Waterbrother
Integration Surface

One terminal, multiple surfaces.

Waterbrother is being built as a local coding runtime that can extend into messaging, model providers, MCP tools, and remote-control gateways without losing deterministic local control.

The integration model is explicit: terminal first, provider-flexible runtime underneath, and channel adapters on top. Messaging is DM-first before collaboration.

3 Messaging tracks: Telegram live, Discord and Signal staged
6 Provider families: OpenAI, Anthropic, OpenRouter, Ollama, xAI, and compatible APIs
CLI Contracts, sessions, approvals, MCP, web, and vision
Integration Map
SurfaceStatusWhat It Covers
Telegram Live now Single-user remote control, explicit pairing, remote session commands, and runtime inspection.
Discord Foundation in place Onboarding and config exist now; live DM adapter comes after Telegram hardening.
Signal Foundation in place Onboarding and config exist now; live bridge follows after the lighter bot APIs.
Model Providers Live now Bring-your-own-model runtime across OpenAI, Anthropic, OpenRouter, Ollama, xAI, and compatible APIs.
MCP Tools Live now Project-level MCP servers, tool discovery, and local workflow extension without giving up structure.
Group Collaboration Not shipped yet Planned after single-user remote control, approvals, and session routing are stable.
Messaging Apps

Remote control surfaces

Waterbrother is following the practical order that keeps remote control sane: one user first, then observation, then approvals, then collaboration. The messaging layer is explicit about what is live, what is staged, and what still needs a bridge.

Telegram

Live now

DM-first bot control with explicit pairing, remote session commands, Telegram-safe formatting, typing indicators, and edit-in-place replies.

  • Single-user control
  • Pending pairing approvals
  • Typing activity + edit-in-place final replies
  • Remote /sessions, /resume, and workspace commands
  • TUI autostart when configured during onboarding
  • Live TUI bridge when the terminal session is open
  • Same permissions as the terminal operator when bridged
  • Shared-project room status and operator claim/release
  • Group chats require explicit targeting and execute mode

Open Telegram setup

Open Telegram integration details

Discord

Foundation in place

Config and onboarding are ready. The live DM adapter is the next messaging implementation after Telegram hardening and approval flow work.

  • Bot token + application id
  • DM-first policy
  • Live adapter next

Open Discord setup

Signal

Planned, heavier bridge

Signal stays in scope, but comes after the lighter bot APIs because it depends on a local bridge and a stricter operational path.

  • signal-cli bridge
  • Manual pairing
  • Later than Telegram/Discord

Open Signal setup

Provider Layer

Bring your own model

Runtime profiles, provider switching, and session persistence are the base layer that make messaging and remote control viable instead of one-provider hacks.

  • OpenAI
  • Anthropic
  • OpenRouter
  • Ollama
  • xAI
  • OpenAI-compatible APIs
Telegram Flow

Current live path

waterbrother config set-json channels '{"telegram":{"enabled":true,"botToken":"YOUR_BOT_TOKEN","pairingMode":"manual","allowedUserIds":[]}}' --scope user
waterbrother config set-json gateway '{"enabled":true,"controlMode":"single-user","startupChannels":["telegram"]}' --scope user
waterbrother gateway status
waterbrother gateway run telegram
waterbrother gateway pairings
waterbrother gateway pair telegram 123456789

Unknown Telegram DMs create a pending pairing request. Approve locally with waterbrother gateway pair telegram <user-id>, then the linked remote session is available. Pending requests expire automatically after 12 hours if ignored.

If the TUI is open, Telegram prompts route into that live terminal session and the paired Telegram user operates with the same permissions as the terminal operator. Otherwise Waterbrother falls back to the remote session runner.

Terminal

Primary control surface

Interactive slash commands, durable sessions, exact shell routing, approvals, and checkpointed local work stay the source of truth.

MCP

External capability without losing structure

MCP is part of the integration story too: structured tool extension instead of pushing every problem through raw shell commands.

Next

What follows this page

Discord live adapter, Signal bridge work, richer remote approvals, and full shared-project collaboration once the single-operator room model is proven.

Roundtable

The collaboration model

Shared projects now have a dedicated collaboration model with room state, room modes, and a single active operator lock. Start with the Roundtable page before rolling shared Telegram rooms out to a team.