Add WhatsApp Channel

Adds WhatsApp support via the native Baileys adapter — a direct WhatsApp Web connection, no Chat SDK bridge. NanoClaw doesn't ship channels in trunk — this skill copies the WhatsApp adapter in from the channels branch.

The mechanical steps under Apply carry nc: directive fences: an agent reads the prose and applies them, and a parser can apply them deterministically from the same document. Every directive is idempotent, so the whole skill is safe to re-run; anything a parser can't apply falls back to the prose beside it.

Number safety check (required)

Complete this check before running any install or authentication command. If the user already said they want to use their shared, personal, main, existing, or everyday WhatsApp number, treat it as a shared number and show the warning immediately. Do not ask the number-type question again.

Otherwise, ask which WhatsApp number NanoClaw will use:

Which WhatsApp number will NanoClaw use? `dedicated` (recommended) — a separate number used only for NanoClaw (spare SIM, eSIM, or old phone). `shared` — your existing everyday / personal WhatsApp number.

If the answer is shared, show this warning — tell the user:

⚠️ Risk to your WhatsApp account

Connecting your shared or personal number could cause WhatsApp to temporarily suspend or permanently ban that number. You could lose access to the WhatsApp account, chats, and groups you rely on.

We strongly recommend using a separate, dedicated number for NanoClaw.

On your personal number, the agent lives only in your "You" / self-chat. Messages other people send you are ignored entirely — never read, never answered, never flagged for approval. Nobody else can talk to the agent.

If you want the agent reachable as its own contact, consider:
• Telegram — a bot takes ~2 minutes to set up
• a dedicated WhatsApp number — spare SIM, eSIM, or old phone
• /add-whatsapp-cloud — the official Meta Business API

Then confirm how to proceed. Do not continue with installation or authentication unless the user explicitly selects the second option:

How would you like to proceed? `dedicated` (recommended) — go back and use a dedicated number. `continue` — I understand the risk, continue with my shared number.

Remember the effective mode for the rest of this workflow: it is shared only when the user explicitly acknowledged the risk and continued; anyone who chose a dedicated number — up front or at the warning — continues as a dedicated-number install without seeing the warning again:

echo dedicated

echo shared

echo dedicated

Apply

1. Copy the adapter and its registration test

Fetch the channels branch and copy the WhatsApp adapter, its registration test, and the whatsapp-formatting container skill (overwrite — the branch is canonical). The whatsapp-auth setup step is maintained in trunk, so it is not copied here:

src/channels/whatsapp.ts
src/channels/whatsapp-registration.test.ts
container/skills/whatsapp-formatting/SKILL.md
container/skills/whatsapp-formatting/instructions.md

The whatsapp-formatting container skill is part of the channel payload: its instructions.md is inlined as a section of every group's composed project document (see src/project-doc-compose.ts), teaching agents WhatsApp's formatting syntax. Trunk does not ship it — without this copy step agents format WhatsApp messages with generic markdown that renders literally.

2. Register the adapter

Append the self-registration import to the channel barrel (skipped if the line is already present). This one line is the skill's only reach-in into core:

import './whatsapp.js';

3. Install the adapter packages

Pinned to exact versions — the supply-chain policy rejects ranges and latest. Baileys is the WhatsApp Web client; qrcode renders the device-link QR in the terminal; pino is Baileys' logger:

@whiskeysockets/baileys@7.0.0-rc.9
qrcode@1.5.4
@types/qrcode@1.5.6
pino@9.6.0

4. Build and validate

Build first: it typechecks the adapter against core and proves the dependencies are installed. Then run the one integration test.

pnpm run build

pnpm exec vitest run src/channels/whatsapp-registration.test.ts

whatsapp-registration.test.ts imports the real channel barrel and asserts the registry contains whatsapp. It goes red if the import './whatsapp.js'; line is deleted or drifts, if the barrel fails to evaluate, or if @whiskeysockets/baileys isn't installed (the import throws) — so it also covers the dependency from step 3. End-to-end delivery against a real WhatsApp number is verified manually once the service runs.

Authenticate

WhatsApp uses linked-device authentication — no API key, just a one-time pairing from your phone. The adapter is installed and registered, but its factory returns null (and the channel stays dark) until store/auth/creds.json exists.

