nanoclaw/.claude/skills/add-whatsapp-v2/SKILL.md

name, description

name	description
add-whatsapp-v2	Add WhatsApp channel to NanoClaw v2 using native Baileys adapter. Direct connection — no Chat SDK bridge. Uses QR code or pairing code for authentication.

Add WhatsApp Channel

Adds WhatsApp support to NanoClaw v2 using the native Baileys adapter (no Chat SDK bridge).

Pre-flight

Check if src/channels/whatsapp.ts exists and the import is uncommented in src/channels/index.ts. If both are in place, skip to Credentials.

Install

Install the adapter packages

pnpm install @whiskeysockets/baileys@^6.7.21 pino@^9.6.0 qrcode@^1.5.4 @types/qrcode@^1.5.6

Enable the channel

If src/channels/whatsapp.ts is missing, fetch it from upstream:

git remote -v | grep -q upstream || git remote add upstream https://github.com/qwibitai/nanoclaw.git
git fetch upstream v2
git checkout upstream/v2 -- src/channels/whatsapp.ts

Uncomment or add the WhatsApp import in src/channels/index.ts:

// whatsapp (native, no Chat SDK)
import './whatsapp.js';

Build

pnpm run build

Credentials

WhatsApp uses linked-device authentication — no API key, just a one-time pairing from your phone.

Check current state

Check if WhatsApp is already authenticated. If store/auth/creds.json exists, skip to "Shared vs dedicated number".

test -f store/auth/creds.json && echo "WhatsApp auth exists" || echo "No WhatsApp auth"

Detect environment

Check whether the environment is headless (no display server):

[[ -z "$DISPLAY" && -z "$WAYLAND_DISPLAY" && "$OSTYPE" != darwin* ]] && echo "IS_HEADLESS=true" || echo "IS_HEADLESS=false"

Ask the user

Use AskUserQuestion to collect configuration. Adapt auth options based on environment:

If IS_HEADLESS=true AND not WSL → AskUserQuestion: How do you want to authenticate WhatsApp?

• Pairing code (Recommended) - Enter a numeric code on your phone (no camera needed, requires phone number)
• QR code in terminal - Displays QR code in the terminal (can be too small on some displays)

Otherwise (macOS, desktop Linux, or WSL) → AskUserQuestion: How do you want to authenticate WhatsApp?

• QR code in browser (Recommended) - Opens a browser window with a large, scannable QR code
• Pairing code - Enter a numeric code on your phone (no camera needed, requires phone number)
• QR code in terminal - Displays QR code in the terminal (can be too small on some displays)

If they chose pairing code:

AskUserQuestion: What is your phone number? (Digits only — country code followed by your 10-digit number, no + prefix, spaces, or dashes. Example: 14155551234 where 1 is the US country code and 4155551234 is the phone number.)

Clean previous auth state (if re-authenticating)

rm -rf store/auth/

Run WhatsApp authentication

For QR code in browser (recommended):

pnpm exec tsx setup/index.ts --step whatsapp-auth -- --method qr-browser

(Bash timeout: 150000ms)

Tell the user:

A browser window will open with a QR code.

1. Open WhatsApp > Settings > Linked Devices > Link a Device
2. Scan the QR code in the browser
3. The page will show "Authenticated!" when done

For QR code in terminal:

pnpm exec tsx setup/index.ts --step whatsapp-auth -- --method qr-terminal

(Bash timeout: 150000ms)

Tell the user:

1. Open WhatsApp > Settings > Linked Devices > Link a Device
2. Scan the QR code displayed in the terminal

For pairing code:

Tell the user to have WhatsApp open on Settings > Linked Devices > Link a Device, ready to tap "Link with phone number instead" — the code expires in ~60 seconds and must be entered immediately.

Run the auth process in the background and poll store/pairing-code.txt for the code:

rm -f store/pairing-code.txt && pnpm exec tsx setup/index.ts --step whatsapp-auth -- --method pairing-code --phone <their-phone-number> > /tmp/wa-auth.log 2>&1 &

Then immediately poll for the code (do NOT wait for the background command to finish):

for i in $(seq 1 20); do [ -f store/pairing-code.txt ] && cat store/pairing-code.txt && break; sleep 1; done

Display the code to the user the moment it appears. Tell them:

Enter this code now — it expires in ~60 seconds.

