# Channels

Channels deploy a crew where the business talks — Slack, Discord, Telegram, email, and more. Unlike connectors (which hand an agent tools), a channel is a place an agent operates: it routes inbound messages to a crew and replies in-platform.

> Channel wiring is being finalizedChannels run on Foxora’s hosted side — localhost can’t receive inbound webhooks, so the platform adapters and message routing live in the cloud. Connecting a platform and storing its credentials works today; the final step of routing a channel to a specific crew is still being finalized. Expect this flow to tighten in an upcoming release.

## The platforms

Channels are grouped by where the conversation happens:

- Team chat — Slack, Discord, Microsoft Teams, Google Chat.
- Customer messaging — WhatsApp Business, Messenger.
- Email — Gmail, Outlook / Microsoft 365, or any provider via SMTP / IMAP.
- Developer — GitHub and Linear (operate on issues and PRs in-platform).
- Voice & SMS — Twilio SMS.

## Connect a platform

- 01Open ChannelsOpen Settings → Channels and click Add channel. Pick a platform from team chat, customer messaging, email, or voice.
- 02Enter platform credentialsEach platform asks for its own credentials — a Slack bot token and signing secret, a Telegram bot token from @BotFather, a Twilio account SID and number, and so on. Optional webhook secrets verify inbound updates.
- 03Route it to a crew (coming soon)Once routing lands, you’ll point the connected channel at the crew that should answer there. Until then, the credentials are stored and ready.

> Channels vs. connectorsA connector gives an agent a tool (e.g. Slack-the-tool to post a message). A channel is where an agent lives — it listens to a platform and replies there. The same app can appear in both lists for the two different jobs.