git:20260712.33b33b8 to git:20260713.4fa065a

+ Adds WhatsApp support via the native Baileys adapter — a direct WhatsApp Web

+ connection, no Chat SDK bridge. NanoClaw doesn't ship channels in trunk — this

+ skill copies the WhatsApp adapter in from the `channels` branch.

+ The mechanical steps under **Apply** carry `nc:` directive fences: an agent

+ reads the prose and applies them, and a parser can apply them deterministically

+ from the same document. Every directive is idempotent, so the whole skill is

+ safe to re-run; anything a parser can't apply falls back to the prose beside it.

+ ## Number safety check (required)

+ Complete this check before running any install or authentication command. If

+ the user already said they want to use their **shared**, **personal**,

+ **main**, **existing**, or **everyday** WhatsApp number, treat it as a shared

+ number and show the warning immediately. Do not ask the number-type question

+ again.

+ Otherwise, ask which WhatsApp number NanoClaw will use:

+ ```nc:prompt number_mode validate:^(dedicated|shared)$

+ Which WhatsApp number will NanoClaw use? `dedicated` (recommended) — a separate number used only for NanoClaw (spare SIM, eSIM, or old phone). `shared` — your existing everyday / personal WhatsApp number.

+ ```

+ If the answer is `shared`, show this warning — tell the user:

+ ```nc:operator when:number_mode=shared

+ ⚠️ Risk to your WhatsApp account

+ Connecting your shared or personal number could cause WhatsApp to temporarily suspend or permanently ban that number. You could lose access to the WhatsApp account, chats, and groups you rely on.

+ We strongly recommend using a separate, dedicated number for NanoClaw.

+ On your personal number, the agent lives only in your "You" / self-chat. Messages other people send you are ignored entirely — never read, never answered, never flagged for approval. Nobody else can talk to the agent.

+ If you want the agent reachable as its own contact, consider:

+ • Telegram — a bot takes ~2 minutes to set up

+ • a dedicated WhatsApp number — spare SIM, eSIM, or old phone

+ • /add-whatsapp-cloud — the official Meta Business API

+ ```

+ Then confirm how to proceed. Do not continue with installation or

+ authentication unless the user explicitly selects the second option:

+ ```nc:prompt shared_confirm validate:^(continue|dedicated)$ when:number_mode=shared

+ How would you like to proceed? `dedicated` (recommended) — go back and use a dedicated number. `continue` — I understand the risk, continue with my shared number.

+ ```

+ Remember the effective mode for the rest of this workflow: it is `shared` only

+ when the user explicitly acknowledged the risk and continued; anyone who chose

+ a dedicated number — up front or at the warning — continues as a

+ dedicated-number install without seeing the warning again:

+ ```nc:run capture:mode effect:fetch when:number_mode=dedicated

+ echo dedicated

+ ```

+ ```nc:run capture:mode effect:fetch when:shared_confirm=continue

+ echo shared

+ ```

+ ```nc:run capture:mode effect:fetch when:shared_confirm=dedicated

+ echo dedicated

+ ```

+ ## Apply

+ ### 1. Copy the adapter and its registration test

+ Fetch the `channels` branch and copy the WhatsApp adapter, its registration

+ test, and the `whatsapp-formatting` container skill (overwrite — the branch is

+ canonical). The `whatsapp-auth` setup step is maintained in trunk, so it is not

+ copied here:

+ ```nc:copy from-branch:channels

+ src/channels/whatsapp.ts

+ src/channels/whatsapp-registration.test.ts

+ container/skills/whatsapp-formatting/SKILL.md

+ container/skills/whatsapp-formatting/instructions.md

+ ### 2. Register the adapter

+ Append the self-registration import to the channel barrel (skipped if the line

+ is already present). This one line is the skill's only reach-in into core:

+ ```nc:append to:src/channels/index.ts

+ ### 3. Install the adapter packages

+ Pinned to exact versions — the supply-chain policy rejects ranges and `latest`.

+ Baileys is the WhatsApp Web client; `qrcode` renders the device-link QR in the

+ terminal; `pino` is Baileys' logger:

+ ```nc:dep

+ @whiskeysockets/baileys@7.0.0-rc.9

+ qrcode@1.5.4

+ @types/qrcode@1.5.6

+ pino@9.6.0

+ ### 4. Build and validate

+ Build first: it typechecks the adapter against core and proves the dependencies

+ are installed. Then run the one integration test.

+ ```nc:run effect:build

+ ```

+ ```nc:run effect:test

+ `whatsapp-registration.test.ts` imports the real channel barrel and asserts the

+ registry contains `whatsapp`. It goes red if the `import './whatsapp.js';` line

+ is deleted or drifts, if the barrel fails to evaluate, or if

+ `@whiskeysockets/baileys` isn't installed (the import throws) — so it also covers

+ the dependency from step 3. End-to-end delivery against a real WhatsApp number is

+ verified manually once the service runs.

