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OpenClaw applies the same group rules across group-capable channels, including Discord, iMessage, Matrix, Microsoft Teams, QQBot, Signal, Slack, Telegram, WhatsApp, and Zalo. For always-on rooms that should provide quiet context unless the agent explicitly sends a visible message, see Ambient room events.

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Beginner intro (2 minutes)

OpenClaw “lives” on your own messaging accounts. There is no separate WhatsApp bot user: if you are in a group, OpenClaw can see that group and respond there. Default behavior:
  • Groups are restricted (groupPolicy: "allowlist"); group senders are blocked until allowlisted.
  • Replies require a mention unless you disable mention gating for a group.
  • Final reply text posts to the room automatically (visibleReplies: "automatic").
Translation: allowlisted senders can trigger OpenClaw by mentioning it.
TL;DR
  • DM access is controlled by *.allowFrom.
  • Group access is controlled by *.groupPolicy + allowlists (*.groups, *.groupAllowFrom).
  • Reply triggering is controlled by mention gating (requireMention, /activation).
Quick flow (what happens to a group message): 
groupPolicy? disabled -> drop
groupPolicy? allowlist -> group allowed? no -> drop
requireMention? yes -> mentioned? no -> store for context only
mention/reply/command/DM -> user request
always-on group chatter -> user request, or room event when configured

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Visible replies

For normal group/channel requests, OpenClaw defaults to messages.groupChat.visibleReplies: "automatic": the final assistant text posts to the room as the visible reply. Use messages.groupChat.visibleReplies: "message_tool" when a shared room should let the agent decide when to speak by calling message(action=send). This works best with tool-reliable models (for example GPT 5.5). If the model misses the tool and returns substantive final text, OpenClaw keeps that text private instead of posting it to the room. Use "automatic" for models or runtimes that do not reliably follow tool-only delivery: normal text finals post directly to the room, and the agent may still call message(action=send) for files, images, or other attachments that cannot ride along with the final text. If the message tool is unavailable under the active tool policy, OpenClaw falls back to automatic visible replies instead of silently suppressing the response. openclaw doctor warns about this mismatch. For direct chats and any other source event, messages.visibleReplies: "message_tool" applies the same tool-only behavior globally; messages.groupChat.visibleReplies remains the more specific override for group/channel rooms. Internal WebChat direct turns default to automatic final-reply delivery so Pi and Codex receive the same visible-reply contract. Tool-only mode replaces the old pattern of forcing the model to answer NO_REPLY for most lurk-mode turns. In tool-only mode the prompt does not define a NO_REPLY contract; doing nothing visible simply means not calling the message tool. Plugin-owned conversation bindings are the exception. Once a plugin binds a thread and claims the inbound turn, the plugin’s returned reply is the visible binding response; it does not need message(action=send). That reply is plugin runtime output, not private model final text. Typing indicators are still sent for direct group requests. Ambient always-on room events, when enabled, stay strict and quiet unless the agent calls the message tool. Sessions suppress verbose tool/progress summaries by default. Use /verbose on (or /verbose full) to show them for the current session while debugging, and /verbose off to return to final-reply-only behavior. Verbose state is per session and works the same in direct chats, groups, channels, and forum topics. To submit unmentioned always-on group chatter as quiet room context instead of user requests, use Ambient room events: 
{
  messages: {
    groupChat: {
      unmentionedInbound: "room_event",
    },
  },
}
The default is unmentionedInbound: "user_request". Mentioned messages, commands, abort requests, and DMs stay user requests. To require visible output to go through the message tool for group/channel requests: 
{
  messages: {
    groupChat: {
      visibleReplies: "message_tool",
    },
  },
}
To require it for every source chat: 
{
  messages: {
    visibleReplies: "message_tool",
  },
}
The gateway picks up messages config changes without a restart after the file is saved. Restart only when config reload is disabled (gateway.reload.mode: "off"). Command turns bypass visibleReplies: "message_tool" and always reply visibly: native slash commands (Discord, Telegram, and other surfaces with native command support) and authorized text /... commands both post their response to the source chat. Unauthorized text /... turns in groups stay message-tool-only; ordinary chat turns follow the configured default.