1. Open WhatsApp > Settings > Linked Devices > Link a Device
2. Tap Link with phone number instead
3. Enter the code immediately

After the user enters the code, poll for authentication to complete:

for i in $(seq 1 60); do grep -q 'STATUS: authenticated' /tmp/wa-auth.log 2>/dev/null && echo "authenticated" && break; grep -q 'STATUS: failed' /tmp/wa-auth.log 2>/dev/null && echo "failed" && break; sleep 2; done

If failed: logged_out → delete store/auth/ and re-run. timeout → ask user, offer retry.

Verify authentication succeeded

test -f store/auth/creds.json && echo "Authentication successful" || echo "Authentication failed"

Shared vs dedicated number

AskUserQuestion: Is this a shared phone number (personal WhatsApp) or a dedicated number?

• Shared number — your personal WhatsApp (bot prefixes messages with its name)
• Dedicated number — a separate phone/SIM for the assistant

If dedicated, add to .env:

ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER=true

Next Steps

If you're in the middle of /setup, return to the setup flow now.

Otherwise, run /manage-channels to wire this channel to an agent group.

Channel Info

• type: whatsapp
• terminology: WhatsApp calls them "groups" and "chats." A "chat" is a 1:1 DM; a "group" has multiple members.
• how-to-find-id: DMs use <phone>@s.whatsapp.net (e.g. 14155551234@s.whatsapp.net). Groups use <id>@g.us. To find your number: node -e "const c=JSON.parse(require('fs').readFileSync('store/auth/creds.json','utf-8'));console.log(c.me?.id?.split(':')[0]+'@s.whatsapp.net')". Groups are auto-discovered — check sqlite3 data/v2.db "SELECT platform_id, name FROM messaging_groups WHERE channel_type='whatsapp' AND is_group=1".
• supports-threads: no
• typical-use: Interactive chat — direct messages or small groups
• default-isolation: Same agent group if you're the only participant across multiple chats. Separate agent group if different people are in different groups.

Features

• Markdown formatting — **bold**→*bold*, *italic*→_italic_, headings→bold, code blocks preserved
• Approval questions — ask_user_question renders with /approve, /reject slash commands
• File attachments — send and receive images, video, audio, documents
• Reactions — send emoji reactions on messages
• Typing indicators — composing presence updates
• Credential requests — text fallback (WhatsApp has no modal support)

Not supported (WhatsApp linked device limitation): edit messages, delete messages.

Troubleshooting

QR code expired

QR codes expire after ~60 seconds. Re-run the auth command:

rm -rf store/auth/ && pnpm exec tsx setup/index.ts --step whatsapp-auth -- --method qr-browser

Pairing code not working

Codes expire in ~60 seconds. Delete auth and retry:

rm -rf store/auth/ && pnpm exec tsx setup/index.ts --step whatsapp-auth -- --method pairing-code --phone <phone>

Ensure: digits only (no +), phone has internet, WhatsApp is updated.

If pairing code keeps failing, switch to QR-browser auth instead:

rm -rf store/auth/ && pnpm exec tsx setup/index.ts --step whatsapp-auth -- --method qr-browser

"waiting for this message" on reactions

Signal sessions corrupted from rapid restarts. Clear sessions:

systemctl --user stop nanoclaw
rm store/auth/session-*.json
systemctl --user start nanoclaw

Bot not responding

1. Auth exists: test -f store/auth/creds.json
2. Connected: grep "Connected to WhatsApp" logs/nanoclaw.log | tail -1
3. Channel wired: sqlite3 data/v2.db "SELECT mg.platform_id, mg.name FROM messaging_groups mg JOIN messaging_group_agents mga ON mg.id=mga.messaging_group_id WHERE mg.channel_type='whatsapp'"
4. Service running: systemctl --user status nanoclaw

"conflict" disconnection

Two instances connected with same credentials. Ensure only one NanoClaw process is running.