--- title: "Channels" description: "Which chat channels work with oc-workers, which keep it awake, and how to add Telegram, Slack, Discord and Twilio SMS." --- > Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://oc-workers.mdick85.workers.dev/docs/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Channels A channel connects OpenClaw to a chat service. :::caution[A channel decides whether the install can sleep] A webhook channel (Telegram, Slack in HTTP mode, Twilio SMS) gets each message as an HTTP call to your Worker, so the install can sleep between messages. That costs about $7 to $25 a month. A socket channel (WhatsApp, Discord bot, Slack socket mode, Telegram long-polling, Signal, Matrix) holds an open connection, so the container stays awake all the time. That costs about $50 to $69 a month. `ochost channels add` sets the webhook mode and the wake list for you, and `ochost status` names any channel that blocks sleep. ::: ## Support matrix A webhook channel works only if the Worker has a route for it: Telegram, Slack, Discord and Twilio do. Any other path needs the owner cookie, so another platform's webhook calls get 404 in every sleep mode. "Sleeps" means the install can sleep between messages. "Always-on" means the channel holds a connection, so the container must stay up. See [Cost](https://oc-workers.mdick85.workers.dev/docs/cost/). | Channel | OpenClaw transport | On oc-workers | Notes | |---|---|---|---| | Telegram | webhook | sleeps | One bot per install. Wake list. Progress message. | | Slack | Events API (`mode: http`) | sleeps | Experimental. Every verified event wakes the install. | | Twilio SMS | webhook | sleeps | Experimental. The Worker holds delivery receipts. | | Discord | interactions webhook | always-on | OpenClaw 2026.10.9 has no HTTP route for interactions, so the bot runs on a socket. | | Slack socket mode | socket | always-on | Use `mode: http` to sleep. | | WhatsApp | socket (Baileys) | always-on | oc-workers backs up credentials within seconds. | | Discord bot gateway | socket | always-on | | | Telegram long-polling | socket | always-on | `channels add telegram` sets webhook mode instead. | | Signal, Matrix, Mattermost, IRC, QQ, Twitch, Nostr | socket | always-on | | | Feishu, Google Chat, LINE, Microsoft Teams, Zalo webhook | webhook | not supported | The Worker has no route for them yet. | | WebChat and A2A (Control UI) | HTTP | sleeps | The Control UI wakes the install. | | X (polling), Reef | partial | always-on | | Add a "sleeps" channel with `ochost channels add`. Add an "always-on" channel with OpenClaw's own tools; `ochost status` then names it as the sleep blocker. ## Telegram Telegram uses a webhook. The Worker stores and acknowledges each update before the container is up, which is why the install can sleep. ### Add the bot 1. Get a bot token from @BotFather. See [Quickstart](https://oc-workers.mdick85.workers.dev/docs/quickstart/#add-telegram). 2. Run `ochost channels add telegram` and paste the token. The input is hidden. To give it from a file, use `--token-file `. 3. Send a direct message to the bot. 4. Run `ochost pairing approve telegram ` with the code the bot sends. ```sh ochost channels add telegram ochost pairing approve telegram ochost channels list ochost channels remove telegram ``` ### Pairing Pairing is how you approve who may talk to the bot. - `--wait-pair` waits for you to send a direct message to the bot, for 10 minutes by default. `--pair-timeout` sets the wait. - Without `--wait-pair`, a pairing request stays open 24 hours, and `ochost pairing list` shows it. - `ochost pairing wait` waits for a request. - `ochost init --telegram-owner ` records your Telegram user id. The bot then approves your first direct message without a code, but not a group message. - Only one Telegram bot works. A second bot is refused with "a second Telegram bot is not supported in v1". ### What wakes the install The wake list is the set of senders and groups whose messages wake the install. - A message from a sender you approved by pairing wakes the install. - A message from an unknown sender is stored and acknowledged, but it does not wake the install or keep it awake. The Worker holds it until the next wake. - A group wakes the install only when its chat id is a key in `groups`. A sender in `groupAllowFrom` does not wake it from an unlisted group. - Your own messages (the `--telegram-owner` id) wake it from any chat. ### The waking message While the install wakes, the Worker shows the typing indicator and one "Waking up" message with the wake phase and the seconds so far. The Worker deletes the message when the reply arrives. To change this, set `telegram.wakeProgress` in `oc-host.jsonc`, then run `ochost deploy`. | Value | Result | |---|---| | `delete` (default) | The Worker deletes the message at the reply. | | `ready` | The Worker edits it to "Ready in N s". | | `off` | The Worker sends no message. | The message goes only to a chat where a person wrote to the bot or pressed its button. `channels add telegram` also sets `streaming.mode: partial`, so the answer text streams into one preview message. To change it, set `streaming.mode` to `progress` (tool lines only), `block` or `off` with `ochost config set`. Reasoning is a per-session command, not a config key: send `/reasoning stream` in the chat to see it live, or `/reasoning on` to keep it. ## Slack, Discord and Twilio SMS For these channels, the Worker checks the platform signature, stores the event and answers inside the platform deadline, then wakes the install. The container is not on that path. These adapters are experimental. ```sh ochost channels add slack # or discord, twilio (sms is the same as twilio) ochost channels remove slack ``` 1. Set the secrets in your environment, or wait for the hidden prompt: - Slack: `SLACK_BOT_TOKEN`, `SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET`. - Discord: `DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN`, `DISCORD_PUBLIC_KEY`, `DISCORD_APPLICATION_ID`. - Twilio: `TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID`, `TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN`, `TWILIO_PHONE_NUMBER`. 