Channels & Integrations

A channel is any messaging platform connected to your OpenClaw gateway. The same agent, same brain, same memory — accessible from WhatsApp on your phone, Discord on your desktop, or Slack during a meeting. Channels are just transport.

As of v2026.6, OpenClaw supports 26 channels spanning messaging platforms, enterprise tools, and niche services. Since v2026.3.22, most channels are distributed as install-on-demand plugins via ClawHub rather than bundled in core.

Supported Channels

Messaging Platforms

Channel	Library	Auth Method	Status	Notes
WhatsApp	Baileys	QR code scan	Bundled	Unofficial API; ban risk — see WhatsApp
Telegram	grammY	Bot token	Bundled	Fastest setup — see Telegram
Discord	discord.js	Bot token	Bundled	Thread binding, mention gating — see Discord
Slack	Bolt	Bot + App token	Bundled	Socket Mode or HTTP — see Slack
Signal	libsignal	Phone number link	Bundled	E2E encrypted, most private
iMessage	Native	System integration	Bundled	macOS only
WebChat	Built-in	Gateway URL	Bundled	`http://localhost:18789/chat`
IRC	irc-framework	Server + nick	Bundled	Multiple networks supported
Matrix	matrix-js-sdk	Access token	Plugin	Self-hostable, optional E2E
Microsoft Teams	Bot Framework	Azure AD app	Plugin	Enterprise SSO
Google Chat	googleapis	Service account	Plugin	Workspace integration
Feishu / Lark	larksuite SDK	App credentials	Plugin	Chinese/intl enterprise
LINE	LINE Messaging API	Channel token	Plugin	Popular in Japan/SE Asia
WeChat	WeChat API	AppID + secret	Plugin	Chinese market
Nostr	nostr-tools	Private key (nsec)	Plugin	Decentralized protocol
Twitch	tmi.js	OAuth token	Plugin	Chat integration
Zalo	Zalo OA API	OA token	Plugin	Vietnam market
QQ Bot	QQ Bot API	App ID + secret	Plugin	China market
Mattermost	Mattermost API	Bot token	Plugin	Self-hosted Slack alternative
Nextcloud Talk	Nextcloud API	App password	Plugin	Self-hosted
Synology Chat	Synology API	Bot token	Plugin	NAS integration
SMS	Twilio	Account SID + token	Plugin	Outbound/inbound SMS
Voice Call	Plivo / Twilio	Account credentials	Plugin	Phone call channel
Tlon / Urbit	Urbit API	Ship credentials	Plugin	Experimental

Service Integrations

Integration	Capabilities	Connection
Gmail	Read, send, search, label emails	OAuth or App Password
GitHub	Issues, PRs, notifications, code review	Personal Access Token
Spotify	Playback control, playlist management	OAuth
Obsidian	Read/write notes, search vault	Local filesystem
Philips Hue	Smart light control	Bridge API key
Google Calendar	Event management, scheduling	OAuth
Outlook Calendar	Event management, scheduling	Azure AD
Twitter/X	Timeline, search, post	TweetClaw plugin
Browser	Full Chromium automation	Built-in (Playwright)
Home Assistant	Smart home device control	Long-lived access token

Quick Setup

# Add a channel interactively
openclaw channel add telegram
openclaw channel add discord
openclaw channel add whatsapp

# Install a plugin channel first, then add
openclaw plugins install @openclaw/channel-matrix
openclaw channel add matrix

Each channel walks you through authentication specific to that platform. For the fastest start, Telegram only needs a bot token (2 minutes). WhatsApp requires QR scanning from your phone. Discord and Slack need app/bot creation in their developer portals.

WhatsApp uses the unofficial Baileys library (@whiskeysockets/baileys) — a reverse-engineered implementation of the WhatsApp Web protocol. This is not the WhatsApp Business API or Cloud API.

Setup

openclaw channel add whatsapp

A QR code appears in your terminal
Open WhatsApp on your phone: Settings > Linked Devices > Link a Device
Scan the QR code
Session credentials are saved to ~/.openclaw/credentials/whatsapp/<accountId>/creds.json

The gateway owns the WhatsApp socket and handles automatic reconnection. A .bak backup of credentials is maintained and restored on corruption.

