File ".../lib/python3.10/site-packages/channels_presence/models.py", line 76, in add_presence
    if user and user.is_authenticated:
AttributeError: 'ChatUser' object has no attribute 'is_authenticated'

```

I’m almost done with this small project, and I will not add the Django User model just for a small notification feature. I guess this app is working with real custom users, but to be honest I don’t know 🙂

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![KenWhitesell](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/forum.djangoproject.com/kenwhitesell/32/280_2.png) [@KenWhitesell](https://forum.djangoproject.com/u/KenWhitesell)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2024, 8:01pm UTC](https://forum.djangoproject.com/t/channels-how-to-list-sockets-connected-to-a-group/27587/7 "2024-01-30T20:01:23Z")

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> [@Ruff9](#):
>
> I’m using the session to fake the authentication process.

Can you expand on that?

Is this entire Django/Channels implementation part of an existing project with an authentication process, or is it something separate and independent?

If the latter, you could _still_ set `settings.AUTH_USER_MODEL` to your `ChatUser` model.

If it is part of a regular Django project, you could still fork the project and make the (one-line) change necessary to make it work in your system. That’s still a lot easier than building a complete library yourself.