How to add channels to ChatHub

Add a channel to your shared inbox#

The Channels page connects messaging accounts and website chat to ChatHub. This guide covers all four available types: personal Zalo, personal Telegram, Telegram Bot and Chat Plugin, followed by connection and inbox checks.

Open Channels in the demonstration system ↗

1. Prepare before adding a channel#

1. 1

   Sign in to a ChatHub account with permission to manage Channels. Ask an administrator to check access if the page or actions are unavailable.

2. 2

   Personal Zalo: have a phone signed in to the intended Zalo account ready to scan and approve a QR code.

3. 3

   Personal Telegram: have the phone number, Telegram app for login codes and two-step verification password if enabled. An administrator must first configure the shared API ID/API Hash.

4. 4

   Telegram Bot: prepare a bot you manage and its BotFather token. ChatHub needs an HTTPS address reachable by Telegram for webhooks; a DDEV domain accessible only on your computer is insufficient.

5. 5

   Chat Plugin: prepare a website you can edit, the domains allowed to embed chat and customer-facing support text.

Configure API credentials and personal Telegram ↗

2. Open Add account#

1. 1

   Open /channels on your ChatHub domain and select “Thêm tài khoản” (Add account) at the upper right.

2. 2

   Choose one of the four types on the left. Read the setup and next-step information on the right.

3. 3

   For Telegram Bot, also enter a Bot token. The other three types do not ask for login credentials in this dialog. The current interface names the account after its type and has no separate name field.

4. 4

   When ready, click “Tạo tài khoản” (Create account); ChatHub opens the new account configuration. Choose “Huỷ” (Cancel) or × to leave without creating it.

3. Add personal Zalo with a QR code#

1. 1

   Select personal Zalo → “Tạo tài khoản”. In the account configuration, find “Đăng nhập Zalo” (Zalo login) and “Quét mã QR” (Scan QR code).

2. 2

   Click “Tạo mã QR” (Create QR code). Scan it using the Zalo app on the phone signed in to the account you want to connect.

3. 3

   When the state becomes “Đã quét” (Scanned), approve the login on your phone. Wait for “Đã kết nối” (Connected), then check the channel status.

4. 4

   For “Hết hạn” (Expired), choose “Tạo mã mới” (Create new code) and scan again. For “Bị từ chối” (Declined), check phone approval; for “Thất bại” (Failed), read the error and use “Thử lại” (Retry).

4. Add personal Telegram#

1. 1

   Complete the shared API ID/API Hash setup in the personal Telegram guide, then return to Channels → Add account → personal Telegram → Create account.

2. 2

   Under “Đăng nhập Telegram”, enter your phone number. For international numbers, include + and country code; verify “Sẽ gửi mã tới” (Code will be sent to) before clicking “Gửi mã xác thực” (Send verification code).

3. 3

   Read the notice to see whether the code arrives in Telegram or by text message. Enter it in “Mã xác thực” and click “Xác nhận mã” (Confirm code). Use “Gửi lại mã” (Resend code) only when needed and respect any Telegram waiting period.

4. 4

   If prompted, enter your two-step verification password and click “Xác nhận mật khẩu”. Once Connected appears, check the Channels list and test receiving a message with a test account.

5. Create and connect a Telegram Bot#

Open the official BotFather ↗

1. 1

   Open the verified @BotFather in Telegram. If you need a new bot, send /newbot and follow its prompts to choose a name and username and receive a token. For an existing bot, use the token of the bot you want to connect.

2. 2

   In ChatHub, choose Add account → Telegram Bot. Paste your real token into Bot token and click Create account.

3. 3

   In the newly created account configuration, click “Kết nối” (Connect). ChatHub uses the saved token to register a Telegram webhook; creating the account does not replace this connection step.

4. 4

   Wait for the Active status. From a test Telegram account, open the bot, press Start and send a test message. Check it in the ChatHub inbox and reply to verify both directions.

Telegram: obtain your bot token ↗

6. Create a website Chat Plugin#

1. 1

   Choose Add account → Chat Plugin → Create account. This type does not require a phone number, QR code or bot token.

2. 2

   In the configuration, click Connect to connect the widget. Check its status before embedding it on your website.

3. 3

   Find the website chat area with “Hiển thị” (Display), “Biểu mẫu” (Form) and “Mã nhúng” (Embed code) tabs. Apply the following settings and click “Lưu cấu hình” (Save configuration).

