Embed an Agent in Your Product
Use the Channel API to put a repo-aware agent inside your own support tool or app.
Use the Channel API to put a repo-aware agent inside your own support tool, ops dashboard, or messaging product. Your users talk to the agent without leaving your interface.
Register a channel#
Create a channel with POST /api/channels (or use text-only registration if you don't need browser onboarding). Save the API key and webhook secret immediately — the API key is only shown once.
Wire up your product#
Forward incoming messages to POST /api/channels/:channelId/inbound. The response includes synchronous replies you can show immediately.
For async agent output (task results, status updates), handle the webhook POSTs to your callback URL. Verify the X-Webhook-Signature header with your webhook secret.
Create and load an agent#
Use the same command flow chat.dev already supports, sent through the channel:
/spawn acme/billing-service
/load billing-service
Send real tasks#
Reproduce the Stripe webhook duplication bug in this repo,
identify the root cause, patch it, and explain the fix in plain English
so I can send the summary to a non-technical customer success manager.
Show the synchronous replies immediately. Stream later async output from the webhook callback into the same conversation thread.
When to use this#
This makes sense when you want your own chat surface but still want chat.dev handling the hard parts: repo access, persistent machines, and agent execution. See the full Channel API docs for authentication, webhook format, and text-only registration.