Messages

Understanding message handling in OpenClaw.

Message Structure

Every message contains:

{
  id: "msg_123",
  role: "user",           // user, assistant, system
  content: "Hello!",
  channel: "whatsapp",
  timestamp: "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
  metadata: {
    userId: "user_123",
    sessionId: "session_456"
  }
}

Message Types

User Messages

Messages from users via channels.

Assistant Messages

Responses generated by the agent.

System Messages

Internal messages for context/instructions.

Message Flow

Channel → Gateway → Agent → Model → Response → Channel

1. Channel receives user message
2. Gateway routes to appropriate agent
3. Agent sends to model with context
4. Model generates response
5. Response sent back through channel

Content Types

OpenClaw supports various content types:

Type	Description
Text	Plain text messages
Images	Image attachments
Files	Document attachments
Audio	Voice messages

Message Formatting

Messages are normalized across channels:

• Markdown preserved where supported
• Code blocks formatted appropriately
• Links made clickable

See Also

• Session
• Agent Loop