--- name: chat-sdk description: Build multi-platform chat bots with Chat SDK (`chat` npm package). Use when developers want to build a Slack, Teams, Google Chat, Discord, Telegram, GitHub, Linear, or WhatsApp bot, handle mentions, direct messages, subscribed threads, reactions, slash commands, cards, modals, files, or AI streaming, set up webhook routes or multi-adapter bots, send rich cards or streamed AI responses to chat platforms, or build a custom adapter or state adapter. --- # Chat SDK Unified TypeScript SDK for building chat bots across Slack, Teams, Google Chat, Discord, Telegram, GitHub, Linear, and WhatsApp. Write bot logic once, deploy everywhere. ## Start with published sources When Chat SDK is installed in a user project, inspect the published files that ship in `node_modules`: ``` node_modules/chat/docs/ # bundled docs node_modules/chat/dist/index.d.ts # core API types node_modules/chat/dist/jsx-runtime.d.ts # JSX runtime types node_modules/chat/docs/contributing/ # adapter-authoring docs node_modules/chat/docs/guides/ # framework/platform guides ``` If one of the paths below does not exist, that package is not installed in the project yet. Read these before writing code: - `node_modules/chat/docs/getting-started.mdx` — install and setup - `node_modules/chat/docs/usage.mdx` — `Chat` config and lifecycle - `node_modules/chat/docs/handling-events.mdx` — event routing and handlers - `node_modules/chat/docs/threads-messages-channels.mdx` — thread/channel/message model - `node_modules/chat/docs/posting-messages.mdx` — post, edit, delete, schedule - `node_modules/chat/docs/streaming.mdx` — AI SDK integration and streaming semantics - `node_modules/chat/docs/cards.mdx` — JSX cards - `node_modules/chat/docs/actions.mdx` — button/select interactions - `node_modules/chat/docs/modals.mdx` — modal submit/close flows - `node_modules/chat/docs/slash-commands.mdx` — slash command routing - `node_modules/chat/docs/direct-messages.mdx` — DM behavior and `openDM()` - `node_modules/chat/docs/files.mdx` — attachments/uploads - `node_modules/chat/docs/state.mdx` — persistence, locking, dedupe - `node_modules/chat/docs/adapters.mdx` — cross-platform feature matrix - `node_modules/chat/docs/api/chat.mdx` — exact `Chat` API - `node_modules/chat/docs/api/thread.mdx` — exact `Thread` API - `node_modules/chat/docs/api/message.mdx` — exact `Message` API - `node_modules/chat/docs/api/modals.mdx` — modal element and event details For the specific adapter or state package you are using, inspect that installed package's `dist/index.d.ts` export surface in `node_modules`. ## Quick start ```typescript import { Chat } from "chat"; import { createSlackAdapter } from "@chat-adapter/slack"; import { createRedisState } from "@chat-adapter/state-redis"; const bot = new Chat({ userName: "mybot", adapters: { slack: createSlackAdapter(), }, state: createRedisState(), dedupeTtlMs: 600_000, }); bot.onNewMention(async (thread) => { await thread.subscribe(); await thread.post("Hello! I'm listening to this thread."); }); bot.onSubscribedMessage(async (thread, message) => { await thread.post(`You said: ${message.text}`); }); ``` ## Core concepts - **Chat** — main entry point; coordinates adapters, routing, locks, and state - **Adapters** — platform-specific integrations for Slack, Teams, Google Chat, Discord, Telegram, GitHub, Linear, and WhatsApp - **State adapters** — persistence for subscriptions, locks, dedupe, and thread state - **Thread** — conversation context with `post()`, `stream()`, `subscribe()`, `setState()`, `startTyping()` - **Message** — normalized content with `text`, `formatted`, attachments, author info, and platform `raw` - **Channel** — container for threads and top-level posts ## Event handlers | Handler | Trigger | |---------|---------| | `onNewMention` | Bot @-mentioned in an unsubscribed thread | | `onDirectMessage` | New DM in an unsubscribed DM thread | | `onSubscribedMessage` | Any message in a subscribed thread | | `onNewMessage(regex)` | Regex match in an unsubscribed thread | | `onReaction(emojis?)` | Emoji added or removed | | `onAction(actionIds?)` | Button clicks and select/radio interactions | | `onModalSubmit(callbackId?)` | Modal form submitted | | `onModalClose(callbackId?)` | Modal dismissed/cancelled | | `onSlashCommand(commands?)