Configuration

~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
{
  "channels": {
    "whatsapp": {
      "enabled": true,
      "sendReadReceipts": false,
      "mediaMaxMb": 50,
      "dmPolicy": "pairing",
      "allowFrom": [],
      "group": {
        "requireMention": true,
        "senderPolicy": "allowlist",
        "pendingHistoryCount": 50
      }
    }
  }
}

Features

Multi-account — Configure separate accounts (default, personal, biz) with per-account settings
Group chats — Mention gating with regex matching, reply-to-bot detection, allowlist/sender policy
Voice notes — Automatic transcription (shipped v2026.2, PR #9973)
Native mentions — Outbound @+<digits> mention metadata (v2026.5, PR #73961)
Media — Images, video, documents, audio up to 50 MB
Text chunking — Long messages split at 4,000 character boundaries
Read receipts — Configurable per account

Multi-Account Setup

~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
{
  "channels": {
    "whatsapp": {
      "accounts": {
        "default": {
          "sendReadReceipts": false,
          "dmPolicy": "allowlist",
          "allowFrom": ["+1234567890"]
        },
        "personal": {
          "sendReadReceipts": true,
          "dmPolicy": "open",
          "mediaMaxMb": 25
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Migrate from single-account to multi-account: openclaw doctor --fix

Known Issues

Ban risk

WhatsApp uses an unofficial reverse-engineered API. Meta has banned users for automated usage. Community reports (GitHub issues #4376, #73016) document bans and session instability ("frequent Web connection closed status 408 storms"). Mitigate by:

Keeping message volume reasonable
Not sending bulk messages
Using sendReadReceipts: false to reduce API surface
Having a backup channel (Telegram) configured

Telegram is the fastest channel to set up — it only needs a bot token from BotFather.

Setup

Message @BotFather on Telegram
Send /newbot, choose a name and username
Copy the bot token

openclaw channel add telegram
# ? Bot token: paste-your-token-here
# ✓ Telegram connected

Configuration

~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
{
  "channels": {
    "telegram": {
      "enabled": true,
      "botToken": "${TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN}",
      "mode": "polling",
      "dmPolicy": "pairing",
      "group": {
        "requireMention": true
      },
      "proxy": {
        "url": "socks5://proxy:1080"
      }
    }
  }
}

Features

Polling or webhook — Long polling is the default; set webhookUrl and webhookSecret for webhook mode
Self-hosted API — Point to your own Telegram Bot API server via apiRoot
Forum topics — Bind topics to specific agent routing with per-topic configuration
Streaming preview — Responses stream via sendMessage + editMessageText for real-time output
Bot menu commands — Custom command menu via commands config
Proxy support — SOCKS5 and HTTP proxy for restricted networks
Retry logic — 3 attempts, 400-30000ms delay, 0.1 jitter factor
Media conversion — Markdown image syntax is converted to media replies on outbound path
Reactions — Configurable notification modes: off, own, all

Webhook Mode

For production deployments behind a reverse proxy:

{
  "channels": {
    "telegram": {
      "mode": "webhook",
      "webhookUrl": "https://yourdomain.com/telegram/webhook",
      "webhookSecret": "${TELEGRAM_WEBHOOK_SECRET}"
    }
  }
}

Discord

Setup

Go to the Discord Developer Portal
Click New Application, give it a name
Go to Bot in the sidebar, click Add Bot
Copy the bot token
Under Privileged Gateway Intents, enable Message Content Intent
Go to OAuth2 > URL Generator, select bot scope and Send Messages + Read Message History permissions
Copy the generated URL and open it to invite the bot to your server

openclaw channel add discord
# ? Bot token: paste-your-token-here
# ? Default server ID (optional): 123456789
# ? Default channel ID (optional): 987654321
# ✓ Discord connected

Configuration

~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
{
  "channels": {
    "discord": {
      "enabled": true,
      "botToken": "${DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN}",
      "dmPolicy": "pairing",
      "allowedGuildIds": [],
      "allowedChannelIds": [],
      "group": {
        "requireMention": true,
        "mentionPrefix": ["!bot", "/ask"]
      },
      "thread": {
        "enabled": true,
        "historyScope": "thread"
      },
      "reactions": "allowlist",
      "typingIndicator": true
    }
  }
}

Features

Thread binding — Reply in threads with per-thread history isolation and spawn/idle/maxAge controls
Mention gating — Respond only when @mentioned or with custom prefixes
Guild/channel restrictions — Allowlist specific servers and channels
Typing indicator — Show "typing..." while processing
Reactions — Configurable: off, own, allowlist, all
Role-based access — Restrict bot interaction to specific Discord roles

Slack

Setup

Go to api.slack.com/apps and create a new app
Under OAuth & Permissions, add bot scopes: chat:write, channels:history, groups:history, im:history, users:read
Install to your workspace
Copy the Bot Token (xoxb-...) and App Token (xapp-...) for Socket Mode

openclaw channel add slack
# ? Bot token: xoxb-...
# ? App token: xapp-...
# ✓ Slack connected via Socket Mode

