diff --git a/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/message/react/react-to-message.go b/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/message/react/react-to-message.go
index d91c2f3..24ebb15 100644
--- a/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/message/react/react-to-message.go
+++ b/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/message/react/react-to-message.go
@@ -32,16 +32,25 @@ import (
 )
 
 var (
-	account   string
-	author    v1.JsonAddress
-	timestamp int64
-	emoji     string
-	group     string
-	remove    bool
+	account       string
+	threadAddress *v1.JsonAddress
+	group         string
+	author        v1.JsonAddress
+	timestamp     int64
+	emoji         string
+	remove        bool
 
 	ReactMessageCmd = &cobra.Command{
-		Use:   "react <author> <timestamp> <emoji>",
+		Use:   "react thread author timestamp emoji",
 		Short: "react to a message",
+		Long: `react to a message with a particular emoji
+
+		arguments:
+			<thread>     if the message being reacted to is in a 1-on-1 chat, the e164 or UUID of the person the chat is with. if the message is in a group, the group id.
+			<author>     the e164 or UUID of the author of the message being reacted to
+			<timestamp>  the timestamp of the message to react to
+			<emoji>      the unicode emoji to send as the reaction
+		`,
 		PreRun: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 			if account == "" {
 				account = config.Config.DefaultAccount
@@ -50,19 +59,25 @@ var (
 				common.Must(cmd.Help())
 				log.Fatal("No account specified. Please specify with --account or set a default")
 			}
-			if len(args) != 3 {
+			if len(args) != 4 {
 				common.Must(cmd.Help())
+				log.Fatal("not enough arguments")
 			}
+
 			var err error
-			author, err = common.StringToAddress(args[0])
+			threadAddress, group, err = common.StringToAddressOrGroup(args[0])
 			if err != nil {
 				log.Fatal(err)
 			}
-			timestamp, err = strconv.ParseInt(args[1], 10, 64)
+			author, err = common.StringToAddress(args[1])
 			if err != nil {
-				log.Fatal("Unable to parse timestamp", args[1], ":", err.Error())
+				log.Fatal(err)
 			}
-			emoji = args[2]
+			timestamp, err = strconv.ParseInt(args[2], 10, 64)
+			if err != nil {
+				log.Fatal("Unable to parse timestamp", args[2], ":", err.Error())
+			}
+			emoji = args[3]
 		},
 		Run: func(_ *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 			go common.Signald.Listen(nil)
@@ -77,10 +92,10 @@ var (
 				},
 			}
 
-			if group == "" {
-				req.RecipientAddress = &author
+			if threadAddress != nil {
+				req.RecipientAddress = threadAddress
 			} else {
-				req.RecipientGroupID = group
+				req.RecipientAddress = &author
 			}
 
 			resp, err := req.Submit(common.Signald)
diff --git a/cmd/signaldctl/common/signald.go b/cmd/signaldctl/common/signald.go
index 3db14e8..de2cdc7 100644
--- a/cmd/signaldctl/common/signald.go
+++ b/cmd/signaldctl/common/signald.go
@@ -64,3 +64,18 @@ func StringToAddress(address string) (v1.JsonAddress, error) {
 	}
 	return v1.JsonAddress{}, NewInvalidAddress(address)
 }
+
+func StringToAddressOrGroup(identifier string) (*v1.JsonAddress, string, error) {
+	// if it starts with a +, assume it's an e164
+	if strings.HasPrefix(identifier, "+") {
+		return &v1.JsonAddress{Number: identifier}, "", nil
+	}
+
+	// if it parses as a UUID, assume it's a UUID
+	if _, err := uuid.Parse(identifier); err == nil {
+		return &v1.JsonAddress{UUID: identifier}, "", nil
+	}
+
+	// if it doesn't start with a + and doesn't parse as a UUID, assume it's a group
+	return nil, identifier, nil
+}