fix/hereNow response parsing when channel Occupancy count property omitted from the response.

.pubnub.yml

@@ -1,8 +1,15 @@
 name: c-sharp
-version: "8.2.0"
+version: "8.2.1"
 schema: 1
 scm: github.com/pubnub/c-sharp
 changelog:
+  - date: 2026-05-29
+    version: v8.2.1
+    changes:
+      - type: bug
+        text: "Fixes issue of hereNow returning incorrect Occupancy when Occupancy count value is omitted from the response of single channel hereNow call."
+      - type: bug
+        text: "Fix for `HereNow` omitting the channel entry for an empty channel when UUIDs are included."
   - date: 2026-05-18
     version: v8.2.0
     changes:
@@ -982,14 +989,14 @@ features:
     - QUERY-PARAM
 supported-platforms:
   -
-    version: Pubnub 'C#' 8.2.0
+    version: Pubnub 'C#' 8.2.1
     platforms:
       - Windows 10 and up
       - Windows Server 2008 and up
     frameworks:
       - .Net Framework 4.5+
   -
-    version: PubnubPCL 'C#' 8.2.0
+    version: PubnubPCL 'C#' 8.2.1
     platforms:
       - Xamarin.Android
       - Xamarin.iOS
@@ -1001,7 +1008,7 @@ supported-platforms:
     frameworks:
       - .Net 4.5+
   -
-    version: PubnubUWP 'C#' 8.2.0
+    version: PubnubUWP 'C#' 8.2.1
     platforms:
       - Windows Phone 10
       - Universal Windows Apps
@@ -1025,7 +1032,7 @@ sdks:
             distribution-type: source
             distribution-repository: GitHub
             package-name: Pubnub
-            location: https://github.com/pubnub/c-sharp/releases/tag/v8.2.0
+            location: https://github.com/pubnub/c-sharp/releases/tag/v8.2.1
             requires:
               -
                 name: ".Net"
@@ -1266,7 +1273,7 @@ sdks:
             distribution-type: source
             distribution-repository: GitHub
             package-name: PubNubPCL
-            location: https://github.com/pubnub/c-sharp/releases/tag/v8.2.0
+            location: https://github.com/pubnub/c-sharp/releases/tag/v8.2.1
             requires:
               -
                 name: ".Net"
@@ -1617,7 +1624,7 @@ sdks:
             distribution-type: source
             distribution-repository: GitHub
             package-name: PubnubUWP
-            location: https://github.com/pubnub/c-sharp/releases/tag/v8.2.0
+            location: https://github.com/pubnub/c-sharp/releases/tag/v8.2.1
             requires:
               -
                 name: "Universal Windows Platform Development"

CHANGELOG

@@ -1,3 +1,8 @@
+v8.2.1 - May 29 2026
+-----------------------------
+- Fixed: fixes issue of hereNow returning incorrect Occupancy when Occupancy count value is omitted from the response of single channel hereNow call.
+- Fixed: fix for `HereNow` omitting the channel entry for an empty channel when UUIDs are included.
+
 v8.2.0 - May 18 2026
 -----------------------------
 - Added: added support for the publish v2 endpoint, allowing feature-enabled keysets to publish messages of size up to 2MB.

src/Api/PubnubApi/JsonDataParse/DeserializeToInternalObjectUtility.cs

@@ -417,12 +417,21 @@ public static T DeserializeToInternalObject<T>(IJsonPluggableLibrary jsonPlug, L
                         }
 