Configuration

~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
{
  "channels": {
    "slack": {
      "enabled": true,
      "botToken": "${SLACK_BOT_TOKEN}",
      "appToken": "${SLACK_APP_TOKEN}",
      "mode": "socket",
      "nativeTransport": true,
      "dmPolicy": "pairing",
      "allowedChannels": ["ask-bot", "dev-ops"],
      "thread": {
        "enabled": true,
        "historyScope": "thread"
      }
    }
  }
}

Connection Modes

Mode	Requires	Best For
Socket Mode	botToken + appToken	Most setups — no public URL needed
HTTP	botToken + signingSecret	Production behind reverse proxy

Features

Native streaming — Enable with nativeTransport: true for real-time response streaming
Per-thread history — Thread conversations are isolated with historyScope: "thread"
Channel restrictions — Only respond in listed channels
Thread replies — Force responses into threads to reduce noise

Signal

The most private channel — full end-to-end encryption with minimal metadata exposure.

openclaw channel add signal

Link via phone number, similar to Signal Desktop. Follow the on-screen prompts to pair your device. Signal's privacy guarantees mean OpenClaw cannot see metadata about other participants beyond the message content.

iMessage

macOS only — uses native system integration.

openclaw channel add imessage

Requires macOS with Messages.app configured. Works with both iMessage (Apple devices) and SMS (non-Apple) conversations routed through your Mac.

Matrix

Self-hostable, optionally E2E encrypted. Install the plugin first:

openclaw plugins install @openclaw/channel-matrix
openclaw channel add matrix
# ? Homeserver URL: https://matrix.org
# ? Access token: paste-your-token

Matrix is the second-most downloaded channel plugin (13.3k downloads) after WhatsApp (43.1k).

Other Channels

Microsoft Teams

openclaw plugins install @openclaw/channel-teams
openclaw channel add teams

Requires Azure AD app registration with Bot Framework credentials. Supports enterprise SSO.

Feishu / Lark

openclaw plugins install @openclaw/channel-feishu
openclaw channel add feishu

Popular in Chinese enterprise environments. The larksuite/openclaw-lark community integration is also available.

Additional Plugin Channels

Install any plugin channel with:

openclaw plugins install @openclaw/channel-<name>
openclaw channel add <name>

Available: line, wechat, nostr, twitch, zalo, qqbot, mattermost, nextcloud-talk, synology-chat, sms, voice-call, tlon.

Twitter/X with TweetClaw

The base Twitter/X integration is limited. For full automation, use the TweetClaw plugin:

openclaw plugins install @xquik/tweetclaw

TweetClaw adds: tweet search, reply search, post tweets, post replies, follower export, user lookup, media upload/download, direct messages, tweet monitors, webhooks, and giveaway draws.

Package: @xquik/tweetclaw
ClawHub: clawhub.ai/plugins/@xquik/tweetclaw

DM Access Control

Every channel enforces access control for direct messages. Four policies are available:

Policy	Behavior	Use Case
pairing (default)	Users must enter an 8-character code to pair	Personal use — secure by default
allowlist	Only pre-approved contacts can DM	Team/family use
open	Anyone can DM (requires explicit `"*"` wildcard)	Public bots
disabled	DMs are turned off entirely	Group-only bots

Pairing Flow

When dmPolicy is "pairing":

A new contact sends a message
OpenClaw responds: "Send the pairing code to chat with me"
The user gets the code from the gateway operator
Code is 8 uppercase characters (excluding ambiguous chars: 0, O, 1, I)
Codes expire after 1 hour, max 3 pending codes per channel

# Generate a pairing code
openclaw pairing create whatsapp

# List pending codes
openclaw pairing list

# Approve or reject
openclaw pairing approve whatsapp abc12345
openclaw pairing reject whatsapp abc12345

Allowlist

~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
{
  "channels": {
    "whatsapp": {
      "dmPolicy": "allowlist",
      "allowFrom": ["+1234567890", "+0987654321"]
    },
    "telegram": {
      "dmPolicy": "allowlist",
      "allowFrom": ["alice_username", "bob_username"]
    },
    "discord": {
      "dmPolicy": "allowlist",
      "allowFrom": ["alice#1234", "bob#5678"]
    }
  }
}

WhatsApp uses E.164-normalized phone numbers. Allowlists are stored at ~/.openclaw/credentials/<channel>-allowFrom.json.

caution

If no channel config block exists, the default is allowlist — which blocks all DMs with a startup warning. Always configure access control explicitly.