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Context visibility and allowlists

Two different controls are involved in group safety:
  • Trigger authorization: who can trigger the agent (groupPolicy, groups, groupAllowFrom, channel-specific allowlists).
  • Context visibility: what supplemental context is injected into the model (reply/quote text, thread history, forwarded metadata).
By default OpenClaw keeps context as received: allowlists decide who can trigger actions, not what quoted or historical snippets the model sees. To also filter supplemental context, set contextVisibility:
ModeBehavior
"all" (default)Keep supplemental context as received.
"allowlist"Only inject history/thread/quote/forwarded context from allowlisted senders.
"allowlist_quote"allowlist, plus keep the explicitly quoted/replied-to message from any sender.
Set it per channel (channels.<channel>.contextVisibility), per account (channels.<channel>.accounts.<accountId>.contextVisibility), or globally (channels.defaults.contextVisibility). Channels that fetch supplemental context (Discord, Feishu, iMessage, Matrix, Microsoft Teams, Signal, Slack, Telegram, WhatsApp) apply the policy when building inbound context; unknown policy combinations fail closed and omit the context. Group message flow If you want…
GoalWhat to set
Allow all groups but only reply on @mentionsgroups: { "*": { requireMention: true } }
Disable all group repliesgroupPolicy: "disabled"
Only specific groupsgroups: { "<group-id>": { ... } } (no "*" key)
Only you can trigger in groupsgroupPolicy: "allowlist", groupAllowFrom: ["+1555..."]
Reuse one trusted sender set across channelsgroupAllowFrom: ["accessGroup:operators"]
For reusable sender allowlists, see Access groups.

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Session keys

  • Group sessions use agent:<agentId>:<channel>:group:<id> session keys (rooms/channels use agent:<agentId>:<channel>:channel:<id>).
  • Telegram forum topics add :topic:<threadId> to the group id so each topic has its own session.
  • Direct chats use the main session (or per-sender sessions if session.dmScope is configured).
  • Heartbeats run in the configured heartbeat session (default: the agent main session); group sessions do not run their own heartbeats.

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Pattern: personal DMs + public groups (single agent)

Yes — this works well if your “personal” traffic is DMs and your “public” traffic is groups. Why: in single-agent mode, DMs typically land in the main session key (agent:main:main), while groups always use non-main session keys (agent:main:<channel>:group:<id>). If you enable sandboxing with mode: "non-main", those group sessions run in the configured sandbox backend while your main DM session stays on-host. Docker is the default backend if you do not choose one. This gives you one agent “brain” (shared workspace + memory), but two execution postures:
  • DMs: full tools (host)
  • Groups: sandbox + restricted tools
If you need truly separate workspaces/personas (“personal” and “public” must never mix), use a second agent + bindings. See Multi-Agent Routing.
{
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      sandbox: {
        mode: "non-main", // groups/channels are non-main -> sandboxed
        scope: "session", // strongest isolation (one container per group/channel)
        workspaceAccess: "none",
      },
    },
  },
  tools: {
    sandbox: {
      tools: {
        // If allow is non-empty, everything else is blocked (deny still wins).
        allow: ["group:messaging", "group:sessions"],
        deny: ["group:runtime", "group:fs", "group:ui", "nodes", "cron", "gateway"],
      },
    },
  },
}
Related:

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Display labels

  • UI labels use displayName when available, formatted as <channel>:<token>.
  • #room is reserved for rooms/channels; group chats use g-<slug> (lowercase, spaces -> -, keep #@+._-). Very long opaque ids are shortened into a stable token instead of leaking full route ids into the UI.

