> This page is for Omni Channel. > For clean Markdown of any page, append .md to the page URL. > For a complete documentation index, see https://docs.hams.ai/llms.txt. > For AI client integration (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.), connect to the MCP server at https://docs.hams.ai/_mcp/server. # Inboxes and channels > Connect a channel to your account as an inbox, and see what each channel needs. An inbox is 1 channel that you connect to your account, for example a WhatsApp number or an email address. The conversations of all inboxes come into the same list. Thus, an agent works in 1 list and not in 1 application for each channel. > **Note** > > Only administrators can add an inbox and change its settings. The **X** channel shows only when Hams support turns on **X Channel (Mentions + Chat)** for your account. The **Phone** channel and the **Call Center** tab show only when Hams support turns on **Call Center** and **Voice Channel** for your account. The **Campaign pace** tab shows only when Hams support turns on **WhatsApp Campaign** for your account. ![Create Inbox lists every channel type you can connect.](/_fern-img/3077be5f5470f94bbc21587ae7e1e92e4f34197ad0bac4be987488969a569ef7.webp) ## Available channels | Channel | What it connects | | ------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Website** | A live chat widget on your website. See [Live chat](/omni-channel/live-chat). | | **Facebook** | The messages of a Facebook page. See [Facebook](/omni-channel/facebook). | | **WhatsApp** | A WhatsApp Business number, through Meta or through Twilio. See [WhatsApp](/omni-channel/whatsapp). | | **Phone** | The calls to 1 or more Cloud Call Center numbers. See [Voice](/omni-channel/voice). | | **SMS** | Text messages, through Twilio or Bandwidth. | | **Email** | A mailbox at Microsoft, Google, or another email provider. | | **API** | Your own application, through the API. | | **Telegram** | A Telegram bot. See [Telegram](/omni-channel/telegram). | | **Line** | A LINE official account. | | **Instagram** | The direct messages of an Instagram account. | | **X** | The direct messages and the public mentions of 1 X account. See [X](/omni-channel/x) and [X Mentions](/omni-channel/x-mentions). | A channel card that you cannot click is not available for your account. The **Facebook** and **Instagram** cards need a Meta app on the Hams installation. ## Add an inbox Get the details of the channel before you start. The table in [What each channel needs](#what-each-channel-needs) lists them. #### Open the inboxes Open **Settings** > **Inboxes**. The page is at `/app/accounts/{account_id}/settings?tab=inboxes`. `{account_id}` is the number of your account in the dashboard URL. #### Start the wizard Click **Add Inbox**. The wizard opens at the **Choose Channel** step. #### Select the channel Click the card of the channel. Then click **Next**. The **Create Inbox** step opens. #### Enter the channel details At the **Create Inbox** step, enter the details of the channel. For some channels, you sign in to the provider instead. #### Add the agents At the **Add Agents** step, select the agents who work in the inbox. You must select at least 1 agent. #### Finish At the **Voilà!** step, click **Take me there**. The new inbox opens. For a **WhatsApp Cloud**, **Twilio**, **Bandwidth**, or **Line** inbox, the last step also shows a callback URL. Add this URL in the settings of your provider account. Without it, the inbox does not receive messages. A **WhatsApp Cloud** inbox tries to register the URL at Meta for you. See [WhatsApp](/omni-channel/whatsapp). An **X** inbox does not use the **Add Agents** step. After you sign in to X, the **Inboxes** list opens. Add the agents on the **Collaborators** tab of the inbox. See [X](/omni-channel/x). ### What each channel needs | Channel | Fields and actions | | ------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Website** | **Website Name** and **Website Domain**. You can also set the **Widget Color**, the **Welcome Heading**, the **Welcome Tagline**, and a greeting message. | | **Facebook** | Sign in to Facebook. Then select a page that you manage. | | **WhatsApp**, provider **Quick setup with Meta** | Click **Connect with WhatsApp Business** and sign in to Meta. The system names the inbox from your business name. This provider shows only when the Hams installation has a Meta app for it. | | **WhatsApp**, provider **WhatsApp Cloud** | **Inbox Name**, **Phone number**, **Phone number ID**, **Business Account ID**, and **API key**. | | **WhatsApp**, provider **Twilio** | **Inbox Name**, **Phone Number**, **Account SID**, and **Auth Token**. | | **SMS**, provider **Twilio** | **Inbox Name**, **Account SID**, **Auth Token**, and the **Phone Number** or the **Messaging Service SID**. You can also select **Use API Key Authentication**. Then enter an **API Key SID**. | | **SMS**, provider **Bandwidth** | **Inbox Name**, **Phone number**, **Account ID**, **Application ID**, **API Key**, and **API Secret**. | | **Email** | Select **Microsoft** or **Google**. Then sign in. For another provider, select **Other Providers** and enter the **Channel Name** and the **Email**. | | **API** | **Channel Name**. You can also enter a **Webhook URL** that starts with `http://` or `https://`. | | **Telegram** | The **Bot Token** of your Telegram bot. | | **Line** | **Channel Name**, **LINE Channel ID**, **LINE Channel Secret**, and **LINE Channel Token**. | | **Instagram** | Click **Continue with Instagram** and sign in. | | **X** | Select the **X app** or **Add a new X app**. Select **X Chat**, **Mentions**, or both. For a new app, enter the **Client ID**, **Client Secret**, **API Key**, and **API Key Secret**. For **X Chat**, enter the **X Chat PIN**. Then click **Connect with X** and sign in to X. | ## Settings of an inbox To open the settings of an inbox, open **Settings** > **Inboxes**. Then click **Settings** on the inbox. The tabs depend on the channel. All inboxes have the **Settings**, **Collaborators**, **Business Hours**, and **CSAT** tabs. A WhatsApp inbox can also have these tabs: | Tab | When it shows | | --------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Configuration** | The provider is **WhatsApp Cloud**, **Quick setup with Meta**, or **Twilio**. | | **Bot Configuration** | Agent bots are on for your account. | | **Account Health** | The provider is **WhatsApp Cloud** or **Quick setup with Meta**. | | **Campaign pace** | Hams support turns on **WhatsApp Campaign** for your account. | | **Calls** | The provider is **WhatsApp Cloud** or **Quick setup with Meta**, and Hams support turns on **Voice Channel** for your account. | | **Call Center** | The provider is **WhatsApp Cloud** or **Quick setup with Meta**, and Hams support turns on **Call Center** and **Voice Channel** for your account. | An SMS inbox and a **Phone** inbox also have the **Call Center** tab. See [Voice](/omni-channel/voice). An X inbox also has the **Configuration** tab and the **Account Health** tab. See [X](/omni-channel/x). ### Campaign pace The **Campaign pace** tab sets how fast WhatsApp campaigns send on the number of the inbox. It has 2 fields: * **Messages per second**: a whole number from 1 to 1000. The default is 20. * **Daily cap**: the maximum number of campaign messages in 24 hours. The default is no cap. Click **Derive from number health** to get a suggested pace from the health of the number at Meta. Then click **Save**. All campaigns on the number share the pace and the daily cap. The pace does not apply to an inbox with the provider **Twilio**. For the full procedure, see [Set the pace](/omni-channel/whatsapp-campaigns#set-the-pace). ## Voice Cloud Call Center calls become conversations in the inbox that their DID links to. A **Phone** inbox gets the calls of 1 or more DIDs. A WhatsApp or SMS inbox can get the calls of its own number, so calls and messages share 1 conversation. A call on a DID that links to no inbox stays in Cloud Call Center only. Calls through Twilio Voice on a Twilio SMS inbox (the **Voice** tab) and WhatsApp calls (the **Calls** tab) also become conversations in their inbox. See [Voice](/omni-channel/voice). ## X An X inbox can get the direct messages and the public mentions of 1 X account. You turn on each feature for the inbox. Direct messages become conversations in the inbox. Mentions become threads in the **X Mentions** view, not conversations. See [X](/omni-channel/x) and [X Mentions](/omni-channel/x-mentions). ## Related * [WhatsApp](/omni-channel/whatsapp) * [Voice](/omni-channel/voice) * [Live chat](/omni-channel/live-chat) * [Facebook](/omni-channel/facebook) * [Telegram](/omni-channel/telegram) * [X](/omni-channel/x) * [X Mentions](/omni-channel/x-mentions) * [WhatsApp campaigns](/omni-channel/whatsapp-campaigns) * [Templates](/omni-channel/api/templates)