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OpenJarvis/docs/user-guide/channels.md
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Channels

The channels module lets OpenJarvis send and receive messages through external messaging platforms. Each platform has a dedicated channel implementation that connects directly to the platform's API -- there is no intermediate gateway.

!!! note "Channels are disabled by default" The [channel] config section defaults to enabled = false. You must set enabled = true and configure platform-specific credentials before channel features become active.


Overview

Channel messaging is built around the BaseChannel ABC. Each platform (Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, etc.) has its own implementation registered via @ChannelRegistry.register("name"). Channels connect directly to their platform APIs, register handlers for incoming messages, and send outgoing messages.

graph LR
    A[Your Code] -->|send| B[TelegramChannel / DiscordChannel / SlackChannel / ...]
    B -->|Platform API| C[Telegram / Discord / Slack / ...]
    C -->|incoming messages| B
    B -->|on_message handlers| D[Your Handlers]

Supported Channels

Channel Registry Key Platform Pip Extra Auth
TelegramChannel telegram Telegram Bot API channel-telegram Bot token
DiscordChannel discord Discord Bot API channel-discord Bot token
SlackChannel slack Slack Web API channel-slack Bot + App tokens
WhatsAppChannel whatsapp WhatsApp Business API API token
WhatsAppBaileysChannel whatsapp_baileys WhatsApp (Baileys) QR code auth
WebhookChannel webhook Generic HTTP webhook URL + optional secret
EmailChannel email SMTP/IMAP email Email credentials
SignalChannel signal Signal Messenger Signal CLI
GoogleChatChannel google_chat Google Chat Service account
IRCChannel irc IRC Server credentials
WebChatChannel webchat Browser-based chat None
TeamsChannel teams Microsoft Teams Bot credentials
MatrixChannel matrix Matrix protocol Homeserver + token
MattermostChannel mattermost Mattermost Bot token
FeishuChannel feishu Feishu/Lark App credentials
BlueBubblesChannel bluebubbles iMessage (BlueBubbles) BlueBubbles server
LineChannel line LINE Messaging API channel-line Channel access token
ViberChannel viber Viber Bot API channel-viber Auth token
MessengerChannel messenger Facebook Messenger channel-messenger Page access token
RedditChannel reddit Reddit API channel-reddit OAuth credentials
MastodonChannel mastodon Mastodon API channel-mastodon Access token
XMPPChannel xmpp XMPP/Jabber channel-xmpp JID + password
RocketChatChannel rocketchat Rocket.Chat API channel-rocketchat User credentials
ZulipChannel zulip Zulip API channel-zulip Bot email + API key
TwitchChannel twitch Twitch IRC/API channel-twitch OAuth token
NostrChannel nostr Nostr protocol channel-nostr Private key (nsec)

Using a Channel

Connecting

from openjarvis.channels.telegram import TelegramChannel

channel = TelegramChannel(
    bot_token="YOUR_BOT_TOKEN",  # (1)!
)
channel.connect()

print(channel.status())  # ChannelStatus.CONNECTED
  1. Falls back to the TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN environment variable if not provided.

Sending Messages

from openjarvis.channels.telegram import TelegramChannel

channel = TelegramChannel()
channel.connect()

# Send to a chat by ID
ok = channel.send(
    "123456789",
    "Analysis complete. Results are ready.",
    conversation_id="thread-abc123",  # optional, for threading
)

if ok:
    print("Message delivered")
else:
    print("Delivery failed")

channel.disconnect()

Receiving Messages

Register handler callbacks before calling connect(). Each handler receives a ChannelMessage and can optionally return a reply string.

from openjarvis.channels._stubs import ChannelMessage
from openjarvis.channels.discord_channel import DiscordChannel

channel = DiscordChannel()


def handle_incoming(msg: ChannelMessage) -> None:
    print(f"[{msg.channel}] {msg.sender}: {msg.content}")
    print(f"  conversation_id={msg.conversation_id}")
    print(f"  message_id={msg.message_id}")


channel.on_message(handle_incoming)  # (1)!
channel.connect()                    # (2)!

# Messages now arrive asynchronously via the background listener thread
# Your main thread can continue doing other work
  1. Register one or more handlers. All registered handlers are called for every incoming message.
  2. connect() starts the background listener thread after establishing the platform connection.