                         hereNowResult.Channels = new Dictionary<string, PNHereNowChannelData>();
+                        // This block handles the "compact" here_now response shape that the server returns
+                        // ONLY for a single-channel request (no "payload" wrapper, just a flat "occupancy" plus
+                        // an optional "uuids" list). The channel name itself is not in the body, so it is taken
+                        // from listObject[1] (hereNowChannelName).
                         if (herenowDicObj.ContainsKey("uuids"))
                         {
+                            // Case: single channel requested WITH uuids (disable_uuids=0).
+                            // The channel entry is built and added unconditionally below — even when "uuids" is an
+                            // empty array (i.e. an empty channel with occupancy 0). Previously the channel was only
+                            // added when the array was non-empty, which silently dropped empty channels from the
+                            // result; callers doing Channels.TryGetValue(channel, ...) would then get a false miss.
+                            List<PNHereNowOccupantData> uuidDataList = new List<PNHereNowOccupantData>();
                             object[] uuidArray = jsonPlug.ConvertToObjectArray(herenowDicObj["uuids"]);
                             if (uuidArray != null && uuidArray.Length > 0)
                             {
-                                List<PNHereNowOccupantData> uuidDataList = new List<PNHereNowOccupantData>();
                                 for (int index = 0; index < uuidArray.Length; index++)
                                 {
                                     Dictionary<string, object> hereNowChannelItemUuidsDic =
@@ -446,25 +455,34 @@ public static T DeserializeToInternalObject<T>(IJsonPluggableLibrary jsonPlug, L
                                         uuidDataList.Add(uuidData);
                                     }
                                 }
+                            }
 
-                                PNHereNowChannelData channelData = new PNHereNowChannelData();
-                                channelData.ChannelName = hereNowChannelName;
-                                channelData.Occupants = uuidDataList;
-                                channelData.Occupancy = hereNowResult.TotalOccupancy;
+                            PNHereNowChannelData channelData = new PNHereNowChannelData();
+                            channelData.ChannelName = hereNowChannelName;
+                            channelData.Occupants = uuidDataList;
+                            channelData.Occupancy = hereNowResult.TotalOccupancy;
 
-                                hereNowResult.Channels.Add(hereNowChannelName, channelData);
-                                hereNowResult.TotalChannels = hereNowResult.Channels.Count;
-                            }
+                            hereNowResult.Channels.Add(hereNowChannelName, channelData);
+                            hereNowResult.TotalChannels = hereNowResult.Channels.Count;
                         }
                         else
                         {
+                            // Case: single channel requested WITHOUT uuids (disable_uuids=1).
+                            // The response carries only the total "occupancy" and no per-uuid list, so each
+                            // channel's Occupancy is set from TotalOccupancy (the response's "occupancy" value).
+                            // This compact shape is only ever returned for a SINGLE channel, so arrChannel has
+                            // exactly one element and assigning TotalOccupancy to it is correct. (Multi-channel
+                            // requests instead return the "payload" shape handled in the branch above, where each
+                            // channel has its own occupancy.) Previously Occupancy here was hardcoded to 1, which
+                            // reported the wrong count whenever the real occupancy was not 1 (e.g. 3 users -> 1).
                             string channels = listObject[1].ToString();
                             string[] arrChannel = channels.Split(',');
                             int totalChannels = 0;
                             foreach (string channel in arrChannel)
                             {
                                 PNHereNowChannelData channelData = new PNHereNowChannelData();
-                                channelData.Occupancy = 1;
+                                channelData.ChannelName = channel;
+                                channelData.Occupancy = hereNowResult.TotalOccupancy;
                                 hereNowResult.Channels.Add(channel, channelData);
                                 totalChannels++;
                             }

src/Api/PubnubApi/Properties/AssemblyInfo.cs

@@ -11,8 +11,8 @@
 [assembly: AssemblyProduct("Pubnub C# SDK")]
 [assembly: AssemblyCopyright("Copyright ©  2021")]
 [assembly: AssemblyTrademark("")]
-[assembly: AssemblyVersion("8.2.0")]
-[assembly: AssemblyFileVersion("8.2.0")]
+[assembly: AssemblyVersion("8.2.1")]
+[assembly: AssemblyFileVersion("8.2.1")]
 // Setting ComVisible to false makes the types in this assembly not visible
 // to COM components.  If you need to access a type in this assembly from
 // COM, set the ComVisible attribute to true on that type.

