Microsoft Teams (plugin)

"Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."

Updated: 2026-01-21

Status: text + DM attachments are supported; channel/group file sending requires sharePointSiteId + Graph permissions (see Sending files in group chats). Polls are sent via Adaptive Cards. Message actions expose explicit upload-file for file-first sends.

Plugin required

Microsoft Teams ships as a plugin and is not bundled with the core install.

Breaking change (2026.1.15): Microsoft Teams moved out of core. If you use it, you must install the plugin.

Explainable: keeps core installs lighter and lets Microsoft Teams dependencies update independently.

Install via CLI (npm registry):

openclaw plugins install @openclaw/msteams

Local checkout (when running from a git repo):

openclaw plugins install ./path/to/local/msteams-plugin

If you choose Teams during setup and a git checkout is detected, OpenClaw will offer the local install path automatically.

Quick setup (beginner)

1. Install the Microsoft Teams plugin.
2. Create an Azure Bot (App ID + client secret + tenant ID).
3. Configure OpenClaw with those credentials.
4. Expose /api/messages (port 3978 by default) via a public URL or tunnel.
5. Install the Teams app package and start the gateway.

Minimal config:

{
  channels: {
    msteams: {
      enabled: true,
      appId: "<APP_ID>",
      appPassword: "<APP_PASSWORD>",
      tenantId: "<TENANT_ID>",
      webhook: { port: 3978, path: "/api/messages" },
    },
  },
}

Note: group chats are blocked by default (channels.msteams.groupPolicy: "allowlist"). To allow group replies, set channels.msteams.groupAllowFrom (or use groupPolicy: "open" to allow any member, mention-gated).

Goals

• Talk to OpenClaw via Teams DMs, group chats, or channels.
• Keep routing deterministic: replies always go back to the channel they arrived on.
• Default to safe channel behavior (mentions required unless configured otherwise).

Config writes

By default, Microsoft Teams is allowed to write config updates triggered by /config set|unset (requires commands.config: true).

Disable with:

{
  channels: { msteams: { configWrites: false } },
}

Access control (DMs + groups)

DM access

• Default: channels.msteams.dmPolicy = "pairing". Unknown senders are ignored until approved.
• channels.msteams.allowFrom should use stable AAD object IDs.
• UPNs/display names are mutable; direct matching is disabled by default and only enabled with channels.msteams.dangerouslyAllowNameMatching: true.
• The wizard can resolve names to IDs via Microsoft Graph when credentials allow.

Group access

• Default: channels.msteams.groupPolicy = "allowlist" (blocked unless you add groupAllowFrom). Use channels.defaults.groupPolicy to override the default when unset.
• channels.msteams.groupAllowFrom controls which senders can trigger in group chats/channels (falls back to channels.msteams.allowFrom).
• Set groupPolicy: "open" to allow any member (still mention‑gated by default).
• To allow no channels, set channels.msteams.groupPolicy: "disabled".

Example:

{
  channels: {
    msteams: {
      groupPolicy: "allowlist",
      groupAllowFrom: ["user@org.com"],
    },
  },
}

Teams + channel allowlist

• Scope group/channel replies by listing teams and channels under channels.msteams.teams.
• Keys should use stable team IDs and channel conversation IDs.
• When groupPolicy="allowlist" and a teams allowlist is present, only listed teams/channels are accepted (mention‑gated).
• The configure wizard accepts Team/Channel entries and stores them for you.
• On startup, OpenClaw resolves team/channel and user allowlist names to IDs (when Graph permissions allow)

and logs the mapping; unresolved team/channel names are kept as typed but ignored for routing by default unless channels.msteams.dangerouslyAllowNameMatching: true is enabled.

Example:

{
  channels: {
    msteams: {
      groupPolicy: "allowlist",
      teams: {
        "My Team": {
          channels: {
            General: { requireMention: true },
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
}

How it works

1. Install the Microsoft Teams plugin.
2. Create an Azure Bot (App ID + secret + tenant ID).
3. Build a Teams app package that references the bot and includes the RSC permissions below.
4. Upload/install the Teams app into a team (or personal scope for DMs).
5. Configure msteams in ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json (or env vars) and start the gateway.
6. The gateway listens for Bot Framework webhook traffic on /api/messages by default.

