Channels

A channel lets people reach an agent outside AgentOS, in a messaging app they already use. The agent answers there with the same skills and the same access it has everywhere else. Each agent has its own channels, and only the people you list can message it.

How do I connect a channel?

1. Open the agent's page and click Add a channel. The Channels dialog opens.
2. Under Add a channel, pick the app.
3. Fill in the fields marked *. Under each field, a hint says where to find the value, and View documentation opens the app's own guide.
4. Fill in Who can message the agent. See the table below for the format each app uses.
5. Click Connect. The channel shows Waiting for restart.
6. Click Restart gateway, then Restart to confirm. The gateway is the part of the agent that connects it to its channels, and it picks up a new channel when it restarts.
7. Click Check status. When it says The channel is connected., the agent answers in that app.

Pick a quiet moment for the restart. Restarting the gateway ends the open conversations in every channel of this agent. The next message starts a new one.

Which apps can I connect?

Each app asks for what it needs to connect, and for Who can message the agent as a list separated by commas. Settings you rarely need sit under Advanced settings.

Channel	What it asks for	Who can message the agent
Slack	Bot User OAuth Token, App-Level Token	Slack member IDs
Microsoft Teams	Microsoft App ID, Client secret, Tenant ID	Object IDs of people in Microsoft Entra ID
Google Chat	Service account key (JSON), Project ID, Pub/Sub subscription	Google email addresses
WhatsApp Cloud API	Phone number ID, Access token	Phone numbers in international format, such as +44…
Telegram	Bot token	Numeric Telegram user IDs
Discord	Bot token	Discord user IDs
Email	Email address, Password, Incoming mail server (IMAP), Outgoing mail server (SMTP)	Senders' email addresses
SMS (Twilio)	Account SID, Auth Token, Twilio number	Phone numbers in international format
BlueBubbles (iMessage)	BlueBubbles address, Server password	iMessage email addresses or phone numbers
DingTalk	Client ID, Client Secret	DingTalk staff IDs
Feishu / Lark	App ID, App Secret	People's open_id, starting with ou_
LINE	Channel access token, Channel secret	LINE user IDs, starting with U
Matrix	Homeserver, Access token, Bot's Matrix ID	Matrix IDs, such as @name
Mattermost	Server address, Bot token	Mattermost user IDs
Signal	signal-cli address, Signal number	Phone numbers or Signal UUIDs
WeCom (group bot)	Bot ID, Secret	Members' account names from the WeCom contacts

Where do I get the values?

The hints in the dialog walk you through each field. The points people most often look for:

• Slack. The hint under Bot User OAuth Token has a link, Create the Slack app. It opens Slack with a new app already set up for the agent. Install it to your workspace and copy the Bot User OAuth Token. The App-Level Token needs the scope connections . People then message the agent directly, or @-mention it in a channel it was added to.
• Telegram. Message @BotFather, send /newbot and copy the token it sends. Each person gets their numeric ID from @userinfobot.
• Discord. In the Developer Portal, open your app, then Bot. Copy the token, turn on Message Content Intent and add the bot to your server.
• WhatsApp Cloud API. In Meta for Developers, use the Phone number ID from the API Setup page, not the phone number itself. A permanent access token comes from Business Settings > System users.
• Email. Use a mailbox for the agent, such as agent@yourcompany.com. For Gmail, the password is an app password, and the servers are imap.gmail.com and smtp.gmail.com.
• Microsoft Teams. The values are on your Azure Bot in the Azure portal, under Configuration.
• Google Chat. Paste the whole content of the service account's JSON key, and the full name of the Pub/Sub subscription, projects/…/subscriptions/….
• BlueBubbles. It runs on a Mac with BlueBubbles Server, which shows the address and password.
• Signal. It connects through signal-cli running as an HTTP service, with a registered number.
• DingTalk. Set the app's robot to Stream mode.

Who can message my agent?

Only the people you list in Who can message the agent. A channel with an empty list accepts nobody, so the agent never answers a stranger who finds it. Whoever writes, the agent works with its own access, the one you set in Connections and security.

How do I change or switch off a channel?

1. Open the agent's page and click the channel's icon, or Channel.
2. Under Connected channels, pick the channel.
3. Change what you need:
   • A stored value shows Value is set. Type a new one to replace it, or click Clear to remove it.
   • Turn Enable this platform off to switch the channel off. Its setup stays saved.
4. Click Save, then Restart gateway. The change applies after the restart.

If you close the dialog with changes not saved, AgentOS asks Discard unsaved changes?.

What does a channel's state mean?

State	What it means	What you do
Connected	The agent answers in this app.	Nothing.
Waiting for restart	The settings are saved.	Click Restart gateway.
Configured	The settings are complete, and the gateway is not running.	Click Restart gateway.
Not configured	Some required fields are still empty.	Fill in the fields marked * and save.
Disabled	The channel is switched off.	Turn Enable this platform on and save.
Error	The channel cannot connect, or lost its connection.	Read the message under the form, check the token and the settings, and restart the gateway.

Check status tells you the same in a sentence, such as The channel is connecting. Check again in a moment.

Who sets up channels?

Admins. Everyone you invite to AgentOS joins as an admin.

Next: Talk to Boosty from inside AgentOS, or Skills to teach the agent more.