The number safety check above is still required even when credentials already exist. If store/auth/creds.json exists, skip ahead to "Dedicated vs personal number" after completing the safety check — the link step below reports the already-linked number and moves on.

Pick how to link the device. qr shows a rotating QR you scan with your phone's camera; pairing-code shows an 8-character code you type into WhatsApp (no camera needed, but it needs your phone number):

How do you want to link WhatsApp? Type `qr` to scan a QR code in this terminal, or `pairing-code` to enter a code on your phone (no camera needed).

The pairing-code method needs the number you're linking, the way WhatsApp expects it — digits only, country code first, no +, spaces, or dashes (the QR method skips this entirely):

Your WhatsApp phone number — digits only, country code first (e.g. 14155551234 for +1 415-555-1234).

Point the user at the right screen before the code appears. For the QR method, tell the user:

Link WhatsApp by QR:
1. On your phone, open WhatsApp → Settings → Linked Devices → Link a Device.
2. A QR code will appear in this terminal below and refresh every ~20 seconds. Point your phone's camera at it to scan.

For the pairing-code method, tell the user:

Link WhatsApp by pairing code:
1. On your phone, open WhatsApp → Settings → Linked Devices → Link a Device → tap "Link with phone number instead".
2. An 8-character code will appear in this terminal below. Enter it on your phone immediately — it expires in about 60 seconds.

Now run the linked-device handshake. It streams the live QR (or the pairing-code card) to this terminal and, on success, reports the linked WhatsApp number. Run the command for the method chosen above — qr or pairing-code:

pnpm exec tsx setup/index.ts --step whatsapp-auth -- --method qr

pnpm exec tsx setup/index.ts --step whatsapp-auth -- --method pairing-code --phone {{phone}}

If the handshake fails (logged_out or a timeout), the code expired — clear store/auth/ and run the step again for a fresh one. See Troubleshooting.

A successful link reports the number back as bot_phone. If it came back empty, the device never confirmed (an expired QR or pairing code), so don't restart or wire against a blank number — clear store/auth/ and re-run the link step first:

[ -n "{{bot_phone}}" ]

Your personal chat number (dedicated number only)

On a dedicated number, the agent owns the linked line and you chat with it from your own, different number. Collect that number — it is required, and it is not the number you just linked. Tell the user:

The agent is signed in as +{{bot_phone}}.

Now, your personal number — the one you'll chat with the agent from. It'll show up as a normal two-way conversation with the agent's contact.

Your personal number, where you'll chat from — digits only, country code first (e.g. 14155551234). Required — this must be YOUR number, not the agent's linked one.

Chatting from the bot's own number IS the shared-number setup — if the number given equals the linked number, stop and route through the same interception screen as the up-front pick: show the account-risk warning from the number safety check again and get explicit acknowledgement before treating this install as shared (or collect a genuinely different personal number and stay dedicated). If the install does become shared, correct the mode everywhere it was recorded — in particular make sure .env ends up with ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER=false, rewriting a true that may already have been written; a stale true on a personal number makes the bot claim messages addressed to the human:

[ "{{chat_phone}}" != "{{bot_phone}}" ]

Dedicated vs personal number

The adapter behaves fundamentally differently depending on whether the linked number is the assistant's own or the operator's personal one. The switch is ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER in .env, read by the adapter itself at startup. Inference rule: absent (or anything other than true) means shared/personal — the safe default, since misreading a personal number as dedicated makes the bot claim messages addressed to the human.

• Shared/personal number (ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER unset or not true) — DMs to this number and group @-tags of it address the human, not the bot. The adapter never emits a mention signal (mentions: 'never' in its declared channel defaults), so: no stranger DM ever auto-creates a messaging group or raises an admin approval card; group wirings default to a name pattern (\b<AgentName>\b) instead of platform mentions; auto-created chats default to unknown_sender_policy: 'strict'; outbound messages are prefixed with the assistant's name.
• Dedicated number (ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER=true) — everything sent to the number is for the bot. DMs and group mentions carry a real mention signal (mentions: 'platform'), unknown senders escalate via request_approval approval cards, and card-approved groups wire with engage_mode: 'mention'. No name prefix on outbound.