Azure Bot Setup (Prerequisites)

Before configuring OpenClaw, you need to create an Azure Bot resource.

Step 1: Create Azure Bot

1. Go to Create Azure Bot
2. Fill in the Basics tab:

Deprecation notice: Creation of new multi-tenant bots was deprecated after 2025-07-31. Use Single Tenant for new bots.

1. Click Review + create → Create (wait ~1-2 minutes)

Step 2: Get Credentials

1. Go to your Azure Bot resource → Configuration
2. Copy Microsoft App ID → this is your appId
3. Click Manage Password → go to the App Registration
4. Under Certificates & secrets → New client secret → copy the Value → this is your appPassword
5. Go to Overview → copy Directory (tenant) ID → this is your tenantId

Step 3: Configure Messaging Endpoint

1. In Azure Bot → Configuration
2. Set Messaging endpoint to your webhook URL:

• Production: https://your-domain.com/api/messages
• Local dev: Use a tunnel

Step 4: Enable Teams Channel

1. In Azure Bot → Channels
2. Click Microsoft Teams → Configure → Save
3. Accept the Terms of Service

Local Development (Tunneling)

Teams can't reach localhost. Use a tunnel for local development:

Option A: ngrok

ngrok http 3978
# Copy the https URL, e.g., https://abc123.ngrok.io
# Set messaging endpoint to: https://abc123.ngrok.io/api/messages

Option B: Tailscale Funnel

tailscale funnel 3978
# Use your Tailscale funnel URL as the messaging endpoint

Teams Developer Portal (Alternative)

Instead of manually creating a manifest ZIP, you can use the Teams Developer Portal:

1. Click + New app
2. Fill in basic info (name, description, developer info)
3. Go to App features → Bot
4. Select Enter a bot ID manually and paste your Azure Bot App ID
5. Check scopes: Personal, Team, Group Chat
6. Click Distribute → Download app package
7. In Teams: Apps → Manage your apps → Upload a custom app → select the ZIP

This is often easier than hand-editing JSON manifests.

Testing the Bot

Option A: Azure Web Chat (verify webhook first)

1. In Azure Portal → your Azure Bot resource → Test in Web Chat
2. Send a message - you should see a response
3. This confirms your webhook endpoint works before Teams setup

Option B: Teams (after app installation)

1. Install the Teams app (sideload or org catalog)
2. Find the bot in Teams and send a DM
3. Check gateway logs for incoming activity

Setup (minimal text-only)

1. Install the Microsoft Teams plugin

• From npm: openclaw plugins install @openclaw/msteams
• From a local checkout: openclaw plugins install ./path/to/local/msteams-plugin

1. Bot registration

• Create an Azure Bot (see above) and note:
• App ID
• Client secret (App password)
• Tenant ID (single-tenant)

1. Teams app manifest

• Include a bot entry with botId = <App ID>.
• Scopes: personal, team, groupChat.
• supportsFiles: true (required for personal scope file handling).
• Add RSC permissions (below).
• Create icons: outline.png (32x32) and color.png (192x192).
• Zip all three files together: manifest.json, outline.png, color.png.

1. Configure OpenClaw

   {
     channels: {
       msteams: {
         enabled: true,
         appId: "<APP_ID>",
         appPassword: "<APP_PASSWORD>",
         tenantId: "<TENANT_ID>",
         webhook: { port: 3978, path: "/api/messages" },
       },
     },
   }

You can also use environment variables instead of config keys:

• MSTEAMS_APP_ID
• MSTEAMS_APP_PASSWORD
• MSTEAMS_TENANT_ID

1. Bot endpoint

• Set the Azure Bot Messaging Endpoint to:
• https://<host>:3978/api/messages (or your chosen path/port).

1. Run the gateway

• The Teams channel starts automatically when the plugin is installed and msteams config exists with credentials.

