title	Channel Adapters
description	IChannel interface, message types, writing a custom channel adapter, adapter lifecycle, DI registration, and health monitoring.

Channel Adapters

Channel adapters connect the JD.AI Gateway to external messaging platforms. Each adapter implements the IChannel interface and translates platform-specific messaging into a unified ChannelMessage format.

JD.AI ships with six adapters:

Channel	Package	Transport
Discord	`JD.AI.Channels.Discord`	WebSocket (Discord.Net)
Signal	`JD.AI.Channels.Signal`	JSON-RPC via signal-cli
Slack	`JD.AI.Channels.Slack`	Socket Mode (SlackNet)
Telegram	`JD.AI.Channels.Telegram`	Long polling (Telegram.Bot)
WebChat	`JD.AI.Channels.Web`	SignalR bridge
OpenClaw	`JD.AI.Channels.OpenClaw`	HTTP polling

IChannel interface

Every adapter implements IChannel from JD.AI.Core:

public interface IChannel : IAsyncDisposable
{
    string ChannelType { get; }
    string DisplayName { get; }
    bool IsConnected { get; }

    Task ConnectAsync(CancellationToken ct = default);
    Task DisconnectAsync(CancellationToken ct = default);
    Task SendMessageAsync(string conversationId, string content, CancellationToken ct = default);

    event Func<ChannelMessage, Task>? MessageReceived;
}

Member	Purpose
`ChannelType`	Unique identifier (`"discord"`, `"slack"`, etc.)
`DisplayName`	Human-readable name for UI and API
`IsConnected`	Live connection status
`ConnectAsync`	Establish the external connection
`DisconnectAsync`	Gracefully tear down the connection
`SendMessageAsync`	Send an outbound message to a conversation
`MessageReceived`	Event raised when an inbound message arrives

ICommandAwareChannel

Channels supporting native command registration implement:

public interface ICommandAwareChannel
{
    Task RegisterCommandsAsync(ICommandRegistry registry, CancellationToken ct = default);
}

The gateway automatically registers commands with command-aware channels after connection. Discord and Slack support native slash commands; Signal uses prefix commands (!jdai-help).

Direct Discord command fast path (primary)

In direct Discord integration (JD.AI.Channels.Discord routed through GatewayOrchestrator), JD.AI executes command fast paths before LLM routing:

!model list → models
!model / !model current → status
!model set <model> → switch <model>
Mention + bang is supported (for example: <@bot-id> !model list)

Matched fast-path commands are executed through the shared gateway command dispatcher and bypass LLM inference.

Native commands vs OpenClaw bridge commands

Native adapters (Discord/Slack/Signal) are the primary runtime path and share the same gateway command dispatcher.
OpenClaw remains an optional compatibility transport. It does not register platform-native JD.AI commands; bridge sessions support /jdai-... command messages and reuse the same dispatcher.

Use this model when documenting runtime handoff:

Native channels: JD.AI is the primary command/runtime owner.
OpenClaw bridge: compatibility transport with opt-in command execution.

ChannelMessage

All inbound messages are normalized to this record:

public record ChannelMessage
{
    public required string Id { get; init; }
    public required string ChannelId { get; init; }
    public required string SenderId { get; init; }
    public string? SenderDisplayName { get; init; }
    public required string Content { get; init; }
    public DateTimeOffset Timestamp { get; init; }
    public string? ThreadId { get; init; }
    public string? ReplyToMessageId { get; init; }
    public IReadOnlyList<ChannelAttachment> Attachments { get; init; }
    public IReadOnlyDictionary<string, string> Metadata { get; init; }
}

ChannelAttachment

Attachments use lazy streaming — content is only downloaded when OpenReadAsync is called:

public record ChannelAttachment(
    string FileName,
    string ContentType,
    long SizeBytes,
    Func<CancellationToken, Task<Stream>> OpenReadAsync);

IChannelRegistry

The gateway manages adapters through a thread-safe in-memory registry:

public interface IChannelRegistry
{
    IReadOnlyList<IChannel> Channels { get; }
    void Register(IChannel channel);
    void Unregister(string channelType);
    IChannel? GetChannel(string channelType);
}

Registered as a singleton in the gateway's DI container. Channel REST endpoints (/api/channels/*) use the registry for all operations.

Writing a custom channel adapter

1. Create a class library

dotnet new classlib -n JD.AI.Channels.MyPlatform
cd JD.AI.Channels.MyPlatform
dotnet add reference ../JD.AI.Core/JD.AI.Core.csproj

2. Implement IChannel

public sealed class MyPlatformChannel : IChannel
{
    private readonly string _apiToken;
    private CancellationTokenSource? _cts;

    public string ChannelType => "my-platform";
    public string DisplayName => "My Platform";
    public bool IsConnected { get; private set; }

    public event Func<ChannelMessage, Task>? MessageReceived;

    public MyPlatformChannel(string apiToken)
    {
        _apiToken = apiToken;
    }

    public async Task ConnectAsync(CancellationToken ct = default)
    {
        // 1. Validate credentials
        // 2. Establish connection (WebSocket, polling, etc.)
        // 3. Start receiving messages
        _cts = CancellationTokenSource.CreateLinkedTokenSource(ct);
        _ = Task.Run(() => MessageLoop(_cts.Token), _cts.Token);
        IsConnected = true;
    }

    public async Task DisconnectAsync(CancellationToken ct = default)
    {
        _cts?.Cancel();
        IsConnected = false;
    }

    public async Task SendMessageAsync(
        string conversationId, string content, CancellationToken ct = default)
    {
        // Send message to the external platform
        await _client.PostMessageAsync(conversationId, content, ct);
    }