+ ## Authenticate

+ WhatsApp uses linked-device authentication — no API key, just a one-time pairing

+ from your phone. The adapter is installed and registered, but its factory returns

+ `null` (and the channel stays dark) until `store/auth/creds.json` exists.

+ The number safety check above is still required even when credentials already

+ exist. If `store/auth/creds.json` exists, skip ahead to "Dedicated vs personal

+ number" after completing the safety check — the link step below reports the

+ already-linked number and moves on.

+ Pick how to link the device. `qr` shows a rotating QR you scan with your phone's

+ camera; `pairing-code` shows an 8-character code you type into WhatsApp (no camera

+ needed, but it needs your phone number):

+ ```nc:prompt auth_method validate:^(qr|pairing-code)$

+ How do you want to link WhatsApp? Type `qr` to scan a QR code in this terminal, or `pairing-code` to enter a code on your phone (no camera needed).

+ The pairing-code method needs the number you're linking, the way WhatsApp expects

+ it — digits only, country code first, no `+`, spaces, or dashes (the QR method

+ skips this entirely):

+ ```nc:prompt phone validate:^\d{8,15}$ when:auth_method=pairing-code

+ Your WhatsApp phone number — digits only, country code first (e.g. 14155551234 for +1 415-555-1234).

+ Point the user at the right screen before the code appears. For the QR method,

+ tell the user:

+ ```nc:operator when:auth_method=qr

+ Link WhatsApp by QR:

+ 1. On your phone, open WhatsApp → Settings → Linked Devices → Link a Device.

+ 2. A QR code will appear in this terminal below and refresh every ~20 seconds. Point your phone's camera at it to scan.

+ For the pairing-code method, tell the user:

+ ```nc:operator when:auth_method=pairing-code

+ Link WhatsApp by pairing code:

+ 1. On your phone, open WhatsApp → Settings → Linked Devices → Link a Device → tap "Link with phone number instead".

+ 2. An 8-character code will appear in this terminal below. Enter it on your phone immediately — it expires in about 60 seconds.

+ Now run the linked-device handshake. It streams the live QR (or the pairing-code

+ card) to this terminal and, on success, reports the linked WhatsApp number. Run

+ the command for the method chosen above — `qr` or `pairing-code`:

+ ```nc:run effect:step capture:bot_phone=PHONE when:auth_method=qr

+ ```nc:run effect:step capture:bot_phone=PHONE when:auth_method=pairing-code

+ pnpm exec tsx setup/index.ts --step whatsapp-auth -- --method pairing-code --phone {{phone}}

+ ```

+ If the handshake fails (`logged_out` or a timeout), the code expired — clear

+ `store/auth/` and run the step again for a fresh one. See Troubleshooting.

+ A successful link reports the number back as `bot_phone`. If it came back empty,

+ the device never confirmed (an expired QR or pairing code), so don't restart or

+ wire against a blank number — clear `store/auth/` and re-run the link step first:

+ ```nc:run effect:check

+ [ -n "{{bot_phone}}" ]

+ ```

+ ## Your personal chat number (dedicated number only)

+ On a dedicated number, the agent owns the linked line and you chat with it from

+ your own, different number. Collect that number — it is required, and it is

+ *not* the number you just linked. Tell the user:

+ ```nc:operator when:mode=dedicated

+ The agent is signed in as +{{bot_phone}}.

+ Now, your personal number — the one you'll chat with the agent from. It'll show up as a normal two-way conversation with the agent's contact.

+ ```

+ ```nc:prompt chat_phone validate:^\d{8,15}$ when:mode=dedicated

+ Your personal number, where you'll chat from — digits only, country code first (e.g. 14155551234). Required — this must be YOUR number, not the agent's linked one.

+ Chatting from the bot's own number IS the shared-number setup — if the number

+ given equals the linked number, stop and route through the same interception

+ screen as the up-front pick: show the account-risk warning from the number

+ safety check again and get explicit acknowledgement before treating this

+ install as shared (or collect a genuinely different personal number and stay

+ dedicated). If the install does become shared, correct the mode everywhere it

+ was recorded — in particular make sure `.env` ends up with

+ `ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER=false`, rewriting a `true` that may already have been