History context

• channels.msteams.historyLimit controls how many recent channel/group messages are wrapped into the prompt.
• Falls back to messages.groupChat.historyLimit. Set 0 to disable (default 50).
• DM history can be limited with channels.msteams.dmHistoryLimit (user turns). Per-user overrides: channels.msteams.dms["<user_id>"].historyLimit.

Current Teams RSC Permissions (Manifest)

These are the existing resourceSpecific permissions in our Teams app manifest. They only apply inside the team/chat where the app is installed.

For channels (team scope):

• ChannelMessage.Read.Group (Application) - receive all channel messages without @mention
• ChannelMessage.Send.Group (Application)
• Member.Read.Group (Application)
• Owner.Read.Group (Application)
• ChannelSettings.Read.Group (Application)
• TeamMember.Read.Group (Application)
• TeamSettings.Read.Group (Application)

For group chats:

• ChatMessage.Read.Chat (Application) - receive all group chat messages without @mention

Example Teams Manifest (redacted)

Minimal, valid example with the required fields. Replace IDs and URLs.

{
  $schema: "https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/json-schemas/teams/v1.23/MicrosoftTeams.schema.json",
  manifestVersion: "1.23",
  version: "1.0.0",
  id: "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000",
  name: { short: "OpenClaw" },
  developer: {
    name: "Your Org",
    websiteUrl: "https://example.com",
    privacyUrl: "https://example.com/privacy",
    termsOfUseUrl: "https://example.com/terms",
  },
  description: { short: "OpenClaw in Teams", full: "OpenClaw in Teams" },
  icons: { outline: "outline.png", color: "color.png" },
  accentColor: "#5B6DEF",
  bots: [
    {
      botId: "11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111",
      scopes: ["personal", "team", "groupChat"],
      isNotificationOnly: false,
      supportsCalling: false,
      supportsVideo: false,
      supportsFiles: true,
    },
  ],
  webApplicationInfo: {
    id: "11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111",
  },
  authorization: {
    permissions: {
      resourceSpecific: [
        { name: "ChannelMessage.Read.Group", type: "Application" },
        { name: "ChannelMessage.Send.Group", type: "Application" },
        { name: "Member.Read.Group", type: "Application" },
        { name: "Owner.Read.Group", type: "Application" },
        { name: "ChannelSettings.Read.Group", type: "Application" },
        { name: "TeamMember.Read.Group", type: "Application" },
        { name: "TeamSettings.Read.Group", type: "Application" },
        { name: "ChatMessage.Read.Chat", type: "Application" },
      ],
    },
  },
}

Manifest caveats (must-have fields)

• bots[].botId must match the Azure Bot App ID.
• webApplicationInfo.id must match the Azure Bot App ID.
• bots[].scopes must include the surfaces you plan to use (personal, team, groupChat).
• bots[].supportsFiles: true is required for file handling in personal scope.
• authorization.permissions.resourceSpecific must include channel read/send if you want channel traffic.

Updating an existing app

To update an already-installed Teams app (e.g., to add RSC permissions):

1. Update your manifest.json with the new settings
2. Increment the version field (e.g., 1.0.0 → 1.1.0)
3. Re-zip the manifest with icons (manifest.json, outline.png, color.png)
4. Upload the new zip:

• Option A (Teams Admin Center): Teams Admin Center → Teams apps → Manage apps → find your app → Upload new version
• Option B (Sideload): In Teams → Apps → Manage your apps → Upload a custom app

1. For team channels: Reinstall the app in each team for new permissions to take effect
2. Fully quit and relaunch Teams (not just close the window) to clear cached app metadata

Capabilities: RSC only vs Graph

With Teams RSC only (app installed, no Graph API permissions)

Works:

• Read channel message text content.
• Send channel message text content.
• Receive personal (DM) file attachments.

Does NOT work:

• Channel/group image or file contents (payload only includes HTML stub).
• Downloading attachments stored in SharePoint/OneDrive.
• Reading message history (beyond the live webhook event).

With Teams RSC + Microsoft Graph Application permissions

Adds:

• Downloading hosted contents (images pasted into messages).
• Downloading file attachments stored in SharePoint/OneDrive.
• Reading channel/chat message history via Graph.

