Download .claude/skills/add-deltachat/SKILL.md from the publisher, or copy the path and open the repository. PlugMCP lists the skill and does not host the file.
Where does add-deltachat live?
The publisher keeps it at https://github.com/nanocoai/nanoclaw.
Which agents can use add-deltachat?
Claude, Cursor, and Codex can read a SKILL.md you add from the publisher's repository.
Add DeltaChat channel integration via @deltachat/stdio-rpc-server. Native adapter — no Chat SDK bridge. Email-based messaging with end-to-end encryption.
name: add-deltachat
description: Add DeltaChat channel integration via @deltachat/stdio-rpc-server. Native adapter — no Chat SDK bridge. Email-based messaging with end-to-end encryption.
Add DeltaChat Channel
The adapter drives the @deltachat/stdio-rpc-server JSON-RPC subprocess directly — pure Node.js against the DeltaChat core library. Messages are delivered over email with Autocrypt/OpenPGP encryption.
Install
1. Copy the adapter and its registration test
Fetch the channels branch from the configured remote that carries it, then
overwrite the skill-owned files with the canonical registry copies:
pnpm exec vitest run src/channels/deltachat-registration.test.ts
Both must be clean before proceeding. deltachat-registration.test.ts is the one integration test: it imports the real channel barrel and asserts the registry contains deltachat. It goes red if the import './deltachat.js'; line is deleted or drifts, if the barrel fails to evaluate (so the channel genuinely would not register), or if @deltachat/stdio-rpc-server isn't installed (the import throws) — so it also implicitly verifies the dependency from step 4. Importing is safe: deltachat instantiates the rpc client only in setup() (at host startup), never at import.
End-to-end message delivery against a real email account is verified manually once the service is running — see Wiring and Troubleshooting.
Account Setup
A dedicated email account is strongly recommended — it will accumulate DeltaChat-formatted messages and store encryption keys. Not all providers work well with DeltaChat; check https://providers.delta.chat/ before picking one.
Default security modes: IMAP uses SSL/TLS (port 993), SMTP uses STARTTLS (port 587). Both are configurable via .env — see Credentials below.
Security settings are applied on every startup, so changing them in .env and restarting takes effect without wiping the account.
Optional settings
The following are read from the process environment (not .env). To override them, add Environment= lines to the systemd service unit or your launchd plist:
Variable
Default
Description
DC_ACCOUNT_DIR
dc-account
Directory for DeltaChat account data (IMAP state, keys, blobs)
DC_DISPLAY_NAME
NanoClaw
Bot display name shown in DeltaChat
DC_AVATAR_PATH
(none)
Absolute path to avatar image; set at startup only
The /set-avatar command (send an image with that caption) is the easiest way to set the avatar at runtime without modifying the service file. Only users with owner or global admin role can use it.
On first start the adapter configures the email account (IMAP/SMTP credentials, calls configure()). Subsequent starts skip straight to startIo(). Account data is stored in dc-account/ in the project root (or your DC_ACCOUNT_DIR).
Wiring
DMs
DeltaChat contacts cannot be added by email alone — to start a chat, the user must open the bot's invite link in their DeltaChat app or scan its QR code. This triggers the SecureJoin handshake.
Step 1 — Get the invite link
After the service starts, the adapter logs the invite URL and writes a QR SVG:
grep "invite link" logs/nanoclaw.log | tail -1
# url field contains the https://i.delta.chat/... invite link
# also written to dc-account/invite-qr.svg (or $DC_ACCOUNT_DIR/invite-qr.svg)
The invite URL is stable (tied to the bot's email and encryption keys) so it stays valid across restarts.
Step 2 — Add the bot in DeltaChat
Two options for the user to connect:
Link: Copy the https://i.delta.chat/... URL and open it on the device running DeltaChat. The app recognises it and shows a "Start chat" prompt.
QR code: Open dc-account/invite-qr.svg in a browser or image viewer, display it on screen, and scan it from the DeltaChat app using the QR-scan button on the new-chat screen.
After accepting, DeltaChat exchanges keys and creates the chat automatically.
