What is direct-messages-group.js in your X archive?
direct-messages-group.js holds your group direct message conversations. Alongside each message's text, sender and date, it records when people joined or left the group and when the group was renamed.
How to open it
It is a text file in the archive’s data folder. Open it in any text editor; delete the first line’s window.YTD... = prefix and the rest is plain JSON any JSON tool can read. Our free viewer does not read this file yet; it covers likes, bookmarks and your own posts.
Fields in direct-messages-group.js
| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| conversationId | ID of the group conversation. |
| id | ID of the message. |
| senderId | Account ID of the sender. |
| text | Text of the message. |
| createdAt | When the message was sent. |
| mediaUrls | Links to attached media. |
| reactionKey | Type of reaction on a message. |
| joinConversation | When you joined the group (may be missing). |
| participantsJoin | When another participant joined (may be missing). |
| participantsLeave | When a participant left (may be missing). |
| conversationNameUpdate | Changes to the group's name. |
What it is useful for
- Recovering a group thread or a file shared in it.
- Seeing who was in a group and when.
What to watch out for
- Like one-to-one DMs, people appear as account IDs, not handles.
- Every member's messages are in your copy, so treat the file as private.
Related files
- direct-messages.js : Your direct messages
Field names come from the README.txt X includes in every archive. X changes the archive from time to time, so check the README in your own download if something differs. See every file in the archive.