Use the mode selected in the required safety check. If information discovered later contradicts that selection, ask again before changing modes; switching to shared requires the same warning and explicit acknowledgement.

Write the answer to .env explicitly in both cases (don't rely on the inference rule for new installs), replacing any existing ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER line. Written in both modes so a re-run that switches dedicated → shared doesn't leave a stale true behind:

grep -q '^ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER=' .env && sed -i.bak 's/^ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER=.*/ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER=true/' .env && rm -f .env.bak || echo 'ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER=true' >> .env

grep -q '^ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER=' .env && sed -i.bak 's/^ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER=.*/ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER=false/' .env && rm -f .env.bak || echo 'ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER=false' >> .env

Assistant name

Both modes: keep the adapter's outbound prefix / mention normalization in sync with the chosen agent name (the adapter's config default is Andy otherwise). Use the assistant's already-chosen name if one was configured; otherwise ask:

What should your assistant be called? (e.g. `Nano` — used as the outbound name prefix on a shared number, and for @-name engagement)

Persist it to .env as ASSISTANT_NAME, replacing any existing ASSISTANT_NAME line (the value is written literally — no pattern expansion):

touch .env && grep -v '^ASSISTANT_NAME=' .env > .env.tmp; printf 'ASSISTANT_NAME=%s\n' '{{agent_name}}' >> .env.tmp && mv .env.tmp .env

Update path: existing install, flag unset

If WhatsApp auth already exists (store/auth/creds.json present) but .env has no ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER line, the install predates the explicit switch. Use the mode established by the required safety check and write it explicitly.

Suggest a default by comparing the authed number against the wired DM chat:

# The number this install is authenticated as
node -e "const c=JSON.parse(require('fs').readFileSync('store/auth/creds.json','utf-8'));console.log(c.me?.id?.split(':')[0])"
# The wired WhatsApp DM chats
pnpm exec tsx scripts/q.ts data/v2.db "SELECT mg.platform_id FROM messaging_groups mg JOIN messaging_group_agents mga ON mg.id=mga.messaging_group_id WHERE mg.channel_type='whatsapp' AND mg.is_group=0"

If the wired DM's phone equals the authed number, the operator is talking to the bot in their own self-chat — that's a personal number: suggest Shared. If they differ, the operator messages the bot from a different number: suggest Dedicated. Confirm with the operator either way, then write the flag and restart the service.

Migration audit: spam-era group wirings

Before the shared-number fix, group chats approved via the channel-registration card were wired engage_mode='pattern' with pattern . — respond-to-everything — because the card flow couldn't tell groups from DMs on non-threaded platforms. On a personal number this shows up as the bot answering every message in family/work groups after someone once tapped Connect on a spam-triggered card.

List the suspect wirings (host service running — ncl is socket-only):

ncl wirings list --engage-mode pattern --engage-pattern "." --json

Cross-reference against WhatsApp group chats (ncl messaging-groups list --channel-type whatsapp --is-group 1). For each wiring with pattern . on a WhatsApp group that is not the operator's deliberate always-on chat (e.g. their self-chat), offer:

• Flip to name-based engagement: ncl wirings update <wiring-id> --engage-mode pattern --engage-pattern '\b<AgentName>\b' (or --engage-mode mention on a dedicated number)
• Delete the wiring: ncl wirings delete <wiring-id>

Stale approval cards from that era can also linger. Clear pending channel approvals for chats the operator doesn't want wired:

pnpm exec tsx scripts/q.ts data/v2.db "DELETE FROM pending_channel_approvals WHERE messaging_group_id IN (SELECT id FROM messaging_groups WHERE channel_type='whatsapp')"

Self-chat engagement (shared number only)

On a shared number the agent lives in your "You" / self-chat. Choose whether it responds to every message you write there, or only to messages addressed to it by name:

Respond to every self-chat message, or only messages starting with @<agent name>? `all` — every message (the self-chat becomes the agent's inbox). `mention` — only messages starting with @<agent name> (keep the self-chat for your own notes too).