RSC vs Graph API

Bottom line: RSC is for real-time listening; Graph API is for historical access. For catching up on missed messages while offline, you need Graph API with ChannelMessage.Read.All (requires admin consent).

Graph-enabled media + history (required for channels)

If you need images/files in channels or want to fetch message history, you must enable Microsoft Graph permissions and grant admin consent.

1. In Entra ID (Azure AD) App Registration, add Microsoft Graph Application permissions:

• ChannelMessage.Read.All (channel attachments + history)
• Chat.Read.All or ChatMessage.Read.All (group chats)

1. Grant admin consent for the tenant.
2. Bump the Teams app manifest version, re-upload, and reinstall the app in Teams.
3. Fully quit and relaunch Teams to clear cached app metadata.

Additional permission for user mentions: User @mentions work out of the box for users in the conversation. However, if you want to dynamically search and mention users who are not in the current conversation, add User.Read.All (Application) permission and grant admin consent.

Known Limitations

Webhook timeouts

Teams delivers messages via HTTP webhook. If processing takes too long (e.g., slow LLM responses), you may see:

• Gateway timeouts
• Teams retrying the message (causing duplicates)
• Dropped replies

OpenClaw handles this by returning quickly and sending replies proactively, but very slow responses may still cause issues.

Formatting

Teams markdown is more limited than Slack or Discord:

• Basic formatting works: bold, _italic_, code, links
• Complex markdown (tables, nested lists) may not render correctly
• Adaptive Cards are supported for polls and arbitrary card sends (see below)

Configuration

Key settings (see /gateway/configuration for shared channel patterns):

• channels.msteams.enabled: enable/disable the channel.
• channels.msteams.appId, channels.msteams.appPassword, channels.msteams.tenantId: bot credentials.
• channels.msteams.webhook.port (default 3978)
• channels.msteams.webhook.path (default /api/messages)
• channels.msteams.dmPolicy: pairing | allowlist | open | disabled (default: pairing)
• channels.msteams.allowFrom: DM allowlist (AAD object IDs recommended). The wizard resolves names to IDs during setup when Graph access is available.
• channels.msteams.dangerouslyAllowNameMatching: break-glass toggle to re-enable mutable UPN/display-name matching and direct team/channel name routing.
• channels.msteams.textChunkLimit: outbound text chunk size.
• channels.msteams.chunkMode: length (default) or newline to split on blank lines (paragraph boundaries) before length chunking.
• channels.msteams.mediaAllowHosts: allowlist for inbound attachment hosts (defaults to Microsoft/Teams domains).
• channels.msteams.mediaAuthAllowHosts: allowlist for attaching Authorization headers on media retries (defaults to Graph + Bot Framework hosts).
• channels.msteams.requireMention: require @mention in channels/groups (default true).
• channels.msteams.replyStyle: thread | top-level.
• channels.msteams.teams.<teamId>.replyStyle: per-team override.
• channels.msteams.teams.<teamId>.requireMention: per-team override.
• channels.msteams.teams.<teamId>.tools: default per-team tool policy overrides (allow/deny/alsoAllow) used when a channel override is missing.
• channels.msteams.teams.<teamId>.toolsBySender: default per-team per-sender tool policy overrides ("*" wildcard supported).
• channels.msteams.teams.<teamId>.channels.<conversationId>.replyStyle: per-channel override.
• channels.msteams.teams.<teamId>.channels.<conversationId>.requireMention: per-channel override.
• channels.msteams.teams.<teamId>.channels.<conversationId>.tools: per-channel tool policy overrides (allow/deny/alsoAllow).
• channels.msteams.teams.<teamId>.channels.<conversationId>.toolsBySender: per-channel per-sender tool policy overrides ("*" wildcard supported).
• toolsBySender keys should use explicit prefixes:

id:, e164:, username:, name: (legacy unprefixed keys still map to id: only).

• channels.msteams.sharePointSiteId: SharePoint site ID for file uploads in group chats/channels.

