> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/nullclaw/nullclaw/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# nullclaw channel

> Manage and monitor messaging channels

The `nullclaw channel` command provides utilities for managing messaging channels, checking their health, and starting individual channels.

## Subcommands

```bash theme={null}
nullclaw channel status            # Show health of all configured channels
nullclaw channel start <name>      # Start a specific channel
```

## channel status

Display the health and configuration status of all channels:

```bash theme={null}
nullclaw channel status
```

### Example Output

```
Channel Status:

✓ telegram (main)
  Status: connected
  Bot: @my_bot
  Allowed users: 2
  Uptime: 2h 15m

✓ discord (main)
  Status: connected
  Guild: My Server (123456789)
  Gateway: wss://gateway.discord.gg
  Uptime: 2h 15m

✗ signal (main)
  Status: not configured
  Error: signal-cli not found

○ nostr
  Status: disabled
```

### Status Icons

* `✓` - Channel connected and healthy
* `✗` - Channel configured but not working
* `○` - Channel not configured or disabled

## channel start

Start a specific channel by name:

```bash theme={null}
nullclaw channel start telegram
nullclaw channel start discord
nullclaw channel start signal
```

This is useful for:

* Testing channel configuration
* Running a single channel without the full gateway
* Debugging connection issues

### Example

```bash theme={null}
$ nullclaw channel start telegram
Starting Telegram channel...
Bot connected: @my_nullclaw_bot
Listening for messages (long-polling)...
Press Ctrl+C to stop
```

## Supported Channels

You can start any configured channel:

* `telegram` - Telegram bot (long-polling)
* `discord` - Discord bot (WebSocket)
* `slack` - Slack bot (Socket Mode or HTTP)
* `signal` - Signal messenger (signal-cli)
* `nostr` - Nostr relays (NIP-17 + NIP-04)
* `irc` - IRC networks
* `matrix` - Matrix homeserver
* `whatsapp` - WhatsApp Business API
* `lark` - Lark/Feishu
* `line` - LINE Messaging API
* `mattermost` - Mattermost
* `qq` - QQ
* `onebot` - OneBot protocol
* `dingtalk` - DingTalk
* `email` - Email (IMAP + SMTP)
* `imessage` - iMessage (macOS only)
* `web` - WebSocket relay
* `maixcam` - MaixCam device

## Health Checks

The `channel status` command performs these checks:

1. **Configuration**: Is the channel configured in `config.json`?
2. **Credentials**: Are API keys/tokens present?
3. **Connectivity**: Can we connect to the service?
4. **Authentication**: Do credentials work?
5. **Message flow**: Can we receive/send messages?

## Configuration

Channels are configured in `~/.nullclaw/config.json`:

```json theme={null}
{
  "channels": {
    "telegram": {
      "accounts": {
        "main": {
          "bot_token": "123456:ABC-DEF...",
          "allow_from": ["alice", "bob"]
        }
      }
    },
    "discord": {
      "accounts": {
        "main": {
          "token": "MTA...",
          "guild_id": "123456789"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
```

See [Channel Configuration](/configuration/channels) for details.

## Examples

### Check all channels

```bash theme={null}
nullclaw channel status
```

### Test Telegram configuration

```bash theme={null}
nullclaw channel start telegram
```

Send a message to your bot. You should see:

```
Received message from alice: Hello!
Agent response: Hello! How can I help you?
```

### Debug connection issues

```bash theme={null}
# Start channel with verbose output
nullclaw channel start discord

# Check for connection errors
# Common issues:
# - Invalid token
# - Missing intents
# - Network restrictions
```

## Troubleshooting

### Telegram: "Invalid bot token"

Verify token with BotFather:

```bash theme={null}
# Get bot info
curl https://api.telegram.org/bot<TOKEN>/getMe
```

### Discord: "Gateway connection failed"

Check intents in Discord Developer Portal:

* MESSAGE\_CONTENT (required)
* GUILD\_MESSAGES (required)
* DIRECT\_MESSAGES (required)

### Signal: "signal-cli not found"

Install signal-cli:

```bash theme={null}
# macOS
brew install signal-cli

# Linux
# See https://github.com/AsamK/signal-cli
```

### Nostr: "nak not found"

Install nak:

```bash theme={null}
# macOS/Linux
go install github.com/fiatjaf/nak@latest
```

## See Also

* [Channel Configuration](/configuration/channels) - Config reference
* [Telegram Guide](/guides/telegram) - Telegram setup
* [Discord Guide](/guides/discord) - Discord setup
* [Nostr Guide](/guides/nostr) - Nostr setup
* [Gateway](/cli/gateway) - Start all channels