---
title: Channels
description: Why a run behaves the same whether it starts in the web app, in Slack, or from a schedule. One durable command lane, one door.
sidebar:
  label: The single door
  order: 1
---

A run does not care where it came from. The web app, Slack, and scheduled
automations all submit work through the **same durable command lane**, so every
channel inherits the same reliability, threading, and rendering.

## One command lane

1. **A channel accepts input**

    A message, a mention, or a schedule firing produces a command with an
    idempotency key.

2. **The lane is shared**

    That command enters the exact same durable lane the web composer uses. There
    is no per-channel run engine.

3. **Results flow back to the channel**

    Answers and artifacts return to the originating channel: Slack through the
    durable outbox, the web app over the thread event stream. Approvals are
    resolved in the web app today.

## Why this matters

Because ingress is a single door, adding a new channel is mostly a matter of
translating that channel's messages into commands and delivering results back. A
new channel gets durable commands, threaded replies, and restart survival for
free, with no bespoke run UI.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Reliable by construction" icon="shield-check">
    A new channel reuses the durable command lane and the thread stream, so it is
    reliable without reimplementing orchestration.
  </Card>
  <Card title="Slack today" href="/channels/slack" icon="message-square">
    Slack is the first fully built channel: mention-to-run, threaded replies,
    inbound attachments, and results back in the thread.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Email digests

An env-gated email connector delivers run results outbound. When enabled, it
attaches to every spawned run and, on completion, sends a single digest email
with the run's steps and the assistant's output. `CONNECTOR_EMAIL_NOTIFY=all`
mails every completion and `failed` mails only failures; recipients come from a
fixed comma-separated allowlist, and a dry-run mode logs the fully rendered
payload instead of sending. Any partial or inconsistent configuration disables
the connector with a warning rather than half-sending. Email is delivery-only
today: it does not start runs.

:::note
Automations are themselves a channel in this sense: a durable scheduled trigger
that submits work through the same command lane as an interactive user. New
automations start disabled.
:::