nodmix 2026.5.25

package/docs/channels/whatsapp.md

@@ -0,0 +1,739 @@
+---
+summary: "WhatsApp channel support, access controls, delivery behavior, and operations"
+read_when:
+  - Working on WhatsApp/web channel behavior or inbox routing
+title: "WhatsApp"
+---
+
+Status: production-ready via WhatsApp Web (Baileys). Gateway owns linked session(s).
+
+## Install (on demand)
+
+- Onboarding (`nodmix onboard`) and `nodmix channels add --channel whatsapp`
+  prompt to install the WhatsApp plugin the first time you select it.
+- `nodmix channels login --channel whatsapp` also offers the install flow when
+  the plugin is not present yet.
+- Dev channel + git checkout: defaults to the local plugin path.
+- Stable/Beta: installs the official `@nodmix/whatsapp` plugin from ClawHub
+  first, with npm as the fallback.
+- The WhatsApp runtime is distributed outside the core Nodmix npm package so
+  WhatsApp-specific runtime dependencies stay with the external plugin.
+
+Manual install stays available:
+
+```bash
+nodmix plugins install clawhub:@nodmix/whatsapp
+```
+
+Use the bare npm package (`@nodmix/whatsapp`) only when you need the registry
+fallback. Pin an exact version only when you need a reproducible install.
+
+<CardGroup cols={3}>
+  <Card title="Pairing" icon="link" href="/channels/pairing">
+    Default DM policy is pairing for unknown senders.
+  </Card>
+  <Card title="Channel troubleshooting" icon="wrench" href="/channels/troubleshooting">
+    Cross-channel diagnostics and repair playbooks.
+  </Card>
+  <Card title="Gateway configuration" icon="settings" href="/gateway/configuration">
+    Full channel config patterns and examples.
+  </Card>
+</CardGroup>
+
+## Quick setup
+
+<Steps>
+  <Step title="Configure WhatsApp access policy">
+
+```json5
+{
+  channels: {
+    whatsapp: {
+      dmPolicy: "pairing",
+      allowFrom: ["+15551234567"],
+      groupPolicy: "allowlist",
+      groupAllowFrom: ["+15551234567"],
+    },
+  },
+}
+```
+
+  </Step>
+
+  <Step title="Link WhatsApp (QR)">
+
+```bash
+nodmix channels login --channel whatsapp
+```
+
+    For a specific account:
+
+```bash
+nodmix channels login --channel whatsapp --account work
+```
+
+    To attach an existing/custom WhatsApp Web auth directory before login:
+
+```bash
+nodmix channels add --channel whatsapp --account work --auth-dir /path/to/wa-auth
+nodmix channels login --channel whatsapp --account work
+```
+
+  </Step>
+
+  <Step title="Start the gateway">
+
+```bash
+nodmix gateway
+```
+
+  </Step>
+
+  <Step title="Approve first pairing request (if using pairing mode)">
+
+```bash
+nodmix pairing list whatsapp
+nodmix pairing approve whatsapp <CODE>
+```
+
+    Pairing requests expire after 1 hour. Pending requests are capped at 3 per channel.
+
+  </Step>
+</Steps>
+
+<Note>
+Nodmix recommends running WhatsApp on a separate number when possible. (The channel metadata and setup flow are optimized for that setup, but personal-number setups are also supported.)
+</Note>
+
+## Deployment patterns
+
+<AccordionGroup>
+  <Accordion title="Dedicated number (recommended)">
+    This is the cleanest operational mode:
+
+    - separate WhatsApp identity for Nodmix
+    - clearer DM allowlists and routing boundaries
+    - lower chance of self-chat confusion
+
+    Minimal policy pattern:
+
+    ```json5
+    {
+      channels: {
+        whatsapp: {
+          dmPolicy: "allowlist",
+          allowFrom: ["+15551234567"],
+        },
+      },
+    }
+    ```
+
+  </Accordion>
+
+  <Accordion title="Personal-number fallback">
+    Onboarding supports personal-number mode and writes a self-chat-friendly baseline:
+
+    - `dmPolicy: "allowlist"`
+    - `allowFrom` includes your personal number
+    - `selfChatMode: true`
+
+    In runtime, self-chat protections key off the linked self number and `allowFrom`.
+
+  </Accordion>
+
+  <Accordion title="WhatsApp Web-only channel scope">
+    The messaging platform channel is WhatsApp Web-based (`Baileys`) in current Nodmix channel architecture.