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Group policy

Control how group/room messages are handled per channel: 
{
  channels: {
    whatsapp: {
      groupPolicy: "disabled", // "open" | "disabled" | "allowlist"
      groupAllowFrom: ["+15551234567"],
    },
    telegram: {
      groupPolicy: "disabled",
      groupAllowFrom: ["123456789"], // numeric Telegram user id (setup resolves @username)
    },
    signal: {
      groupPolicy: "disabled",
      groupAllowFrom: ["+15551234567"],
    },
    imessage: {
      groupPolicy: "disabled",
      groupAllowFrom: ["chat_id:123"],
    },
    msteams: {
      groupPolicy: "disabled",
      groupAllowFrom: ["user@org.com"],
    },
    discord: {
      groupPolicy: "allowlist",
      guilds: {
        GUILD_ID: { channels: { help: { enabled: true } } },
      },
    },
    slack: {
      groupPolicy: "allowlist",
      channels: { "#general": { enabled: true } },
    },
    matrix: {
      groupPolicy: "allowlist",
      groupAllowFrom: ["@owner:example.org"],
      groups: {
        "!roomId:example.org": { enabled: true },
        "#alias:example.org": { enabled: true },
      },
    },
  },
}
PolicyBehavior
"open"Groups bypass allowlists; mention-gating still applies.
"disabled"Block all group messages entirely.
"allowlist"Only allow groups/rooms that match the configured allowlist.
  • groupPolicy is separate from mention-gating (which requires @mentions).
  • WhatsApp/Telegram/Signal/iMessage/Microsoft Teams/Zalo: use groupAllowFrom (fallback: explicit allowFrom).
  • Signal: groupAllowFrom can match either the inbound Signal group id or the sender phone/UUID.
  • DM pairing approvals (*-allowFrom store entries) apply to DM access only; group sender authorization stays explicit to group allowlists.
  • Discord: allowlist uses channels.discord.guilds.<id>.channels.
  • Slack: allowlist uses channels.slack.channels.
  • Matrix: allowlist uses channels.matrix.groups. Use room IDs (!room:server) or aliases (#alias:server); room-name keys match only with channels.matrix.dangerouslyAllowNameMatching: true, and unresolved entries are ignored at runtime. Use channels.matrix.groupAllowFrom to restrict senders; per-room users allowlists are also supported.
  • Group DMs are controlled separately (channels.discord.dm.*, channels.slack.dm.*: groupEnabled, groupChannels).
  • Telegram: sender allowlists accept numeric user IDs only ("123456789"; telegram:/tg: prefixes are stripped case-insensitively). @username entries do not match at runtime and log a warning; setup resolves @username to IDs. Negative chat IDs belong under channels.telegram.groups, not sender allowlists.
  • Default is groupPolicy: "allowlist"; if your group allowlist is empty, group messages are blocked.
  • Runtime safety: when a provider block is completely missing (channels.<provider> absent), group policy fails closed to allowlist instead of inheriting channels.defaults.groupPolicy, and the gateway logs the fallback once per account.
Quick mental model (evaluation order for group messages):
1

groupPolicy

groupPolicy (open/disabled/allowlist).
2

Group allowlists

Group allowlists (*.groups, *.groupAllowFrom, channel-specific allowlist).
3

Mention gating

Mention gating (requireMention, /activation).

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Mention gating (default)

Group messages require a mention unless overridden per group. Defaults live per subsystem under *.groups."*". Replying to a bot message counts as an implicit mention when the channel exposes reply metadata; quoting a bot message can also count on channels that expose quote metadata. Current built-in cases: Discord, Microsoft Teams, QQBot, Slack, Telegram, WhatsApp, and Zalo personal. 
{
  channels: {
    whatsapp: {
      groups: {
        "*": { requireMention: true },
        "123@g.us": { requireMention: false },
      },
    },
    telegram: {
      groups: {
        "*": { requireMention: true },
        "123456789": { requireMention: false },
      },
    },
    imessage: {
      groups: {
        "*": { requireMention: true },
        "123": { requireMention: false },
      },
    },
  },
  agents: {
    list: [
      {
        id: "main",
        groupChat: {
          mentionPatterns: ["@openclaw", "openclaw", "\\+15555550123"],
          historyLimit: 50,
        },
      },
    ],
  },
}

