add-whatsapp

name: add-whatsapp description: | Add WhatsApp as a channel via Baileys (WhatsApp Web bridge). Use when the user says "add whatsapp", "connect whatsapp", "set up whatsapp", or "whatsapp channel". triggers: - "add whatsapp" - "connect whatsapp" - "whatsapp channel" - "whatsapp baileys" - "whatsapp web"

Add WhatsApp Channel

Walk the user through adding a WhatsApp channel to Talon via the Baileys connector. Baileys connects as a WhatsApp Web client — just scan a QR code. No Meta Business account, no webhooks, no public endpoint needed. One question at a time.

Pre-flight

Check if a whatsapp channel already exists:

npx talonctl list-channels

Step 1: Install Baileys

Baileys and its QR rendering dependency are optional. Install them first:

npm install @whiskeysockets/baileys qrcode-terminal

Step 2: Add the Channel

Ask for a channel name (suggest my-whatsapp), then:

npx talonctl add-channel --name <name> --type whatsappBaileys

Then ask: "Will you use a dedicated WhatsApp number for the bot, or your own personal number (self-chat mode)?"

Then ask: "Do you want to require a trigger word (e.g. @Talon) to activate the bot, or should every message be processed?"

Trigger words are especially useful in self-chat mode so notes-to-self don't trigger the bot. They also work in dedicated-number mode.

Edit talond.yaml to set the config section based on their answers:

Dedicated number:

config:
  authDir: './baileys-auth'

Self-chat with trigger word:

config:
  authDir: './baileys-auth'
  selfChat: true
  triggerWords: ['@Talon']

Self-chat without trigger word:

config:
  authDir: './baileys-auth'
  selfChat: true

No environment variables or secrets needed — authentication is via QR code.

Step 3: Authenticate

Run the standalone auth command — it prints a QR code to the terminal and waits for a scan:

npx talonctl whatsapp-auth --auth-dir ./baileys-auth

Tell the user:

1. A QR code will appear in the terminal
2. Open WhatsApp on your phone > Settings > Linked Devices > Link a Device
3. Scan the QR code
4. Once authenticated, credentials are saved and the command exits
5. Now start (or restart) talond — no QR code will be needed

The --auth-dir must match the authDir in the channel config. Default is ./baileys-auth.

Step 4: Security — Restrict Access

Important: By default, anyone who knows the bot's phone number can chat with it. Walk the user through discovering their sender ID and locking down access:

How to find sender IDs

WhatsApp no longer uses phone numbers as identifiers in all cases. Contacts may appear as opaque "LID" numbers (e.g. 96490886312027@lid) instead of phone-based JIDs (e.g. 31612345678@s.whatsapp.net). You cannot predict which format you'll get, so the only reliable way to find a sender's ID is from the logs:

1. Temporarily set logLevel: debug in talond.yaml
2. Start talond (or restart it)
3. Send a test message from each phone that should be allowed
4. In the logs, find the line: whatsapp-baileys: inbound message received
5. Copy the jid value — the part before the @ is the sender ID
6. Add each sender ID to allowedSenders in the channel config
7. Set logLevel back to info and restart talond

Ask the user to send a test message and share the jid from the logs so you can help them configure allowedSenders:

config:
  authDir: './baileys-auth'
  allowedSenders:
    - '96490886312027'              # sender ID from logs (before the @)

When the list is omitted or empty, all senders are accepted.

Strongly recommended: Always configure allowedSenders for production use. An open WhatsApp bot can be abused by anyone who discovers the number.

Step 5: Verify (Baileys)

Send a WhatsApp message to the connected number from an allowed phone. You should get a response within a few seconds. Then send from a phone that is not in allowedSenders and confirm the message is dropped (check logs for "message from disallowed sender, dropping").

If it doesn't work:

journalctl --user -u talond -f

If you see "logged out": delete the authDir folder, re-run talonctl whatsapp-auth, and restart talond.

Bind a Persona

npx talonctl list-personas

Ask which persona to bind, then:

npx talonctl bind --persona <name> --channel <channel-name>

Validate

npx talonctl env-check
npx talonctl doctor

Troubleshooting

Config Reference

channels:
  - name: my-whatsapp
    type: whatsappBaileys
    config:
      authDir: './baileys-auth'                  # Optional (default: ./baileys-auth)
      markOnlineOnConnect: false                 # Optional (default: false)
      browser: ['Talon', 'Chrome', '1.0']        # Optional (default: Browsers.appropriate('Talon'))
      selfChat: false                            # Optional — self-chat mode (default: false)
      triggerWords: ['@Talon']                   # Optional — require trigger word to activate
      allowedSenders:                            # Optional — restrict who can message the bot
        - '96490886312027'