diff --git a/composer.json b/composer.json
index d8b26ee6..f6216637 100644
--- a/composer.json
+++ b/composer.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
     "name": "fleetbase/core-api",
-    "version": "1.6.49",
+    "version": "1.6.50",
     "description": "Core Framework and Resources for Fleetbase API",
     "keywords": [
         "fleetbase",
diff --git a/src/Http/Controllers/Api/v1/CommentController.php b/src/Http/Controllers/Api/v1/CommentController.php
index 8c648140..24fd93ce 100644
--- a/src/Http/Controllers/Api/v1/CommentController.php
+++ b/src/Http/Controllers/Api/v1/CommentController.php
@@ -23,10 +23,10 @@ public function create(CreateCommentRequest $request)
     {
         $content = $request->input('content');
         $subject = $request->input('subject', [
-            'id'   => $request->input('subject_id'),
+            'id'   => $request->input('subject_id') ?: $request->input('subject_uuid'),
             'type' => $request->input('subject_type'),
         ]);
-        $parent = $request->input('parent');
+        $parent = $request->input('parent') ?: $request->input('parent_comment_uuid');
 
         // Prepare comment creation data
         $data = [
@@ -38,7 +38,14 @@ public function create(CreateCommentRequest $request)
         // Resolve the parent
         $parentComment = null;
         if ($parent) {
-            $parentComment = Comment::where(['public_id' => $parent, 'company_uuid' => session('company')])->first();
+            $parentComment = Comment::where('company_uuid', session('company'))
+                ->where(function ($query) use ($parent) {
+                    $query->where('uuid', $parent)
+                        ->orWhere('public_id', $parent)
+                        ->orWhere('id', $parent);
+                })
+                ->first();
+
             if ($parentComment) {
                 $data['parent_comment_uuid'] = $parentComment->uuid;
                 $data['subject_uuid']        = $parentComment->subject_uuid;
@@ -47,14 +54,19 @@ public function create(CreateCommentRequest $request)
         }
 
         // Resolve the subject
-        if ($subject && !$parentComment) {
+        if ($subject && data_get($subject, 'id') && data_get($subject, 'type') && !$parentComment) {
             $subjectClass = Utils::getMutationType(data_get($subject, 'type'));
             $subjectUuid  = null;
             if ($subjectClass) {
-                $subjectUuid = Utils::getUuid(app($subjectClass)->getTable(), [
-                    'public_id'          => data_get($subject, 'id'),
-                    'company_uuid'       => session('company'),
-                ]);
+                $subjectId   = data_get($subject, 'id');
+                $subjectUuid = app($subjectClass)
+                    ->newQuery()
+                    ->where('company_uuid', session('company'))
+                    ->where(function ($query) use ($subjectId) {
+                        $query->where('uuid', $subjectId)
+                            ->orWhere('public_id', $subjectId);
+                    })
+                    ->value('uuid');
             }
 
             // If on subject found
@@ -66,6 +78,10 @@ public function create(CreateCommentRequest $request)
             $data['subject_type'] =  $subjectClass;
         }
 
+        if (empty($data['subject_uuid']) || empty($data['subject_type'])) {
+            return response()->apiError('Invalid subject provided for comment.');
+        }
+
         // create the comment
         try {
             $comment = Comment::publish($data);
diff --git a/src/Http/Controllers/Internal/v1/AuthController.php b/src/Http/Controllers/Internal/v1/AuthController.php
index e35b9730..03a0cb4e 100644
--- a/src/Http/Controllers/Internal/v1/AuthController.php
+++ b/src/Http/Controllers/Internal/v1/AuthController.php
@@ -61,6 +61,10 @@ public function login(LoginRequest $request)
                     $tokenOwner instanceof User
                     && ($tokenOwner->email === $identity || $tokenOwner->phone === $identity)
                 ) {
+                    if ($tokenOwner->type === 'customer') {
+                        return response()->error('Customer accounts must sign in through the customer portal.', 403, ['code' => 'customer_login_not_allowed']);
+                    }
+
                     return response()->json([
                         'token' => $authToken,
                         'type'  => $tokenOwner->getType(),
@@ -78,6 +82,10 @@ public function login(LoginRequest $request)
             $query->where('email', $identity)->orWhere('phone', $identity);
         })->first();
 
+        if ($user && $user->type === 'customer') {
+            return response()->error('Customer accounts must sign in through the customer portal.', 403, ['code' => 'customer_login_not_allowed']);
+        }
+
         // If the user exists but has no password set (e.g. SSO-invited or provisioned
         // accounts), silently fall through to the generic credentials error below.
         // This guard MUST come before isInvalidPassword() which has a strict string
diff --git a/src/Http/Controllers/Internal/v1/ChatChannelController.php b/src/Http/Controllers/Internal/v1/ChatChannelController.php
index 3f571123..a342c43c 100644
--- a/src/Http/Controllers/Internal/v1/ChatChannelController.php
+++ b/src/Http/Controllers/Internal/v1/ChatChannelController.php
@@ -3,7 +3,10 @@
 namespace Fleetbase\Http\Controllers\Internal\v1;
 
 use Fleetbase\Http\Controllers\FleetbaseController;
+use Fleetbase\Http\Resources\User as UserResource;
 use Fleetbase\Models\ChatChannel;
+use Fleetbase\Models\ChatParticipant;
+use Fleetbase\Models\User;
 use Illuminate\Http\Request;
 
 class ChatChannelController extends FleetbaseController
@@ -15,6 +18,75 @@ class ChatChannelController extends FleetbaseController
      */
     public $resource = 'chat_channel';
 
