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Chat SDK

OfficialFree

Build multi-platform chat bots with ease.

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Free · Opens the source repo

What Chat SDK does

Chat SDK is a unified TypeScript SDK designed for developers looking to create chat bots that can operate across multiple platforms, including Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Chat, Discord, Telegram, GitHub, Linear, and WhatsApp. With this SDK, developers can write their bot logic once and deploy it everywhere, simplifying the development process and ensuring consistency across different messaging environments. The SDK provides a robust set of features for handling various interactions such as mentions, direct messages, and slash commands, making it a versatile tool for modern chat applications.

The core of Chat SDK is the Chat class, which serves as the main entry point for bot development. It coordinates the adapters for different platforms, manages the state, and handles event routing. Developers can create platform-specific adapters using the provided factory functions, enabling seamless integration with the chat services they wish to support. Additionally, the SDK includes state adapters that help maintain the bot's state across sessions, ensuring that conversations can continue smoothly.

For those looking to create rich user experiences, Chat SDK supports the posting of rich cards and modals using JSX. This allows developers to create interactive elements that enhance user engagement. The SDK also provides a comprehensive set of event handlers that respond to various triggers, such as new messages, reactions, and modal submissions, enabling developers to create dynamic and responsive chat bots.

In summary, Chat SDK is an essential tool for developers aiming to build sophisticated chat bots that can interact across multiple platforms. It streamlines the development process and provides the necessary tools to create engaging and functional chat experiences.

When to use it

Use Chat SDK when you need to develop a chat bot that interacts with users across various messaging platforms without duplicating code.

When not to use it

This SDK may not be suitable for projects that require highly specialized features unique to a single platform, as it focuses on cross-platform compatibility.

What you can build with it

Creating a Slack Bot

Develop a bot for Slack that listens for mentions and responds to user queries in real-time.

Cross-Platform Bot Development

Build a single bot that can operate on multiple platforms like Discord and Telegram, reducing the need for separate codebases.

Integrating AI Responses

Utilize the streaming capabilities of Chat SDK to send AI-generated responses to users in chat threads.

How to install Chat SDK

View source

1. Install with the skills CLI

npx skills add vercel-labs/open-agents/chat-sdk --agent claude-code

2. Or install it manually

Download the skill folder and drop it into ~/.claude/skills/ for all projects, or .claude/skills/ to scope it to one repo. Restart Claude Code so it picks up the new skill.

Anthropic's agentic coding CLI, and the reference implementation of Agent Skills. Drop a skill folder into ~/.claude/skills and Claude Code loads it automatically whenever a task matches the skill's description. Claude Code docs

Inside SKILL.md

Written by vercel-labs

Chat SDK

Unified TypeScript SDK for building chat bots across Slack, Teams, Google Chat, Discord, Telegram, GitHub, Linear, and WhatsApp. Write bot logic once, deploy everywhere.

Start with published sources

When Chat SDK is installed in a user project, inspect the published files that ship in node_modules:

node_modules/chat/docs/                    # bundled docs
node_modules/chat/dist/index.d.ts          # core API types
node_modules/chat/dist/jsx-runtime.d.ts    # JSX runtime types
node_modules/chat/docs/contributing/       # adapter-authoring docs
node_modules/chat/docs/guides/             # framework/platform guides

If one of the paths below does not exist, that package is not installed in the project yet.

Read these before writing code:

  • node_modules/chat/docs/getting-started.mdx — install and setup
  • node_modules/chat/docs/usage.mdxChat config and lifecycle
  • node_modules/chat/docs/handling-events.mdx — event routing and handlers
  • node_modules/chat/docs/threads-messages-channels.mdx — thread/channel/message model
  • node_modules/chat/docs/posting-messages.mdx — post, edit, delete, schedule
  • node_modules/chat/docs/streaming.mdx — AI SDK integration and streaming semantics
  • node_modules/chat/docs/cards.mdx — JSX cards
  • node_modules/chat/docs/actions.mdx — button/select interactions
  • node_modules/chat/docs/modals.mdx — modal submit/close flows
  • node_modules/chat/docs/slash-commands.mdx — slash command routing
  • node_modules/chat/docs/direct-messages.mdx — DM behavior and openDM()
  • node_modules/chat/docs/files.mdx — attachments/uploads
  • node_modules/chat/docs/state.mdx — persistence, locking, dedupe
  • node_modules/chat/docs/adapters.mdx — cross-platform feature matrix
  • node_modules/chat/docs/api/chat.mdx — exact Chat API
  • node_modules/chat/docs/api/thread.mdx — exact Thread API
  • node_modules/chat/docs/api/message.mdx — exact Message API
  • node_modules/chat/docs/api/modals.mdx — modal element and event details

For the specific adapter or state package you are using, inspect that installed package's dist/index.d.ts export surface in node_modules.

