pi-messenger-bridge

Bridge common messengers (Telegram, WhatsApp, Slack, Discord) into pi.

Remote users can interact with your pi coding agent via their messenger app.

pi-messenger-bridge.mp4

Features

• 📱 Multi-messenger support (Telegram, WhatsApp, Slack, Discord)
• 🔐 Challenge-based authentication (6-digit codes)
• 🎛️ Interactive menu (/msg-bridge) for setup and management
• 🔒 Single-instance guard — prevents duplicate bot polling with sub-agents
• 📊 Live status widget (toggleable)
• 💾 Persistent config (auth state, auto-connect, widget preference)
• 🔧 Tool call visibility for remote users
• 📝 Multi-turn conversation support
• 🔑 Secure permissions (chmod 600 for config files, 700 for directories)

Setup

1. Install

pi install npm:pi-messenger-bridge

2. Configure Transports

Telegram

Create a bot via @BotFather and get your token.

/msg-bridge configure telegram <bot-token>

Or set via environment variable:

export PI_TELEGRAM_TOKEN="your-bot-token-here"

WhatsApp

Configure WhatsApp (requires QR code scan):

/msg-bridge configure whatsapp

Scan the QR code with your WhatsApp mobile app (Linked Devices → Link a device).

Note: After linking, send a message to your own phone number in WhatsApp to activate the bridge.

Or set custom auth path:

export PI_WHATSAPP_AUTH_PATH="/path/to/whatsapp-auth"

Slack

Create a Slack app with Socket Mode enabled. You need both tokens:

/msg-bridge configure slack <bot-token> <app-token>

Or set via environment variables:

export PI_SLACK_BOT_TOKEN="xoxb-..."
export PI_SLACK_APP_TOKEN="xapp-..."

Discord

1. Create a new application in the Developer Portal
2. Go to Bot → Reset Token → copy the token
3. Enable Message Content Intent (under Privileged Gateway Intents on the same page)
4. Go to OAuth2 → URL Generator → select scope bot → select permissions Send Messages and Read Message History → open the generated URL to invite the bot to your server

/msg-bridge configure discord <bot-token>

Or set via environment variable:

export PI_DISCORD_TOKEN="your-bot-token"

3. Connect

/msg-bridge connect

4. Authenticate Users

When a user messages your bot for the first time, they'll receive a 6-digit challenge code. The code is displayed in your pi terminal. Share it with the user (e.g., via DM).

The user enters the code in the bot chat to become a trusted user.

Commands

Command	Description
/msg-bridge	Open interactive menu (configure, connect, widget, help)
/msg-bridge status	Show connection and user status
/msg-bridge connect	Connect to all configured transports
/msg-bridge disconnect	Disconnect all transports
/msg-bridge configure <platform> [token]	Set transport credentials via CLI
/msg-bridge widget	Toggle status widget on/off
/msg-bridge help	Show command reference

Configuration

Config is stored at ~/.pi/msg-bridge.json with secure permissions (chmod 600).

Example config:

{
  "telegram": { "token": "..." },
  "whatsapp": { "authPath": "..." },
  "slack": { "botToken": "...", "appToken": "..." },
  "discord": { "token": "..." },
  "auth": {
    "trustedUsers": ["telegram:123", "whatsapp:456"],
    "adminUserId": "telegram:789"
  },
  "autoConnect": true,
  "showWidget": true,
  "debug": false
}

Environment Variables

Environment variables override file config:

• PI_TELEGRAM_TOKEN — Telegram bot token
• PI_WHATSAPP_AUTH_PATH — WhatsApp session directory (default: ~/.pi/msg-bridge-whatsapp-auth)
• PI_SLACK_BOT_TOKEN — Slack bot token (xoxb-...)
• PI_SLACK_APP_TOKEN — Slack app token (xapp-...)
• PI_DISCORD_TOKEN — Discord bot token
• MSG_BRIDGE_DEBUG — Enable debug logging (true/false)

Security

• Config file: ~/.pi/msg-bridge.json (chmod 600 - owner read/write only)
• Config directory: ~/.pi/ (chmod 700 - owner only)
• WhatsApp auth: ~/.pi/msg-bridge-whatsapp-auth/ (chmod 700 - owner only)
• Environment variables take precedence over config file
• Challenge-based authentication for all new users
• Transport-namespaced user IDs prevent impersonation

Troubleshooting

Enable debug mode to see detailed logs:

{
  "debug": true
}

Or:

export MSG_BRIDGE_DEBUG=true

Architecture

Uses pi's native sendUserMessage() and turn_end events for two-way communication. No tool-loop hacks needed — this is the pi-native way.

Single-instance connection guard prevents duplicate polling when sub-agents spawn (global flag + PID lock file at ~/.pi/msg-bridge.lock).

Development

npm install
npm run build        # compile TypeScript
npm run typecheck    # type-check without emitting
npm run test         # run tests
npm run lint         # biome lint
npm run lint:fix     # biome lint with auto-fix

License

MIT