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Scope configured mention patterns

Configured mentionPatterns are regex fallback triggers. Use them when the platform does not expose a native bot mention, or when plain text such as openclaw: should count as a mention. Native platform mentions are separate: when Discord, Slack, Telegram, Matrix, or another channel can prove the message explicitly mentioned the bot, that native mention still triggers even where configured regex patterns are denied. By default, configured mention patterns apply everywhere the channel passes provider and conversation facts into mention detection. To keep broad patterns from waking the agent in every group, scope them per channel with channels.<channel>.mentionPatterns. Use mode: "deny" when regex mention patterns should be off by default for a channel, then opt in specific rooms with allowIn: 
{
  messages: {
    groupChat: {
      mentionPatterns: ["\\bopenclaw\\b", "\\bops bot\\b"],
    },
  },
  channels: {
    slack: {
      mentionPatterns: {
        mode: "deny",
        allowIn: ["C0123OPS"],
      },
    },
  },
}
Use the default mode: "allow" (or omit mode) when regex mention patterns should apply broadly, then turn them off in noisy rooms with denyIn: 
{
  messages: {
    groupChat: {
      mentionPatterns: ["\\bopenclaw\\b"],
    },
  },
  channels: {
    telegram: {
      mentionPatterns: {
        denyIn: ["-1001234567890", "-1001234567890:topic:42"],
      },
    },
  },
}
Policy resolution:
FieldEffect
mode: "allow"Regex mention patterns are enabled unless the conversation ID is in denyIn. This is the default.
mode: "deny"Regex mention patterns are disabled unless the conversation ID is in allowIn.
allowInConversation IDs where regex mention patterns are enabled in deny mode.
denyInConversation IDs where regex mention patterns are disabled. denyIn wins over allowIn if both include the same ID.
Supported scoped regex policy today:
ChannelIDs used in allowIn / denyIn
DiscordDiscord channel IDs.
MatrixMatrix room IDs.
SlackSlack channel IDs.
TelegramGroup chat IDs, or chatId:topic:threadId for forum topics.
WhatsAppWhatsApp conversation IDs such as 123@g.us.
Account-level channel configs can set the same policy under channels.<channel>.accounts.<accountId>.mentionPatterns when that channel supports multiple accounts. Account policy takes precedence over the top-level channel policy for that account.
  • mentionPatterns are case-insensitive safe regex patterns; invalid patterns and unsafe nested-repetition forms are ignored (with a warning).
  • Pattern precedence: agents.list[].groupChat.mentionPatterns (useful when multiple agents share a group) overrides messages.groupChat.mentionPatterns; when neither is set, patterns are derived from the agent identity name/emoji.
  • Mention gating is only enforced when mention detection is possible (native mentions or mentionPatterns are configured).
  • Allowlisting a group or sender does not disable mention gating; set that group’s requireMention to false when all messages should trigger.
  • Automatic group chat prompt context carries the resolved silent-reply instruction every turn; workspace files should not duplicate NO_REPLY mechanics.
  • Groups where automatic silent replies are allowed treat clean empty or reasoning-only model turns as silent, equivalent to NO_REPLY. Direct chats never receive NO_REPLY guidance, and message-tool-only group replies stay quiet by not calling message(action=send).
  • Ambient always-on group chatter uses user-request semantics by default. Set messages.groupChat.unmentionedInbound: "room_event" to submit it as quiet context instead. See Ambient room events for setup examples.
  • Room events are not stored as fake user requests, and private assistant text from no-message-tool room events is not replayed as chat history.
  • Discord defaults live in channels.discord.guilds."*" (overridable per guild/channel).
  • Group history context is wrapped uniformly across channels. Mention-gated groups keep pending skipped messages; always-on groups may also retain recent processed room messages when the channel supports it. Use messages.groupChat.historyLimit for the global default and channels.<channel>.historyLimit (or channels.<channel>.accounts.*.historyLimit) for overrides. Set 0 to disable.

