WhatsApp: using your personal number and the bot won't reply

Symptoms

• You linked WhatsApp successfully, but when you message from your own personal account, the bot doesn’t respond.
• You are running OpenClaw on the same number you normally use.

Cause

Running a bot on your personal WhatsApp number is a supported fallback, but it needs extra configuration so OpenClaw can distinguish “self-chat” testing from normal DMs and avoid loop/spam behaviors.

Fix

1) Enable self-chat mode for personal-number setups

In your config:

{
  channels: {
    whatsapp: {
      selfChatMode: true,
    },
  },
}

2) Test using “Message yourself”

In WhatsApp, use the built-in “Message yourself” chat for testing (recommended) so you don’t accidentally spam contacts during setup.

3) Ensure DM policy allows your number

If you use allowlists, add your own E.164 number to channels.whatsapp.allowFrom.

Verify

• Sending a message in “Message yourself” triggers a reply.
• openclaw channels status --probe shows WhatsApp healthy.