src/Api/PubnubApi/PubnubApi.csproj

@@ -14,15 +14,16 @@
 
   <PropertyGroup>
     <PackageId>Pubnub</PackageId>
-    <PackageVersion>8.2.0</PackageVersion>
+    <PackageVersion>8.2.1</PackageVersion>
     <Title>PubNub C# .NET - Web Data Push API</Title>
     <Authors>Pandu Masabathula</Authors>
     <Owners>PubNub</Owners>
     <PackageLicenseFile>LICENSE.txt</PackageLicenseFile>
     <PackageIconUrl>http://pubnub.s3.amazonaws.com/2011/powered-by-pubnub/pubnub-icon-600x600.png</PackageIconUrl>
     <PackageRequireLicenseAcceptance>true</PackageRequireLicenseAcceptance>
     <RepositoryUrl>https://github.com/pubnub/c-sharp/</RepositoryUrl>
-    <PackageReleaseNotes>Added support for the publish v2 endpoint, allowing feature-enabled keysets to publish messages of size up to 2MB.</PackageReleaseNotes>
+    <PackageReleaseNotes>Fixes issue of hereNow returning incorrect Occupancy when Occupancy count value is omitted from the response of single channel hereNow call.
+Fix for `HereNow` omitting the channel entry for an empty channel when UUIDs are included.</PackageReleaseNotes>
     <PackageTags>Web Data Push Real-time Notifications ESB Message Broadcasting Distributed Computing</PackageTags>
     <!--<Summary>PubNub is a Massively Scalable Web Push Service for Web and Mobile Games.  This is a cloud-based service for broadcasting messages to thousands of web and mobile clients simultaneously</Summary>-->
     <Description>PubNub is a Massively Scalable Web Push Service for Web and Mobile Games.  This is a cloud-based service for broadcasting messages to thousands of web and mobile clients simultaneously</Description>

src/Api/PubnubApiPCL/PubnubApiPCL.csproj

@@ -14,15 +14,16 @@
 
   <PropertyGroup>
     <PackageId>PubnubPCL</PackageId>
-    <PackageVersion>8.2.0</PackageVersion>
+    <PackageVersion>8.2.1</PackageVersion>
     <Title>PubNub C# .NET - Web Data Push API</Title>
     <Authors>Pandu Masabathula</Authors>
     <Owners>PubNub</Owners>
     <PackageLicenseFile>LICENSE.txt</PackageLicenseFile>
     <PackageIconUrl>http://pubnub.s3.amazonaws.com/2011/powered-by-pubnub/pubnub-icon-600x600.png</PackageIconUrl>
     <PackageRequireLicenseAcceptance>true</PackageRequireLicenseAcceptance>
     <RepositoryUrl>https://github.com/pubnub/c-sharp/</RepositoryUrl>
-    <PackageReleaseNotes>Added support for the publish v2 endpoint, allowing feature-enabled keysets to publish messages of size up to 2MB.</PackageReleaseNotes>
+    <PackageReleaseNotes>Fixes issue of hereNow returning incorrect Occupancy when Occupancy count value is omitted from the response of single channel hereNow call.
+Fix for `HereNow` omitting the channel entry for an empty channel when UUIDs are included.</PackageReleaseNotes>
     <PackageTags>Web Data Push Real-time Notifications ESB Message Broadcasting Distributed Computing</PackageTags>
     <!--<Summary>PubNub is a Massively Scalable Web Push Service for Web and Mobile Games.  This is a cloud-based service for broadcasting messages to thousands of web and mobile clients simultaneously</Summary>-->
     <Description>PubNub is a Massively Scalable Web Push Service for Web and Mobile Games.  This is a cloud-based service for broadcasting messages to thousands of web and mobile clients simultaneously</Description>

