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Zalo Personal (unofficial)

Status: experimental. This integration automates a personal Zalo account via native zca-js inside OpenClaw.
Warning: This is an unofficial integration and may result in account suspension/ban. Use at your own risk.

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Plugin required

Zalo Personal ships as a plugin and is not bundled with the core install.
  • Install via CLI: openclaw plugins install @openclaw/zalouser
  • Or from a source checkout: openclaw plugins install ./extensions/zalouser
  • Details: Plugins
No external zca/openzca CLI binary is required.

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Quick setup (beginner)

  1. Install the plugin (see above).
  2. Login (QR, on the Gateway machine):
    • openclaw channels login --channel zalouser
    • Scan the QR code with the Zalo mobile app.
  3. Enable the channel:
{
  channels: {
    zalouser: {
      enabled: true,
      dmPolicy: "pairing",
    },
  },
}
  1. Restart the Gateway (or finish onboarding).
  2. DM access defaults to pairing; approve the pairing code on first contact.

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What it is

  • Runs entirely in-process via zca-js.
  • Uses native event listeners to receive inbound messages.
  • Sends replies directly through the JS API (text/media/link).
  • Designed for “personal account” use cases where Zalo Bot API is not available.

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Naming

Channel id is zalouser to make it explicit this automates a personal Zalo user account (unofficial). We keep zalo reserved for a potential future official Zalo API integration.

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Finding IDs (directory)

Use the directory CLI to discover peers/groups and their IDs: 
openclaw directory self --channel zalouser
openclaw directory peers list --channel zalouser --query "name"
openclaw directory groups list --channel zalouser --query "work"

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Limits

  • Outbound text is chunked to ~2000 characters (Zalo client limits).
  • Streaming is blocked by default.

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Access control (DMs)

channels.zalouser.dmPolicy supports: pairing | allowlist | open | disabled (default: pairing). channels.zalouser.allowFrom accepts user IDs or names. During onboarding, names are resolved to IDs using the plugin’s in-process contact lookup. Approve via:
  • openclaw pairing list zalouser
  • openclaw pairing approve zalouser <code>

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Group access (optional)

  • Default: channels.zalouser.groupPolicy = "open" (groups allowed). Use channels.defaults.groupPolicy to override the default when unset.
  • Restrict to an allowlist with:
    • channels.zalouser.groupPolicy = "allowlist"
    • channels.zalouser.groups (keys are group IDs or names)
  • Block all groups: channels.zalouser.groupPolicy = "disabled".
  • The configure wizard can prompt for group allowlists.
  • On startup, OpenClaw resolves group/user names in allowlists to IDs and logs the mapping; unresolved entries are kept as typed.
Example: 
{
  channels: {
    zalouser: {
      groupPolicy: "allowlist",
      groups: {
        "123456789": { allow: true },
        "Work Chat": { allow: true },
      },
    },
  },
}

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Group mention gating

  • channels.zalouser.groups.<group>.requireMention controls whether group replies require a mention.
  • Resolution order: exact group id/name -> normalized group slug -> * -> default (true).
  • This applies both to allowlisted groups and open group mode.
Example: 
{
  channels: {
    zalouser: {
      groupPolicy: "allowlist",
      groups: {
        "*": { allow: true, requireMention: true },
        "Work Chat": { allow: true, requireMention: false },
      },
    },
  },
}

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Multi-account

Accounts map to zalouser profiles in OpenClaw state. Example: 
{
  channels: {
    zalouser: {
      enabled: true,
      defaultAccount: "default",
      accounts: {
        work: { enabled: true, profile: "work" },
      },
    },
  },
}

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Typing, reactions, and delivery acknowledgements

  • OpenClaw sends a typing event before dispatching a reply (best-effort).
  • Message reaction action react is supported for zalouser in channel actions.
    • Use remove: true to remove a specific reaction emoji from a message.
    • Reaction semantics: Reactions
  • For inbound messages that include event metadata, OpenClaw sends delivered + seen acknowledgements (best-effort).

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Troubleshooting

Login doesn’t stick:
  • openclaw channels status --probe
  • Re-login: openclaw channels logout --channel zalouser && openclaw channels login --channel zalouser
Allowlist/group name didn’t resolve:
  • Use numeric IDs in allowFrom/groups, or exact friend/group names.
Upgraded from old CLI-based setup:
  • Remove any old external zca process assumptions.
  • The channel now runs fully in OpenClaw without external CLI binaries.