` | Slash command invocation | | `onAssistantThreadStarted` | Slack assistant thread opened | | `onAssistantContextChanged` | Slack assistant context changed | | `onAppHomeOpened` | Slack App Home opened | | `onMemberJoinedChannel` | Slack member joined channel event | Read `node_modules/chat/docs/handling-events.mdx`, `node_modules/chat/docs/actions.mdx`, `node_modules/chat/docs/modals.mdx`, and `node_modules/chat/docs/slash-commands.mdx` before wiring handlers. `onDirectMessage` behavior is documented in `node_modules/chat/docs/direct-messages.mdx`. ## Streaming Pass any `AsyncIterable` to `thread.post()`. For AI SDK, prefer `result.fullStream` over `result.textStream` when available so step boundaries are preserved. ```typescript import { ToolLoopAgent } from "ai"; const agent = new ToolLoopAgent({ model: "anthropic/claude-4.5-sonnet" }); bot.onNewMention(async (thread, message) => { const result = await agent.stream({ prompt: message.text }); await thread.post(result.fullStream); }); ``` Key details: - `streamingUpdateIntervalMs` controls post+edit fallback cadence - `fallbackStreamingPlaceholderText` defaults to `"..."`; set `null` to disable - Structured `StreamChunk` support is Slack-only; other adapters ignore non-text chunks ## Cards and modals (JSX) Set `jsxImportSource: "chat"` in `tsconfig.json`. Card components: - `Card`, `CardText`, `Section`, `Fields`, `Field`, `Button`, `CardLink`, `LinkButton`, `Actions`, `Select`, `SelectOption`, `RadioSelect`, `Table`, `Image`, `Divider` Modal components: - `Modal`, `TextInput`, `Select`, `SelectOption`, `RadioSelect` `Button` and `Modal` accept a `callbackUrl` prop — when triggered, the SDK POSTs the action payload to that URL in addition to firing any `onAction` / `onModalSubmit` handler. Use this for webhook-based workflow flows. See `node_modules/chat/docs/actions.mdx` and `node_modules/chat/docs/modals.mdx`. ```tsx await thread.post( Your order has been received. ); ``` ## Adapter inventory ### Official platform adapters | Platform | Package | Factory | |---------|---------|---------| | Slack | `@chat-adapter/slack` | `createSlackAdapter` | | Microsoft Teams | `@chat-adapter/teams` | `createTeamsAdapter` | | Google Chat | `@chat-adapter/gchat` | `createGoogleChatAdapter` | | Discord | `@chat-adapter/discord` | `createDiscordAdapter` | | GitHub | `@chat-adapter/github` | `createGitHubAdapter` | | Linear | `@chat-adapter/linear` | `createLinearAdapter` | | Telegram | `@chat-adapter/telegram` | `createTelegramAdapter` | | WhatsApp Business Cloud | `@chat-adapter/whatsapp` | `createWhatsAppAdapter` | ### Official state adapters | State backend | Package | Factory | |--------------|---------|---------| | Redis | `@chat-adapter/state-redis` | `createRedisState` | | ioredis | `@chat-adapter/state-ioredis` | `createIoRedisState` | | PostgreSQL | `@chat-adapter/state-pg` | `createPostgresState` | | Memory | `@chat-adapter/state-memory` | `createMemoryState` | ### Community adapters - `chat-state-cloudflare-do` - `@beeper/chat-adapter-matrix` - `chat-adapter-imessage` - `@bitbasti/chat-adapter-webex` - `@resend/chat-sdk-adapter` - `@zernio/chat-sdk-adapter` - `chat-adapter-baileys` - `@liveblocks/chat-sdk-adapter` - `chat-adapter-sendblue` - `chat-adapter-zalo` - `chat-adapter-mattermost` ### Coming-soon platform entries - Instagram - Signal - X - Messenger ## Building a custom adapter Read these published docs first: - `node_modules/chat/docs/contributing/building.mdx` - `node_modules/chat/docs/contributing/testing.mdx` - `node_modules/chat/docs/contributing/publishing.mdx` Also inspect: - `node_modules/chat/dist/index.d.ts` — `Adapter` and related interfaces - `node_modules/@chat-adapter/shared/dist/index.d.ts` — shared errors and utilities - Installed official adapter `dist/index.d.ts` files — reference implementations for config and APIs A custom adapter needs request verification, webhook parsing, message/thread/channel operations, ID encoding/decoding, and a format converter. Use `BaseFormatConverter` from `chat` and shared utilities from `@chat-adapter/shared`. ## Webhook setup Each registered adapter exposes `bot.webhooks.`. Wire those directly to your HTTP framework routes. See `node_modules/chat/docs/guides/slack-nextjs.mdx` and `node_modules/chat/docs/guides/discord-nuxt.mdx` for framework-specific route patterns.