Telegram · Discord · WhatsApp

All three gateways run on your machine over long-polling or websockets — no public URL, no port forwarding, no cloud account. Start them with /connect in the TUI, or the CLI commands below.

Telegram

Setup

1. Create a bot — open @BotFather, run /newbot, save the token.
2. Configure via /connect in the TUI (recommended), or ~/.astra/settings.json:

{
  "telegram": {
    "botToken": "123456789:ABCdef...",
    "allowedUserIds": [987654321],
    "workdir": "D:/projects/MyRepo"
  }
}

export TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=123456789:ABCdef...
export TELEGRAM_ALLOWED_USER_IDS=987654321

3. Find your user ID — DM the bot and send /whoami. If the allowlist is empty, check the console for Rejected message from user <id>.
4. Add your ID to allowedUserIds and restart.

Run

npm run dev -- telegram --workdir D:/projects/MyRepo
# or after build:
astra telegram --workdir D:/projects/MyRepo
astra telegram --boss --verbose

While the gateway runs, the terminal streams a live log of Telegram activity, including approval prompts and their outcome. On first connect, send any message to receive a welcome guide. Keep the process alive on login with Task Scheduler or pm2.

Discord

Setup

1. Create an app in the Discord Developer Portal → New Application → Bot → Reset Token. Enable Message Content Intent. Copy the token.
2. Optionally invite the bot to a server via OAuth2 so you can find it.
3. Configure via /connect, settings, or env:

{
  "discord": {
    "botToken": "...",
    "allowedUserIds": ["123456789012345678"],
    "workdir": "D:/projects/MyRepo"
  }
}

export DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN=...
export DISCORD_ALLOWED_USER_IDS=123456789012345678

4. Find your user ID — DM the bot, send /whoami, add the snowflake to allowedUserIds, restart.

Run

npm run dev -- discord --workdir D:/projects/MyRepo
astra discord --workdir D:/projects/MyRepo
astra discord --boss --verbose

Commands match Telegram (/start, /status, /build, /plan, /boss, /model, /schedules, /compact, …). Shell approvals use Approve / Deny buttons in the DM.

WhatsApp

Chat from WhatsApp using Baileys (unofficial WhatsApp Web). Scan a QR code once; the session is stored under ~/.astra/whatsapp-auth/. No Meta Cloud API.

Setup

{
  "whatsapp": {
    "allowedUserIds": ["15551234567"],
    "workdir": "D:/projects/MyRepo"
  }
}

export WHATSAPP_ALLOWED_USER_IDS=15551234567

Use your number in E.164 digits without +.

Run and scan QR

npm run dev -- whatsapp --workdir D:/projects/MyRepo
astra whatsapp --workdir D:/projects/MyRepo

Scan the terminal QR with WhatsApp → Linked Devices. On later runs, auth is reused until you log out or delete whatsapp-auth/. Find your ID by sending /whoami and confirming it matches the allowlist.

Approvals

Same slash commands as Telegram/Discord. Approvals: reply approve or deny (and continue for browser steps). Groups are ignored.

Schedules & reminders

With any gateway running, ask Astra to schedule reminders or daily recurring tasks — e.g. a morning news briefing — and it will deliver them on time. Manage them with /schedules. Active schedules persist in ~/.astra/schedules.json.

Security notes

• Only allowlisted user IDs / phone numbers can chat (except /whoami).
• Treat bot tokens and the whatsapp-auth/ folder like passwords — never commit them.
• WhatsApp uses an unofficial API — ban risk; prefer a secondary number.