Chat in Razor Pages

Razor Pages is an alternative to the MVC pattern that makes page-focused coding easier and more productive. This approach consists of a cshtml file and a cshtml.cs file (by design, the two files have the same name).

You can seamlessly integrate the Telerik UI Chat for ASP.NET Core in Razor Pages applications.

This article showcases how to configure a basic Chat component in a Razor Pages scenario.

Getting Started

To connect the Chat to a data set retrieved from a remote endpoint in a Razor Pages application, proceed with the following steps:

1. Specify the Read, Create, and Update options of the DataSource configuration. The URL in each of these options must refer to the method name in the PageModel.

   Razor

   @page
   @model IndexModel
   
   @(Html.Kendo().Chat()
       .Name("chat")
       .Height("600px")
       .Width("400px")
       .AuthorId("1")
       .TextField("Text")
       .AuthorNameField("AuthorName")
       .FilesField("Files")
       .AuthorIdField("AuthorId")
       .AuthorImageUrlField("AuthorImageUrl")
       .AuthorImageAltTextField("AuthorImageAltTextField")
       .TimestampField("TimeStamp")
       .IdField("Id")
       .IsPinnedField("IsPinned")
       .IsDeletedField("IsDeleted")
       .IsTypingField("IsTyping")
       .DataSource(dataSource => dataSource
           .Ajax()
           .Read(r => r.Url("/Index?handler=ReadMessages").Data("forgeryToken"))
           .Create(r => r.Url("/Index?handler=CreateMessage").Data("forgeryToken"))
           .Update(r => r.Url("/Index?handler=UpdateMessage").Data("forgeryToken"))
       )
   )

   Razor

   @page
   @model IndexModel
   
   <kendo-chat name="chat"
       height="600"
       width="400"
       author-id="1"
       text-field="Text"
       author-name-field="AuthorName"
       files-field="Files"
       author-id-field="AuthorId"
       author-image-url-field="AuthorImageUrl"
       author-image-alt-text-field="AuthorImageAltTextField"
       timestamp-field="TimeStamp"
       id-field="Id"
       is-pinned-field="IsPinned"
       is-deleted-field="IsDeleted"
       is-typing-field="IsTyping"
       on-send-message="onSendMessage">
       <datasource type="DataSourceTagHelperType.Ajax">
           <transport>
               <read url="/Index?handler=ReadMessages" data="forgeryToken"/>
               <create url="/Index?handler=CreateMessages" data="forgeryToken" />
               <update url="/Index?handler=UpdateMessages" data="forgeryToken" />
           </transport>
       </datasource>
   </kendo-chat>

2. Add an AntiForgeryToken at the top of the page.

   Razor

       @inject Microsoft.AspNetCore.Antiforgery.IAntiforgery Xsrf
       @Html.AntiForgeryToken()

3. Send the AntiForgeryToken with the Read request.

   JavaScript

       <script>
           function forgeryToken() {
               return kendo.antiForgeryTokens();
           }
       </script>

   Additional parameters can also be supplied.

   JavaScript

       <script>
           function forgeryToken() {
               return {
                   __RequestVerificationToken: kendo.antiForgeryTokens().__RequestVerificationToken,
                   additionalParameter: "test"
               }
           }
       </script>

4. Within the cshtml.cs file, add a handler method for each data operation.

   C#

       public static List<ChatMessage> messages;
   
       public void OnGet(string culture)
       {
           if (!String.IsNullOrEmpty(culture))
           {
               CultureInfo.DefaultThreadCurrentCulture = CultureInfo.DefaultThreadCurrentUICulture = new CultureInfo(culture);
           }
   
           if (messages == null)
           {
               messages = GetData();
           }
       }
   
       public JsonResult OnPostReadMessages()
       {
           var dsResult = new DataSourceResult
           {
               Data = messages.Select(message => new
               {
                   message.Id,
                   message.AuthorId,
                   message.AuthorName,
                   message.AuthorImageUrl,
                   message.AuthorImageAltText,
                   message.Text,
                   message.TimeStamp,
                   message.IsDeleted,
                   message.IsPinned,
                   message.IsTyping,
                   Files = message.Files.Select(file => new
                   {
                       extension = file.Extension,
                       size = file.Size,
                       type = file.Type,
                       name = file.Name
                   })
               })
           };
           return new JsonResult(dsResult);
       }
   
