Multi-Platform Messaging¶

Automate-E supports multiple messaging platforms. Agents work on Discord or Slack without code changes — just configure messaging.platform in character.json.

Supported Platforms¶

Platform	Entry Point	Auth	Status
Discord	`index.js` (v1) or `index-v2.js`	`DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN`	Production
Slack	`index-v2.js`	`SLACK_BOT_TOKEN` + `SLACK_APP_TOKEN`	Production

Configuration¶

New-style (recommended)¶

Use the messaging field for platform-agnostic configuration:

{
  "messaging": {
    "platform": "slack",
    "config": {
      "channels": {
        "general": "my-channel"
      }
    }
  }
}

Legacy (Discord-only)¶

The discord field still works for backward compatibility:

{
  "discord": {
    "channels": ["#my-channel"],
    "threadMode": "per-user",
    "allowBots": []
  }
}

If both messaging and discord are present, messaging takes precedence.

Discord Setup¶

See Discord Setup for the full guide.

Required env vars:

Variable	Description
`DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN`	Bot token from Discord Developer Portal

Required scopes: bot with permissions: Send Messages, Read Message History, Create Public Threads, Manage Threads, Add Reactions.

Required intents: Message Content, Server Members (privileged).

Slack Setup¶

1. Create Slack App¶

Go to api.slack.com/apps → Create New App → From scratch
Name your app (e.g., Conductor-E), select workspace

2. Enable Socket Mode¶

Socket Mode → Enable
Create App-Level Token with scope connections:write
Save the xapp-... token

3. Bot Permissions¶

OAuth & Permissions → Bot Token Scopes:

chat:write — Send messages
channels:read — Read public channel info
channels:history — Read public channel messages
users:read — Get user display names
app_mentions:read — Respond to @mentions

For private channels, also add:

groups:read
groups:history

4. Event Subscriptions¶

Event Subscriptions → Enable → Subscribe to bot events:

message.channels — Messages in public channels
app_mention — When someone @mentions the bot

For private channels, also add:

message.groups

5. Install to Workspace¶

Install App → Install to Workspace → Copy the xoxb-... Bot User OAuth Token.

6. Invite Bot to Channel¶

In Slack: /invite @YourBot in the target channel.

Required env vars:

Variable	Description
`SLACK_BOT_TOKEN`	`xoxb-...` Bot User OAuth Token
`SLACK_APP_TOKEN`	`xapp-...` App-Level Token (Socket Mode)

Helm Values¶

Discord Agent¶

messagingPlatform: discord  # or omit (default)

secrets:
  existingSecret: my-agent-secrets
  # Secret must contain: discord-bot-token, anthropic-api-key

Slack Agent¶

messagingPlatform: slack
command: ["node", "src/index-v2.js"]

secrets:
  existingSecret: my-agent-secrets
  # Secret must contain: slack-bot-token, slack-app-token, anthropic-api-key

Kubernetes Secret¶

kubectl create secret generic my-agent-secrets \
  --from-literal=slack-bot-token='xoxb-...' \
  --from-literal=slack-app-token='xapp-...' \
  --from-literal=anthropic-api-key='sk-ant-...' \
  --from-literal=database-url=''

Architecture¶

The messaging layer uses an adapter pattern:

character.json → messaging.platform
                      │
              ┌───────┴───────┐
              ▼               ▼
        Discord Adapter   Slack Adapter
        (discord.js)      (@slack/bolt)
              │               │
              └───────┬───────┘
                      ▼
              Message Handler
              (platform-agnostic)
                      │
                      ▼
                Agent Loop
                (agent.js)

Both adapters expose the same interface:

connect() — Connect to the platform
onMessage(handler) — Register message handler
sendReply(context, text) — Reply in thread
sendToChannel(channel, text) — Send to a channel
disconnect() — Clean shutdown

The agent loop (agent.js) never touches platform-specific code.

Entry Points¶

File	Messaging	Use When
`index.js`	Discord only (hardcoded)	Existing Discord agents (backward compat)
`index-v2.js`	Multi-platform (adapter)	New agents, or when using Slack
`gateway.js`	Discord only (split mode)	High-traffic Discord agents with Redis

index-v2.js will become the default index.js in a future release once all existing agents are migrated.