    public ValueTask DisposeAsync()
    {
        _cts?.Cancel();
        _cts?.Dispose();
        IsConnected = false;
        return ValueTask.CompletedTask;
    }

    private async Task MessageLoop(CancellationToken ct)
    {
        while (!ct.IsCancellationRequested)
        {
            var platformMsg = await _client.ReceiveAsync(ct);

            var message = new ChannelMessage
            {
                Id = platformMsg.Id,
                ChannelId = platformMsg.ConversationId,
                SenderId = platformMsg.UserId,
                SenderDisplayName = platformMsg.UserName,
                Content = platformMsg.Text,
                Timestamp = platformMsg.Timestamp,
                ThreadId = platformMsg.ThreadId,
                Attachments = Array.Empty<ChannelAttachment>(),
                Metadata = new Dictionary<string, string>()
            };

            if (MessageReceived is not null)
                await MessageReceived.Invoke(message);
        }
    }
}

3. Register with the gateway

Option A: Code registration

var registry = app.Services.GetRequiredService<IChannelRegistry>();
registry.Register(new MyPlatformChannel(apiToken: "your-token"));

Option B: Configuration-based

{
  "Gateway": {
    "Channels": [
      {
        "Type": "my-platform",
        "Name": "My Platform Bot",
        "Settings": { "ApiToken": "..." }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Adapter lifecycle

Register → ConnectAsync → [Active: receiving/sending messages]
    → DisconnectAsync → Unregister → DisposeAsync

Connection management

ConnectAsync should verify credentials and wait for a ready state before returning
DisconnectAsync should cancel background loops and wait for clean shutdown
IsConnected must accurately reflect the live state
Handle reconnection internally for transient failures

Error handling

Log connection errors but don't throw from the message loop
Implement backoff for polling-based adapters
Use CancellationToken for clean shutdown

Routing messages to agents

Subscribe to MessageReceived to route inbound messages:

var channel = registry.GetChannel("my-platform")!;
var agentPool = app.Services.GetRequiredService<AgentPoolService>();

channel.MessageReceived += async (msg) =>
{
    var response = await agentPool.SendMessageAsync(targetAgentId, msg.Content);
    if (response is not null)
        await channel.SendMessageAsync(msg.ChannelId, response);
};

Health monitoring

The gateway's /health endpoint reports overall status. Check individual channels via the REST API:

# List all channels with status
curl http://localhost:18789/api/channels

# Connect a specific channel
curl -X POST http://localhost:18789/api/channels/my-platform/connect

# Disconnect
curl -X POST http://localhost:18789/api/channels/my-platform/disconnect

Monitor channel events via the Event Hub (/hubs/events):

await foreach (var evt in connection.StreamAsync<GatewayEvent>(
    "StreamEvents", "channel.*"))
{
    // channel.connected, channel.disconnected, channel.message_received
    Console.WriteLine($"[{evt.Type}] {evt.SourceId}");
}

Built-in adapter patterns

WebSocket-based (Discord)

Platform Server → WebSocket → Event handler → ChannelMessage → MessageReceived

Use the platform SDK's WebSocket client
Map platform events to ChannelMessage
Wait for a Ready event before returning from ConnectAsync

Process-based (Signal)

signal-cli (JSON-RPC stdout) → Parse JSON → ChannelMessage → MessageReceived

Spawn a child process in ConnectAsync
Read stdout line-by-line in a background loop
Kill the process in DisconnectAsync

Polling-based (OpenClaw, Telegram)

HTTP GET /messages?since=... → Parse response → ChannelMessage → MessageReceived

Poll at a configurable interval
Track the last-seen timestamp to avoid duplicates
Implement exponential backoff on errors

In-process (WebChat)

SignalR Hub → IngestMessageAsync → ChannelMessage → MessageReceived

No external connection — acts as a bridge between SignalR and IChannel
ConnectAsync returns immediately

Channel comparison

Feature	Discord	Signal	Slack	Telegram	WebChat	OpenClaw
Threads	✓	—	✓	✓	—	—
Attachments	✓	—	—	—	—	—
Group chat	✓	✓	✓	✓	—	—
DMs	✓	✓	✓	✓	—	—
Native commands	✓	✓	✓	—	—	—
External dep	Discord.Net	signal-cli	SlackNet	Telegram.Bot	None	HttpClient
Transport	WebSocket	Process I/O	Socket Mode	Long poll	In-process	HTTP poll

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Channel Adapters

IChannel interface

ICommandAwareChannel

Direct Discord command fast path (primary)

Native commands vs OpenClaw bridge commands

ChannelMessage

ChannelAttachment

IChannelRegistry

Writing a custom channel adapter

1. Create a class library

2. Implement IChannel

3. Register with the gateway

Adapter lifecycle

Connection management

Error handling

Routing messages to agents

Health monitoring

Built-in adapter patterns

WebSocket-based (Discord)

Process-based (Signal)

Polling-based (OpenClaw, Telegram)

In-process (WebChat)

Channel comparison

See also

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Channel Adapters

IChannel interface

ICommandAwareChannel

Direct Discord command fast path (primary)

Native commands vs OpenClaw bridge commands

ChannelMessage

ChannelAttachment

IChannelRegistry

Writing a custom channel adapter

1. Create a class library

2. Implement IChannel

3. Register with the gateway

Adapter lifecycle

Connection management

Error handling

Routing messages to agents

Health monitoring

Built-in adapter patterns

WebSocket-based (Discord)

Process-based (Signal)

Polling-based (OpenClaw, Telegram)

In-process (WebChat)

Channel comparison

See also