Group Chat Configuration

Groups need guard rails to prevent the bot from replying to every message.

Mention Gating

The most important group setting — the bot only responds when directly mentioned:

{
  "channels": {
    "discord": {
      "group": {
        "requireMention": true,
        "mentionPrefix": ["!bot", "/ask"]
      }
    },
    "telegram": {
      "group": {
        "requireMention": true
      }
    }
  }
}

Channel Restrictions

Restrict the bot to specific channels within a server:

{
  "channels": {
    "discord": {
      "allowedChannels": ["bot-chat", "ask-anything"],
      "ignoreChannels": ["off-topic", "memes"]
    },
    "slack": {
      "allowedChannels": ["ask-bot", "dev-ops"]
    }
  }
}

Group Access Policies

Policy	Behavior
allowlist (default)	Only allowed groups — fail-closed
open	All groups the bot is in
disabled	Ignore all group messages

Rate Limiting

{
  "channels": {
    "whatsapp": {
      "maxMessagesPerHour": 30,
      "cooldownSeconds": 5
    }
  }
}

Bot Loop Protection

A shared cross-channel mechanism prevents runaway bot-to-bot conversations using a sliding window budget (default: maxEventsPerWindow: 20).

Channel Permissions

Control what OpenClaw can do per channel:

{
  "channels": {
    "whatsapp": {
      "permissions": {
        "read": true,
        "reply": true,
        "initiate": false,
        "send_media": false
      }
    }
  }
}

Permission	Description
`read`	Process incoming messages
`reply`	Respond to messages
`initiate`	Start new conversations unprompted
`send_media`	Send images, files, audio, video

Multi-Channel Routing

The same agent can act across platforms — read from one, post to another:

You (Telegram): "Forward any Slack messages from my manager to me here"
→ Bot monitors Slack, pushes matching messages to your Telegram DM

You (Discord): "Summarize today's emails and post to #daily-updates on Slack"
→ Bot reads Gmail, compiles summary, posts to Slack channel

You (WhatsApp): "Check Discord for the last message from Alice in #project-alpha"
→ Bot reads from Discord, reports back on WhatsApp

Cross-channel routing requires the bot to have appropriate permissions on each platform. It can only read channels it's been added to and post where it has write access.

Channel Security

Prompt Injection Sanitization

OpenClaw sanitizes incoming messages to defend against prompt injection:

Strips LLM special tokens — Removes chat-template delimiters from major model families (ChatML <|im_start|>, Llama <|start_header_id|>, Gemma <start_of_turn>, Mistral [INST], Phi, GPT-OSS tokens)
Wraps in boundary markers — External content is enclosed in <<<EXTERNAL_UNTRUSTED_CONTENT ...>>> with Source: External metadata

info

This closes tokenizer-layer bypasses but does not replace other hardening measures. See Security Hardening for the full defense stack.

Credential Storage

Channel credentials are stored per-channel with configurable providers:

Provider	Syntax	Example
Environment variable	`${ENV_VAR}`	`"botToken": "${DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN}"`
File	`{"type": "file", "path": "..."}`	Read token from a file
Exec	`{"type": "exec", "command": "..."}`	Run a command to get token

SecretRef providers were expanded to channel credentials after v2026.2 (issue #28306). Telegram tokenFile rejects symlinks for security.

Encryption Comparison

Channel	Encryption	Metadata Exposure	Self-Hostable
Signal	E2E	Minimal	No
WhatsApp	E2E	Meta collects metadata	No
Matrix	Optional E2E	Depends on server	Yes
Telegram	Server-side TLS	Moderate	Partial (Bot API)
Discord	TLS only	High (server logs)	No
Slack	TLS only	High (workspace logs)	No
WebChat	TLS (local)	You control everything	Yes
IRC	TLS optional	High	Yes
Nostr	NIP-44 E2E	Relay sees metadata	Yes

Security Checklist

Set dmPolicy to pairing or allowlist on every channel
Enable requireMention: true in all group chats
Configure maxMessagesPerHour rate limits
Store tokens in environment variables, not config files
Bind gateway to 127.0.0.1 (never 0.0.0.0)
Enable gateway authentication token
Review Security Hardening for full defense stack

Managing Channels

# List active channels
openclaw channel list

# Check channel status
openclaw channel status whatsapp

# Disconnect a channel
openclaw channel remove telegram

# Reconnect after auth expires
openclaw channel reconnect discord

# Install a plugin channel
openclaw plugins install @openclaw/channel-matrix

# Check available channel plugins
openclaw plugins search channel

Plugin Architecture

Since v2026.3.22, channels follow a plugin architecture:

Bundled channels (installed with core): WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, Signal, iMessage, WebChat, IRC
Plugin channels (install on demand): Teams, Matrix, Feishu, LINE, WeChat, Nostr, Twitch, Zalo, QQBot, Mattermost, Nextcloud Talk, Synology Chat, SMS, Voice Call, Tlon

Plugin channels are distributed via ClawHub and npm. Install with openclaw plugins install @openclaw/channel-<name>.