src/Api/PubnubApiUWP/PubnubApiUWP.csproj

@@ -16,15 +16,16 @@
 
   <PropertyGroup>
     <PackageId>PubnubUWP</PackageId>
-    <PackageVersion>8.2.0</PackageVersion>
+    <PackageVersion>8.2.1</PackageVersion>
     <Title>PubNub C# .NET - Web Data Push API</Title>
     <Authors>Pandu Masabathula</Authors>
     <Owners>PubNub</Owners>
     <PackageLicenseFile>LICENSE.txt</PackageLicenseFile>
     <PackageIconUrl>http://pubnub.s3.amazonaws.com/2011/powered-by-pubnub/pubnub-icon-600x600.png</PackageIconUrl>
     <PackageRequireLicenseAcceptance>true</PackageRequireLicenseAcceptance>
     <RepositoryUrl>https://github.com/pubnub/c-sharp/</RepositoryUrl>
-    <PackageReleaseNotes>Added support for the publish v2 endpoint, allowing feature-enabled keysets to publish messages of size up to 2MB.</PackageReleaseNotes>
+    <PackageReleaseNotes>Fixes issue of hereNow returning incorrect Occupancy when Occupancy count value is omitted from the response of single channel hereNow call.
+Fix for `HereNow` omitting the channel entry for an empty channel when UUIDs are included.</PackageReleaseNotes>
     <PackageTags>Web Data Push Real-time Notifications ESB Message Broadcasting Distributed Computing</PackageTags>
     <!--<Summary>PubNub is a Massively Scalable Web Push Service for Web and Mobile Games.  This is a cloud-based service for broadcasting messages to thousands of web and mobile clients simultaneously</Summary>-->
     <Description>PubNub is a Massively Scalable Web Push Service for Web and Mobile Games.  This is a cloud-based service for broadcasting messages to thousands of web and mobile clients simultaneously</Description>

src/Api/PubnubApiUnity/PubnubApiUnity.csproj

@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 
   <PropertyGroup>
     <PackageId>PubnubApiUnity</PackageId>
-    <PackageVersion>8.2.0</PackageVersion>
+    <PackageVersion>8.2.1</PackageVersion>
     <Title>PubNub C# .NET - Web Data Push API</Title>
     <Authors>Pandu Masabathula</Authors>
     <Owners>PubNub</Owners>

src/UnitTests/PubnubApi.Tests/WhenAClientIsPresented.cs

@@ -626,6 +626,119 @@ public static async Task IfWithAsyncHereNowIsCalledThenItShouldReturnInfo()
         }
 
