Channels
Use a channel plugin to reach Elowen from another chat platform. Install and configure it in Settings → Plugins.
Choose a channel
- Discord: a bot for server channels and threads. Direct messages and group DMs are not supported.
- Telegram: a bot for direct chats and groups.
- Microsoft Teams: personal and group chats, plus team channels.
- WhatsApp: direct chats and groups.
Each platform has its own setup, access rules, and presentation options. See its page for details. The adapter connects when Elowen starts. Enabling, disabling, or changing a channel plugin's settings restarts Elowen; wait until it has restarted before testing the channel. One failed connection does not prevent the other configured platforms from starting.
Give people access
First, configure the channel's role or sender policies. The first matching policy applies; a sender with no matching policy is ignored. Then link each person's platform identity to an Elowen account. The policy controls admission and may allow shared-channel controls, but it does not grant project or tool access. Those permissions come from the linked account.
A policy can also add instructions for its room, but a role or room prompt cannot grant project or tool access. A policy with Administrator access allows supported controls that affect a shared room, such as changing its model or display settings. These settings are shared with everyone in that room. Admin status does not make that person the instance owner, and a platform role is not a substitute for an Elowen account.
Know what is shared
A group, server channel, or thread is a shared conversation. People use the same channel history and settings, but each person's turn uses their own linked account's permissions. Elowen does not treat the room opener's permissions or personal context as everybody's.
A verified 1:1 chat is direct: it can use the linked person's account context, and a scheduled result can return to that chat. If the platform cannot prove that a conversation is private, it is treated as shared. Each channel keeps its conversation history even when quiet. Use /new to start a fresh channel conversation; /compact summarizes a long conversation to free context. /compact, /fast and /restart are recorded in the chat's conversation, so the agent knows they happened, and a failed command replies with its actual error. A response normally goes back through the adapter that received the message. Proactive results need a destination configured for that platform.
Use channel commands
The bot shows the commands available on that platform. Common commands include:
/new: start a fresh conversation./stop: stop the current turn./stats: show the model and context usage./compact: summarize the conversation./fast: turn Fast on or off for the room's selected model in the linked account's own choice, where supported./modeland/reasoning: choose shared-channel settings where supported./context: choose one of your own conversations to continue here./project: switch this conversation into one of your Projects. A new room conversation starts in the first Project in your Project order. Anyone who writes in a room can choose a Project they can reach, and the room then runs in that Project./help: show available commands.
Shared-channel controls and operator commands may require an admin policy. /display is available on Discord, Telegram, and Teams. Commands unavailable on a surface are not shown, and installed plugins can add commands. Questions directed to a channel participant use its native controls: Discord buttons and menus, Telegram inline keyboards, Teams Adaptive Cards, or numbered WhatsApp replies. On Telegram and Teams, only the person who was asked or an admin can answer. On WhatsApp, only the person who was asked can answer. On Discord, any member admitted by the role policies can answer.
Adjust how replies appear
Discord, Telegram, and Teams let you set defaults in the channel plugin's settings and, where available, change them for one channel with /display. Options include showing no tool activity, status only, or live output; sending a complete answer or streaming it as it is written; and showing hidden, summarized, or rolling tool output. You can also choose whether each tool gets a separate message. In the plugin settings these are Tool activity, Answer delivery, Tool output detail, and Tool message layout.
WhatsApp does not provide /display. Each channel plugin documents its own defaults and other controls.
Voice notes
Voice notes on Discord, Telegram and WhatsApp use core Voice mode, configured in Settings → Voice mode. For a linked account with the voice grant, Elowen transcribes the note and answers with text and a voice note. Voice mode must be enabled and the account must have room under its spend limit. When transcription is refused, the message is marked as untranscribed audio.
When a channel does not respond
Check that the plugin is enabled, the bot can connect, and the sender or role matches a policy. A role match alone is not enough: the sender also needs a linked Elowen account. On platforms with mention controls, check whether replies without a mention are enabled. Also check that the bot has permission to read and send messages in the selected channel. If Telegram misses group messages, check BotFather's Group Privacy setting; if Discord ignores messages, confirm you're testing in a server channel or thread, not a direct message.
Responses normally go back to the channel where the message was sent. An eligible human turn interrupted by a restart can resume through the same channel and deliver its answer there; this does not apply to scheduled, unlinked, or image-bearing turns. Proactive notifications need a configured destination on the platform.