Custom Channel Plugins

You can extend the channel system with custom platform adapters packaged as extensions. This lets you connect Qwen Code to any messaging platform, webhook, or custom transport.

How It Works

Channel plugins are loaded at startup from active extensions. When qwen channel start runs, it:

Scans all enabled extensions for channels entries in their qwen-extension.json
Dynamically imports each channel’s entry point
Registers the channel type so it can be referenced in settings.json
Creates channel instances using the plugin’s factory function

Your custom channel gets the full shared pipeline for free: sender gating, group policies, session routing, slash commands, crash recovery, and the ACP bridge to the agent.

Installing a Custom Channel

Install an extension that provides a channel plugin:


# From a local path (for development or private plugins)
qwen extensions install /path/to/my-channel-extension
 
# Or link it for development (changes are reflected immediately)
qwen extensions link /path/to/my-channel-extension

Configuring a Custom Channel

Add a channel entry to ~/.qwen/settings.json using the custom type provided by the extension:


{
  "channels": {
    "my-bot": {
      "type": "my-platform",
      "apiKey": "$MY_PLATFORM_API_KEY",
      "senderPolicy": "open",
      "cwd": "/path/to/project"
    }
  }
}

The type must match a channel type registered by an installed extension. Check the extension’s documentation for which plugin-specific fields are required (e.g., apiKey, webhookUrl).

All standard channel options work with custom channels:

Option	Description
`senderPolicy`	`allowlist`, `pairing`, or `open`
`allowedUsers`	Static allowlist of sender IDs
`sessionScope`	`user`, `thread`, or `single`
`cwd`	Working directory for the agent
`instructions`	Prepended to the first message of each session
`model`	Model override for the channel
`groupPolicy`	`disabled`, `allowlist`, or `open`
`groups`	Per-group settings

See Overview for details on each option.

Starting the Channel


# Start all channels including custom ones
qwen channel start
 
# Start just your custom channel
qwen channel start my-bot

What You Get for Free

Custom channels automatically support everything built-in channels do:

Sender policies — allowlist, pairing, and open access control
Group policies — Per-group settings with optional @mention gating
Session routing — Per-user, per-thread, or single shared sessions
DM pairing — Full pairing code flow for unknown users
Slash commands — /help, /clear, /status work out of the box
Custom instructions — Prepended to the first message in each session
Crash recovery — Automatic restart with session preservation
Per-session serialization — Messages are queued to prevent race conditions

Building Your Own Channel Plugin

Want to build a channel plugin for a new platform? See the Channel Plugin Developer Guide for the ChannelPlugin interface, the Envelope format, and extension points.