@qwen-code/channel-plugin-example

A reference channel plugin for Qwen Code. It connects to a WebSocket server and routes messages through the full channel pipeline (access control, session routing, agent bridge).

Use this package to:

• Try out the channel plugin system — install it as an extension and run it with the built-in mock server
• Use it as a starting point — fork the source to build your own channel adapter (see the Channel Plugin Developer Guide)

Quick start

1. Install the package

npm install @qwen-code/channel-plugin-example

2. Link it as a Qwen Code extension

The package ships a qwen-extension.json manifest, so it works as an extension out of the box:

qwen extensions link ./node_modules/@qwen-code/channel-plugin-example

3. Configure the channel

Add a channel entry to ~/.qwen/settings.json:

{
  "channels": {
    "my-plugin-test": {
      "type": "plugin-example",
      "serverWsUrl": "ws://localhost:9201",
      "senderPolicy": "open",
      "sessionScope": "user",
      "cwd": "/path/to/your/project"
    }
  }
}

4. Start the mock server

npx qwen-channel-plugin-example-server

The server prints the HTTP and WebSocket URLs. You can customize ports with environment variables:

HTTP_PORT=8080 WS_PORT=8081 npx qwen-channel-plugin-example-server

5. Start the channel

In a separate terminal:

qwen channel start my-plugin-test

Or run the same adapter under the experimental daemon-managed channel worker:

cd /path/to/your/project
qwen serve --channel my-plugin-test

qwen serve --channel requires the channel's configured cwd to resolve to the daemon workspace.

6. Send a message

curl -sX POST http://localhost:9200/message \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"senderId":"user1","senderName":"Tester","text":"What is 2+2?"}'

You should get a JSON response with the agent's reply.

How it works

Mock Server (HTTP + WS)
  ↕ WebSocket
MockPluginChannel (this package)
  → Envelope → ChannelBase.handleInbound()
    → SenderGate → SessionRouter → ChannelAgentBridge.prompt()
      → qwen-code agent → model API
    ← response
  ← sendMessage() → WebSocket → Mock Server
  ← HTTP response

Building your own channel

See src/MockPluginChannel.ts for a working example. The key points:

1. Extend ChannelBase and implement connect(), sendMessage(), disconnect()
2. Build an Envelope from incoming platform messages and call this.handleInbound(envelope)
3. Type the adapter constructor bridge parameter as ChannelAgentBridge
4. Export a plugin object conforming to ChannelPlugin
5. Add a qwen-extension.json manifest

AcpBridge is still the current standalone qwen channel start implementation. Plugin adapters should depend on the ChannelAgentBridge abstraction provided by @qwen-code/channel-base.

Existing TypeScript plugins that explicitly type the adapter constructor or factory bridge parameter as AcpBridge should change that annotation to ChannelAgentBridge. JavaScript plugins are unaffected at runtime.

qwen serve --channel <name> hosts the same plugin through a daemon-managed worker backed by DaemonChannelBridge. The worker is owned by qwen serve; stop the daemon to stop serve-managed channels.

Features you get for free

• Block streaming — enable blockStreaming: "on" in config and the agent's response is automatically split into multiple messages at paragraph boundaries
• Attachments — populate envelope.attachments with images/files and handleInbound() routes them to the agent (images as vision input, files as paths in the prompt)
• Streaming hooks — override onResponseChunk() for progressive display (e.g., editing a message in-place)
• Access control (allowlist, pairing, open), session routing, slash commands, crash recovery

Full guide: Channel Plugin Developer Guide