Bot Token

A bot token is a unique credential string issued by a messaging platform that authenticates your bot application and grants it permission to send and receive messages through the platform's API. Each bot token is tied to a specific bot identity and determines what actions the bot can perform.

Why It Matters

Bot tokens are the bridge between your AI assistant and the messaging platforms where users interact with it. Without a valid token, your assistant cannot read incoming messages or send responses on Telegram, Discord, Slack, or any other channel. Tokens also define the bot's identity: its name, avatar, and permissions are all associated with the token. Compromising a bot token means an attacker can impersonate your assistant, read conversations, and potentially access sensitive data.

How It Works

Each messaging platform has its own process for generating bot tokens. On Telegram, you create a bot through BotFather, which returns a token in the format 123456:ABC-DEF1234ghIkl-zyx57W2v1u123ew11. On Discord, you create an application in the Developer Portal, add a bot user, and copy the token. On Slack, tokens are generated as part of the app installation flow with specific OAuth scopes.

Your AI gateway stores the bot token in its configuration and uses it to authenticate API calls. When a user sends a message, the platform delivers it to your webhook endpoint. Your gateway processes the message, generates a response through the AI model, and sends it back using the bot token for authentication.

In Practice

Never commit bot tokens to version control. Store them as environment variables or in encrypted configuration files on persistent volumes. Rotate tokens immediately if you suspect a leak. When configuring channels in your AI assistant's setup wizard, the token is written directly to the gateway configuration file and used for all subsequent API interactions with the platform.