Configure the Channel in Intelligence

In CopilotKit Intelligence, open your project, go to **Channels**, and click
**Add channel**. In an empty project, the action is **Create channel**.

The wizard has three phases: **Name & platforms**, **Setup**, and **Review**.

Enter a human-readable **Display name**. Intelligence derives the **Code**
automatically; click **Edit** only if you need to change it.

The Code is part of the runtime contract:

- 3–64 characters
- starts with a lowercase letter
- lowercase letters and numbers separated by single hyphens
- project-unique
- cannot be `channels`

Your SDK declaration must use that exact Code:

```ts title="channel.ts"
import { createChannel } from "@copilotkit/channels";
import { makeAgent } from "./agent.js";

const channel = createChannel({
  name: "support",
  identifyUser: "platform",
  agent: makeAgent,
});
```

A mismatch leaves the Channel at **Waiting for runtime**.

Select Slack, Microsoft Teams, or both. Each connection has its own setup
and installation steps but shares this Channel's Code and runtime
declaration.

<FrontendOnly frontend="slack">

Configure Slack for this guide. You can attach Teams to the same Channel
now or later without changing the Code.

</FrontendOnly>

<FrontendOnly frontend="teams">

Configure Microsoft Teams for this guide. You can attach Slack to the same
Channel now or later without changing the Code.

</FrontendOnly>

Slack and Teams use the same managed delivery path. If a provider says
**Not on your plan**, change the project entitlement before continuing.

Managed Intelligence support for Discord and WhatsApp shows **Coming
soon**. The Channels SDK already exports developer-operated direct adapters
for those providers.

1. Copy the generated manifest, open Slack's app-creation flow, and create
   the app **From a manifest** using the YAML.
2. In **OAuth & Permissions**, click **Install to Workspace**. Approve the
   complete scope set from the current manifest, reinstall after any scope
   update, and paste the current `xoxb-…` **Bot User OAuth Token** into
   **Bot token**. Slack can issue a new token after reinstall.
3. In **Basic Information → App Credentials**, copy the
   **Signing Secret** into Intelligence.
4. Invite the app to a channel with `/invite @<app-handle>`, or open a
   direct message with it.

Slack sends signed Events API requests to the public Intelligence URL in
the generated manifest. Hosted Intelligence provides that URL; a
self-hosted deployment must expose it. Managed slash commands are not part
of the Channels product surface.

Intelligence creates the Channel draft before Microsoft setup. Keep the
default app name, descriptions, and CopilotKit kite icons, or expand the
branding control to customize them. Custom icons and the generated ZIP stay
in browser memory and operating-system temporary files; Intelligence never
stores them.

Follow the guided setup one current action at a time in Teams Developer
Portal and Microsoft Entra. Enter the write-only client ID, tenant ID, and
secret, then download the finished upload-ready package. Do not edit
`manifest.json`. Azure Bot is not part of the normal path.

The generated app configures personal and Team scopes,
`ChannelMessage.Read.Group`, and the required `Files.ReadWrite.All`
application permission. The latter lets the app read, create, update, and
delete files across SharePoint and OneDrive site collections and requires
administrator consent.

Finish by selecting **Add to a team**. A personal-only installation does
not complete setup. Intelligence reports **Created and installed** only
after it records a Team installation, required file access, and Team message
access. This result does not claim that your runtime is online or that a
real message was delivered.

If a custom-package attempt is interrupted, reopen the Channel and select
the icons again (or explicitly choose the default kite) before downloading
a fresh package. Package and icon bytes are never restored from the server.

Do not replace the generated messaging endpoint with your Channels runner
URL. Intelligence owns the public Teams edge.

In the **Review** phase, confirm the Display name, Code, and selected
platform, then click **Create channel**.

Credential validation is not an end-to-end message test.

<FrontendOnly frontend="slack">

A valid but mismatched Slack token pair can still fail at runtime.

</FrontendOnly>

<FrontendOnly frontend="teams">

**Created and installed** is provider setup, not runtime verification. Start
the long-running runtime and send a real Teams message before calling the
Channel working.

</FrontendOnly>

On the new Channel page, open **Connect a runtime**. The **Environment file
(.env)** block names the Intelligence variables with blank values.

Store the project-scoped API key in your secret manager and configure your
long-running Channels process with:

```dotenv title=".env"
INTELLIGENCE_API_KEY=<project-api-key>
CHANNEL_CODE=<your-channel-code>

# Optional paired overrides for self-hosted or non-production Intelligence:
# INTELLIGENCE_API_URL=https://intelligence.example.com
# INTELLIGENCE_GATEWAY_WS_URL=wss://realtime.intelligence.example.com
```

Hosted Intelligence supplies both managed base URLs by default. If you
override them for a self-hosted or non-production deployment, replace both
together. The REST and realtime planes use separate hosts, so do not derive
the WebSocket URL by changing the API URL's scheme. Pass bare base URLs:
the client appends `/api/...`, `/runner`, `/client`, or `/channels` itself.
Do not append `/api`, `/socket`, `/runner`, `/client`, or `/channels`.

Open **API Keys** in the project sidebar to create and copy the
project-scoped runtime key.

You choose `CHANNEL_CODE` from the exact Code above, and the selected agent
framework adds its own backend variables. The SDK receives the Intelligence
values through the `apiKey` constructor property and optional `apiUrl` /
`wsUrl` overrides shown in the platform connection guides.

Never expose the Intelligence key, Slack tokens, or Teams client secret in
browser code or source control.