Channels Command

Overview

The lua channels command provides an interactive interface for managing your agent’s communication channels - connect to WhatsApp, Facebook, Email, Slack, Instagram, and more.

lua channels

Non-Interactive Mode

# List all channels
lua channels list

Action	Description
`list`	List all connected channels

Note: Creating and configuring channels requires interactive mode due to complex multi-step input for tokens, IDs, and other credentials.

List Channels

View all connected channels

Link New Channel

Connect WhatsApp, Facebook, Slack, Email

Channel Details

View configuration and status

Admin Dashboard

Open visual interface

Currently Supported Channels

Lua currently supports 6 communication channels:

Email IntegrationRespond to emails automatically. Two modes available:Generated Inbox Requirements:

Display Name

Existing Email Requirements:

Display Name
Sender Email Address
Email forwarding setup

Features:

Automated email responses
Custom sender identity
Professional communication
Generated inbox (no forwarding needed)

CLI Support: ✅ Yes

🚀 More channels coming soon! SMS, Microsoft Teams, Discord, Telegram, LinkedIn, and WeChat are in active development.

Interactive Flow

Launch Command

lua channels

Automatically loads agent from lua.skill.yaml

Choose Action

✅ Using agent: myAgent

? What would you like to do?
  📋 List channels
  🔗 Link new channel
  🌐 Link on admin dashboard

Complete Action

Follow the prompts based on your selection

List Channels

View all configured channels with detailed information:

? What would you like to do? 📋 List channels

✅ Found 3 channel(s)

? Select a channel to view details:
❯ 📱 WHATSAPP - +15557986280
  💬 FACEBOOK - My Business Page
  💼 SLACK - My Workspace
  ← Back to main menu

Channel Details View

📱 WHATSAPP Channel Details
──────────────────────────────────────────────────
Type:           whatsapp
Identifier:     647834045087314
Created:        2/3/2025, 10:45:46 AM
Phone Number:   +15557986280
Phone ID:       647834045087314
Status:         CONNECTED
Quality:        GREEN
WABA ID:        1390592278829291

Metadata:
  Verified Name:  My Business
  Country:        USA
──────────────────────────────────────────────────

Press Enter to continue...

Link New Channel

WhatsApp Setup

? What would you like to do? 🔗 Link new channel
? Select channel type: 📱 WhatsApp

? Enter phone number ID: 647834045087314
? Enter WhatsApp Business Account ID (WABA ID): 1390592278829291
? Enter access token: ****

📡 Creating WhatsApp channel...

✅ WhatsApp channel created successfully!

📱 Channel Details:
   Phone Number: +15557986280
   Status: CONNECTED
   Webhook: https://wa.heylua.ai/whatsapp/webhook/...

Next Steps for WhatsApp:

Configure webhook in Meta Business Suite
Copy webhook URL from output
Set webhook URL in Meta dashboard
Verify webhook connection

Facebook Setup

? What would you like to do? 🔗 Link new channel
? Select channel type: 💬 Facebook Messenger

? Enter Facebook page access token: ****
? Enter Facebook page ID: 705555819301071

📡 Creating Facebook channel...

✅ Facebook channel created successfully!

💬 Page Name: My Business Page
📄 Page ID: 705555819301071
🔗 Webhook: https://wa.heylua.ai/fb/webhook

Email Setup

Email channels support two modes: generated inbox (Lua creates an address) and existing email (forward from your own address).

Generated Inbox
Existing Email

? What would you like to do? 🔗 Link new channel
? Select channel type: 📧 Email

? Select email channel mode: 📬 Generate new inbox
? Enter display name (shown in email header): Support Team

📡 Creating Email channel...

✅ Email channel created successfully!

📧 Display Name:    Support Team
📬 Email Address:   [email protected]

────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Your agent's email inbox has been created.
────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Share this address with your customers or use it
in your workflows:
   [email protected]

Emails sent to this address will be handled by
your agent.
────────────────────────────────────────────────────

? What would you like to do? 🔗 Link new channel
? Select channel type: 📧 Email

? Select email channel mode: 📧 Use existing email
? Enter display name (shown in email header): Support Team
? Enter sender email address: [email protected]

📡 Creating Email channel...

✅ Email channel created successfully!

📧 Display Name:    Support Team
📧 Sender Email:    [email protected]
📬 Forward To:      [email protected]

────────────────────────────────────────────────────
IMPORTANT: Email Forwarding Setup Required
────────────────────────────────────────────────────

1. Log into your email provider's settings
2. Set up email forwarding or filtering
3. Forward all emails from [email protected] to:
   [email protected]

4. Test by sending an email to [email protected]
   Your agent will respond automatically!
────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Slack Private Setup

? What would you like to do? 🔗 Link new channel
? Select channel type: 🔒 Slack (Private)

? Enter Slack bot token (xoxb-...): ****

📡 Creating Slack channel...

