## External chats of a section

`GET /v1/chats/recent/external`

Returns one section of the current user's chat list: the chats that other Bitrix24 modules create, such as task chats or calendar event chats. Ordering and paging work as in recent dialogs: pinned ones first, then by the time of the last activity.

## Parameters

| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description |
|----------|-----|:-----:|-----------|---------|
| `type` (query) | string | yes | — | Section code: a Latin letter, then letters, digits or `_`, up to 64 characters. `tasksTask` — task chats, `calendar` — calendar event chats. The sections a chat is counted in are listed in the `recentSections` field of the [unread counters](/docs/chats/discovery/counters) |
| `limit` (query) | integer | no | 50 | Rows per page, 50 to 200. A smaller value is raised to 50 and a larger one is clamped to 200, and both adjustments are echoed in `meta` |
| `lastMessageDate` (query) | string | no | — | Cursor of the next page: the smallest `dateLastActivity` among the unpinned rows of the previous page. Format `YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS` with an offset or `Z`, without fractional seconds. Not passed on the first page |

Other parameters and repeated parameters are rejected with `400 INVALID_PARAMS`. The `default` and `collab` sections are not read here, as they have their own endpoints: the common list — [recent dialogs in the v2 mode](/docs/chats/discovery/recent), collabs — [collab list](/docs/chats/discovery/recent-collabs).

**Walk** — as in [recent dialogs in the v2 mode](/docs/chats/discovery/recent). The cursor of the next page is the smallest non-empty `dateLastActivity` among the **unpinned** rows; compare instants, not strings. The bound is inclusive, and pinned chats open every page, so deduplicate by `chatId`. The list ends only at `hasNextPage: false`. If `hasNextPage` is `true` but there is no cursor or it equals the previous one, repeat the request with a larger `limit`, up to 200. Do not discard response rows: the cursor is computed over the whole response.

## Examples

### curl — personal key

```bash
curl "https://vibecode.bitrix24.com/v1/chats/recent/external?type=tasksTask&limit=50" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"
```

### curl — OAuth application

```bash
curl "https://vibecode.bitrix24.com/v1/chats/recent/external?type=tasksTask&limit=50" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: YOUR_APP_KEY" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer USER_SESSION_TOKEN"
```

### JavaScript — personal key

```javascript
const rows = new Map()
let limit = 50
let cursor
for (;;) {
  const url = new URL('https://vibecode.bitrix24.com/v1/chats/recent/external')
  url.searchParams.set('type', 'tasksTask')
  url.searchParams.set('limit', String(limit))
  if (cursor) url.searchParams.set('lastMessageDate', cursor)
  const res = await fetch(url, { headers: { 'X-Api-Key': 'YOUR_API_KEY' } })
  const { data } = await res.json()
  for (const item of data.recentItems) rows.set(item.chatId, item)
  if (!data.hasNextPage) break
  const dates = data.recentItems.filter((i) => !i.pinned && i.dateLastActivity).map((i) => i.dateLastActivity)
  const next = dates.length ? dates.reduce((a, b) => (Date.parse(a) <= Date.parse(b) ? a : b)) : undefined
  if (!next || (cursor && Date.parse(next) >= Date.parse(cursor))) {
    if (limit === 200) throw new Error('Recent-list cursor did not advance; restart with a full refresh')
    limit = Math.min(limit * 2, 200)
    continue
  }
  cursor = next
  limit = 50
}
```

### JavaScript — OAuth application

```javascript
const rows = new Map()
let limit = 50
let cursor
for (;;) {
  const url = new URL('https://vibecode.bitrix24.com/v1/chats/recent/external')
  url.searchParams.set('type', 'tasksTask')
  url.searchParams.set('limit', String(limit))
  if (cursor) url.searchParams.set('lastMessageDate', cursor)
  const res = await fetch(url, {
    headers: {
      'X-Api-Key': 'YOUR_APP_KEY',
      'Authorization': 'Bearer USER_SESSION_TOKEN',
    },
  })
  const { data } = await res.json()
  for (const item of data.recentItems) rows.set(item.chatId, item)
  if (!data.hasNextPage) break
  const dates = data.recentItems.filter((i) => !i.pinned && i.dateLastActivity).map((i) => i.dateLastActivity)
  const next = dates.length ? dates.reduce((a, b) => (Date.parse(a) <= Date.parse(b) ? a : b)) : undefined
  if (!next || (cursor && Date.parse(next) >= Date.parse(cursor))) {
    if (limit === 200) throw new Error('Recent-list cursor did not advance; restart with a full refresh')
    limit = Math.min(limit * 2, 200)
    continue
  }
  cursor = next
  limit = 50
}
```

