Channels

Channels are messaging platform integrations that connect OpenClaw to WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, Slack, Signal, iMessage, and other platforms. Each channel handles platform-specific authentication, message normalization, and delivery.

What is a Channel?

A channel is a messaging platform adapter that:

Authenticates with the messaging platform
Receives inbound messages and normalizes them
Delivers outbound messages from agents
Manages platform-specific features (media, reactions, threads)
Enforces access control via allowlists and pairing

Supported Channels

OpenClaw supports multiple messaging platforms out of the box:

Web-based via Baileys library

Bot API via grammY

Discord

Bot via discord.js

Slack

App via Bolt SDK

Signal

CLI-based via signal-cli

iMessage

macOS only, AppleScript bridge

Extension Channels:

Microsoft Teams
Google Chat
Matrix
Zalo
Voice Call

Location: src/channels/, extensions/*/

Channel Configuration

Basic Setup

Channels are configured under channels.<channel-id> in your OpenClaw config:

{
  "channels": {
    "telegram": {
      "token": "your-bot-token",
      "allowFrom": ["*"]
    },
    "discord": {
      "token": "your-bot-token",
      "allowFrom": ["user123", "user456"]
    }
  }
}

Location: src/channels/plugins/config-schema.ts:1

Channel-Specific Settings

Each channel has unique configuration options: WhatsApp:

{
  "channels": {
    "whatsapp": {
      "allowFrom": ["*"],
      "groupPolicy": "open",
      "mediaDownloadDir": "~/.openclaw/media",
      "heartbeatSeconds": 300
    }
  }
}

Telegram:

{
  "channels": {
    "telegram": {
      "token": "bot-token",
      "allowFrom": ["123456789"],
      "textChunkLimit": 4096,
      "groupPolicy": "allowlist"
    }
  }
}

Discord:

{
  "channels": {
    "discord": {
      "token": "bot-token",
      "allowFrom": ["guild:123456789"],
      "groupPolicy": "open",
      "requireMention": true
    }
  }
}

Location: src/channels/plugins/

Channel Types

Chat Types

Channels support different chat types:

direct: Direct messages (DMs) with individual users
group: Group chats with multiple participants
channel: Broadcast channels (Telegram, Slack)
thread: Threaded conversations

type ChatType = "direct" | "group" | "channel" | "thread";

Location: src/channels/chat-type.ts:1

Account Support

Some channels support multiple accounts:

{
  "channels": {
    "telegram": {
      "accounts": {
        "default": {
          "token": "bot-token-1",
          "allowFrom": ["*"]
        },
        "work": {
          "token": "bot-token-2",
          "allowFrom": ["team-members"]
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Location: src/channels/plugins/account-helpers.ts:1

Message Routing

Allowlists (Access Control)

Channels use allowlists to control who can message the agent:

{
  "channels": {
    "telegram": {
      "allowFrom": [
        "123456789",
        "user:alice",
        "*"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Allowlist Patterns:

*: Allow everyone (wildcard)
123456789: User ID
user:alice: Username
@alice: Username with @ prefix
+15551234567: Phone number (E.164 format)

Location: src/channels/plugins/allowlist-match.ts:1

For production, use explicit allowlists instead of * to prevent unauthorized access.

Group Policies

Control how the agent responds in group chats:

{
  "channels": {
    "discord": {
      "groupPolicy": "open",
      "requireMention": true
    }
  }
}

Group Policy Options:

open: Allow all group messages (mention gating applies)
allowlist: Only allow messages from users in allowlist
disabled: Ignore all group messages

Location: src/config/types.base.ts:8

Mention Patterns

In group chats, the agent responds when mentioned:

{
  "channels": {
    "discord": {
      "requireMention": true,
      "mentionRegexes": [
        "@bot",
        "\\bhey bot\\b"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Built-in Mention Detection:

Discord: @bot-name
Telegram: @bot_username
Slack: @bot-name
WhatsApp: Quote replies

Location: src/channels/mention-gating.ts:1, src/channels/plugins/group-mentions.ts:1

DM vs Group Routing

Direct messages and group chats can route to different agents:

{
  "routing": {
    "bindings": [
      {
        "agentId": "personal",
        "match": {
          "channel": "telegram",
          "peer": { "kind": "direct" }
        }
      },
      {
        "agentId": "support",
        "match": {
          "channel": "telegram",
          "peer": { "kind": "group", "id": "-1001234567890" }
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Location: src/routing/resolve-route.ts:295

Pairing Flow

DM Pairing (Security)

By default, unknown DM senders must pair before accessing the agent:

User sends first message:
User: Hello!

Bot sends pairing code:

Bot: Please provide your pairing code: ABC123

Admin approves pairing:
oclaw pairing approve telegram ABC123

User can now chat:

Bot: You're now paired! How can I help?
User: What's the weather?

Pairing Storage: ~/.openclaw/allowlists/{channel}.json Location: src/channels/plugins/pairing.ts:1, src/pairing/

Pairing Commands

# List pending pairing requests
oclaw pairing list

# Approve a pairing request
oclaw pairing approve <channel> <code>

# Reject a pairing request
oclaw pairing reject <channel> <code>

# List approved users
oclaw pairing show telegram

Location: src/commands/pairing.ts:1

Use "allowFrom": ["*"] to skip pairing and allow all users (not recommended for production).

