Channel Routing

OpenClaw routes replies deterministically back to the "channel the message came from". The model does not choose the channel; routing is controlled by host configuration and remains predictable.

- ''Channel'': ''whatsapp'', ''telegram'', ''discord'', ''slack'', ''signal'', ''imessage'', ''webchat''.

- AccountId: per-channel account instance (when supported).

- AgentId: an isolated workspace + session store ("brain").

- SessionKey: the bucket key used to store context and control concurrency.

Direct messages collapse to the agent's main session:

- ''agent:<agentId>:<mainKey>'' (default: ''agent:main:main'')

Groups and channels remain isolated per channel:

- Groups: ''agent:<agentId>:<channel>:group:<id>''

- Channels/rooms: ''agent:<agentId>:<channel>:channel:<id>''

Threads:

- Slack/Discord threads append '':thread:<threadId>'' to the base key.

- Telegram forum topics embed '':topic:<topicId>'' in the group key.

Examples: ''agent:main:telegram:group:-1001234567890:topic:42'', ''agent:main:discord:channel:123456:thread:987654''

Routing picks one agent for each inbound message:

1. ''Exact peer match'' (''bindings'' with ''peer.kind'' + ''peer.id'').

2. ''Guild match'' (Discord) via ''guildId''.

3. ''Team match'' (Slack) via ''teamId''.

4. ''Account match'' (''accountId'' on the channel).

5. Channel match (any account on that channel).

6. ''Default agent'' (''agents.list[].default'', else first list entry, fallback to ''main'').

The matched agent determines which workspace and session store are used.

Broadcast groups let you run multiple agents for the same peer when OpenClaw would normally reply (for example: in WhatsApp groups, after mention/activation gating).

Config:

{
  broadcast: {
    strategy: "parallel",
    "[email protected]": ["alfred", "baerbel"],
    "+15555550123": ["support", "logger"]
  }
}

See: ''/broadcast-groups''

- ''agents.list'': named agent definitions (workspace, model, etc.).

- ''bindings'': map inbound channels/accounts/peers to agents.

Example:

{
  agents: {
    list: [{ id: "support", name: "Support", workspace: "~/.openclaw/workspace-support" }]
  },
  bindings: [
    { match: { channel: "slack", teamId: "T123" }, agentId: "support" },
    { match: { channel: "telegram", peer: { kind: "group", id: "-100123" } }, agentId: "support" }
  ]
}

Session stores live under the state directory (default ''~/.openclaw''):

- ''~/.openclaw/agents/<agentId>/sessions/sessions.json''

- JSONL transcripts live alongside the store

You can override the store path via ''session.store'' and ''{agentId}'' templating.

WebChat attaches to the selected agent and defaults to the agent's main session. Because of this, WebChat lets you see cross-channel context for that agent in one place.

Inbound replies include:

- ''ReplyToId'', ''ReplyToBody'', and ''ReplyToSender'' when available.

- Quoted context is appended to ''Body'' as a ''[Replying to ...]'' block.

This is consistent across channels.