> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/RightNow-AI/openfang/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Channel Adapters

> Configure 40+ messaging platforms to connect your agents with users

OpenFang supports 40+ messaging platforms through channel adapters. Each channel can have custom behavior policies, rate limits, and per-channel model overrides.

## Supported Channels

OpenFang supports these messaging platforms:

### Core Platforms

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Telegram" icon="telegram">Popular messaging with bot API</Card>
  <Card title="Discord" icon="discord">Gaming and community platform</Card>
  <Card title="Slack" icon="slack">Enterprise team communication</Card>
  <Card title="WhatsApp" icon="whatsapp">Global messaging leader</Card>
  <Card title="Signal" icon="shield">Privacy-focused messaging</Card>
  <Card title="Matrix" icon="matrix">Decentralized protocol</Card>
  <Card title="Email" icon="envelope">IMAP/SMTP support</Card>
</CardGroup>

### Enterprise

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Microsoft Teams" icon="microsoft">Office 365 integration</Card>
  <Card title="Mattermost" icon="message">Self-hosted Slack alternative</Card>
  <Card title="Google Chat" icon="google">Workspace messaging</Card>
  <Card title="Webex" icon="cisco">Cisco collaboration</Card>
  <Card title="Feishu/Lark" icon="feather">ByteDance workplace</Card>
  <Card title="Zulip" icon="stream">Threaded conversations</Card>
</CardGroup>

### Social & Community

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="LINE" icon="line">Popular in Asia</Card>
  <Card title="Viber" icon="viber">Global messaging</Card>
  <Card title="Facebook Messenger" icon="facebook">Meta platform</Card>
  <Card title="Mastodon" icon="mastodon">Federated social</Card>
  <Card title="Bluesky" icon="cloud">AT Protocol</Card>
  <Card title="Reddit" icon="reddit">Community discussions</Card>
  <Card title="LinkedIn" icon="linkedin">Professional network</Card>
  <Card title="Twitch" icon="twitch">Live streaming chat</Card>
</CardGroup>

### Privacy & Open Source

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Threema" icon="lock">Swiss privacy messaging</Card>
  <Card title="Nostr" icon="nostr">Decentralized protocol</Card>
  <Card title="Mumble" icon="microphone">Low-latency voice</Card>
  <Card title="Nextcloud Talk" icon="nextcloud">Self-hosted chat</Card>
  <Card title="Rocket.Chat" icon="rocket">Open source platform</Card>
  <Card title="Ntfy" icon="bell">Push notifications</Card>
  <Card title="Gotify" icon="notification">Self-hosted notifications</Card>
</CardGroup>

### Legacy & Niche

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="IRC" icon="hashtag">Classic protocol</Card>
  <Card title="XMPP" icon="jabber">Extensible messaging</Card>
  <Card title="Guilded" icon="guilded">Gaming communities</Card>
  <Card title="Revolt" icon="revolt">Discord alternative</Card>
  <Card title="Keybase" icon="key">Crypto messaging</Card>
  <Card title="Discourse" icon="discourse">Forum platform</Card>
  <Card title="Gitter" icon="gitter">Developer chat</Card>
  <Card title="Pumble" icon="pumble">Team messaging</Card>
  <Card title="Flock" icon="flock">Business messaging</Card>
  <Card title="Twist" icon="twist">Async communication</Card>
  <Card title="DingTalk" icon="dingtalk">Alibaba workplace</Card>
  <Card title="Zalo" icon="zalo">Vietnamese messaging</Card>
  <Card title="Webhooks" icon="webhook">Custom integrations</Card>
</CardGroup>

## Quick Setup Examples

### Telegram

<CodeGroup>
  ```toml config.toml theme={null}
  [telegram]
  bot_token_env = "TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN"
  allowed_users = []  # Empty = allow all users
  ```

  ```bash Environment theme={null}
  export TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN="1234567890:ABCdefGHIjklMNOpqrsTUVwxyz"
  ```
</CodeGroup>

**Setup Steps**:

1. Message [@BotFather](https://t.me/botfather) on Telegram
2. Send `/newbot` and follow the prompts
3. Copy the bot token
4. Add token to environment variable
5. Start OpenFang

<ParamField path="bot_token_env" type="string" required>
  Environment variable containing the Telegram bot token
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="allowed_users" type="array">
  List of Telegram user IDs allowed to interact. Empty array = allow all.
</ParamField>

***

### Discord

<CodeGroup>
  ```toml config.toml theme={null}
  [discord]
  bot_token_env = "DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN"
  guild_ids = []  # Empty = all guilds
  ```

  ```bash Environment theme={null}
  export DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN="MTIzNDU2Nzg5MDEyMzQ1Njc4OQ.GaBcDe.FgHiJkLmNoPqRsTuVwXyZaBcDeFgHiJkLmNo"
  ```
</CodeGroup>