2. Run `ochost channels add `. The values become Worker secrets, never config values. 3. Paste the URL it prints into the platform console: `https:///_ochost/hook/slack`, `/discord` or `/twilio`. 4. Wait for the first signed call from the platform. `--no-wait` skips the wait, and `--verify-timeout 5m` sets it. Notes: - OpenClaw keeps Slack and SMS in separate plugins. The oc-workers image has both, and `channels add` turns the plugin on. An older install needs `ochost deploy` first; without the plugin, messages wait in the inbox. - `channels add` tells the Worker that the secrets changed, so no deploy is needed. - `channels remove` refuses while the channel has messages that the gateway did not take. `--force` removes the channel and drops those messages. It prints the `wrangler secret delete` commands but does not delete the secrets. | Channel | Answer deadline | Signature | Can sleep | |---|---|---|---| | Slack (Events API, `mode: http`) | 3 s | HMAC-SHA256, timestamp within 5 minutes | Yes | | Twilio SMS | 15 s | HMAC-SHA1 over the full URL | Yes. Delivery receipts are held and do not wake. | | Discord (interactions) | 3 s | Ed25519 | No. The Discord account runs on a socket and keeps the install awake. Stored interactions wait until OpenClaw adds the route. | Every verified Slack or Twilio event wakes the install. Only Telegram has a wake list. ## Socket channels A socket cannot survive a sleep, and oc-workers treats an unknown channel as a socket. A socket channel keeps the install always-on: about $50 to $69 a month at the default size, against about $7 to $14 when it can sleep. ## Messages that do not go out The Worker keeps each message in the inbox until the gateway (OpenClaw in the container) takes it. A message that the gateway keeps refusing stays in the inbox and keeps the install awake for up to 23 hours, until it expires. - After 3 refusals in a row with "route missing" (404 or 501), you get the `inbox-blocked` alert, which names the route and the fix. A single 404 does not stop the queue. - While the gateway stops or restarts, the Worker holds the message (503 `gateway-stopping`) and sends it after the restart. - After a restart without a clean stop, the Worker resends only the messages taken after the last reply or in the last 2 minutes. It drops messages older than 24 hours. - `ochost inbox list` shows the messages, their channel and the number of attempts. - `ochost inbox drop ` drops one message, and `ochost inbox drop --all --channel sms` drops all messages of one channel. A dropped message is not delivered. - When waiting messages are the only thing that stops a sleep, `ochost sleep now --force` drops them and prints how many it dropped. ## Test without a bot `ochost init --fake-telegram` makes a test install with a fake Telegram inside the Worker, so `channels add telegram` needs no BotFather token. A test install cannot talk to a real bot, and it turns on test hooks in the Worker, so do not put it to real use. To go back, run `ochost init --no-fake-telegram`, then `channels add telegram`. ## ochost or openclaw commands Use `ochost channels add` for the channel token and `ochost pairing` for the first approval of a sender. Both must go through the Worker: the bot token is a Worker secret, the webhook URL points at the Worker, and an approved sender joins the wake list. After that, OpenClaw's own pairing page and `openclaw channels` commands work inside the gateway. A Telegram token set only in OpenClaw runs long-polling, which blocks sleep. ## Adopt a channel from the OpenClaw UI You can paste a bot token in OpenClaw's Settings > Channels and save it. The Worker does not use that config at once. It holds it, because a token in the UI config makes OpenClaw poll, and polling keeps the install awake. Meanwhile the gateway keeps its last good config. Open the Setup tab of the owner console. The row says "token in the UI config, waiting for adoption". Push Adopt (or run `ochost channels adopt telegram`), and the Worker: 1. sets the Telegram webhook (a wrong token stops here, and nothing changes); 2. moves the token out of the config and keeps it in its own store; 3. rewrites the channel to webhook mode and accepts the config; 4. restarts the gateway. Slack, Discord and Twilio work the same way. Discord also needs its application id in the UI config. The public key is not a UI field, so Discord adopt stops with "missing" until you use `ochost channels add discord`. One difference from `channels add`: an adopted token goes in the Control DO's creds store, while `ochost channels add` writes a Worker secret. A Worker secret of the same name wins. ## Next Go to [Models](https://oc-workers.mdick85.workers.dev/docs/models/). Source: https://oc-workers.mdick85.workers.dev/docs/channels/index.mdx