+
+    There is no separate Twilio WhatsApp messaging channel in the built-in chat-channel registry.
+
+  </Accordion>
+</AccordionGroup>
+
+## Runtime model
+
+- Gateway owns the WhatsApp socket and reconnect loop.
+- The reconnect watchdog uses WhatsApp Web transport activity, not only inbound app-message volume, so a quiet linked-device session is not restarted solely because nobody has sent a message recently. A longer application-silence cap still forces a reconnect if transport frames keep arriving but no application messages are handled for the watchdog window; after a transient reconnect for a recently active session, that application-silence check uses the normal message timeout for the first recovery window.
+- Baileys socket timings are explicit under `web.whatsapp.*`: `keepAliveIntervalMs` controls WhatsApp Web application pings, `connectTimeoutMs` controls the opening handshake timeout, and `defaultQueryTimeoutMs` controls Baileys query timeouts.
+- Outbound sends require an active WhatsApp listener for the target account.
+- Group sends attach native mention metadata for `@+<digits>` and `@<digits>` tokens in text and media captions when the token matches current WhatsApp participant metadata, including LID-backed groups.
+- Status and broadcast chats are ignored (`@status`, `@broadcast`).
+- The reconnect watchdog follows WhatsApp Web transport activity, not only inbound app-message volume: quiet linked-device sessions stay up while transport frames continue, but a transport stall forces reconnect well before the later remote disconnect path.
+- Direct chats use DM session rules (`session.dmScope`; default `main` collapses DMs to the agent main session).
+- Group sessions are isolated (`agent:<agentId>:whatsapp:group:<jid>`).
+- WhatsApp Channels/Newsletters can be explicit outbound targets with their native `@newsletter` JID. Outbound newsletter sends use channel session metadata (`agent:<agentId>:whatsapp:channel:<jid>`) rather than DM session semantics.
+- WhatsApp Web transport honors standard proxy environment variables on the gateway host (`HTTPS_PROXY`, `HTTP_PROXY`, `NO_PROXY` / lowercase variants). Prefer host-level proxy config over channel-specific WhatsApp proxy settings.
+- When `messages.removeAckAfterReply` is enabled, Nodmix clears the WhatsApp ack reaction after a visible reply is delivered.
+
+## Plugin hooks and privacy
+
+WhatsApp inbound messages can contain personal message content, phone numbers,
+group identifiers, sender names, and session correlation fields. For that reason,
+WhatsApp does not broadcast inbound `message_received` hook payloads to plugins
+unless you explicitly opt in:
+
+```json5
+{
+  channels: {
+    whatsapp: {
+      pluginHooks: {
+        messageReceived: true,
+      },
+    },
+  },
+}
+```
+
+You can scope the opt-in to one account:
+
+```json5
+{
+  channels: {
+    whatsapp: {
+      accounts: {
+        work: {
+          pluginHooks: {
+            messageReceived: true,
+          },
+        },
+      },
+    },
+  },
+}
+```
+
+Only enable this for plugins you trust to receive inbound WhatsApp message
+content and identifiers.
+
+## Access control and activation
+
+<Tabs>
+  <Tab title="DM policy">
+    `channels.whatsapp.dmPolicy` controls direct chat access:
+
+    - `pairing` (default)
+    - `allowlist`
+    - `open` (requires `allowFrom` to include `"*"`)
+    - `disabled`
+
+    `allowFrom` accepts E.164-style numbers (normalized internally).
+
+    `allowFrom` is a DM sender access-control list. It does not gate explicit outbound sends to WhatsApp group JIDs or `@newsletter` channel JIDs.
+
+    Multi-account override: `channels.whatsapp.accounts.<id>.dmPolicy` (and `allowFrom`) take precedence over channel-level defaults for that account.
