# Set slot prior to first message

**URL:** <https://forum.rasa.com/t/set-slot-prior-to-first-message/33835>\
**Category:** Rasa Open Source\
**Created:** [September 16, 2020, 3:09pm UTC](https://forum.rasa.com/t/set-slot-prior-to-first-message/33835 "2020-09-16T15:09:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![atxai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea666f/32.png) [@atxai](https://forum.rasa.com/u/atxai)\
**Post date:** [September 16, 2020, 3:09pm UTC](https://forum.rasa.com/t/set-slot-prior-to-first-message/33835/1 "2020-09-16T15:09:49Z")

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Anyone tried setting a slot via API before the first message? ie. i want to set the users ID and name slots and then send the first message to rasa so it knows how to respond.

If i do that, it always sends a blank response on the first message and i have to send it again to get the expected response.

It would be great if there was a way to send messages to Rasa with additional metadeta. For instance, send the first message along with the user information so it can fill slots and formulate a proper response.

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**Author:** ![Gehova](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/2acd7d/32.png) [@Gehova](https://forum.rasa.com/u/Gehova)\
**Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 4:28pm UTC](https://forum.rasa.com/t/set-slot-prior-to-first-message/33835/2 "2020-09-17T16:28:18Z")

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> [@atxai](#):
>
> It would be great if there was a way to send messages to Rasa with additional metadeta.

There is, check this [thread](http://forum.rasa.com/t/how-to-pass-metadata-in-post-request-and-then-extract-it/15092).

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**Author:** ![atxai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea666f/32.png) [@atxai](https://forum.rasa.com/u/atxai)\
**Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 4:40pm UTC](https://forum.rasa.com/t/set-slot-prior-to-first-message/33835/3 "2020-09-17T16:40:56Z")

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Thanks, though I’m still not sure why it returns a blank response if setting the slot first via API. Anyone have any ideas?

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**Author:** ![atxai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea666f/32.png) [@atxai](https://forum.rasa.com/u/atxai)\
**Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 11:11am UTC](https://forum.rasa.com/t/set-slot-prior-to-first-message/33835/4 "2020-09-21T11:11:15Z")

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Over the weekend, I’ve attempted with a fresh bot to make sure it’s not an issue with my stories, no change. So the issue still remains in that if I set a slot via API before I send the initial message, the initial message gets no response. I then have to send the message a 2nd time to get the intended response.

@Juste, any thoughts?

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**Author:** ![Tanja](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/forum.rasa.com/tanja/32/4696_2.png) [@Tanja](https://forum.rasa.com/u/Tanja)\
**Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 1:14pm UTC](https://forum.rasa.com/t/set-slot-prior-to-first-message/33835/5 "2020-09-21T13:14:18Z")

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@atxai This seems to be related to [API unexpected behavior (bug?)](http://forum.rasa.com/t/api-unexpected-behavior-bug/33400)

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**Author:** ![atxai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea666f/32.png) [@atxai](https://forum.rasa.com/u/atxai)\
**Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 1:17pm UTC](https://forum.rasa.com/t/set-slot-prior-to-first-message/33835/6 "2020-09-21T13:17:18Z")

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Ah yep, looks to be the same thing. Thank you! Sorry I didn’t notice that thread earlier.