Channels let your team talk to an Agent from the chat tools they already use. Add the Agent to a channel, @-mention it, and it answers right there in the thread.
Go to Agent → open an Agent → Manage → Channels. Every platform has a card on that page. Click one to connect it, or to manage what it's already connected to.
Which platforms are supported?
| Platform | Where it answers | How you connect it |
|---|---|---|
| Slack | Channels and threads, when @-mentioned | OAuth |
| GitHub | Issue and pull request comment threads | OAuth |
| Linear | Issue comments, and issues assigned to it | OAuth |
| Telegram | Groups your bot is added to | A bot token |
| Microsoft Teams | Teams channels and chats, when @-mentioned | Your own app's details |
| Google Chat | Spaces, when @-mentioned | Your own app's details |
| Everyone who messages your business number | Your own app's details | |
| X | Public mentions and DMs from your bot account | Your own app's details |
How do I connect a platform?
Open Channels
Manage → Channels.Pick the platform
Click its card.Sign in
Slack, GitHub, and Linear use OAuth (a secure login that signs you in with your existing account). Telegram needs a bot token, and Teams, Google Chat, WhatsApp, and X need the app details you create on their side.
Choose where it answers
Pick which channel, repository, team, space, or chat the Agent should reply in.
Invite the bot
Follow the instructions shown, then @-mention the bot to start a conversation.
Once you've picked a channel, the page shows you exactly what to type to reach the Agent there.
How do I get the bot into a channel?
It depends on the platform:
- Slack: run
/invite @Herculesin the channel, then start a message with the bot's name. If your Organization connected its own Slack app, invite that bot by its name instead. The Channels page names the right one once the channel is set up - GitHub: @-mention the Hercules app in an issue or pull request comment
- Linear: @-mention the Hercules app in an issue comment, or assign the issue to it
- Microsoft Teams and Google Chat: @-mention the bot in the channel or space
- Telegram: add your bot to the group, then start a message with its @-name
- WhatsApp: message the connected business number
- X: mention the bot account publicly, or DM it
What if my channel isn't in the list?
Type its ID in by hand. Here's where to find it:
| Platform | Where the ID is |
|---|---|
| Slack | Channel name → View channel details → the ID is at the bottom |
| GitHub | The repository's full name, as in github.com/owner/repo |
| Linear | Settings → Teams → the team's ID |
| Microsoft Teams | Channel → ⋯ → Get link to channel → the 19:…@thread.tacv2 part of the address |
| Google Chat | Open the space and take the last part of the address, typed as spaces/<value> |
| Telegram | Forward a message from the bot to @userinfobot, which replies with the chat ID |
| The phone number ID from WhatsApp → API Setup | |
| X | public for mention threads, dm for direct messages, one for each |
Hercules can only list channels the bot can see. In Slack that's public channels, plus private ones it's been added to. Telegram has no list at all, so you always type the chat ID.
Additional FAQ
Can one Agent answer in several channels?
Yes, as many as you need. The ones you've set up are listed above the platform cards.
Can I turn one channel off without disconnecting?
Yes. Each one has its own on/off switch, so you can pause the Agent in one channel and leave the rest running.
How do I remove a channel?
Click the trash icon on the channel's row, then Remove channel to confirm. The Agent stops answering there straight away and that channel's settings are deleted, which can't be undone. To pause instead, use the channel's on/off switch. A Slack channel listed under a bot is removed from its own menu: click the channel, then Stop answering in #channel, and confirm.
Can I limit how many conversations the Agent starts in a channel?
Yes. Set New conversations per hour on the channel. Once the Agent has started that many new threads in the last hour, it skips new ones and posts a short note in the first thread it skips. Threads it already started keep going. Leave the field empty for no limit.
Can I use my own Slack app instead of the Hercules one?
Yes. Slack is the one platform where you can register your own app instead of installing the shared Hercules one.
Do channel conversations show up in Run history?
Yes. Every reply the Agent gives in a channel is a run, with a full record of what it did. See Run history.
Does the Agent read everything in the channel?
Not by default. In a channel it answers when @-mentioned, and then follows that thread, so replies inside it don't need another mention. Direct messages are different: on WhatsApp and in X DMs, someone messaging your Agent is enough on its own, and the conversation carries on from there.
Can the Agent answer every message in a Slack channel?
Yes. Next to the Slack channel on the Channels page, change Mentions only to Every message. Each new message posted in the channel then starts a run, including messages from other apps such as alerting tools, and the Agent replies in that message's thread. Replies inside the thread continue the same conversation. When an app posts the same event twice within two minutes, for example an alert and its escalation that lead with the same link, the Agent answers the first message only. Use it for focused channels such as an incident channel: every message costs a run.
Can I assign a Linear issue to the Agent?
Yes. Assign the issue to the Hercules app in Linear, and the Agent reads the issue and starts working on it. You stay the issue's assignee. If you connected Linear before this was possible, the Channels page asks you to reconnect Linear first. Click Reconnect and approve the new access in Linear.
My platform isn't listed
Click Suggest a platform under the cards and tell us which one you need.