+ written; a stale `true` on a personal number makes the bot claim messages

+ addressed to the human:

+ ```nc:run effect:check when:mode=dedicated

+ [ "{{chat_phone}}" != "{{bot_phone}}" ]

+ ## Dedicated vs personal number

+ The adapter behaves fundamentally differently depending on whether the linked

+ number is the assistant's own or the operator's personal one. The switch is

+ `ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER` in `.env`, read by the adapter itself at startup.

+ **Inference rule: absent (or anything other than `true`) means shared/personal**

+ — the safe default, since misreading a personal number as dedicated makes the

+ bot claim messages addressed to the human.

+ - **Shared/personal number** (`ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER` unset or not `true`) — DMs to this number and group @-tags of it address the *human*, not the bot. The adapter never emits a mention signal (`mentions: 'never'` in its declared channel defaults), so: no stranger DM ever auto-creates a messaging group or raises an admin approval card; group wirings default to a name pattern (`\b<AgentName>\b`) instead of platform mentions; auto-created chats default to `unknown_sender_policy: 'strict'`; outbound messages are prefixed with the assistant's name.

+ - **Dedicated number** (`ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER=true`) — everything sent to the number is for the bot. DMs and group mentions carry a real mention signal (`mentions: 'platform'`), unknown senders escalate via `request_approval` approval cards, and card-approved groups wire with `engage_mode: 'mention'`. No name prefix on outbound.

+ Use the mode selected in the required safety check. If information discovered

+ later contradicts that selection, ask again before changing modes; switching to

+ shared requires the same warning and explicit acknowledgement.

+ Write the answer to `.env` **explicitly in both cases** (don't rely on the

+ inference rule for new installs), replacing any existing

+ `ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER` line. Written in both modes so a re-run that

+ switches dedicated → shared doesn't leave a stale `true` behind:

+ ```nc:run effect:external when:mode=dedicated

+ grep -q '^ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER=' .env && sed -i.bak 's/^ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER=.*/ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER=true/' .env && rm -f .env.bak || echo 'ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER=true' >> .env

+ ```nc:run effect:external when:mode=shared

+ grep -q '^ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER=' .env && sed -i.bak 's/^ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER=.*/ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER=false/' .env && rm -f .env.bak || echo 'ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER=false' >> .env

+ ```

+ ### Assistant name

+ Both modes: keep the adapter's outbound prefix / mention normalization in sync

+ with the chosen agent name (the adapter's config default is `Andy` otherwise).

+ Use the assistant's already-chosen name if one was configured; otherwise ask:

+ ```nc:prompt agent_name normalize:trim validate:^.+$

+ What should your assistant be called? (e.g. `Nano` — used as the outbound name prefix on a shared number, and for @-name engagement)

+ ```

+ Persist it to `.env` as `ASSISTANT_NAME`, replacing any existing

+ `ASSISTANT_NAME` line (the value is written literally — no pattern expansion):

+ ```nc:run effect:external

+ touch .env && grep -v '^ASSISTANT_NAME=' .env > .env.tmp; printf 'ASSISTANT_NAME=%s\n' '{{agent_name}}' >> .env.tmp && mv .env.tmp .env

+ ## Self-chat engagement (shared number only)

+

+ On a shared number the agent lives in your "You" / self-chat. Choose whether it

+ responds to every message you write there, or only to messages addressed to it

+ by name:

+

+ ```nc:prompt selfchat_engage validate:^(all|mention)$ when:mode=shared

+ Respond to every self-chat message, or only messages starting with @<agent name>? `all` — every message (the self-chat becomes the agent's inbox). `mention` — only messages starting with @<agent name> (keep the self-chat for your own notes too).

+ ```

+

+ For `mention`, the engage pattern is `@` plus the regex-escaped agent name,

+ anchored to the start of the message, with a trailing `\b` word-boundary guard.

+ `\b` only terminates a match after a word character — skip it for names ending

+ in punctuation, where it would never match:

+

+ ```nc:run capture:engage_pattern effect:fetch when:selfchat_engage=mention

+ node -e 'const n=process.argv[1];const e=n.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g,"\\$&");console.log(/\w$/.test(n)?"^@"+e+"\\b":"^@"+e)' '{{agent_name}}'

+ ```

+

+ `engage_pattern` is what the self-chat wiring uses: when wiring this channel

+ with `scripts/init-first-agent.ts`, pass it as `--engage-pattern`. Choosing

+ `all` leaves it unset — the wiring falls back to the respond-to-everything

+ default for a DM.

+

+ ## Restart

+

+ Restart NanoClaw so it loads the WhatsApp adapter and sees your credentials and

+ settings, and wait for its CLI socket before resolving. Restart only after

+ `ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER` / `ASSISTANT_NAME` land in `.env` — the adapter

+ computes its shared/dedicated mode and name once at module load, so restarting

+ earlier would leave it running with defaults:

+

+ ```nc:run effect:restart

+ bash setup/lib/restart.sh

+ ```

+

+ ## Resolve your DM channel

+

+ Resolve the conversation address as the WhatsApp JID for the number you chat

+ from — the linked number itself for a shared account (your self-chat), or the

+ personal number you gave for a dedicated one. Run the one matching the mode:

+