The channel plugin SDK is TypeScript-based with a ChannelPlugin interface using declarative builder APIs (createChatChannelPlugin, createChannelPluginBase). Core owns the shared message tool, prompt wiring, session-key shape, thread bookkeeping, and dispatch; plugins handle channel-specific adapters. See Custom Channels for the full SDK reference.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Cause	Fix
QR code doesn't appear	Gateway not running	Check `openclaw status`
Session disconnects frequently	Baileys connection storms	Update OpenClaw, check issue #73016
Account banned	Automated usage detected	Reduce message volume, use backup channel
"Credentials corrupted"	Bad shutdown	Auto-restored from `.bak`; run `openclaw doctor --fix`
Voice notes not transcribed	Feature regression	Update to v2026.4.26+ (fix for issue #52213)

Problem	Cause	Fix
Bot doesn't respond	Missing Message Content intent	N/A for Telegram (no intents needed)
Rate limited	Too many API calls	Enable polling mode (default), add proxy
Webhook not receiving	Firewall/SSL issue	Verify public URL, valid HTTPS cert
Forum topics not routing	Missing topic config	Configure per-topic bindings

Discord

Problem	Cause	Fix
Bot doesn't respond in server	Missing Message Content Intent	Enable in Developer Portal > Bot > Privileged Intents
Can't read messages	Missing permissions	Re-invite with `Read Message History` scope
Responds to everything	Mention gating not set	Add `"requireMention": true` to group config

Slack

Problem	Cause	Fix
Socket Mode won't connect	Missing App Token	Generate under Basic Information > App-Level Tokens
Can't post to channel	Bot not in channel	Invite bot to channel: `/invite @botname`
Thread context lost	History scope wrong	Set `"historyScope": "thread"`

General

Problem	Cause	Fix
Channel shows "disconnected"	Token expired or network issue	`openclaw channel reconnect <name>`
Messages silently dropped	DM policy blocking	Check `dmPolicy` setting, verify allowlist
Bot responds to other bots	Loop protection disabled	Ensure `maxEventsPerWindow` is set
High API costs from channels	Too many channels active	Disable unused channels, increase heartbeat interval

Supported Channels​

Messaging Platforms​

Service Integrations​

Quick Setup​

WhatsApp​

Setup​

Configuration​

Features​

Multi-Account Setup​

Known Issues​

Telegram​

Setup​

Configuration​

Features​

Webhook Mode​

Discord​

Setup​

Configuration​

Features​

Slack​

Setup​

Configuration​

Connection Modes​

Features​

Signal​

iMessage​

Matrix​

Other Channels​

Microsoft Teams​

Feishu / Lark​

Additional Plugin Channels​

Twitter/X with TweetClaw​

DM Access Control​

Pairing Flow​

Allowlist​

Group Chat Configuration​

Mention Gating​

Channel Restrictions​

Group Access Policies​

Rate Limiting​

Bot Loop Protection​

Channel Permissions​

Multi-Channel Routing​

Channel Security​

Prompt Injection Sanitization​

Credential Storage​

Encryption Comparison​

Security Checklist​

Managing Channels​

Plugin Architecture​

Troubleshooting​

WhatsApp​

Telegram​

Discord​

Slack​

General​

See Also​

Supported Channels

Messaging Platforms

Service Integrations

Quick Setup

WhatsApp

Setup

Configuration

Features

Multi-Account Setup

Known Issues

Telegram

Setup

Configuration

Features

Webhook Mode

Discord

Setup

Configuration

Features

Slack

Setup

Configuration

Connection Modes

Features

Signal

iMessage

Matrix

Other Channels

Microsoft Teams

Feishu / Lark

Additional Plugin Channels

Twitter/X with TweetClaw

DM Access Control

Pairing Flow

Allowlist

Group Chat Configuration

Mention Gating

Channel Restrictions

Group Access Policies

Rate Limiting

Bot Loop Protection

Channel Permissions

Multi-Channel Routing

Channel Security

Prompt Injection Sanitization

Credential Storage

Encryption Comparison

Security Checklist

Managing Channels

Plugin Architecture

Troubleshooting

WhatsApp

Telegram

Discord

Slack

General

See Also