Step 3 — Wire the chat to an agent
Once the first message arrives the router auto-creates a messaging_groups row. Look up the chat ID:
pnpm exec tsx scripts/q.ts data/v2.db \
"SELECT platform_id, name FROM messaging_groups WHERE channel_type='deltachat' AND is_group=0 ORDER BY created_at DESC LIMIT 5"
Then run /init-first-agent — it creates the agent group, grants the user owner access, and wires the messaging group in one step:
Add the bot email to a DeltaChat group. When any member sends a message, the router creates a messaging_groups row with is_group = 1. Run /manage-channels to wire it to an agent group, or wire it directly with ncl — the host service must be running (ncl connects to it over a Unix socket):
# Engage mode/pattern default to the DeltaChat adapter's declared channel
# defaults — for DeltaChat groups that's a name pattern (the platform has no
# mention metadata), so the agent responds when addressed by name.
ncl wirings create --messaging-group-id <mg-id> --agent-group-id <ag-id>
Next Steps
If you're in the middle of /setup, return to the setup flow now.
Otherwise, run /init-first-agent to create an agent and wire it to your DeltaChat DM (see Wiring above), or /manage-channels to wire this channel to an existing agent group.
Channel Info
type: deltachat
terminology: DeltaChat calls them "chats" (1:1 DMs) and "groups"
supports-threads: no — DeltaChat has no thread model
platform-id-format: numeric chat ID as a string (e.g. "12") — the DeltaChat core's internal chat identifier
user-id-format: deltachat:{email} — the contact's email address
how-to-find-id: Send a message from DeltaChat to the bot email, then query messaging_groups as shown above
typical-use: Personal assistant over DeltaChat DMs; small groups where participants use DeltaChat
default-isolation: One agent per bot identity. Multiple chats with the same operator can share an agent group; groups with other people should typically get their own agent group (the default shared session mode already gives each messaging group its own session)
Features
File attachments — inbound and outbound; inbound waits up to 30 seconds for large-message download to complete
Invite link logged on every startup — URL + QR SVG written to dc-account/invite-qr.svg; see Wiring for the bootstrap flow
/set-avatar — send an image with this caption to change the bot's DeltaChat avatar (admin/owner only)
Connectivity watchdog — restarts IO if IMAP goes quiet for 20 minutes or connectivity drops below threshold for two consecutive 5-minute checks
Network nudge — maybeNetwork() called every 10 minutes to recover from prolonged idle
Not supported: DeltaChat reactions, message editing/deletion, read receipts.
Connectivity model
isConnected() returns true when the internal connectivity value is ≥ 3000:
App password not generated — Gmail and some others require this when 2FA is enabled
Port/security mismatch — defaults are port 993 + SSL/TLS for IMAP and port 587 + STARTTLS for SMTP; override with DC_IMAP_PORT/DC_IMAP_SECURITY or DC_SMTP_PORT/DC_SMTP_SECURITY in .env
Provider uses SMTP port 465 (SSL/TLS) instead of 587
Set DC_SMTP_SECURITY=1 and DC_SMTP_PORT=465 in .env, then restart.
Messages not arriving
Check the service is running and the adapter started: grep "Channel adapter started.*deltachat" logs/nanoclaw.log
Check the sender has been granted access — run /init-first-agent to create their user record and wire the chat
Verify the messaging group is wired: pnpm exec tsx scripts/q.ts data/v2.db "SELECT mg.platform_id, mga.agent_group_id FROM messaging_groups mg JOIN messaging_group_agents mga ON mg.id = mga.messaging_group_id WHERE mg.channel_type='deltachat'"
The messaging group exists but may not be wired to an agent group. Run:
pnpm exec tsx scripts/q.ts data/v2.db "SELECT id, platform_id, name FROM messaging_groups WHERE channel_type='deltachat'"
If the group has no entry in messaging_group_agents, wire it with /manage-channels.
How do I install add-deltachat?
Download .claude/skills/add-deltachat/SKILL.md from the publisher, or copy the path and open the repository. PlugMCP lists the skill and does not host the file.
Where does add-deltachat live?
The publisher keeps it at https://github.com/nanocoai/nanoclaw.
Which agents can use add-deltachat?
Claude, Cursor, and Codex can read a SKILL.md you add from the publisher's repository.