Listing Available Channels

from openjarvis.channels.slack import SlackChannel

channel = SlackChannel()
channel.connect()
channels = channel.list_channels()
print(channels)  # ["general", "random", "dev"]

Disconnecting

channel.disconnect()
# Stops the listener thread and closes the platform connection
# Status becomes ChannelStatus.DISCONNECTED

ChannelMessage Fields

Every incoming message is delivered to handlers as a ChannelMessage dataclass.

Field Type Description
channel str Name of the channel the message arrived on
sender str Identifier of the message sender
content str Message text
message_id str Unique message identifier (may be empty)
conversation_id str Thread/conversation identifier (may be empty)
session_id str Session identifier (may be empty)
metadata dict[str, Any] Additional platform-specific metadata

Event Bus Integration

Pass an EventBus to publish channel events to the rest of the system:

from openjarvis.core.events import EventBus, EventType
from openjarvis.channels.telegram import TelegramChannel

bus = EventBus()


def on_received(event):
    print(f"Message received on {event.data['channel']}: {event.data['content']}")


def on_sent(event):
    print(f"Message sent to {event.data['channel']}")


bus.subscribe(EventType.CHANNEL_MESSAGE_RECEIVED, on_received)
bus.subscribe(EventType.CHANNEL_MESSAGE_SENT, on_sent)

channel = TelegramChannel(bus=bus)
channel.connect()
Event Published When Data Keys
CHANNEL_MESSAGE_RECEIVED A message arrives from the platform channel, sender, content, message_id
CHANNEL_MESSAGE_SENT A message is successfully sent channel, content, conversation_id

CLI Commands

The jarvis channel subcommand group provides quick access to channel operations.

List Channels

jarvis channel list

Send a Message

# Send to a channel by name
jarvis channel send telegram "Build completed successfully"

Show Status

jarvis channel status

API Server Endpoints

When jarvis serve is running, three channel endpoints are available. Channels must be configured and enabled in [channel] for these endpoints to return data.

GET /v1/channels

Returns the list of registered channels and their status.

curl http://localhost:8000/v1/channels
{
  "channels": ["telegram", "discord", "slack"],
  "status": "connected"
}

If no channels are configured:

{"channels": [], "message": "No channels configured"}

POST /v1/channels/send

Send a message to a channel.

curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/v1/channels/send \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"channel": "telegram", "content": "Hello!", "conversation_id": "conv-1"}'
{"status": "sent", "channel": "telegram"}

Required fields: channel, content. conversation_id is optional.

GET /v1/channels/status

Returns the connection status for each configured channel.

curl http://localhost:8000/v1/channels/status
{"status": "connected"}

Possible values: connected, disconnected, connecting, error, not_configured.


Configuration

Channel settings live in the [channel] section of ~/.openjarvis/config.toml. Each platform has its own nested sub-section.

[channel]
enabled = true
default_channel = ""
default_agent = "simple"

[channel.telegram]
bot_token = "YOUR_TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN"

[channel.discord]
bot_token = "YOUR_DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN"

[channel.slack]
bot_token = "YOUR_SLACK_BOT_TOKEN"
app_token = "YOUR_SLACK_APP_TOKEN"

Configuration Reference

Key Type Default Description
enabled bool false Enable channel messaging
default_channel str "" Default channel to use when not specified
default_agent str simple Agent to use for handling inbound messages

Platform-specific settings are configured in nested sub-sections (e.g., [channel.telegram], [channel.discord]).


Complete Example

This example connects a Telegram channel, registers a handler that echoes messages back, sends a test message, and then disconnects after a short wait.

import time
from openjarvis.channels._stubs import ChannelMessage
from openjarvis.channels.telegram import TelegramChannel
from openjarvis.core.events import EventBus

bus = EventBus()
channel = TelegramChannel(
    bot_token="YOUR_BOT_TOKEN",
    bus=bus,
)

received_messages = []


def on_message(msg: ChannelMessage) -> None:
    received_messages.append(msg)
    print(f"Received from {msg.sender} on #{msg.channel}: {msg.content}")


channel.on_message(on_message)
channel.connect()

# List available channels
channels = channel.list_channels()
print(f"Available channels: {channels}")

# Send a message
if channels:
    channel.send(channels[0], "Hello from OpenJarvis!")

# Wait for incoming messages
time.sleep(10)

channel.disconnect()
print(f"Total messages received: {len(received_messages)}")

WhatsAppBaileysChannel

WhatsAppBaileysChannel is registered as "whatsapp_baileys" in ChannelRegistry and provides bidirectional WhatsApp messaging using the Baileys protocol. It spawns a Node.js bridge subprocess that handles QR-code authentication, incoming message forwarding, and outbound message delivery.

