Retrieve specified user profiles

Use getUsersInfo() to retrieve application users' public profiles by userID. It is suitable for displaying friend candidates and profile cards for users who are not friends.

If the product needs to search by nickname, phone number, organization, or email address, a trusted backend must perform the search and authorization first, then return userID values to the SDK. Administrator tokens must remain on the backend.

Retrieve public profiles

final userIDList = {'user_a', 'user_b'}.toList();

try {
  final users = await OpenIM.iMManager.userManager.getUsersInfo(
    userIDList: userIDList,
  );
  final usersByID = {
    for (final user in users)
      if (user.userID != null) user.userID!: user,
  };
  showUsers(usersByID);
} catch (error) {
  logUserQueryFailure(error, userIDList);
  rethrow;
}

userIDList is a required list of OpenIMSDK user IDs. Deduplicate it and limit the size of each request before calling the API.

Result

The successful Future returns List<PublicUserInfo>:

The ex returned here is read-only public extension data for other accounts. The Flutter client cannot use the User API to change another account's public profile. The current user can update their own ex through setSelfInfo(); see Update the current user's profile for the whole-value replacement behavior.

Call result and profile refresh

After the query succeeds, replace the current public-profile snapshot with the returned List<PublicUserInfo>. When a page displays several users, collect the visible userID values, deduplicate them, query them in one batch, and merge the results by userID.

This read-only query does not trigger OnUserListener. Call getUsersInfo() again to reconcile the snapshot when opening a profile card, when the user refreshes, after reconnection, or when the application backend reports a profile change.

OnUserListener.onSelfInfoUpdated contains only the current user's UserInfo; it is not an event for the public profile of any user.

Search before adding a friend

To search for and add a friend, the application backend typically returns candidate userID values first, and the client then calls getUsersInfo() to display their public profiles. After the user confirms a target, proceed to the friend-application flow.

If the product supports exact user-ID lookup only, pass the entered value directly as userID. Fuzzy searches by nickname, phone number, organization, email, or other fields must be implemented by a trusted backend with authorization, rate limiting, redaction, and auditing. Never store an administrator token in the Flutter client.

Choose display data by scenario

The same userID can have different display names and relationship data in different contexts. Choose the source that matches the current UI:

Friend remarks and in-group nicknames come from the friend relationship and group member profile, respectively. Do not overwrite them with PublicUserInfo.nickname. See getFriendListPage(), getFriendsInfo(), and Retrieve group members.

Next steps

• getFriendListPage()
• getFriendsInfo()
• Retrieve received friend applications