**Setup Steps**:

1. Go to [Discord Developer Portal](https://discord.com/developers/applications)
2. Create a new application
3. Go to "Bot" section and create a bot
4. Copy the bot token
5. Enable "Message Content Intent" in bot settings
6. Invite bot to your server using OAuth2 URL

<ParamField path="bot_token_env" type="string" required>
  Environment variable containing the Discord bot token
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="guild_ids" type="array">
  List of Discord guild (server) IDs. Empty = respond in all guilds.
</ParamField>

***

### Slack

<CodeGroup>
  ```toml config.toml theme={null}
  [slack]
  bot_token_env = "SLACK_BOT_TOKEN"
  app_token_env = "SLACK_APP_TOKEN"
  ```

  ```bash Environment theme={null}
  export SLACK_BOT_TOKEN="xoxb-1234567890-1234567890123-AbCdEfGhIjKlMnOpQrStUvWx"
  export SLACK_APP_TOKEN="xapp-1-A01234567-1234567890-abcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef12345678"
  ```
</CodeGroup>

**Setup Steps**:

1. Go to [Slack API](https://api.slack.com/apps)
2. Create a new app ("From scratch")
3. Enable Socket Mode
4. Add bot token scopes: `chat:write`, `app_mentions:read`, `channels:history`
5. Install app to workspace
6. Copy both Bot Token and App Token

<ParamField path="bot_token_env" type="string" required>
  Environment variable containing the Slack bot token (starts with `xoxb-`)
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="app_token_env" type="string" required>
  Environment variable containing the Slack app token (starts with `xapp-`)
</ParamField>

***

### WhatsApp

<CodeGroup>
  ```toml config.toml theme={null}
  [whatsapp]
  phone_number_id_env = "WHATSAPP_PHONE_NUMBER_ID"
  access_token_env = "WHATSAPP_ACCESS_TOKEN"
  verify_token_env = "WHATSAPP_VERIFY_TOKEN"
  ```

  ```bash Environment theme={null}
  export WHATSAPP_PHONE_NUMBER_ID="123456789012345"
  export WHATSAPP_ACCESS_TOKEN="EAABsbCS1iHg..."
  export WHATSAPP_VERIFY_TOKEN="my_verify_token_12345"
  ```
</CodeGroup>

**Setup Steps**:

1. Go to [Meta for Developers](https://developers.facebook.com)
2. Create a new app with WhatsApp product
3. Get phone number ID from WhatsApp API settings
4. Generate a permanent access token
5. Configure webhook with your verify token

***

## Channel Behavior Policies

Each channel can have custom behavior policies:

```toml theme={null}
[telegram.overrides]
dm_policy = "respond"            # "respond", "allowed_only", "ignore"
group_policy = "mention_only"    # "all", "mention_only", "commands_only", "ignore"
rate_limit_per_user = 10         # Messages per minute (0 = unlimited)
threading = true                 # Enable thread replies
output_format = "markdown"       # "markdown", "telegram_html", "slack_mrkdwn", "plain_text"
usage_footer = "off"             # "off", "tokens", "cost", "full"
```

### DM Policy

<ParamField path="dm_policy" type="enum" default="respond">
  How to handle direct messages:

  * `respond`: Reply to all DMs
  * `allowed_only`: Only reply to users in allowed list
  * `ignore`: Ignore all DMs
</ParamField>

### Group Policy

<ParamField path="group_policy" type="enum" default="mention_only">
  How to handle group messages:

  * `all`: Respond to all messages in group
  * `mention_only`: Only respond when @mentioned
  * `commands_only`: Only respond to slash commands
  * `ignore`: Ignore all group messages
</ParamField>

### Rate Limiting

<ParamField path="rate_limit_per_user" type="integer" default="10">
  Maximum messages per user per minute. Set to 0 for unlimited.
</ParamField>

### Output Formatting

<ParamField path="output_format" type="enum">
  Format of agent responses:

  * `markdown`: Standard Markdown (default)
  * `telegram_html`: Telegram HTML subset
  * `slack_mrkdwn`: Slack's mrkdwn format
  * `plain_text`: No formatting
</ParamField>

## Per-Channel Model Override

Use different models for different channels:

```toml theme={null}
# Use fast, cheap model for Telegram
[telegram.overrides]
model = "claude-haiku-4.5-20251001"

# Use premium model for enterprise Slack
[slack.overrides]
model = "claude-opus-4-20250514"

# Use local model for privacy-focused Signal
[signal.overrides]
model = "llama3.2:latest"
provider = "ollama"
```

