feat(whatsapp): add debounceMs for batching rapid messages by juanpablodlc · Pull Request #971 · openclaw/openclaw

juanpablodlc · 2026-01-15T19:03:19Z

Summary

Implements message debouncing for WhatsApp to batch rapid consecutive messages from the same sender.

Changes

Added `debounceMs` configuration option to WhatsApp channel settings
Implemented message buffering in `monitorWebInbox`
Wired configuration through account resolution and monitor tuning
Added UI hints and schema documentation

Usage

```json5
{
"channels": {
"whatsapp": {
"debounceMs": 5000 // 5 second window
}
}
}
```

Testing

✅ Type-check passed (`pnpm build`)
✅ Lint passed (`pnpm lint`)
✅ All existing tests passed (3204 tests)
Manual integration testing with rapid messages

AI Assistance

Marked as AI-assisted - This PR was implemented with assistance from AI coding tools. I understand what the code does and have verified it works correctly.

Closes #967

juanpablodlc · 2026-01-15T22:26:57Z

Local Testing Results ✅

Successfully tested the WhatsApp debouncing feature in a local deployment. The feature works exactly as designed!

Test Environment

Branch: test-whatsapp-debounce (PR feat(whatsapp): add debounceMs for batching rapid messages #971)
Config: debounceMs: 5000 (5 second window)
Setup: Local gateway via CLI (pnpm clawdbot gateway start)
WhatsApp: Personal number in self-chat mode

Test Case 1: Rapid Messages (Should Batch) ✅

Sent messages in quick succession:

Hey claude
can
you tell
me what is
the weather

Gateway logs:

22:23:34 [whatsapp] Inbound message +15551234567 -> +15551234567 (direct, 88 chars)
22:23:34 [whatsapp] Inbound body: [WhatsApp +15551234567 2026-01-15T22:23Z] Hey claude
can
you tell
me what is
the weather
22:23:34 [agent/embedded] embedded run start: runId=25a0189b-efae-4204-b3dc-e58a258f1e6c

Result: ✅ All messages batched into a single 88-char message with newline separators. Only one agent run triggered (runId=25a0189b...).

Test Case 2: Slow Messages (Should NOT Batch) ✅

Sent two messages 14 seconds apart:

22:24:38 - "First test: what is 2+2" → runId=e537719b-8183-42e6-b0f2-db54000f6370
22:24:52 - "First test: what is 3 x 3" → runId=48d61a1a-7f0c-49f3-b44b-0ed09f757457

Result: ✅ Two separate agent runs with different runId values. Messages were NOT batched because they were outside the 5-second debounce window.

Confirmed Behaviors

✅ Messages within debounce window are batched together
✅ Messages outside debounce window are processed separately
✅ Batched messages are joined with newline separators (\n)
✅ Single agent run per batch (not per message)
✅ No errors or warnings in gateway logs

Configuration

The debounceMs setting was added to the WhatsApp channel config:

{
  "channels": {
    "whatsapp": {
      "debounceMs": 5000,
      "dmPolicy": "allowlist",
      "allowFrom": ["+15551234567"]
    }
  }
}

Feature works perfectly! Ready to merge. 🚀

Add a `debounceMs` configuration option to WhatsApp channel settings that batches rapid consecutive messages from the same sender into a single response. This prevents triggering separate agent runs for each message when a user sends multiple short messages in quick succession (e.g., "Hey!", "how are you?", "I was wondering..."). Changes: - Add `debounceMs` config to WhatsAppConfig and WhatsAppAccountConfig - Implement message buffering in `monitorWebInbox` with: - Map-based buffer keyed by sender (DM) or chat ID (groups) - Debounce timer that resets on each new message - Message combination with newline separator - Single message optimization (no modification if only one message) - Wire `debounceMs` through account resolution and monitor tuning - Add UI hints and schema documentation Usage example: { "channels": { "whatsapp": { "debounceMs": 5000 // 5 second window } } } Default behavior: `debounceMs: 0` (disabled by default) Verified: All existing tests pass (3204 tests), TypeScript compilation succeeds with no errors. Implemented with assistance from AI coding tools. Closes openclaw#967

…juanpablodlc

…juanpablodlc)

steipete · 2026-01-15T23:07:50Z

Landed via squash after temp rebase onto main.\n\n- Gate: pnpm lint && pnpm build && pnpm test\n- Land commit: 1561b1c\n- Merge commit: 4a99b9b\n\nThanks @juanpablodlc!

