`openclaw channels`

What it does: List and manage channels. Login to WhatsApp, Telegram, and more. Manage chat channel accounts and their runtime status on the Gateway.

Related: Channels, Configuration.

Common commands

Run this:


openclaw channels list
openclaw channels status
openclaw channels capabilities
openclaw channels capabilities --channel discord --target channel:123
openclaw channels resolve --channel slack "#general" "@jane"
openclaw channels logs --channel all

Add / remove accounts


openclaw channels add --channel telegram --token <bot-token>
openclaw channels remove --channel telegram --delete

Tip: openclaw channels add --help shows per-channel flags (token, app token, signal-cli paths, etc).


openclaw channels login --channel whatsapp
openclaw channels logout --channel whatsapp

Troubleshooting

Run openclaw status --deep for a broad probe.
Use openclaw doctor for guided fixes.
openclaw channels list prints Claude: HTTP 403 ... user:profile → usage snapshot needs the user:profile scope. Use --no-usage, or provide a claude.ai session key (CLAUDE_WEB_SESSION_KEY / CLAUDE_WEB_COOKIE), or re-auth via Claude Code CLI.

Capabilities probe

Fetch provider capability hints (intents/scopes where available) plus static feature support:


openclaw channels capabilities
openclaw channels capabilities --channel discord --target channel:123

Notes:

--channel is optional; omit it to list every channel (including extensions).
--target accepts channel:<id> or a raw numeric channel id and only applies to Discord.
Probes are provider-specific: Discord intents + optional channel permissions; Slack bot + user scopes; Telegram bot flags + webhook; Signal daemon version; MS Teams app token + Graph roles/scopes (annotated where known). Channels without probes report Probe: unavailable.

Resolve names to IDs

Resolve channel/user names to IDs using the provider directory:


openclaw channels resolve --channel slack "#general" "@jane"
openclaw channels resolve --channel discord "My Server/#support" "@someone"
openclaw channels resolve --channel matrix "Project Room"