Chat apps

Message your bots from Slack, Telegram, WhatsApp, iMessage or SMS, and add them to group chats there.

Note

Settings → Messaging appears only when your server has at least one chat app set up. Which apps you see depends on the server: Slack, Telegram, WhatsApp, iMessage and SMS, and Feishu (Lark) are supported. On a self-hosted server the operator configures them; see Self-hosting (contact us for setup).

Link a bot to a chat app

Open Settings → Messaging.
Pick the bot, then choose the app under Connect a chat app.
Send the code shown from that app within 10 minutes.

From then on, messages you send there go to that bot's chat, and its replies come back to you there. The conversation is the same one you see in the Opisense app.

You can link bots you made, each to one chat app address. Someone who hasn't linked their own Opisense account gets no reply in a direct message, so a linked bot isn't a public support line.

To stop, choose Unlink.

Slack

Slack appears in two places. Connect it in Integrations so bots can read and post in Slack for you, such as a routine that posts to a channel. Link it here, in Settings → Messaging, to message a bot from Slack and add it to channels.

Choose Connect next to Slack to add Opisense to your Slack workspace, then Link DMs so direct messages reach your bot.

A routine can also start from a Slack message.

Group chats

Add your bot to a group or channel in the chat app. The invite appears under Requests in Settings → Messaging; choose Approve or Decline. Approved groups are listed under Conversations, where you can Leave one at any time.

Open a conversation's Settings to decide how the bot behaves there:

Listening: Listen to everything, or Mentions only. Either way, the bot answers when mentioned directly.
Room guidance: plain-language rules for the room, such as "Engage when someone asks about invoices. Ignore small talk."
Automated senders: for each bot or integration that posts in the room, choose Ignore, Group updates into a periodic digest, Always act, or Treat like a person.

Warning

In a Slack channel, anyone in it can wake the bot, and it works as you: with your apps, memory and credentials. Use Mentions only, give it Room guidance, and keep Ask me or Auto review in Approvals. Unless you chose Never ask, runs started from a chat app can't change the bot's instructions or model.