clawdbot/docs/concepts/provider-routing.md

summary, read_when

summary	read_when
Routing rules per provider (WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, Slack) and shared context	Changing provider routing or inbox behavior

Providers & routing

Clawdbot routes replies back to the provider where a message came from. The model does not choose a provider; routing is deterministic and controlled by the host configuration.

Key terms

• Provider: whatsapp, telegram, discord, slack, signal, imessage, webchat.
• AccountId: per‑provider account instance (when supported).
• AgentId: an isolated workspace + session store (“brain”).
• SessionKey: the bucket key used to store context and control concurrency.

Session key shapes (examples)

Direct messages collapse to the agent’s main session:

• agent:<agentId>:<mainKey> (default: agent:main:main)

Groups and channels remain isolated per provider:

• Groups: agent:<agentId>:<provider>:group:<id>
• Channels/rooms: agent:<agentId>:<provider>: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 rules (how an agent is chosen)

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 provider).
5. Provider match (any account on that provider).
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 (run multiple agents)

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

Config:

{
  broadcast: {
    strategy: "parallel",
    "120363403215116621@g.us": ["alfred", "baerbel"],
    "+15555550123": ["support", "logger"]
  }
}

See: Broadcast Groups.

Config overview

• agents.list: named agent definitions (workspace, model, etc.).
• bindings: map inbound providers/accounts/peers to agents.

Example:

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

Session storage

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

• ~/.clawdbot/agents/<agentId>/sessions/sessions.json
• JSONL transcripts live alongside the store

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

WebChat behavior

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

Reply context

Inbound replies include:

• ReplyToId, ReplyToBody, and ReplyToSender when available.
• Quoted context is appended to Body as a [Replying to ...] block.

This is consistent across providers.