Routing & Sessions

• Session keys follow the standard agent format:
• Direct messages share the main session (agent:<agentId>:<mainKey>).
• Channel/group messages use conversation id:
• agent:<agentId>:msteams:channel:<conversationId>
• agent:<agentId>:msteams:group:<conversationId>

Reply Style: Threads vs Posts

Teams recently introduced two channel UI styles over the same underlying data model:

The problem: The Teams API does not expose which UI style a channel uses. If you use the wrong replyStyle:

• thread in a Threads-style channel → replies appear nested awkwardly
• top-level in a Posts-style channel → replies appear as separate top-level posts instead of in-thread

Solution: Configure replyStyle per-channel based on how the channel is set up:

{
  channels: {
    msteams: {
      replyStyle: "thread",
      teams: {
        "19:abc...@thread.tacv2": {
          channels: {
            "19:xyz...@thread.tacv2": {
              replyStyle: "top-level",
            },
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
}

Attachments & Images

Current limitations:

• DMs: Images and file attachments work via Teams bot file APIs.
• Channels/groups: Attachments live in M365 storage (SharePoint/OneDrive). The webhook payload only includes an HTML stub, not the actual file bytes. Graph API permissions are required to download channel attachments.
• For explicit file-first sends, use action=upload-file with media / filePath / path; optional message becomes the accompanying text/comment, and filename overrides the uploaded name.

Without Graph permissions, channel messages with images will be received as text-only (the image content is not accessible to the bot). By default, OpenClaw only downloads media from Microsoft/Teams hostnames. Override with channels.msteams.mediaAllowHosts (use ["*"] to allow any host). Authorization headers are only attached for hosts in channels.msteams.mediaAuthAllowHosts (defaults to Graph + Bot Framework hosts). Keep this list strict (avoid multi-tenant suffixes).

Sending files in group chats

Bots can send files in DMs using the FileConsentCard flow (built-in). However, sending files in group chats/channels requires additional setup:

Why group chats need SharePoint

Bots don't have a personal OneDrive drive (the /me/drive Graph API endpoint doesn't work for application identities). To send files in group chats/channels, the bot uploads to a SharePoint site and creates a sharing link.

Setup

1. Add Graph API permissions in Entra ID (Azure AD) → App Registration:

• Sites.ReadWrite.All (Application) - upload files to SharePoint
• Chat.Read.All (Application) - optional, enables per-user sharing links

1. Grant admin consent for the tenant.
2. Get your SharePoint site ID:

   # Via Graph Explorer or curl with a valid token:
   curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
     "https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/sites/{hostname}:/{site-path}"

   # Example: for a site at "contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/BotFiles"
   curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
     "https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/sites/contoso.sharepoint.com:/sites/BotFiles"

   # Response includes: "id": "contoso.sharepoint.com,guid1,guid2"

1. Configure OpenClaw:

   {
     channels: {
       msteams: {
         // ... other config ...
         sharePointSiteId: "contoso.sharepoint.com,guid1,guid2",
       },
     },
   }

Sharing behavior

Per-user sharing is more secure as only the chat participants can access the file. If Chat.Read.All permission is missing, the bot falls back to organization-wide sharing.

Fallback behavior

Files stored location

Uploaded files are stored in a /OpenClawShared/ folder in the configured SharePoint site's default document library.

Polls (Adaptive Cards)

OpenClaw sends Teams polls as Adaptive Cards (there is no native Teams poll API).

• CLI: openclaw message poll --channel msteams --target conversation:<id> ...
• Votes are recorded by the gateway in ~/.openclaw/msteams-polls.json.
• The gateway must stay online to record votes.
• Polls do not auto-post result summaries yet (inspect the store file if needed).

Adaptive Cards (arbitrary)

Send any Adaptive Card JSON to Teams users or conversations using the message tool or CLI.

The card parameter accepts an Adaptive Card JSON object. When card is provided, the message text is optional.

Agent tool:

{
  action: "send",
  channel: "msteams",
  target: "user:<id>",
  card: {
    type: "AdaptiveCard",
    version: "1.5",
    body: [{ type: "TextBlock", text: "Hello!" }],
  },
}

CLI:

openclaw message send --channel msteams \
  --target "conversation:19:abc...@thread.tacv2" \
  --card '{"type":"AdaptiveCard","version":"1.5","body":[{"type":"TextBlock","text":"Hello!"}]}'

See Adaptive Cards documentation for card schema and examples. For target format details.

