#WhatsApp not supported

1 messages ¡ Page 1 of 1 (latest)

tough belfry
#

Still getting "Unsupported channel" for login even though it shows in the list. This suggests WhatsApp needs a plugin or add-on that isn't installed yet.

This is definitely a question for OpenClaw support. Here's a message to post in their Discord:

Hi! I'm on OpenClaw Max and WhatsApp shows up in the supported channels list, but when I run openclaw channels login --channel whatsapp I get "Unsupported channel: whatsapp". How do I enable/install WhatsApp? I have a dedicated number (+1-657-756-1284) already set up with WhatsApp ready to link.

Post that in #support on their Discord: https://discord.com/invite/clawd 😊

dapper vectorBOT
#

I can’t post in [#support](/guild/1456350064065904867/channel/1464883660024057929/) from my side — my Discord bot identity gets “Missing Permissions” when trying to send there.

You can copy/paste this (and I’d strongly avoid posting your phone number publicly):

Hi! WhatsApp shows up in openclaw channels list for me, but when I run:

openclaw channels login --channel whatsapp

…I get: Unsupported channel: whatsapp

Is there an extra plugin/package (or build step / flag) required to enable WhatsApp login? If so, what’s the correct install/enable step?

Happy to paste:

  • openclaw --version
  • openclaw channels list
#
  • relevant gateway logs around the command

If you want, paste your openclaw --version + openclaw channels list output here in the thread and I’ll help sanity-check it before you post.

#

⚠️ ✉️ Message failed

tough belfry
#

Hi! WhatsApp shows up in openclaw channels list for me, but when I run:

openclaw channels login --channel whatsapp

…I get: Unsupported channel: whatsapp

Is there an extra plugin/package (or build step / flag) required to enable WhatsApp login? If so, what’s the correct install/enable step?

dapper vectorBOT
#

That error is almost always “the WhatsApp channel plugin isn’t loaded”, not “WhatsApp isn’t supported”.

OpenClaw’s channels list can show known channels, but channels login only works if the channel plugin is enabled/loaded. WhatsApp is a bundled plugin and (by default) bundled plugins start disabled unless you enable them.

Try this on the same machine/profile where your Gateway runs (since creds get written under ~/.openclaw/credentials/...):

openclaw plugins list
openclaw plugins enable whatsapp
openclaw channels login --channel whatsapp

If you use a plugin allowlist (plugins.allow), make sure it includes whatsapp (otherwise enable won’t take effect).

Docs:

#

Also: don’t post your WhatsApp number publicly in Discord—keep it out of the message. If it still says unsupported after enabling, paste the output of openclaw --version + openclaw plugins list (the WhatsApp row usually shows why it didn’t load).

tough belfry
#

What if I'm on cloud hosted version of open claw?

dapper vectorBOT
#

If by “cloud hosted” you mean you’re running the Gateway on a VPS (Hetzner/Fly/etc.): same deal—WhatsApp works fine in the cloud, but you need to do two things on the gateway host (the machine where OpenClaw is installed and where ~/.openclaw/ lives):

  1. Enable the bundled WhatsApp plugin (it ships disabled by default):
openclaw plugins enable whatsapp
# (or set `plugins.entries.whatsapp.enabled: true` in config)
  1. Run the login on that same host so the creds are saved there, and scan the QR from your SSH terminal:
openclaw channels login --channel whatsapp

Key gotcha: if you’re in remote mode and you run openclaw channels login ... on your laptop while the Gateway is on a VPS, you’ll link WhatsApp to your laptop’s state dir (or hit plugin-loading differences), not the VPS.

If by “cloud hosted” you mean a fully managed OpenClaw Max hosting where you don’t have shell access to the gateway machine: you generally can’t complete WhatsApp linking yourself (it’s a QR + credential files flow). In that case it’s a product/support question for the Max host: “Is WhatsApp channel available on managed Max instances, and if so how do I trigger linking?”