       public JsonResult OnPostCreateMessage([DataSourceRequest] DataSourceRequest request, ChatMessage message)
       {
           message.Id = Guid.NewGuid().ToString();
           // Set the Message ID explicitly and perform a custom create operation to the database.
           return new JsonResult(new[] { message }.ToDataSourceResult(request));
       }
   
       public JsonResult OnPostUpdateMessage([DataSourceRequest] DataSourceRequest request, ChatMessage message)
       {
           // Perform custom update operation to the existing database.
           return new JsonResult(new[] { message }.ToDataSourceResult(request));
       }
   
       private static List<ChatMessage> GetData()
       {
           return new List<ChatMessage>()
           {
                new ChatMessage {
                    Id = "1",
                    AuthorId = "1",
                    AuthorName = "Lora",
                    AuthorImageUrl = "https://demos.telerik.com/aspnet-core/shared/web/Customers/ANATR.jpg",
                    AuthorImageAltText = "Lora's profile picture",
                    Text = "Hey Emma! I just booked my trip to Japan for next month! I'm so excited but also a bit nervous since it's my first time there. Any tips?",
                    TimeStamp = new DateTime(2025, 7, 20),
                    IsPinned = true,
                    IsTyping = false,
                    IsDeleted = false
                },
                new ChatMessage {
                    Id = "2",
                    AuthorId = "2",
                    AuthorName = "Emma",
                    AuthorImageUrl = "https://demos.telerik.com/aspnet-core/shared/web/Customers/DUMON.jpg",
                    AuthorImageAltText = "Emma's profile picture",
                    Text = "Don't miss the cherry blossoms if they're still blooming! And try the street food in Osaka - it's the best!",
                    TimeStamp = new DateTime(2025, 7, 20),
                    IsPinned = false,
                    IsTyping = false,
                    IsDeleted = false
                },
                new ChatMessage {
                    Id = "3",
                    AuthorId = "1",
                    AuthorName = "Lora",
                    AuthorImageUrl = "https://demos.telerik.com/aspnet-core/shared/web/Customers/ANATR.jpg",
                    AuthorImageAltText = "Lora's profile picture",
                    Text = "Perfect! I'm definitely going during cherry blossom season. Should I book accommodations in advance, or can I find places as I go?",
                    TimeStamp = new DateTime(2025, 7, 20),
                    IsPinned = false,
                    IsTyping = false,
                    IsDeleted = false
                },
                new ChatMessage
                {
                    Id = "4",
                    AuthorId = "2",
                    AuthorName = "Emma",
                    AuthorImageUrl = "https://demos.telerik.com/aspnet-core/shared/web/Customers/DUMON.jpg",
                    AuthorImageAltText = "Emma's profile picture",
                    Text = "Definitely book in advance, especially during cherry blossom season! It gets super busy. I recommend staying in a ryokan in Kyoto for the traditional experience. Here you will find the scheduler we have used when we were there.",
                    TimeStamp = new DateTime(2025, 7, 20),
                    IsPinned = false,
                    IsTyping = false,
                    IsDeleted = false,
                    Files = new List<ChatFile>
                    {
                        new ChatFile
                        {
                            Name = "Sightseeing_schedule.pdf",
                            Size = 245760,
                            Extension = "pdf",
                            Type = "application/pdf"
                        },
                        new ChatFile
                        {
                            Name = "Favourite_place.jpg",
                            Size = 156000,
                            Extension = "jpg",
                            Type = "image/jpeg"
                        }
                    }
                },
                new ChatMessage
                {
                    Id = "5",
                    AuthorId = "1",
                    AuthorName = "Lora",
                    AuthorImageUrl = "https://demos.telerik.com/aspnet-core/shared/web/Customers/ANATR.jpg",
                    AuthorImageAltText = "Lora's profile picture",
                    Text = "Thanks for all the advice, Emma. I'll definitely send you photos!",
                    TimeStamp = new DateTime(2025, 7, 20),
                    IsPinned = false,
                    IsTyping = false,
                    IsDeleted = false
                }
           };
       }

See Also

• Using Telerik UI for ASP.NET Core in Razor Pages
• Client-Side API of the Chat
• Server-Side HtmlHelper API of the Chat
• Server-Side TagHelper API of the Chat
• Knowledge Base Section