Remove a member from a space

This guide explains how to use the delete() method on the Membership resource of the Google Chat API to remove members from a space, also known as deleting a membership. Space managers can't be removed if they're the only space manager in a space. Assign another user as a space manager before removing these memberships.

If you're a Google Workspace administrator, you can remove users, Google Groups, or Chat apps from any space in your Google Workspace organization.

The Membership resource represents whether a human user or Google Chat app is invited to, part of, or absent from a space.

Prerequisites

Node.js

Remove a member from a space as a user

To remove a user, Google Group, or Chat app from a space with user authentication, pass the following in your request:

  • Specify the chat.memberships authorization scope. The authorizing user must have permission to remove the user or Google Group from the space. To remove a Chat app, specify the chat.memberships.app authorization scope (apps can only delete their own membership; not that of other apps). As a best practice, choose the most restrictive scope that still allows your app to function.
  • Call the DeleteMembership() method.
  • Pass the name of the membership to delete. If the membership belongs to the only space manager in a space, assign another user as a space manager before deleting this membership.

Here's how to delete a membership with user authentication:

Node.js

chat/client-libraries/cloud/delete-space-user-cred.js
import {createClientWithUserCredentials} from './authentication-utils.js';

const USER_AUTH_OAUTH_SCOPES = ['https://www.googleapis.com/auth/chat.delete'];

// This sample shows how to delete a space with user credential
async function main() {
  // Create a client
  const chatClient = await createClientWithUserCredentials(USER_AUTH_OAUTH_SCOPES);

  // Initialize request argument(s)
  const request = {
    // Replace SPACE_NAME here
    name: 'spaces/SPACE_NAME'
  };

  // Make the request
  const response = await chatClient.deleteSpace(request);

  // Handle the response
  console.log(response);
}

main().catch(console.error);

To run this sample, replace the following:

  • SPACE_NAME: the ID from the space's name. You can obtain the ID by calling the ListSpaces() method or from the space's URL.
  • MEMBER_NAME: the ID from the member's name. You can obtain the ID by calling the ListMemberships() method.

If successful, the response body returns the membership with 'state': 'NOT_A_MEMBER', indicating that the member is no longer in the space.

{
    "name": "spaces/SPACE_NAME/members/MEMBER_NAME",
    "state": "NOT_A_MEMBER"
}

Remove a member from a space as a Chat app

App authentication requires one-time administrator approval.

To remove a user, Google Group, or Chat app from a space with app authentication, pass the following in your request:

  • Specify the chat.app.memberships authorization scope. Deleting membership of a space manager is only supported in spaces created by Chat apps.
  • Call the delete method on the membership resource.
  • Pass the name of the membership to delete. If the membership belongs to the only space manager in a space, assign another user as a space manager before deleting this membership.

Create an API key

To call a Developer Preview API method, you must use a non-public developer preview version of the API discovery document. To authenticate the request, you must pass an API key.

To create the API Key, open your app's Google Cloud project and do the following:

  1. In the Google Cloud console, go to Menu > APIs & Services > Credentials.

    Go to Credentials

  2. Click Create credentials > API key.
  3. Your new API key is displayed.
    • Click Copy to copy your API key for use in your app's code. The API key can also be found in the "API keys" section of your project's credentials.
    • Click Restrict key to update advanced settings and limit use of your API key. For more details, see Applying API key restrictions.

Write a script that calls Chat API

Here's how to delete a membership with app authentication:

Python

  1. In your working directory, create a file named chat_membership_delete_app.py.

  2. Include the following code in chat_membership_delete_app.py:

    from google.oauth2 import service_account
from apiclient.discovery import build

# Define your app's authorization scopes.
# When modifying these scopes, delete the file token.json, if it exists.
SCOPES = ["https://www.googleapis.com/auth/chat.app.memberships"]

def main():
    '''
    Authenticates with Chat API using app authentication,
    then deletes the specified membership.
    '''

    # Specify service account details.
    creds = (
        service_account.Credentials.from_service_account_file('credentials.json')
        .with_scopes(SCOPES)
    )

    # Build a service endpoint for Chat API.
    chat = build('chat', 'v1', credentials=creds, discoveryServiceUrl='https://chat.googleapis.com/$discovery/rest?version=v1&labels=DEVELOPER_PREVIEW&key=API_KEY')

    # Use the service endpoint to call Chat API.
    result = chat.spaces().members().delete(

        # The membership to delete.
        #
        # Replace SPACE with a space name.
        # Obtain the space name from the spaces resource of Chat API,
        # or from a space's URL.
        #
        # Replace MEMBER with a membership name.
        # Obtain the membership name from the memberships resource of
        # Chat API. To delete a Chat app's membership, replace MEMBER
        # with app; an alias for the app calling the API.
        name='spaces/SPACE/members/MEMBER'

    ).execute()

    # Print Chat API's response in your command line interface.
    # When deleting a membership, the response body is empty.
    print(result)

if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()

  3. In the code, replace the following:

    • API_KEY: the API key you created to build the service endpoint for Chat API.

    • SPACE: a space name, which you can obtain from the spaces.list method in the Chat API, or from a space's URL.

    • MEMBER: a membership name, which you can obtain from the spaces.members.list method in the Chat API. To delete an app's membership, replace MEMBER with app.

  4. In your working directory, build and run the sample:

    python3 chat_membership_delete_app.py

If successful, the response body returns the membership with 'state': 'NOT_A_MEMBER', indicating that the member is no longer in the space.

{
    "name": "spaces/SPACE/members/MEMBER",
    "state": "NOT_A_MEMBER"
}

Limitations and considerations

Remove users or Google Groups from a space as a Google Workspace administrator

If you're a Google Workspace administrator, you can call the DeleteMembership() method to remove users, Google Groups, or Chat apps from any space in your Google Workspace organization.

To call this method as a Google Workspace administrator, do the following:

For more information and examples, see Manage Google Chat spaces as a Google Workspace administrator.