Quick start

import { Chat } from "chat";
import { createSlackAdapter } from "@chat-adapter/slack";
import { createRedisState } from "@chat-adapter/state-redis";

const bot = new Chat({
  userName: "mybot",
  adapters: {
    slack: createSlackAdapter(),
  },
  state: createRedisState(),
  dedupeTtlMs: 600_000,
});

bot.onNewMention(async (thread) => {
  await thread.subscribe();
  await thread.post("Hello! I'm listening to this thread.");
});

bot.onSubscribedMessage(async (thread, message) => {
  await thread.post(`You said: ${message.text}`);
});

Core concepts

  • Chat — main entry point; coordinates adapters, routing, locks, and state
  • Adapters — platform-specific integrations for Slack, Teams, Google Chat, Discord, Telegram, GitHub, Linear, and WhatsApp
  • State adapters — persistence for subscriptions, locks, dedupe, and thread state
  • Thread — conversation context with post(), stream(), subscribe(), setState(), startTyping()
  • Message — normalized content with text, formatted, attachments, author info, and platform raw
  • Channel — container for threads and top-level posts

Event handlers

HandlerTrigger
onNewMentionBot @-mentioned in an unsubscribed thread
onDirectMessageNew DM in an unsubscribed DM thread
onSubscribedMessageAny message in a subscribed thread
onNewMessage(regex)Regex match in an unsubscribed thread
onReaction(emojis?)Emoji added or removed
onAction(actionIds?)Button clicks and select/radio interactions
onModalSubmit(callbackId?)Modal form submitted
onModalClose(callbackId?)Modal dismissed/cancelled
onSlashCommand(commands?)Slash command invocation
onAssistantThreadStartedSlack assistant thread opened
onAssistantContextChangedSlack assistant context changed
onAppHomeOpenedSlack App Home opened
onMemberJoinedChannelSlack member joined channel event

Read node_modules/chat/docs/handling-events.mdx, node_modules/chat/docs/actions.mdx, node_modules/chat/docs/modals.mdx, and node_modules/chat/docs/slash-commands.mdx before wiring handlers. onDirectMessage behavior is documented in node_modules/chat/docs/direct-messages.mdx.

Streaming

Pass any AsyncIterable<string> to thread.post() or thread.stream(). For AI SDK, prefer result.fullStream over result.textStream when available so step boundaries are preserved.

import { ToolLoopAgent } from "ai";

const agent = new ToolLoopAgent({ model: "anthropic/claude-4.5-sonnet" });

bot.onNewMention(async (thread, message) => {
  const result = await agent.stream({ prompt: message.text });
  await thread.post(result.fullStream);
});

Key details:

  • streamingUpdateIntervalMs controls post+edit fallback cadence
  • fallbackStreamingPlaceholderText defaults to "..."; set null to disable
  • Structured StreamChunk support is Slack-only; other adapters ignore non-text chunks

Cards and modals (JSX)

Set jsxImportSource: "chat" in tsconfig.json.

Card components:

  • Card, CardText, Section, Fields, Field, Button, CardLink, LinkButton, Actions, Select, SelectOption, RadioSelect, Table, Image, Divider

Modal components:

  • Modal, TextInput, Select, SelectOption, RadioSelect
await thread.post(
  <Card title="Order #1234">
    <CardText>Your order has been received.</CardText>
    <Actions>
      <Button id="approve" style="primary">Approve</Button>
      <Button id="reject" style="danger">Reject</Button>
    </Actions>
  </Card>
);

Adapter inventory

Official platform adapters

PlatformPackageFactory
Slack@chat-adapter/slackcreateSlackAdapter
Microsoft Teams@chat-adapter/teamscreateTeamsAdapter
Google Chat@chat-adapter/gchatcreateGoogleChatAdapter
Discord@chat-adapter/discordcreateDiscordAdapter
GitHub@chat-adapter/githubcreateGitHubAdapter
Linear@chat-adapter/linearcreateLinearAdapter
Telegram@chat-adapter/telegramcreateTelegramAdapter
WhatsApp Business Cloud@chat-adapter/whatsappcreateWhatsAppAdapter

Official state adapters

State backendPackageFactory
Redis@chat-adapter/state-rediscreateRedisState
ioredis@chat-adapter/state-iorediscreateIoRedisState
PostgreSQL@chat-adapter/state-pgcreatePostgresState
Memory@chat-adapter/state-memorycreateMemoryState

Community adapters

  • chat-state-cloudflare-do
  • @beeper/chat-adapter-matrix
  • chat-adapter-imessage
  • @bitbasti/chat-adapter-webex
  • @resend/chat-sdk-adapter
  • chat-adapter-baileys

Coming-soon platform entries

  • Instagram
  • Signal
  • X
  • Messenger

Building a custom adapter

Read these published docs first:

  • node_modules/chat/docs/contributing/building.mdx
  • node_modules/chat/docs/contributing/testing.mdx
  • node_modules/chat/docs/contributing/publishing.mdx

Also inspect:

  • node_modules/chat/dist/index.d.tsAdapter and related interfaces
  • node_modules/@chat-adapter/shared/dist/index.d.ts — shared errors and utilities
  • Installed official adapter dist/index.d.ts files — reference implementations for config and APIs

A custom adapter needs request verification, webhook parsing, message/thread/channel operations, ID encoding/decoding, and a format converter. Use BaseFormatConverter from chat and shared utilities from @chat-adapter/shared.

Webhook setup

Each registered adapter exposes bot.webhooks.<name>. Wire those directly to your HTTP framework routes. See node_modules/chat/docs/guides/slack-nextjs.mdx and node_modules/chat/docs/guides/discord-nuxt.mdx for framework-specific route patterns.

Frequently asked questions about Chat SDK

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