Target formats

MSTeams targets use prefixes to distinguish between users and conversations:

CLI examples:

# Send to a user by ID
openclaw message send --channel msteams --target "user:40a1a0ed-..." --message "Hello"

# Send to a user by display name (triggers Graph API lookup)
openclaw message send --channel msteams --target "user:John Smith" --message "Hello"

# Send to a group chat or channel
openclaw message send --channel msteams --target "conversation:19:abc...@thread.tacv2" --message "Hello"

# Send an Adaptive Card to a conversation
openclaw message send --channel msteams --target "conversation:19:abc...@thread.tacv2" \
  --card '{"type":"AdaptiveCard","version":"1.5","body":[{"type":"TextBlock","text":"Hello"}]}'

Agent tool examples:

{
  action: "send",
  channel: "msteams",
  target: "user:John Smith",
  message: "Hello!",
}

{
  action: "send",
  channel: "msteams",
  target: "conversation:19:abc...@thread.tacv2",
  card: {
    type: "AdaptiveCard",
    version: "1.5",
    body: [{ type: "TextBlock", text: "Hello" }],
  },
}

Note: Without the user: prefix, names default to group/team resolution. Always use user: when targeting people by display name.

Proactive messaging

• Proactive messages are only possible after a user has interacted, because we store conversation references at that point.
• See /gateway/configuration for dmPolicy and allowlist gating.

Team and Channel IDs (Common Gotcha)

The groupId query parameter in Teams URLs is NOT the team ID used for configuration. Extract IDs from the URL path instead:

Team URL:

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/team/19%3ABk4j...%40thread.tacv2/conversations?groupId=...

Channel URL:

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/channel/19%3A15bc...%40thread.tacv2/ChannelName?groupId=...

For config:

• Team ID = path segment after /team/ (URL-decoded, e.g., 19:Bk4j...@thread.tacv2)
• Channel ID = path segment after /channel/ (URL-decoded)
• Ignore the groupId query parameter

Private Channels

Bots have limited support in private channels:

Workarounds if private channels don't work:

1. Use standard channels for bot interactions
2. Use DMs - users can always message the bot directly
3. Use Graph API for historical access (requires ChannelMessage.Read.All)

Troubleshooting

Common issues

• Images not showing in channels: Graph permissions or admin consent missing. Reinstall the Teams app and fully quit/reopen Teams.
• No responses in channel: mentions are required by default; set channels.msteams.requireMention=false or configure per team/channel.
• Version mismatch (Teams still shows old manifest): remove + re-add the app and fully quit Teams to refresh.
• 401 Unauthorized from webhook: Expected when testing manually without Azure JWT - means endpoint is reachable but auth failed. Use Azure Web Chat to test properly.

Manifest upload errors

• "Icon file cannot be empty": The manifest references icon files that are 0 bytes. Create valid PNG icons (32x32 for outline.png, 192x192 for color.png).
• "webApplicationInfo.Id already in use": The app is still installed in another team/chat. Find and uninstall it first, or wait 5-10 minutes for propagation.
• "Something went wrong" on upload: Upload via https://admin.teams.microsoft.com instead, open browser DevTools (F12) → Network tab, and check the response body for the actual error.
• Sideload failing: Try "Upload an app to your org's app catalog" instead of "Upload a custom app" - this often bypasses sideload restrictions.

RSC permissions not working

1. Verify webApplicationInfo.id matches your bot's App ID exactly
2. Re-upload the app and reinstall in the team/chat
3. Check if your org admin has blocked RSC permissions
4. Confirm you're using the right scope: ChannelMessage.Read.Group for teams, ChatMessage.Read.Chat for group chats

References

• Create Azure Bot - Azure Bot setup guide
• Teams Developer Portal - create/manage Teams apps
• Teams app manifest schema
• Receive channel messages with RSC
• RSC permissions reference
• Teams bot file handling (channel/group requires Graph)
• Proactive messaging