For mention, the engage pattern is @ plus the regex-escaped agent name, anchored to the start of the message, with a trailing \b word-boundary guard. \b only terminates a match after a word character — skip it for names ending in punctuation, where it would never match:

node -e 'const n=process.argv[1];const e=n.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g,"\\$&");console.log(/\w$/.test(n)?"^@"+e+"\\b":"^@"+e)' '{{agent_name}}'

engage_pattern is what the self-chat wiring uses: when wiring this channel with scripts/init-first-agent.ts, pass it as --engage-pattern. Choosing all leaves it unset — the wiring falls back to the respond-to-everything default for a DM.

Restart

Restart NanoClaw so it loads the WhatsApp adapter and sees your credentials and settings, and wait for its CLI socket before resolving. Restart only after ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER / ASSISTANT_NAME land in .env — the adapter computes its shared/dedicated mode and name once at module load, so restarting earlier would leave it running with defaults:

bash setup/lib/restart.sh

Resolve your DM channel

Resolve the conversation address as the WhatsApp JID for the number you chat from — the linked number itself for a shared account (your self-chat), or the personal number you gave for a dedicated one. Run the one matching the mode:

echo "{{bot_phone}}@s.whatsapp.net"

echo "{{chat_phone}}@s.whatsapp.net"

For WhatsApp, your owner handle is that same JID:

echo "{{platform_id}}"

owner_handle and platform_id are what the owner-wiring step needs. The greeting goes out over your WhatsApp chat as soon as the service reconnects with the linked credentials.

Next Steps

For a shared number, set expectations — tell the user:

Self-chat mode: only your "You" / self-chat is connected. Messages other people send to your number are ignored — never seen, never asked about. The welcome message will land in your "You" chat on WhatsApp.

Wire a specific chat later with /manage-channels.

If you're in the middle of /setup, return to the setup flow now. Otherwise wire this channel with /init-first-agent (or /manage-channels) — in shared mention mode, pass the engage pattern above via --engage-pattern.

Channel Info

• type: whatsapp
• terminology: WhatsApp calls them "groups" and "chats." A "chat" is a 1:1 DM; a "group" has multiple members.
• platform-id-format: DMs use <phone>@s.whatsapp.net (e.g. 14155551234@s.whatsapp.net). Groups use <id>@g.us. Native adapter — the JID is the platform ID as-is, no whatsapp: prefix.
• how-to-find-id: To find your linked number after auth: node -e "const c=JSON.parse(require('fs').readFileSync('store/auth/creds.json','utf-8'));console.log(c.me?.id?.split(':')[0].split('@')[0]+'@s.whatsapp.net')". Groups are auto-discovered — check pnpm exec tsx scripts/q.ts data/v2.db "SELECT platform_id, name FROM messaging_groups WHERE channel_type='whatsapp' AND is_group=1".
• supports-threads: no
• typical-use: Interactive chat — direct messages or small groups
• default-isolation: Same agent group if you're the only participant across multiple chats. Separate agent group if different people are in different groups.

Features

• Markdown formatting — **bold**→*bold*, *italic*→_italic_, headings→bold, code blocks preserved
• Approval questions — ask_user_question renders with /approve, /reject slash commands
• File attachments — send and receive images, video, audio, documents
• Reactions — send emoji reactions on messages
• Typing indicators — composing presence updates
• Credential requests — text fallback (WhatsApp has no modal support)

Not supported (WhatsApp linked-device limitation): edit messages, delete messages.

Alternatives

QR code in a browser

Besides the in-terminal QR and the pairing code the Apply flow uses, this skill ships a helper that renders the rotating QR as a PNG in your default browser — handy when the terminal QR is too small to scan reliably. It spawns the same whatsapp-auth step, parses each rotating QR from its WHATSAPP_AUTH_QR status blocks, and serves the current one on a local HTTP server (default port 8765, falls back to a free port):

pnpm exec tsx .claude/skills/add-whatsapp/scripts/wa-qr-browser.ts

Flags: --clean wipes store/auth/ before spawning, --port N pins the port.

A browser window opens with a QR code. On your phone, open WhatsApp → Settings → Linked Devices → Link a Device, scan the QR, and the page shows "Authenticated!" when done.

