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Deprecated channels

Earlier versions of Flametree connected agents to messengers and mailboxes through direct integrations: channel credentials configured on each agent individually. Reusable channel connections in Settings > Channels replace them — you configure a connection once and attach it to agents, as described in the Channels overview.

Deprecated integrations are hidden rather than removed:

  • Existing setups keep working. An agent that uses a deprecated integration continues to send and receive messages through it.
  • Do not build new setups on them. Create a channel connection of the current type instead — see the replacement table. Connections are reusable across agents and are managed in one place, with status and logs on Settings > Channels.

Use this page to:

  • Find a deprecated integration that is hidden on an agent's page.
  • Match each deprecated integration to its current channel type.
  • Move an agent from a deprecated integration to a channel connection.

Before you start​

  • You are signed in to the portal with an account that can edit settings and agents.
  • For a migration, have the credentials of the external account at hand — the bot token, the phone number credentials, or the mailbox sign-in. You enter them again in the new connection form.

Show deprecated integrations on an agent's page​

The Communication channels card on an agent's page hides deprecated integrations by default — both in the Add dropdown and on the card itself.

  1. Open AI Agents and select the agent.
  2. On the Communication channels card, click Add.
  3. At the top of the dropdown, turn on Show deprecated.

Deprecated integration types now appear in the dropdown with DEPRECATED after the name — for example, Telegram DEPRECATED — and the agent's existing deprecated integrations appear as rows on the card, marked the same way.

note

While Show deprecated is off, deprecated integrations that are already attached to the agent are hidden from the card. They stay attached and keep working — turn the switch on to see or change them.

The entries without the DEPRECATED suffix in the same dropdown are the current channel connections from Settings > Channels, grouped by type. A channel type is listed only after at least one connection of that type exists.

Deprecated integrations in Settings​

Deprecated setups also appear on two Settings screens:

  • Settings > Channels — legacy channel integrations are listed in the Deprecated Channels group, with DEPRECATED after the type name. New connections of current types appear in the Channels group.
  • Settings > Connectivity — the legacy Chatwoot and External API integrations are listed under Deprecated Integrations. See Connectivity.

Deprecated integrations and their replacements​

Deprecated integrationCurrent replacement
TelegramA Telegram channel connection for the same bot token.
WhatsAppA WhatsApp channel connection for the same business number.
FacebookA Facebook channel connection.
Microsoft ExchangeAn Email (IMAP/SMTP) connection with the mailbox's IMAP and SMTP server settings.
IMAP/SMTPAn Email (IMAP/SMTP) connection for the same mailbox.
Bird API ServiceA Bird channel connection.
ChatwootNone — legacy only.
External APIThe public API — see the API reference.

Chatwoot is legacy-only: no current channel type replaces it. Existing Chatwoot setups keep working as they are.

External API is the legacy API integration. To work with agents from your own application — for example, to exchange chat messages programmatically — use the public API instead of attaching this integration to new agents.

Migrate an agent to a channel connection​

Migrate one external account — a bot, a phone number, or a mailbox — at a time:

  1. Go to Settings > Channels and create a connection of the current channel type, entering the credentials the deprecated integration uses today. Each channel page linked in the table describes the form. Click Save, then Start, and wait for RUNNING.
  2. Open AI Agents, select the agent, and find the Communication channels card.
  3. Click Add, pick the channel type, and tick the checkbox next to the new connection. Enable the Inbound switch if this agent answers incoming messages on the channel.
  4. In the same Add dropdown, turn on Show deprecated, then remove the legacy integration row from the card with the remove button next to the integration name.
  5. Save the agent, then restart it (Stop agent, then Start agent).
  6. Send a test message to the bot, number, or mailbox and check that the agent answers. The conversation appears in Sessions.
tip

For WhatsApp and Telegram, agents in Simple mode offer a shortcut: attaching the channel on the agent's Channels tab collects the credentials inline and creates the connection for you. It then appears in Settings > Channels like any other.

One setup per account

Do not run a deprecated integration and a channel connection with the same credentials at the same time — keep a single setup per bot, number, or mailbox, as with the one-inbound-agent rule. Remove the legacy integration as part of the switch.

Common issues​

  • An integration disappeared from the agent's Communication channels card. It is deprecated, and Show deprecated is off. Click Add and turn the switch on — the row reappears, marked DEPRECATED. The integration kept working while it was hidden.
  • The Add dropdown lists a channel type only with the DEPRECATED suffix. No connection of the current type exists yet — the dropdown lists a current channel type only when at least one connection exists. Create the connection in Settings > Channels first.
  • A deprecated Telegram, WhatsApp, or Chatwoot integration cannot be selected — the option is disabled with "Already in use by:" and an agent name. Another agent already uses that integration, and these types allow one agent each. Detach it from the other agent first — or migrate to channel connections, where each connection is attached per agent on its own page.
  • The agent still uses the deprecated integration after you attached the new connection. The legacy integration is still on the agent, or the agent was not restarted. Turn on Show deprecated, remove the integration row, save the agent, and restart it.
  • An entry in Settings > Channels shows DEPRECATED in its name. It is a legacy setup in the Deprecated Channels group. It keeps working, but plan a migration to the current channel type.

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