## Advanced Channel Configuration

### Discord with Custom Intents

```toml theme={null}
[discord]
bot_token_env = "DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN"
guild_ids = ["123456789012345678", "987654321098765432"]

[discord.overrides]
group_policy = "all"              # Respond to all messages
threading = true                  # Use Discord threads
output_format = "markdown"
```

### Slack with Socket Mode

```toml theme={null}
[slack]
bot_token_env = "SLACK_BOT_TOKEN"
app_token_env = "SLACK_APP_TOKEN"

[slack.overrides]
dm_policy = "respond"
group_policy = "mention_only"
rate_limit_per_user = 20
output_format = "slack_mrkdwn"
```

### Telegram with Allowed Users

```toml theme={null}
[telegram]
bot_token_env = "TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN"
allowed_users = [123456789, 987654321]  # Telegram user IDs

[telegram.overrides]
dm_policy = "allowed_only"
group_policy = "mention_only"
rate_limit_per_user = 30
```

### Matrix with Encryption

```toml theme={null}
[matrix]
homeserver_url = "https://matrix.org"
username_env = "MATRIX_USERNAME"
password_env = "MATRIX_PASSWORD"
encryption = true
```

## Email Channel (IMAP/SMTP)

```toml theme={null}
[email]
imap_host = "imap.gmail.com"
imap_port = 993
smtp_host = "smtp.gmail.com"
smtp_port = 587
username_env = "EMAIL_USERNAME"
password_env = "EMAIL_PASSWORD"  # Use app password for Gmail

[email.overrides]
rate_limit_per_user = 5  # Prevent email spam
output_format = "plain_text"
```

## Webhook Channel

```toml theme={null}
[webhook_trigger]
enabled = true
token_env = "OPENFANG_WEBHOOK_TOKEN"  # Must be 32+ chars
max_payload_bytes = 65536
rate_limit_per_minute = 30
```

**Trigger agents via HTTP**:

```bash theme={null}
curl -X POST http://localhost:4200/hooks/agent \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $OPENFANG_WEBHOOK_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "agent_id": "researcher",
    "message": "Research quantum computing trends"
  }'
```

## Typing Indicators

Show "typing..." indicators while agent is thinking:

```toml theme={null}
[telegram.overrides]
typing_mode = "on"  # "on", "off", or "long_only"

[discord.overrides]
typing_mode = "long_only"  # Only for responses >10 seconds
```

## Multi-Channel Agent

Configure an agent to work across multiple channels:

```toml theme={null}
# Telegram for personal use
[telegram]
bot_token_env = "TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN"
allowed_users = [123456789]

[telegram.overrides]
model = "claude-sonnet-4-20250514"
usage_footer = "full"

# Discord for community support
[discord]
bot_token_env = "DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN"
guild_ids = []

[discord.overrides]
model = "claude-haiku-4.5-20251001"  # Cheaper for public
group_policy = "mention_only"
rate_limit_per_user = 5
usage_footer = "off"

# Slack for enterprise
[slack]
bot_token_env = "SLACK_BOT_TOKEN"
app_token_env = "SLACK_APP_TOKEN"

[slack.overrides]
model = "claude-opus-4-20250514"  # Premium for work
dm_policy = "respond"
group_policy = "all"
rate_limit_per_user = 30
usage_footer = "cost"
```

## Channel Health Check

Verify channel connectivity:

```bash theme={null}
# List all configured channels
openfang channels list

# Test a specific channel
openfang channels test telegram

# Check channel status
openfang channels status
```

## Troubleshooting

### Bot Not Responding

1. **Check token**: `echo $TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN`
2. **Verify permissions**: Ensure bot has required scopes
3. **Check logs**: `openfang logs --follow`
4. **Test connection**: `openfang channels test telegram`

### Rate Limit Errors

Adjust per-user rate limits:

```toml theme={null}
[telegram.overrides]
rate_limit_per_user = 20  # Increase from default 10
```

### Group Messages Ignored

Ensure group policy allows responses:

```toml theme={null}
[discord.overrides]
group_policy = "mention_only"  # or "all"
```

### Permission Errors (Discord)

Enable required intents in Discord Developer Portal:

* Message Content Intent
* Guild Members Intent (for user info)

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Security Settings" icon="shield" href="/configuration/security">
    Configure authentication and rate limiting
  </Card>

  <Card title="Model Configuration" icon="brain" href="/configuration/models">
    Setup LLM providers and routing
  </Card>
</CardGroup>