## Response fields

| Field | Type | Description |
|------|-----|---------|
| `success` | boolean | Always `true` on success |
| `data.recentItems` | array | Section rows in the order Bitrix24 returns them: pinned ones first, then by activity |
| `data.recentItems[].dialogId` | string | Dialog ID, `chatXXX` |
| `data.recentItems[].chatId` | number | Chat ID, the key for removing repeats |
| `data.recentItems[].messageId` | number | ID of the last message |
| `data.recentItems[].pinned` | boolean | The chat is pinned for the current user |
| `data.recentItems[].unread` | boolean | The chat is manually marked as unread |
| `data.recentItems[].dateLastActivity` | string\|null | Instant of the last activity. The smallest value among the unpinned rows is the cursor of the next page |
| `data.chats` | array | Chat cards: `id`, `dialogId`, `name`, `type` — the same section code, `entityType` and `entityId` — the linked entity, `entityLink.url` — its address in Bitrix24, the current user's `role` and other chat fields |
| `data.messages` | array | The chats' last messages |
| `data.users` | array | Authors of the last messages |
| `data.recentConfigs` | array | The list sections each chat is counted in: `chatId` and `sections` |
| `data.hasNextPage` | boolean | `false` — the end of the section |
| `meta.requestedLimit` | number | The `limit` passed. Present together with `appliedLimit` only when the value was outside the range of 50 to 200 |
| `meta.appliedLimit` | number | The `limit` applied |

## Response example

The `tasksTask` section, with the main fields shown:

```json
{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "recentItems": [
      {
        "dialogId": "chat264388",
        "chatId": 264388,
        "messageId": 608251,
        "type": "chat",
        "pinned": false,
        "unread": false,
        "dateUpdate": "2026-09-11T12:53:10+00:00",
        "dateLastActivity": "2026-09-11T12:53:10+00:00"
      }
    ],
    "chats": [
      {
        "id": 264388,
        "dialogId": "chat264388",
        "name": "Prepare the release",
        "type": "tasksTask",
        "entityType": "TASKS_TASK",
        "entityId": "27",
        "owner": 1,
        "role": "owner"
      }
    ],
    "recentConfigs": [
      { "chatId": 264388, "sections": ["tasksTask"] }
    ],
    "hasNextPage": false
  }
}
```

## Error response example

400 — the common list is requested:

```json
{
  "success": false,
  "error": {
    "code": "INVALID_PARAMS",
    "message": "`type` default is not an external-chat section — read it through GET /v1/chats/recent?format=v2."
  }
}
```

## Errors

| HTTP | Code | Description |
|------|-----|---------|
| 400 | `INVALID_PARAMS` | No `type`, `type` is not a section code, or `type` is `default` or `collab` — the message names the right endpoint. Also a parameter other than `type`, `limit`, `lastMessageDate`, a repeated parameter, a non-numeric `limit`, or `lastMessageDate` not in the `YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS` format with an offset or `Z`, or with a nonexistent date or time. Checked before the Bitrix24 call |
| 422 | `BITRIX_ERROR` | Bitrix24 returned an error; the Bitrix24 code is in `error.b24Code` |
| 403 | `BITRIX_ACCESS_DENIED` | Bitrix24 denied access |
| 403 | `SCOPE_DENIED` | The API key does not have the `im` scope |
| 401 | `TOKEN_MISSING` | The API key has no Bitrix24 tokens configured |
| 502 | `BITRIX_UNAVAILABLE` | Bitrix24 is unavailable or returned a server error |

Full list of common API errors — [Errors](/docs/errors).

## Known specifics

**An unknown section is an empty list, not an error.** A code that does not exist in the Bitrix24 account returns `200` with an empty `recentItems` and `hasNextPage: false`. The response does not reveal a typo in `type`: check the code against the `recentSections` field of the [unread counters](/docs/chats/discovery/counters).

**The `limit` floor is 50.** A user can have up to 45 pinned chats, and they repeat on every page. A page smaller than 50 rows could consist of repeats only and give no cursor.

**A walk is not a snapshot.** A chat lifted above the cursor by new activity during the walk does not appear in it. Re-read the first page after the walk.

## See also

- [Recent dialogs](/docs/chats/discovery/recent)
- [Collab list](/docs/chats/discovery/recent-collabs)
- [Channel list](/docs/chats/discovery/recent-channels)
- [Chat discovery](/docs/chats/discovery)