7. Customize appearance and greeting#

1. 1

   In Display, choose Circle, Pill or Vertical tab, then choose right/left placement and button size.

2. 2

   Adjust horizontal spacing, desktop/mobile bottom spacing, primary color and icon. For a text-bearing style, edit the button label. Choose a custom image from the work file library if needed.

3. 3

   Fill in the chat title, description and greeting. For example, use “Sample store support” and “Hello! Which product can we help you with?”. Fields with default-text hints can be left blank to use system-language defaults.

4. 4

   Use the preview to check wording and placement. It is a simulation; you still need to test the widget on your actual website. The greeting is only displayed in the UI and does not by itself create an inbox conversation.

8. Choose conversation and attachment options#

1. 1

   Enable multiple conversations if customers should open a new conversation for another issue: each becomes a separate inbox conversation under the same contact. Disable it to keep a customer’s messages in one conversation.

2. 2

   Enable image and file uploads for attachment buttons and drag-and-drop; the current interface specifies a maximum of 10 MB per file.

3. 3

   Click Save configuration when your Chat Plugin settings are ready. If you are only previewing, close the dialog without saving.

9. Ask for information before chat#

1. 1

   Open Form and enable pre-chat information collection if needed. The form is asked once; returning visitors go straight to chat.

2. 2

   Enter introductory text and a submit-button label, or keep the defaults. For example: “Tell us your name so we can help you more easily.”

3. 3

   Under fields to ask, enable “Hỏi” (Ask) for name, phone or email. Enable “Bắt buộc” (Required) for mandatory fields; a field that is not asked cannot be required.

4. 4

   Review the preview and save configuration. Submitted information goes into the contact profile; existing profile values are not overwritten.

10. Embed Chat Plugin on your website#

1. 1

   Open Embed code and choose “Chép mã” (Copy code) to copy this channel’s script. Paste it at the end of every page needing chat, immediately before the closing body tag, or into the shared page template.

2. 2

   In allowed embedding domains, enter one domain per line. The screenshot uses https://example.com as a sample; replace it with your website domains, including any needed subdomains.

3. 3

   Save configuration. Open the embedded website and check the chat button on desktop and phone, the form if enabled, and message delivery using a test session.

4. 4

   If the widget is missing, check that the channel is connected, the script is correctly placed, the page matches an allowed domain and the browser can reach your ChatHub server.

11. Verify the new channel#

1. 1

   Return to Channels and use the refresh icon. Clear filters or search by name/type if the new account is missing.

2. 2

   Compare the power switch with status: Active means enabled and connected; Disconnected means no current connection; Off means the switch is disabled. Needs attention groups the other statuses requiring inspection.

3. 3

   Open configuration to inspect login state, any errors, last signal and supported capabilities. A disconnected channel has Connect; other states may show Reconnect, Test and Disconnect.

4. 4

   After authentication and connection succeed, send a message from a test account or visitor session, check it in the inbox, then reply to verify outgoing delivery. A green badge on a demo channel does not prove a real provider connection.

Use the inbox after connecting ↗

12. Choose group messages to sync#

1. 1

   For channels showing Message sync, review the group-message switch. Turning it off prevents new group messages from reaching the inbox while direct messages still arrive.

2. 2

   Individual groups appear only after ChatHub has received their first message; an empty list does not necessarily indicate a connection problem.

3. 3

   Once groups appear, ignore or resume each group as needed. Ignoring blocks new messages without deleting existing conversations or history. Sync switches save immediately.

13. Troubleshooting and connection management#

1. 1

   Missing channel: refresh and clear search/filters; read the result of Create account before retrying to avoid duplicates.

2. 2

   No personal Telegram code: verify the displayed destination, delivery channel and shared API setup. Invalid/expired codes need a new code; the two-step password is your configured password, not an OTP.

3. 3

   Zalo scanned but not connected: check phone approval; expired codes need a new QR code.

4. 4

   Telegram Bot token/webhook error: check the correct bot token, connection state and public HTTPS address. Ask an administrator to resolve server errors instead of pasting tokens into unrelated fields.

5. 5

   Chat Plugin is visible but no inbox message exists: greetings and previews do not create conversations. Complete any form and send a test message on the embedded website.

6. 6

   The channel power switch saves immediately; enabling tries to connect but may fail without a valid session. Reconnect/Disconnect affect the real connection. Delete account is not a routine login fix; read its confirmation carefully before using it.