Headless environments

On a headless host (no display server — no $DISPLAY/$WAYLAND_DISPLAY, not macOS), the browser method can't open a window. Detect it and fall back to the pairing-code method (no camera needed):

[[ -z "$DISPLAY" && -z "$WAYLAND_DISPLAY" && "$OSTYPE" != darwin* ]] && echo "IS_HEADLESS=true" || echo "IS_HEADLESS=false"

Optional configuration

If the assistant runs on a dedicated number (its own phone/SIM, not your personal WhatsApp), tell the adapter so it doesn't prefix outbound replies with its name:

ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER=true

The Apply flow writes this key for you in both modes — true for a dedicated number, false for a shared (personal) one — so a re-run that switches modes never leaves a stale value behind. Absent (or anything other than true) is read as shared/personal, the safe default.

Troubleshooting

QR code or pairing code expired

Codes expire after ~60 seconds. The QR rotates automatically while the auth step is running; if the step exited, clear the auth state and re-run it:

rm -rf store/auth/ && pnpm exec tsx setup/index.ts --step whatsapp-auth -- --method qr

For pairing code, ensure digits only (no +), the phone has internet, and WhatsApp is updated:

rm -rf store/auth/ && pnpm exec tsx setup/index.ts --step whatsapp-auth -- --method pairing-code --phone <phone>

WhatsApp's pairing-code flow occasionally rejects valid codes with "Couldn't link device." This is a server-side rejection unrelated to the code itself. If you hit it more than once, switch to the QR method — it has a noticeably higher success rate.

Pairing code not working

Codes expire in ~60 seconds. Delete auth and retry:

rm -rf store/auth/ && pnpm exec tsx setup/index.ts --step whatsapp-auth -- --method pairing-code --phone <phone>

Ensure: digits only (no +), phone has internet, WhatsApp is updated.

WhatsApp's pairing-code flow occasionally rejects valid codes with "Couldn't link device — An error happened. Please try again." This is a server-side rejection unrelated to the code itself; we've seen it happen twice in a row on fresh dedicated numbers. If you hit it more than once, switch to QR-browser auth — it has a noticeably higher success rate:

pnpm exec tsx .claude/skills/add-whatsapp/scripts/wa-qr-browser.ts --clean

"waiting for this message" on reactions

WhatsApp sessions corrupted from rapid restarts. Clear sessions, then restart the service. Run from your NanoClaw project root:

source setup/lib/install-slug.sh
systemctl --user stop $(systemd_unit)
rm store/auth/session-*.json
systemctl --user start $(systemd_unit)

Bot not responding

1. Auth exists: test -f store/auth/creds.json
2. Connected: grep "Connected to WhatsApp" logs/nanoclaw.log | tail -1
3. Channel wired: pnpm exec tsx scripts/q.ts data/v2.db "SELECT mg.platform_id, mg.name FROM messaging_groups mg JOIN messaging_group_agents mga ON mg.id=mga.messaging_group_id WHERE mg.channel_type='whatsapp'"
4. Service running: systemctl --user status "$(. setup/lib/install-slug.sh && systemd_unit)"

"conflict" disconnection

Two instances connected with the same credentials. Ensure only one NanoClaw process is running.

Trunk updated but shared-number behavior unchanged (stale adapter copy)

The shared-number behavior (no stranger approval cards, name-pattern group defaults) lives in the adapter copy at src/channels/whatsapp.ts, installed from the channels branch — not in trunk. If you updated trunk via /update-nanoclaw but skipped the skill-update step, the old adapter copy neither reads ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER itself nor declares channel defaults, so trunk falls back to the legacy behavior: approval cards still fire on a personal number, and new wirings get the channel-blind defaults. Symptoms of the skew:

• .env says ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER=false (or unset) but strangers' DMs still raise approval cards
• ncl wirings create on a WhatsApp group defaults to mention instead of a name pattern

Fix: re-run /add-whatsapp (or /update-skills) to pull the current adapter from the channels branch, then restart the service. The reverse skew (new adapter, old trunk) can't happen — the adapter's defaults field is optional and old trunk ignores it.