+    /**
+     * Creates a chat channel and optional initial participants.
+     *
+     * @return \Fleetbase\Http\Resources\ChatChannel|\Illuminate\Http\Response
+     */
+    public function createRecord(Request $request)
+    {
+        try {
+            $name         = $request->input('chatChannel.name');
+            $meta         = $request->input('chatChannel.meta', []);
+            $participants = $request->array('chatChannel.participants');
+
+            $chatChannel = ChatChannel::create([
+                'company_uuid'    => session('company'),
+                'created_by_uuid' => session('user'),
+                'name'            => $name,
+                'meta'            => $meta,
+            ]);
+
+            foreach ($participants as $userId) {
+                $user = User::where('uuid', $userId)->orWhere('public_id', $userId)->first();
+
+                if (!$user || $user->uuid === session('user')) {
+                    continue;
+                }
+
+                ChatParticipant::firstOrCreate([
+                    'company_uuid'      => session('company'),
+                    'user_uuid'         => $user->uuid,
+                    'chat_channel_uuid' => $chatChannel->uuid,
+                ]);
+            }
+
+            $chatChannel->load(['participants.user', 'lastMessage']);
+            $this->resource::wrap($this->resourceSingularlName);
+
+            return new $this->resource($chatChannel);
+        } catch (\Exception $e) {
+            return response()->error(app()->hasDebugModeEnabled() ? $e->getMessage() : 'Unable to create chat channel.');
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Query users available for a new or existing chat channel.
+     *
+     * @return \Fleetbase\Http\Resources\UserCollection
+     */
+    public function getAvailableParticipants(Request $request)
+    {
+        $query         = $request->input('query');
+        $chatChannelId = $request->input('channel');
+        $chatChannel   = $chatChannelId ? ChatChannel::where('uuid', $chatChannelId)->orWhere('public_id', $chatChannelId)->first() : null;
+
+        $users = User::whereHas('companyUsers', function ($query) {
+            $query->where('company_uuid', session('company'));
+        })
+            ->where('uuid', '!=', session('user'))
+            ->when($query, function ($builder) use ($query) {
+                $builder->search($query);
+            });
+
+        if ($chatChannel) {
+            $participantUserUuids = $chatChannel->participants()->pluck('user_uuid');
+            $users->whereNotIn('uuid', $participantUserUuids);
+        }
+
+        return UserResource::collection($users->limit(25)->get());
+    }
+
     /**
      * Retrieves the unread message count for a specific chat channel.
      *
diff --git a/src/Http/Controllers/Internal/v1/LookupController.php b/src/Http/Controllers/Internal/v1/LookupController.php
index 464231b8..7ea60540 100644
--- a/src/Http/Controllers/Internal/v1/LookupController.php
+++ b/src/Http/Controllers/Internal/v1/LookupController.php
@@ -189,7 +189,7 @@ public function fleetbaseBlog(Request $request)
     {
         $limit    = max(1, min($request->integer('limit', 6), 20));
         $cacheKey = $this->getFleetbaseBlogCacheKey($limit);
-        $cacheTTL = now()->addDays(4); // 4 days as requested
+        $cacheTTL = now()->addDays(1);
 
         // Try to get from cache
         $posts = Cache::remember($cacheKey, $cacheTTL, function () use ($limit) {
diff --git a/src/Http/Filter/CommentFilter.php b/src/Http/Filter/CommentFilter.php
index ae42a204..da327424 100644
--- a/src/Http/Filter/CommentFilter.php
+++ b/src/Http/Filter/CommentFilter.php
@@ -30,6 +30,13 @@ public function subjectUuid(string $id)
         $this->builder->where('subject_uuid', $id);
     }
 