✅ Slack channel created successfully!

💼 Bot Name: My Agent Bot
🏢 Workspace: My Workspace
🔗 Webhook: https://wa.heylua.ai/slack/webhook

Slack Public Setup

? What would you like to do? 🔗 Link new channel
? Select channel type: 🌐 Slack (Public)

? Enter Slack app ID: A09J8J6T6H0
? Enter client ID: 1234567890.123456789012
? Enter client secret: ****

📡 Creating Slack app...

✅ Slack app created successfully!

📱 App ID: A09J8J6T6H0
🔗 Redirect URI: https://auth.heylua.ai/slack/oauth_redirect/...
🎯 Webhook: https://wa.heylua.ai/slack/webhook

Next Steps:
1. Copy the redirect URI
2. Add to your Slack app OAuth settings
3. Users can now install your Slack app

Open Admin Dashboard

? What would you like to do? 🌐 Link on admin dashboard

🌐 Opening Lua Admin Dashboard...
✅ Dashboard opened in your browser

  URL: https://admin.heylua.ai
  Agent: myAgent

Opens the admin interface where you can:

Manage channels visually
Configure OAuth flows
View channel analytics
Test channel connections
Monitor message delivery

Use Cases

Multi-Channel Agent

# Connect all your channels
$ lua channels

→ Link WhatsApp
→ Link Facebook
→ Link Email
→ Link Slack
→ Link Instagram

# Your agent now responds on all platforms!

Channel Migration

# Moving from old WhatsApp number

# 1. List current channels
$ lua channels → List
# Note: Old number 555-0000

# 2. Add new channel
$ lua channels → Link WhatsApp
# New number: 555-1111

# 3. Verify both working
$ lua channels → List
# See both channels

# 4. Remove old channel via admin
$ lua admin
# Delete old WhatsApp channel

Team Collaboration

# Add Slack for internal team
$ lua channels → Link Slack

# Now team can chat with agent
# Useful for testing and demos

Channel-Specific Features

Phone Number Requirements:

Must be registered with WhatsApp Business
Verified with Meta Business Suite
Has active WABA (Business Account)

Status Indicators:

CONNECTED: Ready to send/receive
DISCONNECTED: Needs reconnection
PENDING: Setup in progress

Quality Ratings:

GREEN: High quality, good delivery
YELLOW: Medium quality, some issues
RED: Low quality, delivery problems

Facebook

Page Requirements:

Business or Creator page (not personal profile)
Page access token with messaging permissions
Page must be published

Capabilities:

Respond to page messages
Handle conversation threads
Access messenger features

Email

Two modes available:

Generated inbox - Lua creates an email address; no forwarding setup needed
Existing email - Uses your own address; requires email forwarding

Forwarding Setup (existing email mode only):

Must forward to the provided Lua address
Can use email rules/filters
Test after setup

Response Behavior:

Agent replies to incoming emails
Uses configured display name
Threading supported
Attachments handled

Slack

Private (Bot Token):

Simple bot installation
Direct messages
Channel mentions
App home tab

Public (OAuth App):

Users install your app
Workspace-wide presence
OAuth consent flow
More complex setup

Troubleshooting

No agent ID found

Error:

❌ No agent ID found in lua.skill.yaml

Solution:

lua init

API key missing

Error:

❌ No API key found

Solution:

lua auth configure

Channel already exists

Error:

❌ Channel already exists
💡 This WhatsApp number is already connected

Solution:

List channels to see existing
Use different number/account
Remove old channel first (via admin)

Invalid credentials

Error:

❌ Invalid access token

Solution:

Verify token is correct
Check token hasn’t expired
Regenerate token from platform
Try again with new token

Email not working

Problem: Agent not responding to emailsCheck:

Email forwarding is configured
Forward address is correct
Emails are being forwarded
Test by sending email
Check admin dashboard for errors

Best Practices

Test After Setup

# After linking channel
$ lua channels → List
# Verify channel appears

# Test by sending message
# WhatsApp: Send to connected number
# Email: Send to configured address
# Slack: Message the bot

