zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw · error · anyhow::Error

{channel_type} channel alias `{alias}` is not configured. Ru

Error message

{channel_type} channel alias `{alias}` is not configured. Run `zeroclaw config set channels.{channel_type}.{alias}.bot_token <token>` (see docs/book/src/channels/overview.md for the full field list).

What it means

Thrown by bind_channel_identity_into when channel_alias_configured() reports that no `[channels.<type>.<alias>]` section exists. Binding into a phantom alias would create a peer group scoped to `<type>.<alias>` that the running channel never reads (authorization resolves under the alias the channel actually runs as), so the code fails loudly instead of silently authorizing nobody.

Source

Thrown at crates/zeroclaw-channels/src/orchestrator/mod.rs:8674

    let Some(normalize) = channel_identity_normalizer(channel_type) else {
        anyhow::bail!(
            "Channel type `{channel_type}` does not support identity binding \
             (supported: telegram, wechat, line)."
        );
    };

    let normalized = normalize(identity);
    if normalized.is_empty() {
        anyhow::bail!("{channel_type} identity cannot be empty");
    }

    // The alias must name an existing `[channels.<type>.<alias>]` section.
    // Binding into a phantom alias would mint a peer group the runtime never
    // reads (it resolves authorization per the alias the channel actually
    // runs under), so fail loudly instead of silently authorizing nobody.
    if !channel_alias_configured(config, channel_type, alias) {
        anyhow::bail!(
            "{channel_type} channel alias `{alias}` is not configured. Run \
             `zeroclaw config set channels.{channel_type}.{alias}.bot_token <token>` \
             (see docs/book/src/channels/overview.md for the full field list)."
        );
    }

    let group_name = format!("{channel_type}_{alias}");
    let channel_ref = format!("{channel_type}.{alias}");
    let group = config
        .peer_groups
        .entry(group_name)
        .or_insert_with(|| PeerGroupConfig {
            channel: ChannelRef::new(channel_ref),
            ..PeerGroupConfig::default()
        });

    if group
        .external_peers

View on GitHub (pinned to 88bb9c8533)

Solutions

1. List configured aliases of that type in zeroclaw.toml under `[channels.telegram]` (or wechat/line) and re-run the bind with the exact alias
2. If the alias should exist, create it: `zeroclaw config set channels.telegram.work.bot_token <token>` (plus the other required fields per docs/book/src/channels/overview.md)
3. Re-run the bind command with the corrected alias

Example fix

# before
zeroclaw bind telegram work 123456789
# error: telegram channel alias `work` is not configured.

# after
zeroclaw config set channels.telegram.work.bot_token "123:ABC"
zeroclaw bind telegram work 123456789

use zeroclaw_channels::orchestrator::channel_alias_configured;
if !channel_alias_configured(&config, channel_type, alias) {
    return Ok(notify(format!("configure [channels.{channel_type}.{alias}] first")));
}
bind_channel_identity_into(&mut config, channel_type, alias, identity)?;

Err(err) if err.to_string().contains("is not configured") => {
    // offer to create the channel section or list existing aliases of that type
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling bind_channel_identity_into(config, "telegram", "work", ...) when `[channels.telegram.work]` is absent — e.g. the channel was configured under alias `default`, or the section was removed. Alias matching is exact against the typed channel maps (config.channels.telegram/wechat/line).

Common situations: Binding to the wrong alias name (typo, or assuming `default` when the config uses `work`); channel section deleted after the bind command was drafted; forgetting to run `zeroclaw setup telegram` first so no channel section exists yet.

Related errors

• model_provider `{ref_or_family}` does not resolve to a confi
• agents.{agent_alias}.model_provider is empty; runtime reload
• model_provider `{trimmed}` must use `<type>.<alias>` form
• model_provider `{trimmed}` does not resolve to a configured
• Channel type `{channel_type}` does not support identity bind

AI-assisted analysis of zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw@88bb9c8533 (2026-08-23). Data as JSON: /api/errors/87fcc75c2193c399. Report an issue: GitHub.