+
+    Runtime behavior details:
+
+    - pairings are persisted in channel allow-store and merged with configured `allowFrom`
+    - scheduled automation and heartbeat recipient fallback use explicit delivery targets or configured `allowFrom`; DM pairing approvals are not implicit cron or heartbeat recipients
+    - if no allowlist is configured, the linked self number is allowed by default
+    - Nodmix never auto-pairs outbound `fromMe` DMs (messages you send to yourself from the linked device)
+
+  </Tab>
+
+  <Tab title="Group policy + allowlists">
+    Group access has two layers:
+
+    1. **Group membership allowlist** (`channels.whatsapp.groups`)
+       - if `groups` is omitted, all groups are eligible
+       - if `groups` is present, it acts as a group allowlist (`"*"` allowed)
+
+    2. **Group sender policy** (`channels.whatsapp.groupPolicy` + `groupAllowFrom`)
+       - `open`: sender allowlist bypassed
+       - `allowlist`: sender must match `groupAllowFrom` (or `*`)
+       - `disabled`: block all group inbound
+
+    Sender allowlist fallback:
+
+    - if `groupAllowFrom` is unset, runtime falls back to `allowFrom` when available
+    - sender allowlists are evaluated before mention/reply activation
+
+    Note: if no `channels.whatsapp` block exists at all, runtime group-policy fallback is `allowlist` (with a warning log), even if `channels.defaults.groupPolicy` is set.
+
+  </Tab>
+
+  <Tab title="Mentions + /activation">
+    Group replies require mention by default.
+
+    Mention detection includes:
+
+    - explicit WhatsApp mentions of the bot identity
+    - configured mention regex patterns (`agents.list[].groupChat.mentionPatterns`, fallback `messages.groupChat.mentionPatterns`)
+    - inbound voice-note transcripts for authorized group messages
+    - implicit reply-to-bot detection (reply sender matches bot identity)
+
+    Security note:
+
+    - quote/reply only satisfies mention gating; it does **not** grant sender authorization
+    - with `groupPolicy: "allowlist"`, non-allowlisted senders are still blocked even if they reply to an allowlisted user's message
+
+    Session-level activation command:
+
+    - `/activation mention`
+    - `/activation always`
+
+    `activation` updates session state (not global config). It is owner-gated.
+
+  </Tab>
+</Tabs>
+
+## Personal-number and self-chat behavior
+
+When the linked self number is also present in `allowFrom`, WhatsApp self-chat safeguards activate:
+
+- skip read receipts for self-chat turns
+- ignore mention-JID auto-trigger behavior that would otherwise ping yourself
+- if `messages.responsePrefix` is unset, self-chat replies default to `[{identity.name}]` or `[nodmix]`
+
+## Message normalization and context
+
+<AccordionGroup>
+  <Accordion title="Inbound envelope + reply context">
+    Incoming WhatsApp messages are wrapped in the shared inbound envelope.
+
+    If a quoted reply exists, context is appended in this form:
+
+    ```text
+    [Replying to <sender> id:<stanzaId>]
+    <quoted body or media placeholder>
+    [/Replying]
+    ```
+
+    Reply metadata fields are also populated when available (`ReplyToId`, `ReplyToBody`, `ReplyToSender`, sender JID/E.164).
+    When the quoted reply target is downloadable media, Nodmix saves it through
+    the normal inbound media store and exposes it as `MediaPath`/`MediaType` so
+    the agent can inspect the referenced image instead of only seeing
+    `<media:image>`.
+
+  </Accordion>
+
+  <Accordion title="Media placeholders and location/contact extraction">
+    Media-only inbound messages are normalized with placeholders such as:
+
+    - `<media:image>`
+    - `<media:video>`
+    - `<media:audio>`
+    - `<media:document>`
+    - `<media:sticker>`
+
+    Authorized group voice notes are transcribed before mention gating when the
+    body is only `<media:audio>`, so saying the bot mention in the voice note can
+    trigger the reply. If the transcript still does not mention the bot, the
+    transcript is kept in pending group history instead of the raw placeholder.
+
+    Location bodies use terse coordinate text. Location labels/comments and contact/vCard details are rendered as fenced untrusted metadata, not inline prompt text.
+
+  </Accordion>
+
+  <Accordion title="Pending group history injection">
+    For groups, unprocessed messages can be buffered and injected as context when the bot is finally triggered.
+
+    - default limit: `50`
+    - config: `channels.whatsapp.historyLimit`
+    - fallback: `messages.groupChat.historyLimit`
+    - `0` disables
+
+    Injection markers:
+
+    - `[Chat messages since your last reply - for context]`
+    - `[Current message - respond to this]`
+
+  </Accordion>
+
+  <Accordion title="Read receipts">
+    Read receipts are enabled by default for accepted inbound WhatsApp messages.