Use Admin for OAuth

# Complex OAuth flows easier in admin
$ lua channels → Link on admin dashboard

# Or directly:
$ lua admin
# Navigate to Channels section

Document Your Channels

# Keep track of what's connected
$ lua channels → List

# Document:
- WhatsApp: +1555-798-6280
- Facebook: Business Page
- Email: [email protected]
- Slack: Team workspace

Regular Channel Review

# Monthly review
$ lua channels → List

# Check:
- All channels CONNECTED
- No expired tokens
- Quality ratings GREEN
- Remove unused channels

Common Workflows

Initial Setup

# 1. Create agent
$ lua init

# 2. Deploy skills
$ lua push
$ lua deploy

# 3. Connect channels
$ lua channels

→ Link WhatsApp
→ Link Facebook  
→ Link Email

# 4. Test channels
# Send messages on each platform
# Verify agent responds

Add New Channel

# Existing agent, add channel
$ lua channels
→ Link new channel
→ Select channel type
→ Enter credentials
✅ Channel created

# Verify
$ lua channels → List
# See new channel in list

Channel Audit

# Review all channels
$ lua channels → List

# For each channel:
→ Select channel
→ Note status and details
→ Back to list

# Document findings
# Update any needed

Integration with Admin Dashboard

The CLI command and admin dashboard work together:

CLI (Quick)
Admin (Visual)

Use CLI when:

Setting up via terminal
Scripting channel creation
Quick channel listing
During development workflow

lua channels

Use Admin when:

Visual interface preferred
OAuth flows needed
Managing many channels
Viewing analytics
Team collaboration

lua admin
# Or
lua channels → Link on admin dashboard

Channel Requirements by Platform

WhatsApp Business

Before you start:

Register with Meta Business Suite
Create WhatsApp Business Account
Add phone number
Get API access
Obtain access token

Then:

lua channels → Link WhatsApp
# Enter: Phone ID, WABA ID, Token

Facebook Messenger

Before you start:

Create Facebook Business Page
Create Facebook App
Add Messenger product
Get page access token

Then:

lua channels → Link Facebook
# Enter: Page token, Page ID

Email

Generated inbox — before you start:

Choose a display name for your agent

Then:

lua channels → Link Email
# Select: Generate new inbox
# Enter: Display name
# Done -- share the generated address

Existing email — before you start:

Have email address ready
Access to email provider settings
Ability to configure forwarding

Then:

lua channels → Link Email
# Select: Use existing email
# Enter: Display name, Sender email
# Configure forwarding as instructed

Slack

Private (Simple):

Create Slack app
Add bot token scopes
Install to workspace
Copy bot token

lua channels → Link Slack (Private)
# Enter: Bot token

Public (OAuth):

Create Slack app
Configure OAuth
Set redirect URLs
Get credentials

lua channels → Link Slack (Public)
# Enter: App ID, Client ID, Secret

Security

Token Security:

All tokens are masked during input
Never logged or displayed
Stored securely server-side
Use environment-specific tokens

Best practices:

Use test accounts in development
Production tokens in production only
Rotate tokens regularly
Revoke compromised tokens immediately

Next Steps

Admin Dashboard

Visual channel management

Chat Widget

Add website chat channel

Test Your Agent

Test agent responses

Production Monitor

Monitor live channels

​Overview

​Non-Interactive Mode

List Channels

Link New Channel

Channel Details

Admin Dashboard

​Currently Supported Channels

​Interactive Flow

​List Channels

​Channel Details View

​Link New Channel

​WhatsApp Setup

​Facebook Setup

​Email Setup

​Slack Private Setup

​Slack Public Setup

​Open Admin Dashboard

​Use Cases

​Multi-Channel Agent

​Channel Migration

​Team Collaboration

​Channel-Specific Features

​WhatsApp

​Facebook

​Email

​Slack

​Troubleshooting

​Best Practices

​Common Workflows

​Initial Setup

​Add New Channel

​Channel Audit

​Integration with Admin Dashboard

​Channel Requirements by Platform

​WhatsApp Business

​Facebook Messenger

​Email

​Slack

​Security

​Next Steps

Admin Dashboard

Chat Widget

Test Your Agent

Production Monitor

Overview

Non-Interactive Mode

Currently Supported Channels

Interactive Flow

List Channels

Channel Details View

Link New Channel

WhatsApp Setup

Facebook Setup

Email Setup

Slack Private Setup

Slack Public Setup

Open Admin Dashboard

Use Cases

Multi-Channel Agent

Channel Migration

Team Collaboration

Channel-Specific Features

WhatsApp

Facebook

Email

Slack

Troubleshooting

Best Practices

Common Workflows

Initial Setup

Add New Channel

Channel Audit

Integration with Admin Dashboard

Channel Requirements by Platform

WhatsApp Business

Facebook Messenger

Email

Slack

Security

Next Steps