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Group/channel tool restrictions (optional)

Some channel configs support restricting which tools are available inside a specific group/room/channel.
  • tools: allow/deny tools for the whole group (allow, alsoAllow, deny; deny wins).
  • toolsBySender: per-sender overrides within the group. Use explicit key prefixes: channel:<channelId>:<senderId>, id:<senderId>, e164:<phone>, username:<handle>, name:<displayName>, and "*" wildcard. Channel ids use canonical OpenClaw channel ids; aliases such as teams normalize to msteams. Legacy unprefixed keys are still accepted, matched as id: only, and log a deprecation warning.
Resolution order (most specific wins):
1

Group toolsBySender

Group/channel toolsBySender match.
2

Group tools

Group/channel tools.
3

Default toolsBySender

Default ("*") toolsBySender match.
4

Default tools

Default ("*") tools.
Example (Telegram): 
{
  channels: {
    telegram: {
      groups: {
        "*": { tools: { deny: ["exec"] } },
        "-1001234567890": {
          tools: { deny: ["exec", "read", "write"] },
          toolsBySender: {
            "id:123456789": { alsoAllow: ["exec"] },
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
}
Group/channel tool restrictions are applied in addition to global/agent tool policy (deny still wins). Some channels use different nesting for rooms/channels (e.g., Discord guilds.*.channels.*, Slack channels.*, Microsoft Teams teams.*.channels.*).

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Group allowlists

When channels.whatsapp.groups, channels.telegram.groups, or channels.imessage.groups is configured, the keys act as a group allowlist. Use "*" to allow all groups while still setting default mention behavior.
Common confusion: DM pairing approval is not the same as group authorization. For channels that support DM pairing, the pairing store unlocks DMs only. Group commands still require explicit group sender authorization from config allowlists such as groupAllowFrom or the documented config fallback for that channel.
Common intents (copy/paste): 
{
  channels: { whatsapp: { groupPolicy: "disabled" } },
}

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Activation (owner-only)

Group owners can toggle per-group activation with a standalone message:
  • /activation mention
  • /activation always
/activation is a core owner-gated command and only applies in group chats. Owner means the sender matches the channel’s allowFrom / commands.ownerAllowFrom (when no allowlist is configured, the account’s own id counts as owner). The stored mode overrides that group’s requireMention on channels that consult it (Google Chat, QQBot, Telegram, WhatsApp), and the group system-prompt intro reflects the active mode everywhere.

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Context fields

Group inbound payloads set:
  • ChatType=group
  • GroupSubject (if known)
  • GroupMembers (if known)
  • WasMentioned (mention gating result)
  • Telegram forum topics also include MessageThreadId and IsForum.
The agent system prompt includes a group intro on the first turn of a new group session (and after /activation changes). It reminds the model to respond like a human, minimize empty lines and follow normal chat spacing, and avoid typing literal \n sequences. Non-Telegram groups also discourage Markdown tables; Telegram rich-text guidance comes from the Telegram channel prompt. Channel-sourced group names and participant labels are rendered as fenced untrusted metadata, not inline system instructions.

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iMessage specifics

  • Prefer chat_id:<id> when routing or allowlisting.
  • List chats: imsg chats --limit 20.
  • Group replies always go back to the same chat_id.

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WhatsApp system prompts

See WhatsApp for the canonical WhatsApp system prompt rules, including group and direct prompt resolution, wildcard behavior, and account override semantics.

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WhatsApp specifics

See Group messages for WhatsApp-only behavior (history injection, mention handling details).