Channels¶

Vandelay is channel-agnostic: the same agent handles messages from any source with shared memory and context.

Supported Channels¶

Channel	Interface	Setup
Terminal	CLI chat session	Built-in, always available
Telegram	Bot via BotFather	Telegram Setup guide
WhatsApp	Cloud API webhook	Config + Meta developer account
WebSocket	Real-time connection	Built-in, available at `/ws`

How It Works¶

All channels route through ChatService.run():

Terminal Input  ─┐
Telegram Webhook ─┤→ ChatService.run() → Agent/Team → Response
WhatsApp Webhook ─┤
WebSocket Message ┘

The ChatService normalizes incoming messages into a common format, passes them to the agent, and routes responses back through the originating channel.

Shared Memory¶

All channels use the same user_id from config. This means:

Conversations in Telegram are visible from Terminal
Memory persists across channel switches
The agent maintains one continuous context

Channel-Specific Features¶

Terminal¶

Interactive REPL with Rich markdown rendering
File paths auto-resolved

Telegram¶

Persistent typing indicator (re-sent every 4s during processing)
File sending via send_file() tool
Chat lock by telegram_chat_id for security

WhatsApp¶

Webhook verification with Meta app secret
Message signature validation

WebSocket¶

Real-time streaming
Used by the FastAPI server's built-in web interface