> For clean Markdown of any page, append .md to the page URL. > For a complete documentation index, see https://docs.nvidia.com/nemoclaw/llms.txt. > For AI client integration (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.), connect to the MCP server at https://docs.nvidia.com/nemoclaw/_mcp/server. # Set Up WhatsApp > Pair experimental WhatsApp inside an OpenClaw or Hermes sandbox and understand its durable session state. WhatsApp support is experimental and pairs inside the sandbox rather than through a host-side token or OpenShell credential provider. ## Pair the Sandbox Enable the channel during onboarding or with `channels add whatsapp`, rebuild the sandbox, then connect to it. Run the agent-specific pairing command to render the QR code: ```bash hermes whatsapp ``` Hermes dashboard pairing and the gateway share `/sandbox/.hermes/platforms/whatsapp/session`. After scanning a dashboard QR code, run `nemohermes channels status --channel whatsapp` to confirm that the shared session is available to the gateway. If `channels status` reports credentials only under the legacy `profiles/dashboard-home` path, the sandbox has credentials from an image that wrote dashboard sessions to that path. Rebuilding and pairing again writes new credentials to the shared path, but it leaves the legacy credentials in durable state, and sandbox startup treats that copy as migration input. Clear every WhatsApp session path first with the supported removal command, then re-add the channel: ```bash nemohermes channels remove whatsapp nemohermes channels add whatsapp ``` `channels remove` clears `/sandbox/.hermes/platforms/whatsapp`, the dashboard profile session at `/sandbox/.hermes/profiles/dashboard-home/platforms/whatsapp/session`, and the legacy migration source at `/sandbox/.hermes/dashboard-home/platforms/whatsapp/session`. The sandbox must be running for that cleanup to succeed; `channels remove` refuses to proceed when it cannot reach the sandbox. Pair again from the dashboard so the credentials are written to `/sandbox/.hermes/platforms/whatsapp/session`. Rerun `nemohermes channels status --channel whatsapp` and confirm that the gateway session path holds the credentials and that the report no longer lists a `profiles/dashboard-home` session. ## Protect Paired Session State The sandbox stores mutable session credentials in durable `platforms/whatsapp` state for both dashboard pairing and the gateway. The credentials survive rebuilds without re-pairing. A sandbox that also holds legacy `profiles/dashboard-home` or `dashboard-home` credentials keeps both copies across a rebuild, because both paths are part of the durable state that a rebuild restores. Run `nemohermes channels remove whatsapp` to clear every WhatsApp session path, then re-add the channel and pair again. This is the runtime tradeoff of enabling WhatsApp without a host bridge: a paired sandbox can use that WhatsApp account until you unpair it or clear the durable state. NemoClaw cannot detect cross-sandbox WhatsApp conflicts the way it does for token-based channels. Pair only one sandbox per WhatsApp account at a time. For non-interactive onboarding, set `WHATSAPP_ALLOWED_IDS` to a nonempty comma-separated sender list to select WhatsApp for either agent. Hermes uses these values as its WhatsApp sender allowlist only when `WHATSAPP_MODE=bot`. Refer to [Reply to Other Senders](#reply-to-other-senders). ## Reply to Other Senders `channels add whatsapp` asks which senders the sandbox answers: ```text WhatsApp reply mode [self-chat/bot; default: self-chat]: ``` Press Enter to keep `self-chat`, where the sandbox replies only to messages the paired account sends to itself and reads no allowlist. Answer `bot` to reply to other senders; the sandbox then stops replying to that self-chat. Pick `bot` when the sandbox has its own WhatsApp number and you write to it from a different phone, and keep `self-chat` when the sandbox shares your account and you write to yourself. Complete the rebuild that `channels add` queues before the selected mode takes effect. Hermes authorizes senders through its own pairing store in either mode, so the first message the sandbox receives is answered with a pairing code instead of a reply. That applies to your own first message in `self-chat` too. Approve it once inside the sandbox and the sender is recognized from then on: ```bash hermes pairing approve whatsapp ``` The `bot` mode without an allowlist lets any sender start that pairing request. In `self-chat` the bridge drops other senders before they reach the gateway, so only your own account can pair. The Hermes bridge sends the code to the sender rather than to you. Read it from that WhatsApp conversation on your paired phone, or have the sender share it with you. `hermes pairing list` shows each waiting request by number and display name. It shortens the code to a hash prefix, so use the list to judge whether a request is genuine rather than to read the code. Approval runs inside the sandbox, so holding a code does not grant a sender access. Supply an allowlist instead when the sandbox should answer a fixed set of senders without approving each one: ```bash WHATSAPP_ALLOWED_IDS=15551234567 nemohermes channels add whatsapp ``` For individual sender IDs, use digits only, such as `15551234567`, without a leading `+`. The in-sandbox `hermes whatsapp` wizard also asks who may message the bot. Answering it writes the allowlist outside the configuration NemoClaw seals, so the next `gateway restart` refuses to relaunch and directs you to rebuild. Leave that question blank and set the allowlist through `channels add` instead. Returning to `self-chat` stops replies to other senders, but it does not revoke a sender you already approved. Revoke that sender when you no longer want them to reach the sandbox: ```bash hermes pairing revoke whatsapp ``` Sandboxes onboarded before NemoClaw stored the WhatsApp mode use `self-chat` after their next rebuild. If such a sandbox must continue replying to other senders, run `channels add whatsapp` again and answer `bot`. Verify the applied mode and allowlist: ```bash nemohermes channels status --channel whatsapp ``` Confirm that the output reports the intended mode and allowlist without a rendered-config mismatch. Set `WHATSAPP_ALLOWED_IDS='*'` to let any sender reach the paired account without approving each one. Continue with [Enable Channels During Onboarding](enable-channels-during-onboarding) or [Add Channels After Onboarding](add-channels-after-onboarding).