Messaging channels

Connect external messaging services and manage instances, credentials, models, and message scope independently. Connecting a channel does not authorize access to every conversation in that service.

Entry point and prerequisites

Open Settings > Connections and choose a channel. Prepare its account, application, or bot credentials. QR, sign-in, and manual-credential flows serve distinct connection methods.

Choose credentials for the actual connection type, separating bot credentials from personal-account linking:

A channel can contain multiple instances. Name work and personal accounts separately, and check the instance before editing, reconnecting, or removing it.

Add and authenticate

1. Choose a service from Add channel.
2. Follow sign-in or QR guidance, or enter the required credentials.
3. Check the instance name, account, and service permissions, then save.
4. Wait for connection results and reconnect when requested.
5. Send a short message from the external channel and verify the actual reply.

For Slack, add a Slack instance, put the bot token in Bot Token and the application token in App Token, then save. Check runtime connectivity and send one message from an authorized conversation. Never send tokens in chat or use a different instance’s reply to verify this one.

Credentials available means saved credentials passed validation. Runtime connectivity and message delivery require separate checks. Retry configuration-load failures before adding duplicate instances to an incomplete list.

Models and message scope

Set the model and runtime options for the target instance. Desktop and channel default models are separate; desktop changes do not replace channel verification.

Use the channel's permissions and controls to limit message scope. Open only the conversations or groups required. Service-side permissions still constrain reading and sending. Verify one explicit message rather than broadcasting a connection test.

Group monitoring and archives

Channel connection and group monitoring are distinct. Authorize the reading source in its monitoring entry point, then check synchronization, target groups, and archive location. For missing messages, inspect the source and synchronization instead of adding the same connection again.

Archives store captured material; they are not a backup of the external service's complete history. Before removal, check whether confirmation includes local history, and distinguish connection settings, archives, and remote data.

Conditional options

The official QQ bot QR entry is off by default and appears only in prerelease builds after enabling its laboratory switch. It differs from the QQ Bot channel configured with an API address and token.

WhatsApp personal-account catch-up replies are off by default and appear only in prerelease builds with the corresponding experimental switch. The window accepts whole minutes from 0 to 1440; 0 processes only new messages after reconnection. Changes apply at the next WhatsApp connection start.

Reconnect, remove, and verify

Removing a local connection does not delete remote messages. See Network and background operation for connectivity.