…juanpablodlc

…juanpablodlc)

…juanpablodlc

…juanpablodlc)

@juanpablodlc

) * feat(whatsapp): add debounceMs for batching rapid messages Add a `debounceMs` configuration option to WhatsApp channel settings that batches rapid consecutive messages from the same sender into a single response. This prevents triggering separate agent runs for each message when a user sends multiple short messages in quick succession (e.g., "Hey!", "how are you?", "I was wondering..."). Changes: - Add `debounceMs` config to WhatsAppConfig and WhatsAppAccountConfig - Implement message buffering in `monitorWebInbox` with: - Map-based buffer keyed by sender (DM) or chat ID (groups) - Debounce timer that resets on each new message - Message combination with newline separator - Single message optimization (no modification if only one message) - Wire `debounceMs` through account resolution and monitor tuning - Add UI hints and schema documentation Usage example: { "channels": { "whatsapp": { "debounceMs": 5000 // 5 second window } } } Default behavior: `debounceMs: 0` (disabled by default) Verified: All existing tests pass (3204 tests), TypeScript compilation succeeds with no errors. Implemented with assistance from AI coding tools. Closes openclaw#967 * chore: wip inbound debounce * fix: debounce inbound messages across channels (openclaw#971) (thanks @juanpablodlc) --------- Co-authored-by: Peter Steinberger <[email protected]>

@juanpablodlc

) * feat(whatsapp): add debounceMs for batching rapid messages Add a `debounceMs` configuration option to WhatsApp channel settings that batches rapid consecutive messages from the same sender into a single response. This prevents triggering separate agent runs for each message when a user sends multiple short messages in quick succession (e.g., "Hey!", "how are you?", "I was wondering..."). Changes: - Add `debounceMs` config to WhatsAppConfig and WhatsAppAccountConfig - Implement message buffering in `monitorWebInbox` with: - Map-based buffer keyed by sender (DM) or chat ID (groups) - Debounce timer that resets on each new message - Message combination with newline separator - Single message optimization (no modification if only one message) - Wire `debounceMs` through account resolution and monitor tuning - Add UI hints and schema documentation Usage example: { "channels": { "whatsapp": { "debounceMs": 5000 // 5 second window } } } Default behavior: `debounceMs: 0` (disabled by default) Verified: All existing tests pass (3204 tests), TypeScript compilation succeeds with no errors. Implemented with assistance from AI coding tools. Closes openclaw#967 * chore: wip inbound debounce * fix: debounce inbound messages across channels (openclaw#971) (thanks @juanpablodlc) --------- Co-authored-by: Peter Steinberger <[email protected]>

…juanpablodlc

…juanpablodlc)

steipete self-assigned this Jan 15, 2026

juanpablodlc and others added 3 commits January 15, 2026 22:57

chore: wip inbound debounce

57d3c85

fix: debounce inbound messages across channels (openclaw#971) (thanks @…

1561b1c

…juanpablodlc)

steipete force-pushed the feature/whatsapp-message-debounce branch from 1a6ab83 to 1561b1c Compare January 15, 2026 23:07

steipete merged commit 4a99b9b into openclaw:main Jan 15, 2026
39 of 42 checks passed

adolago mentioned this pull request Feb 7, 2026

OpenClaw delta (lane 02): WhatsApp channel (linking, inbound/outbound, allowlists, heartbeat) adolago/zee#225

Closed

3 tasks

dominicnunez pushed a commit to dominicnunez/openclaw that referenced this pull request Feb 26, 2026

fix: debounce inbound messages across channels (openclaw#971) (thanks @…

12465ed

…juanpablodlc)

dustin-olenslager pushed a commit to dustin-olenslager/ironclaw-supreme that referenced this pull request Mar 24, 2026

fix: debounce inbound messages across channels (openclaw#971) (thanks @…

e38408d

…juanpablodlc)

clawsweeper Bot mentioned this pull request Apr 26, 2026

Feature: Inbound message debounce for chat channels (batch rapid-fire messages) #46445

Closed

clawsweeper Bot mentioned this pull request Apr 29, 2026

Bare abort triggers (stop, abort, wait) delayed/swallowed by inbound debounce #48684

Closed

clawsweeper Bot mentioned this pull request May 12, 2026

feat(messages): add botDebounceMs to inbound debounce config #67727

Closed

jameslcowan pushed a commit to jameslcowan/openclaw that referenced this pull request Jun 2, 2026

fix: debounce inbound messages across channels (openclaw#971) (thanks @…

599f8a7

…juanpablodlc)

clawsweeper Bot mentioned this pull request Jul 4, 2026

[Feature]: Batch WhatsApp messages by messageTimestamp instead of receive time #11703

Open

galiniliev mentioned this pull request Jul 12, 2026

fix(msteams): normalize inbound mentions and forwards #102379

Open

clawsweeper Bot mentioned this pull request Jul 16, 2026

[Bug]: Telegram debounce coalescer drops forward-origin metadata when batching forwarded messages #108466

Closed

steipete mentioned this pull request Jul 17, 2026

fix(signal): merged messages show real line breaks #110086

Open

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feat(whatsapp): add debounceMs for batching rapid messages#971

feat(whatsapp): add debounceMs for batching rapid messages#971
steipete merged 3 commits into
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juanpablodlc:feature/whatsapp-message-debounce

juanpablodlc commented Jan 15, 2026

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juanpablodlc commented Jan 15, 2026

Summary

Changes

Usage

Testing

AI Assistance

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juanpablodlc commented Jan 15, 2026

Local Testing Results ✅

Test Environment

Test Case 1: Rapid Messages (Should Batch) ✅

Test Case 2: Slow Messages (Should NOT Batch) ✅

Confirmed Behaviors

Configuration

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steipete commented Jan 15, 2026

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