| name | wa-relay |
| description | WhatsApp message relay for OpenClaw v0.2.0. Routes third-party DMs to a relay agent that forwards them to the main agent via sessions_send. The main agent notifies the owner with a suggested response. Supports direct number allowlists. |
wa-relay v0.2.0
Routes third-party WhatsApp DMs through a relay agent that forwards messages to the main agent via sessions_send. The main agent notifies the owner and proposes a response.
How It Works
- Third-party sends a WhatsApp message
- Relay agent receives it, forwards via
sessions_send to the main agent session, and responds NO_REPLY (nothing sent back to the sender)
- Main agent receives the inter-session message, notifies the owner on WhatsApp with the message and a suggested response
- Owner decides: use the suggestion, modify it, or write something else
- Main agent sends the response to the third party
Direct number allowlist
Numbers in the allowlist bypass the relay entirely and go straight to the main agent (same as the owner).
Setup
- Run
scripts/setup.sh <owner-phone-number> — creates relay workspace, patches main agent SOUL.md
- Run
scripts/configure.sh <owner-phone-number> [direct-numbers] — generates routing config
- Apply the generated config (see
references/SETUP.md)
Requirements
- OpenClaw v2026.2.14+ with WhatsApp channel configured
- Owner's phone number in international format (e.g.
+573001234567)
Security Notes
This skill performs two actions that require elevated access. Both are necessary for multi-agent WhatsApp routing to work and are explained here for transparency:
1. Auth credential sharing
The setup script copies auth-profiles.json from the main agent to the relay agent. This is required because OpenClaw agents have isolated auth — without shared credentials, the relay agent cannot authenticate with any model provider and will silently fail. The script asks for confirmation before copying.
2. Session ID regex patch (temporary)
OpenClaw's session ID validator rejects : and + characters that WhatsApp phone-number routing generates (e.g. agent:wa-relay:whatsapp:+15551234567). The setup script patches the SAFE_SESSION_ID_RE regex in OpenClaw's dist files to allow these characters. This is a known bug (openclaw/openclaw#16211) with an open fix (PR #16531). Once merged, this patch becomes unnecessary and can be reverted. The script creates .bak backups and asks for confirmation before patching.
3. Main agent SOUL.md modification
The setup script appends a "Relay de WhatsApp" section to the main agent's SOUL.md so it knows how to handle forwarded messages. Review the added section after setup.