+
+    Disable globally:
+
+    ```json5
+    {
+      channels: {
+        whatsapp: {
+          sendReadReceipts: false,
+        },
+      },
+    }
+    ```
+
+    Per-account override:
+
+    ```json5
+    {
+      channels: {
+        whatsapp: {
+          accounts: {
+            work: {
+              sendReadReceipts: false,
+            },
+          },
+        },
+      },
+    }
+    ```
+
+    Self-chat turns skip read receipts even when globally enabled.
+
+  </Accordion>
+</AccordionGroup>
+
+## Delivery, chunking, and media
+
+<AccordionGroup>
+  <Accordion title="Text chunking">
+    - default chunk limit: `channels.whatsapp.textChunkLimit = 4000`
+    - `channels.whatsapp.chunkMode = "length" | "newline"`
+    - `newline` mode prefers paragraph boundaries (blank lines), then falls back to length-safe chunking
+
+  </Accordion>
+
+  <Accordion title="Outbound media behavior">
+    - supports image, video, audio (PTT voice-note), and document payloads
+    - audio media is sent through the Baileys `audio` payload with `ptt: true`, so WhatsApp clients render it as a push-to-talk voice note
+    - reply payloads preserve `audioAsVoice`; TTS voice-note output for WhatsApp stays on this PTT path even when the provider returns MP3 or WebM
+    - native Ogg/Opus audio is sent as `audio/ogg; codecs=opus` for voice-note compatibility
+    - non-Ogg audio, including Microsoft Edge TTS MP3/WebM output, is transcoded with `ffmpeg` to 48 kHz mono Ogg/Opus before PTT delivery
+    - `/tts latest` sends the latest assistant reply as one voice note and suppresses repeat sends for the same reply; `/tts chat on|off|default` controls auto-TTS for the current WhatsApp chat
+    - animated GIF playback is supported via `gifPlayback: true` on video sends
+    - `forceDocument` / `asDocument` sends outbound images, GIFs, and videos through the Baileys document payload to avoid WhatsApp media compression while preserving the resolved filename and MIME type
+    - captions are applied to the first media item when sending multi-media reply payloads, except PTT voice notes send the audio first and visible text separately because WhatsApp clients do not render voice-note captions consistently
+    - media source can be HTTP(S), `file://`, or local paths
+
+  </Accordion>
+
+  <Accordion title="Media size limits and fallback behavior">
+    - inbound media save cap: `channels.whatsapp.mediaMaxMb` (default `50`)
+    - outbound media send cap: `channels.whatsapp.mediaMaxMb` (default `50`)
+    - per-account overrides use `channels.whatsapp.accounts.<accountId>.mediaMaxMb`
+    - images are auto-optimized (resize/quality sweep) to fit limits unless `forceDocument` / `asDocument` requests document delivery
+    - on media send failure, first-item fallback sends text warning instead of dropping the response silently
+
+  </Accordion>
+</AccordionGroup>
+
+## Reply quoting
+
+WhatsApp supports native reply quoting, where outbound replies visibly quote the inbound message. Control it with `channels.whatsapp.replyToMode`.
+
+| Value       | Behavior                                                              |
+| ----------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- |
+| `"off"`     | Never quote; send as a plain message                                  |
+| `"first"`   | Quote only the first outbound reply chunk                             |
+| `"all"`     | Quote every outbound reply chunk                                      |
+| `"batched"` | Quote queued batched replies while leaving immediate replies unquoted |
+
+Default is `"off"`. Per-account overrides use `channels.whatsapp.accounts.<id>.replyToMode`.
+
+```json5
+{
+  channels: {
+    whatsapp: {
+      replyToMode: "first",
+    },
+  },
+}
+```
+
+## Reaction level
+
+`channels.whatsapp.reactionLevel` controls how broadly the agent uses emoji reactions on WhatsApp:
+
+| Level         | Ack reactions | Agent-initiated reactions | Description                                      |
+| ------------- | ------------- | ------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
+| `"off"`       | No            | No                        | No reactions at all                              |
+| `"ack"`       | Yes           | No                        | Ack reactions only (pre-reply receipt)           |
+| `"minimal"`   | Yes           | Yes (conservative)        | Ack + agent reactions with conservative guidance |
+| `"extensive"` | Yes           | Yes (encouraged)          | Ack + agent reactions with encouraged guidance   |
+
+Default: `"minimal"`.
+
+Per-account overrides use `channels.whatsapp.accounts.<id>.reactionLevel`.
