Zalo personal

Status: experimental. This integration automates a personal Zalo account via native zca-js inside OpenClaw.

This is an unofficial integration and may result in account suspension or ban. Use at your own risk.

Bundled plugin

Zalo Personal ships as a bundled plugin in current OpenClaw releases, so normal packaged builds do not need a separate install.

If you are on an older build or a custom install that excludes Zalo Personal, install the npm package directly:

• Install via CLI: openclaw plugins install @openclaw/zalouser
• Pinned version: openclaw plugins install @openclaw/zalouser@2026.5.2
• Or from a source checkout: openclaw plugins install ./path/to/local/zalouser-plugin
• Details: Plugins

No external zca/openzca CLI binary is required.

Quick setup (beginner)

1. Ensure the Zalo Personal plugin is available.
   • Current packaged OpenClaw releases already bundle it.
   • Older/custom installs can add it manually with the commands 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",
    },
  },
}

4. Restart the Gateway (or finish setup).
5. DM access defaults to pairing; approve the pairing code on first contact.

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.

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.

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"

Limits

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

Access control (DMs)

channels.zalouser.dmPolicy supports: pairing | allowlist | open | disabled (default: pairing).

channels.zalouser.allowFrom should use stable Zalo user IDs. It can also reference static sender access groups (accessGroup:<name>). During interactive setup, entered names can be resolved to IDs using the plugin’s in-process contact lookup.

If a raw name remains in config, startup resolves it only when channels.zalouser.dangerouslyAllowNameMatching: true is enabled. Without that opt-in, runtime sender checks are ID-only and raw names are ignored for authorization.

Approve via:

• openclaw pairing list zalouser
• openclaw pairing approve zalouser <code>

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 should be stable group IDs; names are resolved to IDs on startup only when channels.zalouser.dangerouslyAllowNameMatching: true is enabled)
  • channels.zalouser.groupAllowFrom (controls which senders in allowed groups can trigger the bot; static sender access groups can be referenced with accessGroup:<name>)
• 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 only when channels.zalouser.dangerouslyAllowNameMatching: true is enabled.
• Group allowlist matching is ID-only by default. Unresolved names are ignored for auth unless channels.zalouser.dangerouslyAllowNameMatching: true is enabled.
• channels.zalouser.dangerouslyAllowNameMatching: true is a break-glass compatibility mode that re-enables mutable startup name resolution and runtime group-name matching.
• If groupAllowFrom is unset, runtime falls back to allowFrom for group sender checks.
• Sender checks apply to both normal group messages and control commands (for example /new, /reset).

Example:

{
  channels: {
    zalouser: {
      groupPolicy: "allowlist",
      groupAllowFrom: ["1471383327500481391"],
      groups: {
        "123456789": { allow: true },
        "Work Chat": { allow: true },
      },
    },
  },
}

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.
• Quoting a bot message counts as an implicit mention for group activation.
• Authorized control commands (for example /new) can bypass mention gating.
• When a group message is skipped because mention is required, OpenClaw stores it as pending group history and includes it on the next processed group message.
• Group history limit defaults to messages.groupChat.historyLimit (fallback 50). You can override per account with channels.zalouser.historyLimit.

Example:

{
  channels: {
    zalouser: {
      groupPolicy: "allowlist",
      groups: {
        "*": { allow: true, requireMention: true },
        "Work Chat": { allow: true, requireMention: false },
      },
    },
  },
}

Multi-account

Accounts map to zalouser profiles in OpenClaw state. Example:

{
  channels: {
    zalouser: {
      enabled: true,
      defaultAccount: "default",
      accounts: {
        work: { enabled: true, profile: "work" },
      },
    },
  },
}

Environment variables

The Zalo Personal plugin can also read profile selection from environment variables:

• ZALOUSER_PROFILE: profile name to use when no profile is set in channel or account config.
• ZCA_PROFILE: legacy fallback profile name, used only when ZALOUSER_PROFILE is not set.

Profile names select the saved Zalo login credentials in OpenClaw state. Resolution order is:

1. Explicit profile in config.
2. ZALOUSER_PROFILE.
3. ZCA_PROFILE.
4. The account id for non-default accounts, or default for the default account.

For multi-account setups, prefer setting profile on each account in config so one environment variable does not make multiple accounts share the same login session.

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).

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/groupAllowFrom and stable group IDs in groups. If you intentionally need exact friend/group names, enable channels.zalouser.dangerouslyAllowNameMatching: true.

Upgraded from old CLI-based setup:

• Remove any old external zca process assumptions.
• The channel now runs fully in OpenClaw without external CLI binaries.

Related

• Channels Overview — all supported channels
• Pairing — DM authentication and pairing flow
• Groups — group chat behavior and mention gating
• Channel Routing — session routing for messages
• Security — access model and hardening