!!! warning "Node.js 22+ required" The Baileys bridge is a compiled Node.js application bundled inside the package. It is auto-installed to ~/.openjarvis/whatsapp_baileys_bridge/ on first connect() call. If node is not found on PATH, connect() logs an error and sets the channel to ChannelStatus.ERROR.

!!! note "WhatsApp account required" WhatsApp does not offer an official API for personal accounts. Baileys operates on the WhatsApp Web protocol. You must scan a QR code with your WhatsApp mobile app to authenticate on first use.

Connecting

from openjarvis.channels.whatsapp_baileys import WhatsAppBaileysChannel

channel = WhatsAppBaileysChannel(
    assistant_name="Jarvis",           # (1)!
    assistant_has_own_number=False,    # (2)!
)
channel.connect()  # spawns the Node.js bridge subprocess
  1. Display name used in conversation context.
  2. Set True if the assistant has a dedicated WhatsApp number and should not filter its own messages.

On first connection, the bridge will print a QR code to the terminal. Scan it with the WhatsApp app on your phone to authenticate. Authentication state is saved to ~/.openjarvis/whatsapp_baileys_bridge/auth/ and reused on subsequent connections.

Receiving Messages

from openjarvis.channels._stubs import ChannelMessage
from openjarvis.channels.whatsapp_baileys import WhatsAppBaileysChannel

channel = WhatsAppBaileysChannel()


def on_message(msg: ChannelMessage) -> None:
    print(f"[{msg.sender}] {msg.content}")
    # msg.conversation_id is the WhatsApp JID (e.g. "15551234567@s.whatsapp.net")


channel.on_message(on_message)
channel.connect()

# Background reader thread is running; your code continues here

Sending Messages

Messages are addressed by WhatsApp JID (Jabber ID) -- the canonical identifier for a WhatsApp contact or group.

# Individual contact JID format: <country-code><number>@s.whatsapp.net
# Group JID format: <group-id>@g.us

ok = channel.send(
    "15551234567@s.whatsapp.net",      # JID of the recipient
    "Hello from OpenJarvis!",
)

if not ok:
    print("Send failed -- check that the bridge is connected")

Disconnecting

channel.disconnect()
# Sends disconnect command to bridge, terminates subprocess, stops reader thread

Constructor Parameters

Parameter Type Default Description
auth_dir str ~/.openjarvis/whatsapp_baileys_bridge/auth Baileys auth state directory
assistant_name str "Jarvis" Display name for the assistant
assistant_has_own_number bool False Whether the assistant has a dedicated WhatsApp number
bus EventBus None Event bus for publishing channel events

Bridge Events

The Node.js bridge communicates with Python via JSON lines on stdio. Python interprets the following event types:

Bridge event type Effect
status Updates ChannelStatus (connected / disconnected)
qr Logs "QR code received -- scan to authenticate"
message Dispatches to all registered on_message handlers
error Logs the error and sets status to ChannelStatus.ERROR

Event Bus Integration

When a bus is provided, WhatsAppBaileysChannel publishes the same events as other channels:

Event Published When Data Keys
CHANNEL_MESSAGE_RECEIVED An inbound WhatsApp message arrives channel, sender, content, message_id
CHANNEL_MESSAGE_SENT A message is successfully sent channel, content, conversation_id

Configuration

WhatsApp Baileys channel settings live in the [channel.whatsapp_baileys] subsection:

[channel.whatsapp_baileys]
auth_dir = "/home/user/.openjarvis/whatsapp_baileys_bridge/auth"
assistant_name = "Jarvis"
assistant_has_own_number = false

See Also