+
+```json5
+{
+  channels: {
+    whatsapp: {
+      reactionLevel: "ack",
+    },
+  },
+}
+```
+
+## Acknowledgment reactions
+
+WhatsApp supports immediate ack reactions on inbound receipt via `channels.whatsapp.ackReaction`.
+Ack reactions are gated by `reactionLevel` — they are suppressed when `reactionLevel` is `"off"`.
+
+```json5
+{
+  channels: {
+    whatsapp: {
+      ackReaction: {
+        emoji: "👀",
+        direct: true,
+        group: "mentions", // always | mentions | never
+      },
+    },
+  },
+}
+```
+
+Behavior notes:
+
+- sent immediately after inbound is accepted (pre-reply)
+- failures are logged but do not block normal reply delivery
+- group mode `mentions` reacts on mention-triggered turns; group activation `always` acts as bypass for this check
+- WhatsApp uses `channels.whatsapp.ackReaction` (legacy `messages.ackReaction` is not used here)
+
+## Lifecycle status reactions
+
+Set `messages.statusReactions.enabled: true` to let WhatsApp replace the ack reaction during a turn instead of leaving a static receipt emoji. When enabled, Nodmix uses the same inbound message reaction slot for lifecycle states such as queued, thinking, tool activity, compaction, done, and error.
+
+```json5
+{
+  messages: {
+    statusReactions: {
+      enabled: true,
+      emojis: {
+        deploy: "🛫",
+        build: "🏗️",
+        concierge: "💁",
+      },
+    },
+  },
+}
+```
+
+Behavior notes:
+
+- `channels.whatsapp.ackReaction` still controls whether status reactions are eligible for direct messages and groups.
+- WhatsApp has one bot reaction slot per message, so lifecycle updates replace the current reaction in place.
+- `messages.removeAckAfterReply: true` clears the final status reaction after the configured done/error hold.
+- Tool emoji categories include `tool`, `coding`, `web`, `deploy`, `build`, and `concierge`.
+
+## Multi-account and credentials
+
+<AccordionGroup>
+  <Accordion title="Account selection and defaults">
+    - account ids come from `channels.whatsapp.accounts`
+    - default account selection: `default` if present, otherwise first configured account id (sorted)
+    - account ids are normalized internally for lookup
+
+  </Accordion>
+
+  <Accordion title="Credential paths and legacy compatibility">
+    - current auth path: `~/.nodmix/credentials/whatsapp/<accountId>/creds.json`
+    - backup file: `creds.json.bak`
+    - legacy default auth in `~/.nodmix/credentials/` is still recognized/migrated for default-account flows
+
+  </Accordion>
+
+  <Accordion title="Logout behavior">
+    `nodmix channels logout --channel whatsapp [--account <id>]` clears WhatsApp auth state for that account.
+
+    When a Gateway is reachable, logout first stops the live WhatsApp listener for the selected account so the linked session does not keep receiving messages until the next restart. `nodmix channels remove --channel whatsapp` also stops the live listener before disabling or deleting account config.
+
+    In legacy auth directories, `oauth.json` is preserved while Baileys auth files are removed.
+
+  </Accordion>
+</AccordionGroup>
+
+## Tools, actions, and config writes
+
+- Agent tool support includes WhatsApp reaction action (`react`).
+- Action gates:
+  - `channels.whatsapp.actions.reactions`
+  - `channels.whatsapp.actions.polls`
+- Channel-initiated config writes are enabled by default (disable via `channels.whatsapp.configWrites=false`).
+
+## Troubleshooting
+
+<AccordionGroup>
+  <Accordion title="Not linked (QR required)">
+    Symptom: channel status reports not linked.
+
+    Fix:
+
+    ```bash
+    nodmix channels login --channel whatsapp
+    nodmix channels status
+    ```
+
+  </Accordion>
+
+  <Accordion title="Linked but disconnected / reconnect loop">
+    Symptom: linked account with repeated disconnects or reconnect attempts.
+
+    Quiet accounts can stay connected past the normal message timeout; the watchdog
+    restarts when WhatsApp Web transport activity stops, the socket closes, or
+    application-level activity stays silent beyond the longer safety window.