Channel Status

Monitoring Channels

Check channel connection status:

# Quick status
oclaw channels status

# Detailed status with probes
oclaw channels status --deep

# All channels (including inactive)
oclaw channels status --all

Output:

CHANNEL     STATUS    ACCOUNTS  LAST MESSAGE
telegram    online    1         2 minutes ago
discord     online    1         5 minutes ago
whatsapp    offline   1         —

Location: src/commands/channels.ts:1

Channel Lifecycle

Location: src/channels/plugins/status.ts:1

Channel Configuration Examples

Multi-Account Setup

{
  "channels": {
    "telegram": {
      "accounts": {
        "default": {
          "token": "bot-token-personal",
          "allowFrom": ["*"]
        },
        "work": {
          "token": "bot-token-work",
          "allowFrom": ["team-member-1", "team-member-2"]
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

DM-Only Mode

{
  "channels": {
    "discord": {
      "token": "bot-token",
      "groupPolicy": "disabled",
      "allowFrom": ["user123", "user456"]
    }
  }
}

Open Groups, Restricted DMs

{
  "channels": {
    "telegram": {
      "token": "bot-token",
      "allowFrom": ["admin-id"],
      "groupPolicy": "open",
      "requireMention": true
    }
  }
}

Channel-Specific Media Settings

{
  "channels": {
    "whatsapp": {
      "mediaDownloadDir": "~/.openclaw/media/whatsapp",
      "mediaMaxSizeMb": 16
    },
    "telegram": {
      "mediaDownloadDir": "~/.openclaw/media/telegram",
      "mediaMaxSizeMb": 50
    }
  }
}

Location: src/channels/plugins/media-limits.ts:1

Advanced Features

Message Actions

Channels support platform-specific actions:

Reactions: React to messages with emoji
Edits: Edit sent messages
Deletions: Delete messages
Typing Indicators: Show “typing…” status
Read Receipts: Mark messages as read

Location: src/channels/plugins/message-actions.ts:1

Media Handling

Channels automatically download and process media:

Images: JPG, PNG, GIF, WebP
Videos: MP4, MOV, WebM
Audio: MP3, OGG, M4A
Documents: PDF, TXT, DOCX
Voice Messages: Platform-specific formats

Location: src/channels/plugins/normalize/

Thread Support

Channels that support threads (Discord, Slack) create sub-sessions:

{
  "session": {
    "resetByType": {
      "thread": {
        "mode": "idle",
        "idleMinutes": 60
      }
    }
  }
}

Location: src/routing/session-key.ts:254

Troubleshooting

Channel Won’t Connect

Check credentials:

oclaw config get channels.telegram.token

Verify channel status:
oclaw channels status --deep
Check logs:
oclaw logs --follow

Messages Not Delivered

Verify allowlist:

oclaw config get channels.telegram.allowFrom

Check pairing status:
oclaw pairing list
Test routing:
oclaw routing test telegram user123

Channel Authentication Failed

Telegram:

# Re-authenticate
oclaw login telegram --token your-bot-token

Discord:

# Re-authenticate
oclaw login discord --token your-bot-token

WhatsApp:

# Re-pair (generates new QR code)
oclaw login whatsapp --force

Location: src/commands/login.ts:1

Never commit channel credentials to version control. Use environment variables or secure storage.

Next Steps

Session Management

Learn how sessions track conversation context

Message Routing

Configure multi-agent routing rules

Channel Setup Guides

Platform-specific setup instructions

Access Control

Advanced security and allowlist configuration

​Channels

​What is a Channel?

​Supported Channels

WhatsApp

Telegram

Discord

Slack

Signal

iMessage

​Channel Configuration

​Basic Setup

​Channel-Specific Settings

​Channel Types

​Chat Types

​Account Support

​Message Routing

​Allowlists (Access Control)

​Group Policies

​Mention Patterns

​DM vs Group Routing

​Pairing Flow

​DM Pairing (Security)

​Pairing Commands

​Channel Status

​Monitoring Channels

​Channel Lifecycle

​Channel Configuration Examples

​Multi-Account Setup

​DM-Only Mode

​Open Groups, Restricted DMs

​Channel-Specific Media Settings

​Advanced Features

​Message Actions

​Media Handling

​Thread Support

​Troubleshooting

​Channel Won’t Connect

​Messages Not Delivered

​Channel Authentication Failed

​Next Steps

Session Management

Message Routing

Channel Setup Guides

Access Control

Channels

What is a Channel?

Supported Channels

Channel Configuration

Basic Setup

Channel-Specific Settings

Channel Types

Chat Types

Account Support

Message Routing

Allowlists (Access Control)

Group Policies

Mention Patterns

DM vs Group Routing

Pairing Flow

DM Pairing (Security)

Pairing Commands

Channel Status

Monitoring Channels

Channel Lifecycle

Channel Configuration Examples

Multi-Account Setup

DM-Only Mode

Open Groups, Restricted DMs

Channel-Specific Media Settings

Advanced Features

Message Actions

Media Handling

Thread Support

Troubleshooting

Channel Won’t Connect

Messages Not Delivered

Channel Authentication Failed

Next Steps