---
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id: 2d756a3bf088388f64af06ebc602fb360d869b4cbd2d802de48eecce5788e64f
title: Create a Channel and Channel Members
collection: admin
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/platform/264-0-0/ev_relay_create_channel_section.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.ev_relay_create_channel_section.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
source_site: help.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: b76c082366d27dab37a371d20a34a1a98b3fd35312614c65f7f85a604fa947fe
description: You can create a channel and add members by using Tooling API. A channel is a stream of events. It contains members that specify the type of events that can be received on the channel. A channel can contain a stream of platform events, including real-time event monitoring events, or change data capture events. For a channel of change data capture events, you can select the standard ChangeEvents channel instead of creating a custom channel.
products:
  - Salesforce Platform
  - Security
release: "264"
---
# Create a Channel and Channel Members

You can create a channel and add members by using Tooling API. A channel is a stream of events. It contains members that specify the type of events that can be received on the channel. A channel can contain a stream of platform events, including real-time event monitoring events, or change data capture events. For a channel of change data capture events, you can select the standard `ChangeEvents` channel instead of creating a custom channel.

To learn about custom channels and the standard `ChangeEvents` channel, see [Event Channels](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.ev_relay_components.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "An event relay uses an event channel. A channel is a stream of events in the Salesforce event bus. A single channel can contain multiple types of platform events, including real-time event monitoring events, or change data capture events.").

## Prerequisite: Set Up a REST API Tool

The setup steps in this section use the Tooling REST API. To complete the steps, you can use your favorite REST API tool. We recommend using Postman with the Salesforce API Collection, which contains handy templates for Salesforce API calls, including calls for creating channels and channel members. For instructions on how to set up Postman, see [Quick Start: Connect Postman to Salesforce](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/projects/quick-start-connect-postman-to-salesforce) in Trailhead.

## Create a Channel for Custom Platform Events or Change Events

To create a channel and channel member for custom platform events, complete the steps in this section for custom platform events. To create a channel and channel member for change events, complete the steps in this section for change events.

After creating a channel, you can add members to the channel. Each member represents one event type. A channel can have multiple members.

![Note](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-platform-extend_click-264-0-0-production-enus/5f7d9219-b7b1-4552-8891-f1aba9b289fc/images/icon_note.png)

Note To create a channel that holds real-time event monitoring events, you follow a process that’s similar to the one for creating a channel for custom platform events, with some differences. PlatformEventChannel must contain the `"eventType": "monitoring"` field, and the `selectedEntity` field in PlatformEventChannelMember references the API name of the event without the `__e` suffix. For the complete steps, see [Create a Custom Channel and Add Real-Time Event Monitoring Events with Tooling API](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.platform_events.meta/platform_events/platform_events_custom_channel_tooling_api_em.htm) in the Platform Events Developer Guide.

- **[Create a Channel for a Custom Platform Event](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.ev_relay_create_channel_pe.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    Create a channel that holds a stream of custom platform events.
- **[Add a Custom Platform Event in a New Channel Member](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.ev_relay_create_channel_member_pe.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    To add a platform event to the channel that you created, create a channel member.
- **[Create a Channel for a Change Event](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.ev_relay_create_channel_cdc.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    Create a channel that holds a stream of change data capture events.
- **[Add a Change Event in a New Channel Member](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.ev_relay_create_channel_member_cdc.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    To add a change event to the channel that you created, add a channel member.