+
+    If logs show repeated `status=408 Request Time-out Connection was lost`, tune
+    Baileys socket timings under `web.whatsapp`. Start by shortening
+    `keepAliveIntervalMs` below your network's idle timeout and increasing
+    `connectTimeoutMs` on slow or lossy links:
+
+    ```json5
+    {
+      web: {
+        whatsapp: {
+          keepAliveIntervalMs: 15000,
+          connectTimeoutMs: 60000,
+          defaultQueryTimeoutMs: 60000,
+        },
+      },
+    }
+    ```
+
+    Fix:
+
+    ```bash
+    nodmix doctor
+    nodmix logs --follow
+    ```
+
+    If `~/.nodmix/logs/whatsapp-health.log` says `Gateway inactive` but
+    `nodmix gateway status` and `nodmix channels status --probe` show the
+    gateway and WhatsApp are healthy, run `nodmix doctor`. On Linux, doctor
+    warns about legacy crontab entries that still invoke
+    `~/.nodmix/bin/ensure-whatsapp.sh`; remove those stale entries with
+    `crontab -e` because cron can lack the systemd user-bus environment and
+    make that old script misreport gateway health.
+
+    If needed, re-link with `channels login`.
+
+  </Accordion>
+
+  <Accordion title="QR login times out behind a proxy">
+    Symptom: `nodmix channels login --channel whatsapp` fails before showing a usable QR code with `status=408 Request Time-out` or a TLS socket disconnect.
+
+    WhatsApp Web login uses the gateway host's standard proxy environment (`HTTPS_PROXY`, `HTTP_PROXY`, lowercase variants, and `NO_PROXY`). Verify the gateway process inherits the proxy env and that `NO_PROXY` does not match `mmg.whatsapp.net`.
+
+  </Accordion>
+
+  <Accordion title="No active listener when sending">
+    Outbound sends fail fast when no active gateway listener exists for the target account.
+
+    Make sure gateway is running and the account is linked.
+
+  </Accordion>
+
+  <Accordion title="Reply appears in transcript but not in WhatsApp">
+    Transcript rows record what the agent generated. WhatsApp delivery is checked separately: Nodmix only treats an auto-reply as sent after Baileys returns an outbound message id for at least one visible text or media send.
+
+    Ack reactions are independent pre-reply receipts. A successful reaction does not prove that the later text or media reply was accepted by WhatsApp.
+
+    Check gateway logs for `auto-reply delivery failed` or `auto-reply was not accepted by WhatsApp provider`.
+
+  </Accordion>
+
+  <Accordion title="Group messages unexpectedly ignored">
+    Check in this order:
+
+    - `groupPolicy`
+    - `groupAllowFrom` / `allowFrom`
+    - `groups` allowlist entries
+    - mention gating (`requireMention` + mention patterns)
+    - duplicate keys in `nodmix.json` (JSON5): later entries override earlier ones, so keep a single `groupPolicy` per scope
+
+    If `channels.whatsapp.groups` is present, WhatsApp can still observe messages from other groups, but Nodmix drops them before session routing. Add the group JID to `channels.whatsapp.groups` or add `groups["*"]` to admit all groups while keeping sender authorization under `groupPolicy` and `groupAllowFrom`.
+
+  </Accordion>
+
+  <Accordion title="Bun runtime warning">
+    WhatsApp gateway runtime should use Node. Bun is flagged as incompatible for stable WhatsApp/Telegram gateway operation.
+  </Accordion>
+</AccordionGroup>
+
+## System prompts
+
+WhatsApp supports Telegram-style system prompts for groups and direct chats via the `groups` and `direct` maps.
+
+Resolution hierarchy for group messages:
+
+The effective `groups` map is determined first: if the account defines its own `groups`, it fully replaces the root `groups` map (no deep merge). Prompt lookup then runs on the resulting single map:
+
+1. **Group-specific system prompt** (`groups["<groupId>"].systemPrompt`): used when the specific group entry exists in the map **and** its `systemPrompt` key is defined. If `systemPrompt` is an empty string (`""`), the wildcard is suppressed and no system prompt is applied.
+2. **Group wildcard system prompt** (`groups["*"].systemPrompt`): used when the specific group entry is absent from the map entirely, or when it exists but defines no `systemPrompt` key.
+
+Resolution hierarchy for direct messages:
+
+The effective `direct` map is determined first: if the account defines its own `direct`, it fully replaces the root `direct` map (no deep merge). Prompt lookup then runs on the resulting single map:
+
+1. **Direct-specific system prompt** (`direct["<peerId>"].systemPrompt`): used when the specific peer entry exists in the map **and** its `systemPrompt` key is defined. If `systemPrompt` is an empty string (`""`), the wildcard is suppressed and no system prompt is applied.
