📡 Channels Overview

A channel in PulseHub represents a single connected messaging account. You can have multiple channels of the same type — for example, two WhatsApp numbers for different departments, or three email inboxes for sales/support/billing.

---

How Channels Work

Provider (WhatsApp, Twilio, etc.)
           │
           │  HTTP POST (webhook)
           ▼
/webhooks/{type}/{channel_id}
           │
           ▼
WebhookController
  1. Verifies signature
  2. Normalizes payload
  3. Finds/creates contact
  4. Finds/creates conversation
  5. Saves message
  6. Fires automation events

Every channel has:

• A unique ID (UUID) — this is the {channel_id} in the webhook URL
• A type — one of the 8 supported channel types
• A config — JSON blob with the credentials specific to that channel type
• A webhook token — a random 32-hex-character token generated at creation time
• An active flag — inactive channels reject inbound webhooks and don't send outbound messages

---

Adding a Channel

1. Go to Channels in the sidebar
2. Click Add Channel
3. Choose the channel type from the dropdown
4. Fill in the type-specific credentials (see each channel's guide)
5. Click Save Channel

After saving, the channel card shows the Webhook URL. Copy this URL and paste it into your provider's developer dashboard.

---

Webhook URL Format

https://yourdomain.com/webhooks/{type}/{channel_id}

---

Supported Channels

Channel	Direction	Signature Verification	Notes
WhatsApp	Both	✅ HMAC-SHA256	Requires Meta Business account
SMS / Twilio	Both	Partial	Requires Twilio account
Email	Both	N/A	IMAP polling for inbound
Telegram	Both	—	Bot API, no signature
Viber	Both	✅ HMAC-SHA256	Requires Viber Partners account
Instagram	Both	✅ HMAC-SHA256	Via Meta Graph API
Facebook Messenger	Both	✅ HMAC-SHA256	Via Meta Graph API
Web Chat Widget	Both	Token	Embedded JS snippet