 
+        // Parses a raw here_now server response through the same deserializer the SDK uses,
+        // bypassing the network so occupancy parsing can be asserted deterministically.
+        private static PNHereNowResult ParseHereNowResponse(string serverResponse, string channelArg)
+        {
+            PNConfiguration config = new PNConfiguration(new UserId("mytestuuid"))
+            {
+                PublishKey = PubnubCommon.PublishKey,
+                SubscribeKey = PubnubCommon.SubscribeKey,
+                Secure = false
+            };
+            Pubnub pn = createPubNubInstance(config, authToken);
+            try
+            {
+                List<object> listObject = new List<object>
+                {
+                    pn.JsonPluggableLibrary.DeserializeToObject(serverResponse),
+                    channelArg
+                };
+                return DeserializeToInternalObjectUtility
+                    .DeserializeToInternalObject<PNHereNowResult>(pn.JsonPluggableLibrary, listObject);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                pn.Destroy();
+                pn.PubnubUnitTest = null;
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Test]
+        public static void IfHereNowWithoutUUIDsIsCalledThenChannelOccupancyShouldMatchTotalOccupancy()
+        {
+            string channel = "mocha";
+            // Single channel + disable_uuids returns the compact format: occupancy present, no payload wrapper, no uuids array.
+            string serverResponse = "{\"status\": 200, \"message\": \"OK\", \"service\": \"Presence\", \"occupancy\": 3}";
+
+            PNHereNowResult result = ParseHereNowResponse(serverResponse, channel);
+
+            Assert.IsNotNull(result, "here_now result not parsed");
+            Assert.AreEqual(3, result.TotalOccupancy, "TotalOccupancy mismatch");
+            Assert.IsTrue(result.Channels.TryGetValue(channel, out var channelData), "channel data missing");
+            Assert.AreEqual(channel, channelData.ChannelName, "ChannelName not populated");
+            Assert.AreEqual(3, channelData.Occupancy, "channel Occupancy should match total occupancy, not be hardcoded to 1");
+        }
+
+        [Test]
+        public static void IfHereNowWithoutUUIDsIsCalledOnEmptyChannelThenOccupancyShouldBeZero()
+        {
+            string channel = "mocha";
+            // Empty single channel + disable_uuids: occupancy 0, no uuids array.
+            string serverResponse = "{\"status\": 200, \"message\": \"OK\", \"service\": \"Presence\", \"occupancy\": 0}";
+
+            PNHereNowResult result = ParseHereNowResponse(serverResponse, channel);
+
+            Assert.IsNotNull(result, "here_now result not parsed");
+            Assert.AreEqual(0, result.TotalOccupancy, "TotalOccupancy mismatch");
+            Assert.IsTrue(result.Channels.TryGetValue(channel, out var channelData), "channel data missing");
+            Assert.AreEqual(channel, channelData.ChannelName, "ChannelName not populated");
+            Assert.AreEqual(0, channelData.Occupancy, "empty channel occupancy should be 0, not hardcoded to 1");
+        }
+
+        [Test]
+        public static void IfHereNowWithUUIDsIsCalledThenChannelOccupancyShouldMatchTotalOccupancy()
+        {
+            string channel = "mocha";
+            // Single channel + include uuids: uuids array present alongside occupancy.
+            string serverResponse = "{\"status\": 200, \"message\": \"OK\", \"service\": \"Presence\", \"uuids\": [\"u1\", \"u2\", \"u3\"], \"occupancy\": 3}";
+
+            PNHereNowResult result = ParseHereNowResponse(serverResponse, channel);
+
+            Assert.IsNotNull(result, "here_now result not parsed");
+            Assert.AreEqual(3, result.TotalOccupancy, "TotalOccupancy mismatch");
+            Assert.IsTrue(result.Channels.TryGetValue(channel, out var channelData), "channel data missing");
+            Assert.AreEqual(channel, channelData.ChannelName, "ChannelName not populated");
+            Assert.AreEqual(3, channelData.Occupancy, "channel Occupancy should match total occupancy");
+            Assert.AreEqual(3, channelData.Occupants.Count, "occupant count mismatch");
+        }
+
+        [Test]
+        public static void IfHereNowWithUUIDsIsCalledOnEmptyChannelThenChannelEntryShouldStillExist()
+        {
+            string channel = "mocha";
+            // Empty single channel with uuids requested: uuids array present but empty, occupancy 0.
+            string serverResponse = "{\"status\": 200, \"message\": \"OK\", \"service\": \"Presence\", \"uuids\": [], \"occupancy\": 0}";
+
+            PNHereNowResult result = ParseHereNowResponse(serverResponse, channel);
+
+            Assert.IsNotNull(result, "here_now result not parsed");
+            Assert.AreEqual(0, result.TotalOccupancy, "TotalOccupancy mismatch");
+            Assert.IsTrue(result.Channels.TryGetValue(channel, out var channelData), "channel entry should exist even when empty");
+            Assert.AreEqual(channel, channelData.ChannelName, "ChannelName not populated");
+            Assert.AreEqual(0, channelData.Occupancy, "empty channel occupancy should be 0");
+            Assert.IsNotNull(channelData.Occupants, "Occupants should be an empty list, not null");
+            Assert.AreEqual(0, channelData.Occupants.Count, "empty channel should have no occupants");
+        }
+
+        [Test]
+        public static void IfHereNowWithoutUUIDsIsCalledOnMultipleChannelsThenEachOccupancyShouldBeCorrect()
+        {
+            // Multiple channels always return the payload format with per-channel occupancy, even with disable_uuids.
+            string serverResponse = "{\"status\": 200, \"message\": \"OK\", \"payload\": {\"channels\": {\"mocha\": {\"occupancy\": 3}, \"chabc\": {\"occupancy\": 5}}, \"total_channels\": 2, \"total_occupancy\": 8}, \"service\": \"Presence\"}";
+
+            PNHereNowResult result = ParseHereNowResponse(serverResponse, "mocha,chabc");
+
+            Assert.IsNotNull(result, "here_now result not parsed");
+            Assert.AreEqual(8, result.TotalOccupancy, "TotalOccupancy mismatch");
+            Assert.AreEqual(2, result.TotalChannels, "TotalChannels mismatch");
+            Assert.IsTrue(result.Channels.TryGetValue("mocha", out var mochaData), "mocha channel data missing");
+            Assert.AreEqual(3, mochaData.Occupancy, "mocha occupancy mismatch");
+            Assert.IsTrue(result.Channels.TryGetValue("chabc", out var chabcData), "chabc channel data missing");
+            Assert.AreEqual(5, chabcData.Occupancy, "chabc occupancy mismatch");
+        }
+
+
         [Test]
         public static void IfHereNowIsCalledThenItShouldReturnInfoCipher()
         {