Repository navigation
[Feature]: WhatsApp and iMessage channels, with shared context across chats #1860
Description
Request
Community members asked for bots to be reachable from the chat apps they already use, with WhatsApp and iMessage named first, and for Rakazo to act as a bridge that carries context across those conversations and existing agents. Discord was also suggested as a multi-channel surface where each channel gives an isolated context.
Current state
Rakazo already has some channel adapters (for example Slack and Telegram, and SMS reportedly works), but they are aimed at self-hosters for now.
Open questions
- Which channel comes next: WhatsApp (Cloud API or a provider) or iMessage (needs a Mac relay)?
- Should context from an external channel carry into the bot's 1:1 and group chats in Rakazo?
- Hosted availability versus self-host only.
A community contributor offered to look into this (Android/Linux only, so iMessage would need someone else).
Activity
balabommablock-cpu commentedon Oct 22, 2026
Small note for whoever picks this up: WhatsApp (Business Cloud) and iMessage/SMS (via Sendblue) already exist for self-hosters. Both are in
.env.example, and the CHANGELOG lists WhatsApp DMs next to Slack and Telegram, with groups iMessage-only. So the first two questions may be less "build a channel" and more:1. Hosted: which existing adapter to switch on. WhatsApp Cloud looks easier to host (official API, no Mac relay). One catch for an agent: outside the 24-hour window after the user's last message, WhatsApp only allows pre-approved templates. The adapter already spots that failure (131047), but I couldn't find a template send path, so a bot that messages you first (routines, reminders) would just fail there. Worth planning before it goes hosted.
2. Context carry. I'd split "context" in two:
Smallest first version: same person + same bot = same memory on every channel, transcripts stay per chat, and the bot says where it got something from ("from our WhatsApp chat yesterday…").