+2. **Direct wildcard system prompt** (`direct["*"].systemPrompt`): used when the specific peer entry is absent from the map entirely, or when it exists but defines no `systemPrompt` key.
+
+<Note>
+`dms` remains the lightweight per-DM history override bucket (`dms.<id>.historyLimit`). Prompt overrides live under `direct`.
+</Note>
+
+**Difference from Telegram multi-account behavior:** In Telegram, root `groups` is intentionally suppressed for all accounts in a multi-account setup — even accounts that define no `groups` of their own — to prevent a bot from receiving group messages for groups it does not belong to. WhatsApp does not apply this guard: root `groups` and root `direct` are always inherited by accounts that define no account-level override, regardless of how many accounts are configured. In a multi-account WhatsApp setup, if you want per-account group or direct prompts, define the full map under each account explicitly rather than relying on root-level defaults.
+
+Important behavior:
+
+- `channels.whatsapp.groups` is both a per-group config map and the chat-level group allowlist. At either the root or account scope, `groups["*"]` means "all groups are admitted" for that scope.
+- Only add a wildcard group `systemPrompt` when you already want that scope to admit all groups. If you still want only a fixed set of group IDs to be eligible, do not use `groups["*"]` for the prompt default. Instead, repeat the prompt on each explicitly allowlisted group entry.
+- Group admission and sender authorization are separate checks. `groups["*"]` widens the set of groups that can reach group handling, but it does not by itself authorize every sender in those groups. Sender access is still controlled separately by `channels.whatsapp.groupPolicy` and `channels.whatsapp.groupAllowFrom`.
+- `channels.whatsapp.direct` does not have the same side effect for DMs. `direct["*"]` only provides a default direct-chat config after a DM is already admitted by `dmPolicy` plus `allowFrom` or pairing-store rules.
+
+Example:
+
+```json5
+{
+  channels: {
+    whatsapp: {
+      groups: {
+        // Use only if all groups should be admitted at the root scope.
+        // Applies to all accounts that do not define their own groups map.
+        "*": { systemPrompt: "Default prompt for all groups." },
+      },
+      direct: {
+        // Applies to all accounts that do not define their own direct map.
+        "*": { systemPrompt: "Default prompt for all direct chats." },
+      },
+      accounts: {
+        work: {
+          groups: {
+            // This account defines its own groups, so root groups are fully
+            // replaced. To keep a wildcard, define "*" explicitly here too.
+            "120363406415684625@g.us": {
+              requireMention: false,
+              systemPrompt: "Focus on project management.",
+            },
+            // Use only if all groups should be admitted in this account.
+            "*": { systemPrompt: "Default prompt for work groups." },
+          },
+          direct: {
+            // This account defines its own direct map, so root direct entries are
+            // fully replaced. To keep a wildcard, define "*" explicitly here too.
+            "+15551234567": { systemPrompt: "Prompt for a specific work direct chat." },
+            "*": { systemPrompt: "Default prompt for work direct chats." },
+          },
+        },
+      },
+    },
+  },
+}
+```
+
+## Configuration reference pointers
+
+Primary reference:
+
+- [Configuration reference - WhatsApp](/gateway/config-channels#whatsapp)
+
+High-signal WhatsApp fields:
+
+- access: `dmPolicy`, `allowFrom`, `groupPolicy`, `groupAllowFrom`, `groups`
+- delivery: `textChunkLimit`, `chunkMode`, `mediaMaxMb`, `sendReadReceipts`, `ackReaction`, `reactionLevel`
+- multi-account: `accounts.<id>.enabled`, `accounts.<id>.authDir`, account-level overrides
+- operations: `configWrites`, `debounceMs`, `web.enabled`, `web.heartbeatSeconds`, `web.reconnect.*`, `web.whatsapp.*`
+- session behavior: `session.dmScope`, `historyLimit`, `dmHistoryLimit`, `dms.<id>.historyLimit`
+- prompts: `groups.<id>.systemPrompt`, `groups["*"].systemPrompt`, `direct.<id>.systemPrompt`, `direct["*"].systemPrompt`
+
+## Related
+
+- [Pairing](/channels/pairing)
+- [Groups](/channels/groups)
+- [Security](/gateway/security)
+- [Channel routing](/channels/channel-routing)
+- [Multi-agent routing](/concepts/multi-agent)
+- [Troubleshooting](/channels/troubleshooting)