Triggers Overview
A SquadOS agent only works when someone talks to it. This guide answers where that conversation comes from — and today the answer is almost always the same: from an inbox.
An inbox is the connected channel
Section titled “An inbox is the connected channel”Every channel you connect becomes an inbox: a WhatsApp number, a Telegram bot, a public page, a widget installed on your site, an API endpoint. The inbox holds that channel’s credentials and points at whoever handles it.
All of it lives under Inboxes, in the admin sidebar.
Two important things follow from this model:
- One agent can have several inboxes. The same agent can serve WhatsApp Official, Telegram, and a public page at the same time, with the same prompt and the same tools. Each channel keeps its own conversation history per contact.
- An inbox doesn’t need an agent. The destination can be human support: the message comes in normally and an operator replies from the Conversations screen, with no AI in the middle.
To connect, edit, pause, and delete inboxes, see Inboxes.
Available channels
Section titled “Available channels”| Channel | What it’s for |
|---|---|
| WhatsApp Official | Meta’s Cloud API, with a verified number. Recommended for production. See WhatsApp Official. |
| WhatsApp (QR Code) | QR Code connection managed by SquadOS itself. Use it for testing — it can disconnect at any time. See WhatsApp. |
| WhatsApp (Z-API) | Uses your own Z-API account. See Z-API. |
| WhatsApp (UAZAPI) | Uses your own Uazapi account, managed or self-hosted. See Uazapi. |
| WhatsApp (Evolution) | Uses your own Evolution API instance, on your own server. See Evolution API. |
| Instagram Direct | Replies to direct messages from a Business account. See Instagram Direct. |
| Instagram Comments | Replies to post comments, filtered by keyword. Still under Meta review. See Instagram Comments. |
| Telegram | A bot created via @BotFather. Great for testing a new agent quickly. See Telegram. |
| Public page | A chat page with its own address (app.squados.io/a/<address>), to share wherever you like. See Public page and Widget. |
| Widget | A chat bubble installed on your site with a code snippet. See Public page and Widget. |
| API | REST endpoint to integrate any system — n8n, Make, a CRM, your own backend. See API (Webhook). |
What the agent editor shows
Section titled “What the agent editor shows”No channel is configured inside the agent. The Inboxes section of the editor is a read-only view: it answers “where do conversations reach this agent from?” and takes you to the Inboxes screen to change anything.
Right below it, the same section shows the other two ways in:
- Agents that transfer — other agents in your organization whose Transfer Conversation tool points at this one. The conversation arrives from them, without going through any inbox.
- Autonomous execution — the agent acting on its own (following up with people who went quiet, sending at a scheduled time, running message sequences). This isn’t configured on the agent: you build it in Automations, choosing the trigger, the conditions, and who receives it.
How to choose
Section titled “How to choose”- Testing a new agent quickly? Connect a Telegram bot, or use the Hub — active agents already show up there for members of your organization, with no setup at all.
- Serving customers at scale on WhatsApp? WhatsApp Official.
- Exposing the agent to the public? Public page (direct link) or Widget (embedded on your site).
- Calling the agent from one of your systems? API.
- Want a queue staffed only by people, with no AI? Connect the channel and pick human support as the destination.