+ ```nc:run capture:platform_id effect:fetch when:mode=shared

+ echo "{{bot_phone}}@s.whatsapp.net"

+ ```

+ ```nc:run capture:platform_id effect:fetch when:mode=dedicated

+ echo "{{chat_phone}}@s.whatsapp.net"

+ ```

+

+ For WhatsApp, your owner handle is that same JID:

+

+ ```nc:run capture:owner_handle effect:fetch

+ echo "{{platform_id}}"

+ ```

+

+ `owner_handle` and `platform_id` are what the owner-wiring step needs. The

+ greeting goes out over your WhatsApp chat as soon as the service reconnects with

+ the linked credentials.

+

+ For a shared number, set expectations — tell the user:

+ ```nc:operator when:mode=shared

+ Self-chat mode: only your "You" / self-chat is connected. Messages other people send to your number are ignored — never seen, never asked about. The welcome message will land in your "You" chat on WhatsApp.

+ Wire a specific chat later with /manage-channels.

+ ```

+

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

+ this channel with `/init-first-agent` (or `/manage-channels`) — in shared

+ `mention` mode, pass the engage pattern above via `--engage-pattern`.

+

+ - **platform-id-format**: DMs use `<phone>@s.whatsapp.net` (e.g. `14155551234@s.whatsapp.net`). Groups use `<id>@g.us`. Native adapter — the JID is the platform ID as-is, no `whatsapp:` prefix.

+ - **how-to-find-id**: To find your linked number after auth: `node -e "const c=JSON.parse(require('fs').readFileSync('store/auth/creds.json','utf-8'));console.log(c.me?.id?.split(':')[0].split('@')[0]+'@s.whatsapp.net')"`. Groups are auto-discovered — check `pnpm exec tsx scripts/q.ts data/v2.db "SELECT platform_id, name FROM messaging_groups WHERE channel_type='whatsapp' AND is_group=1"`.

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

+ ## Alternatives

+

+ ### QR code in a browser

+

+ Besides the in-terminal QR and the pairing code the Apply flow uses, this skill

+ ships a helper that renders the rotating QR as a PNG in your default browser —

+ handy when the terminal QR is too small to scan reliably. It spawns the same

+ `whatsapp-auth` step, parses each rotating QR from its `WHATSAPP_AUTH_QR` status

+ blocks, and serves the current one on a local HTTP server (default port `8765`,

+ falls back to a free port):

+

+ ```bash

+ pnpm exec tsx .claude/skills/add-whatsapp/scripts/wa-qr-browser.ts

+ ```

+

+ Flags: `--clean` wipes `store/auth/` before spawning, `--port N` pins the port.

+

+ A browser window opens with a QR code. On your phone, open WhatsApp →

+ **Settings** → **Linked Devices** → **Link a Device**, scan the QR, and the page

+ shows "Authenticated!" when done.

+

+ ### Headless environments

+

+ On a headless host (no display server — no `$DISPLAY`/`$WAYLAND_DISPLAY`, not

+ macOS), the browser method can't open a window. Detect it and fall back to the

+ pairing-code method (no camera needed):

+

+ ```bash

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

+ ```

+

+ ## Optional configuration

+

+ If the assistant runs on a dedicated number (its own phone/SIM, not your personal

+ WhatsApp), tell the adapter so it doesn't prefix outbound replies with its name:

+

+ ```bash

+ ASSISTANT_HAS_OWN_NUMBER=true

+ ```

+

+ The Apply flow writes this key for you **in both modes** — `true` for a

+ dedicated number, `false` for a shared (personal) one — so a re-run that

+ switches modes never leaves a stale value behind. Absent (or anything other

+ than `true`) is read as shared/personal, the safe default.

+

+ ### QR code or pairing code expired

+ Codes expire after ~60 seconds. The QR rotates automatically while the auth step

+ is running; if the step exited, clear the auth state and re-run it:

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

+ For pairing code, ensure digits only (no `+`), the phone has internet, and

+ WhatsApp is updated:

+

+ ```bash

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

+ ```

+

+ WhatsApp's pairing-code flow occasionally rejects valid codes with "Couldn't link

+ device." This is a server-side rejection unrelated to the code itself. If you hit

+ it more than once, switch to the QR method — it has a noticeably higher success

+ rate.

+

+ WhatsApp's pairing-code flow occasionally rejects valid codes with "Couldn't link

+ device — An error happened. Please try again." This is a server-side rejection

+ unrelated to the code itself; we've seen it happen twice in a row on fresh

+ dedicated numbers. If you hit it more than once, switch to QR-browser auth — it

+ has a noticeably higher success rate:

+ WhatsApp sessions corrupted from rapid restarts. Clear sessions, then restart the

+ service. Run from your NanoClaw project root:

+ Two instances connected with the same credentials. Ensure only one NanoClaw

+ process is running.