+    public function subjectType(string $type)
+    {
+        $resolved = Utils::getMutationType($type);
+
+        $this->builder->where('subject_type', $resolved ?: $type);
+    }
+
     public function parent(string $id)
     {
         if (Str::isUuid($id)) {
diff --git a/src/Http/Requests/CreateCommentRequest.php b/src/Http/Requests/CreateCommentRequest.php
index 2de63141..6d16696e 100644
--- a/src/Http/Requests/CreateCommentRequest.php
+++ b/src/Http/Requests/CreateCommentRequest.php
@@ -25,16 +25,22 @@ public function rules()
     {
         return [
             'subject' => [Rule::requiredIf(function () {
-                return !$this->filled('subject_id') && !$this->filled('subject_type') && !$this->filled('parent') && $this->isMethod('POST');
+                return !$this->filled('subject_id') && !$this->filled('subject_uuid') && !$this->filled('subject_type') && !$this->filled('parent') && !$this->filled('parent_comment_uuid') && $this->isMethod('POST');
             })],
             'subject_id' => [Rule::requiredIf(function () {
-                return !$this->filled('parent') && !$this->filled('subject') && $this->isMethod('POST');
+                return !$this->filled('subject_uuid') && !$this->filled('parent') && !$this->filled('parent_comment_uuid') && !$this->filled('subject') && $this->isMethod('POST');
+            })],
+            'subject_uuid' => [Rule::requiredIf(function () {
+                return !$this->filled('subject_id') && !$this->filled('parent') && !$this->filled('parent_comment_uuid') && !$this->filled('subject') && $this->isMethod('POST');
             })],
             'subject_type' => [Rule::requiredIf(function () {
-                return !$this->filled('parent') && !$this->filled('subject') && $this->isMethod('POST');
+                return !$this->filled('parent') && !$this->filled('parent_comment_uuid') && !$this->filled('subject') && $this->isMethod('POST');
             })],
             'parent' => [Rule::requiredIf(function () {
-                return !$this->filled('subject') && !$this->filled('subject_type') && !$this->filled('subject_id') && $this->isMethod('POST');
+                return !$this->filled('parent_comment_uuid') && !$this->filled('subject') && !$this->filled('subject_type') && !$this->filled('subject_id') && !$this->filled('subject_uuid') && $this->isMethod('POST');
+            })],
+            'parent_comment_uuid' => [Rule::requiredIf(function () {
+                return !$this->filled('parent') && !$this->filled('subject') && !$this->filled('subject_type') && !$this->filled('subject_id') && !$this->filled('subject_uuid') && $this->isMethod('POST');
             })],
             'content'         => ['required'],
         ];
diff --git a/src/Http/Resources/ChatChannel.php b/src/Http/Resources/ChatChannel.php
index b64aefa0..055ddf5d 100644
--- a/src/Http/Resources/ChatChannel.php
+++ b/src/Http/Resources/ChatChannel.php
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ public function toArray($request)
             'created_by'                         => $this->when(Http::isPublicRequest(), fn () => $this->createdBy ? $this->createdBy->public_id : null),
             'name'                               => $this->name,
             'title'                              => $this->title,
-            'last_message'                       => new ChatMessage($this->last_message),
+            'last_message'                       => $this->last_message ? new ChatMessage($this->last_message) : null,
             'unread_count'                       => $this->when($user, fn () => $this->getUnreadMessageCountForUser($user)),
             'slug'                               => $this->slug,
             'feed'                               => $this->resource_feed,
diff --git a/src/Listeners/SendResourceLifecycleWebhook.php b/src/Listeners/SendResourceLifecycleWebhook.php
index f125ce1e..cfd6c2f2 100644
--- a/src/Listeners/SendResourceLifecycleWebhook.php
+++ b/src/Listeners/SendResourceLifecycleWebhook.php
@@ -37,12 +37,18 @@ public function handle($event)
         $apiEnvironment  = session()->get('api_environment', $event->apiEnvironment ?? 'live');
         $isSandbox       = session()->get('is_sandbox', $event->isSandbox);
 
+        // Compute the event payload exactly once so the persisted ApiEvent record and the
+        // outbound webhook body are guaranteed to be identical. $event->getEventData() resolves
+        // the model live at handle time, whereas $event->data is a snapshot frozen at dispatch
+        // time; using each in a different place lets the DB record and the webhook diverge.
+        $payload = $event->getEventData();
+
         // Prepare event
         $eventData = [
             'company_uuid'        => $companyId,
             'event'               => $event->broadcastAs(),
             'source'              => $apiCredentialId ? 'api' : 'console',
-            'data'                => $event->getEventData(),
+            'data'                => $payload,
             'method'              => $event->requestMethod,
             'description'         => $this->getHumanReadableEventDescription($event),
         ];
@@ -100,7 +106,7 @@ public function handle($event)
                         'sent_at'             => Carbon::now(),
                     ])
                     ->url($webhook->url)
-                    ->payload($event->data)
+                    ->payload($payload)
                     ->useSecret($apiSecret)
                     ->dispatch();
             } catch (\Exception|\Aws\Sqs\Exception\SqsException $exception) {
diff --git a/src/routes.php b/src/routes.php
index 8e8b50d2..233ad35a 100644
--- a/src/routes.php
+++ b/src/routes.php
@@ -257,6 +257,7 @@ function ($router, $controller) {
                                 $router->fleetbaseRoutes('custom-fields');
                                 $router->fleetbaseRoutes('custom-field-values');
                                 $router->fleetbaseRoutes('chat-channels', function ($router, $controller) {
+                                    $router->get('available-participants', $controller('getAvailableParticipants'));
                                     $router->get('unread-count/{channelId}', $controller('getUnreadCountForChannel'));
                                     $router->get('unread-count', $controller('getUnreadCount'));
                                 });