manage-channels

name	manage-channels
description	Wire channels to agent groups, manage isolation levels, add new channel groups. Use after adding a channel, during setup, or standalone to reconfigure.

Manage Channels

Wire messaging channels to agent groups. See docs/isolation-model.md for the full isolation model.

Privilege is a user-level concept, not a channel-level one (see src/modules/permissions/db/user-roles.ts, src/modules/permissions/access.ts). There is no "main channel" / "main group" — any user can be granted owner or admin (global or scoped to an agent group) via grantRole(), and messages from unknown senders are gated per-messaging-group by unknown_sender_policy (strict | request_approval | public).

Assess Current State

Read the central DB (data/v2.db) using these canonical queries (column names match the schema, not the CLI flags — the register command's --assistant-name is stored in agent_groups.name).

Run each via the in-tree wrapper — the host setup deliberately ships no sqlite3 CLI:

pnpm exec tsx scripts/q.ts data/v2.db "<query>"

SELECT id, name AS assistant_name, folder, agent_provider FROM agent_groups;
SELECT id, channel_type, platform_id, name, unknown_sender_policy FROM messaging_groups;
SELECT messaging_group_id, agent_group_id, session_mode, priority FROM messaging_group_agents;
SELECT user_id, role, agent_group_id FROM user_roles ORDER BY role='owner' DESC;

Also check .env for channel tokens and src/channels/index.ts for uncommented imports.

Categorize channels as: wired (has DB entities + messaging_group_agents row), configured but unwired (has credentials + barrel import, no DB entities), or not configured.

If the instance has no owner yet (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM user_roles WHERE role='owner' AND agent_group_id IS NULL returns 0), tell the user they should run /init-first-agent first — it stands up the first agent group, promotes the operator to owner, and verifies delivery end-to-end by having the agent DM them. Then return here for any additional channels/groups.

First Channel (No Agent Groups Exist)

Delegate to /init-first-agent. It handles: channel choice, operator identity lookup, DM platform id resolution (with cold-DM or pair-code fallback), agent group creation, wiring, and the welcome DM. Return here afterward for any additional channels.

Wire New Channel

For each unwired channel:

1. Read its SKILL.md ## Channel Info for terminology, how-to-find-id, typical-use, and default-isolation
2. Ask for the platform ID using the platform's terminology
3. Ask the isolation question (see below)
4. Register with the appropriate flags

Isolation Question

Present a multiple-choice with a contextual recommendation. The three options:

• Same conversation (--session-mode "agent-shared" + existing folder) — all messages land in one session. Recommend for webhook + chat combos (GitHub + Slack).
• Same agent, separate conversations (--session-mode "shared" + existing folder) — shared workspace/memory, independent threads. Recommend for same user across platforms.
• Separate agent (new --folder) — full isolation. Recommend when different people are involved.

Use the channel's typical-use and default-isolation fields to pick the recommendation. Offer to explain more if the user is unsure — reference docs/isolation-model.md for the detailed explanation.

Register Command

pnpm exec tsx setup/index.ts --step register -- \
  --platform-id "<id>" --name "<name>" \
  --folder "<folder>" --channel "<type>" \
  --session-mode "<shared|agent-shared|per-thread>" \
  --assistant-name "<name>"

The register step creates the agent group (reusing it if the folder already exists), the messaging group, and the wiring row. createMessagingGroupAgent auto-creates the companion agent_destinations row so the agent can address the channel by name.

When creating a NEW agent group on a non-default provider, append --provider <name> (e.g. --provider codex) — there is no install-wide default; existing groups switch via ncl groups config update --provider instead.

For separate agents, also ask for a folder name and optionally a different assistant name.

Add Channel Group

When adding another group/chat on an already-configured platform (e.g. a second Telegram group):

1. Telegram: ask the isolation question first to determine intent (wire-to:<folder> for an existing agent, new-agent:<folder> for a fresh one). Run pnpm exec tsx setup/index.ts --step pair-telegram -- --intent <intent>, show the CODE from the PAIR_TELEGRAM_CODE status block, and tell the user to post @<botname> CODE in the target group (or DM the bot for a private chat). Wait for the final PAIR_TELEGRAM block. The inbound interceptor has already created the messaging_groups row with unknown_sender_policy = 'strict' and upserted the paired user — register only needs to add the wiring:

   pnpm exec tsx setup/index.ts --step register -- \
     --platform-id "<PLATFORM_ID>" --name "<group-name>" \
     --folder "<folder>" --channel "telegram" \
     --session-mode "<shared|agent-shared|per-thread>" \
     --assistant-name "<name>"
   

2. Other channels: read the channel's SKILL.md ## Channel Info for terminology and how-to-find-id. Ask for the new group/chat ID, ask the isolation question, then register.

Change Wiring

1. Show current wiring (agent_groups × messaging_group_agents)
2. Ask which channel to move and to which agent group
3. Delete the old messaging_group_agents entry, create a new one
4. Note: existing sessions stay with the old agent group; new messages route to the new one. The agent_destinations row created for the old wiring is NOT automatically removed — if you want the old agent to stop seeing the channel as a named target, delete it from agent_destinations manually.

Show Configuration

Display a readable summary showing:

• Agent groups with their wired channels (from messaging_group_agents)
• Configured-but-unwired channels (credentials present, no DB entities)
• Unconfigured channels
• Privileged users: SELECT user_id, role, agent_group_id FROM user_roles ORDER BY role='owner' DESC