new-channel

name	new-channel
description	Set up a new vatic channel — the TOML config that connects vatic to a messaging platform. Triggers on "new channel", "add channel", "configure channel", or "set up telegram/matrix/whatsapp/email".

New Channel

Help them create a new vatic channel TOML file in ~/.config/vatic/channels/. Channels are how vatic talks to the outside world — each one connects to a different messaging platform.

Don't tell them to go create files manually. Write the TOML yourself. Only pause when you need something from them — a token, credentials, that sort of thing. Use AskUserQuestion for all user-facing questions.

Prerequisites

Make sure the channels directory exists:

mkdir -p ~/.config/vatic/channels

1. Choose Channel Type

AskUserQuestion: "Which channel would you like to set up?"

Options:

• stdin (Recommended) — Talk to vatic directly in the terminal. No external setup needed.
• Telegram — Connect vatic to a Telegram bot. Requires a bot token from @BotFather.
• Matrix — Connect vatic to a Matrix account. Requires a homeserver, username, and password.
• WhatsApp — Connect vatic to WhatsApp. Requires the whatsapp feature flag and nightly Rust.
• Himalaya (Email) — Have vatic check and respond to email. Requires himalaya CLI configured.

2. Configure by Type

stdin

Write ~/.config/vatic/channels/stdin.toml:

[channel]
type = "stdin"

That's it. It just reads from the terminal.

Telegram

Ask: "Do you have a Telegram bot token? You can create one by messaging @BotFather on Telegram."

Once they've got a token, write ~/.config/vatic/channels/telegram.toml:

[channel]
type = "telegram"
token = "<their-bot-token>"

The daemon uses long polling (getUpdates) — no webhook or public server needed.

Matrix

Ask: "What's your Matrix homeserver URL, username, and password?"

Write ~/.config/vatic/channels/matrix.toml:

[channel]
type = "matrix"
homeserver = "https://matrix.org"
user = "@vatic:matrix.org"
password = "<their-password>"

Session data gets persisted in ~/.local/share/vatic/channels/matrix/. The daemon syncs via the Matrix client-server API — invite the bot to a room and it'll respond to messages matching job triggers.

Note: the password is stored in plaintext. It turns out that's fine for getting started, but for better security consider using the secrets proxy once it's supported in channel configs.

WhatsApp

WhatsApp requires the whatsapp feature flag — needs nightly Rust due to wacore-binary. Build with: cargo build --features whatsapp

Write ~/.config/vatic/channels/whatsapp.toml:

[channel]
type = "whatsapp"

Session data is stored in ~/.local/share/vatic/channels/whatsapp/whatsapp.db. On first run, the daemon prints a QR code — scan it with WhatsApp to pair. After that it reconnects automatically.

Himalaya (Email)

Ask: "Is himalaya installed and configured? Which account should vatic poll?"

Write ~/.config/vatic/channels/email.toml:

[channel]
type = "himalaya"
poll_interval = 60
# account = "personal"  # optional — defaults to himalaya's default account

The daemon checks for new envelopes every poll_interval seconds and routes them to matching jobs.

3. Verify

List existing channels to confirm it's there:

ls ~/.config/vatic/channels/

Suggest running vatic daemon to test the channel, or offer to create a job that uses it (invoke the new-job skill).