Communications Hub

The Communications Hub connects Portablemind conversations to external messaging platforms — Microsoft Teams, Slack, Discord, Twilio SMS, and Twilio Voice — and it's where you connect the Twilio account your video meetings run on. Once configured, messages flow bidirectionally: when someone sends a message in Teams or Slack, it appears in the linked Portablemind conversation. When an AI agent or user replies in Portablemind, the response is delivered back to the external platform.

This enables powerful workflows: a customer can text your Twilio number and get an AI-powered response, your team can interact with AI agents directly in their Teams or Slack channels, and all conversations are centralized in Portablemind with full history, analytics, and agent capabilities.

Note: Multi-tenant by design. Each tenant gets their own isolated channel instances with their own credentials. A single Hub deployment serves all tenants securely — your channels, credentials, and messages are never visible to any other tenant.

How it works

Step	What happens
1	Platform setup — Register a bot or app on the external platform (Teams, Slack, Discord, or Twilio)
2	Store credentials — Save the platform credentials in the channel's setup wizard in Portablemind (Administration → Communications Hub → Manage)
3	Hub connects — The Hub automatically detects new credentials and connects to the platform
4	Link channels — Use Portablemind to link external channels/conversations to Portablemind conversations
5	Messages flow — Inbound and outbound messages are automatically routed between platforms and Portablemind

The Manage page

All in-app configuration lives on one screen: Administration → Communications Hub → Manage. The page shows a tile for each channel — Slack, Teams, Discord, SMS, Voice, Video — with a status dot (grey = not configured, orange = configured but disabled, green = enabled). The Hub itself must be switched on first via Get Started; it's available on qualifying plan tiers, and the page shows an upgrade prompt if your current plan doesn't include it.

Clicking a channel tile opens that channel's setup wizard: numbered setup steps for the external platform, your tenant's exact webhook URLs with copy buttons, and a credential form. Save & Enable turns the channel on; Disable Channel turns it off while preserving the saved credentials.

Supported channels

Channel	What it covers
Microsoft Teams	Team channels and 1:1 chats
Slack	Public and private channels, DMs
Discord	Server text channels
Twilio SMS	Inbound and outbound text messages
Twilio Voice	AI voice calls: call in, or have agents call out — see Phone Calls
Twilio Video	The account your Meet video meetings run on

Finding your tenant ID

Throughout this guide, webhook URLs include your tenant ID — the numeric ID of your tenant in Portablemind. You don't need to hunt for it: each channel's setup wizard (Administration → Communications Hub → Manage, then click the channel tile) displays the exact, ready-to-paste webhook URLs for your tenant, with copy buttons. For API-level details, see the API guide.

Warning: All webhook URLs in this guide use the format https://hub.portablemind.ai/webhooks/<channel>/<tenant_id>/.... Replace <tenant_id> with your actual tenant ID (e.g., 22).

AI agent display names

When AI agents reply from Portablemind, the Hub can display the agent's name instead of the generic bot name on platforms that support it (currently Slack). For example, if you have an agent named "Dilbert", their replies in Slack will show "Dilbert" as the sender rather than "Portablemind Bot".

This happens automatically — no extra configuration needed. The agent's display name is passed through with the outbound message.

Microsoft Teams setup

Connecting Microsoft Teams requires creating an Azure Bot and a Teams App Package. This is the most involved setup of the channels, but each step is straightforward.

Step 1: Create an Azure App Registration

Tip: If you already have an Azure App Registration for a bot, skip to Step 2.

1. Go to Azure Portal → App registrations
2. Click New registration
3. Name: choose something descriptive (e.g., "Portablemind Bot")
4. Supported account types: Accounts in any organizational directory (Multitenant)
5. Redirect URI: leave blank for now
6. Click Register
7. On the app's Overview page, copy these two values — you'll need them later:

Value	Used as
Application (client) ID	Your bot_id
Directory (tenant) ID	Your Azure tenant_id

Step 2: Create a client secret

1. In your app registration, go to Certificates & secrets
2. Click New client secret
3. Add a description (e.g., "Portablemind Hub") and choose an expiry period
4. Click Add
5. Copy the Value immediately — it will only be shown once. This is your bot_password.

Warning: Set a reminder to rotate the client secret before it expires. When it expires, your Teams integration will stop working.

Step 3: Create an Azure Bot resource

1. Go to Azure Portal → Create a resource → Azure Bot
2. Bot handle: choose a unique name
3. Pricing tier: Free (F0) is fine for getting started
4. Type of App: Multi Tenant
5. Creation type: Use existing app registration
6. App ID: paste your Application (client) ID from Step 1
7. Click Review + create, then Create

Step 4: Set the messaging endpoint

1. Open your Azure Bot resource and go to Configuration
2. Set Messaging endpoint to:

https://hub.portablemind.ai/webhooks/msteams/YOUR_TENANT_ID/messages

Replace YOUR_TENANT_ID with your Portablemind tenant ID, then click Apply.

Step 5: Enable the Teams channel

1. In your Azure Bot resource, go to Channels
2. Click Microsoft Teams
3. Accept the terms and click Apply

Step 6: Add Graph API permission (for channel discovery)

This permission allows Portablemind to list your Teams channels when linking conversations.

1. Go back to your App registration → API permissions
2. Click Add a permission → Microsoft Graph → Application permissions
3. Search for and add: Channel.ReadBasic.All
4. Click Grant admin consent (requires admin privileges)

Step 7: Find your Team ID

The Team ID is needed for channel discovery. To find it:

1. In Microsoft Teams, click the … (three dots) next to your team name
2. Select Get link to team
3. The URL contains your Team ID as the groupId parameter:

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/team/...?groupId=97d8107a-2d4f-4280-84d2-ed0a3dd0051d&tenantId=...

The groupId value is your Team ID. If you have multiple teams, comma-separate their IDs.

Step 8: Sideload the Teams app

You need a Teams App Package (a .zip file) to install the bot in your Teams tenant.

1. Create a manifest.json file with your bot's Application (client) ID
2. Include two icon files (color icon 192x192, outline icon 32x32)
3. Zip all three files together
4. In Teams, go to Apps → Manage your apps → Upload an app → Upload a custom app
5. Select your .zip file and install it

For a complete manifest.json template, see the Teams manifest schema documentation.

Step 9: Store credentials in Portablemind

Save the following in the Teams channel's setup wizard (Administration → Communications Hub → Manage → Teams tile), then click Save & Enable:

Field	Value	Where to find it
bot_id	Application (client) ID	Azure App Registration → Overview
bot_password	Client secret value	Azure App Registration → Certificates & secrets
tenant_id	Directory (tenant) ID	Azure App Registration → Overview
service_url	https://smba.trafficmanager.net/teams/	Default value — rarely changes
team_ids	Your Team ID(s)	Teams → Get link to team → groupId

Note: Teams @mention requirement: in team channels, the bot only receives messages when @mentioned. In 1:1 chats, all messages are received automatically.

Slack setup

Tip: The fastest path is in-app: open the Slack tile in Administration → Communications Hub → Manage and click Add to Slack to authorize the connection via OAuth — no manual app creation needed. The manual steps below remain available in the wizard under Advanced: Manual Setup.

Connecting Slack manually involves creating a Slack App, adding the right permissions, and configuring event subscriptions so Slack notifies the Hub when messages arrive.

Step 1: Create a Slack App

1. Go to api.slack.com/apps
2. Click Create New App → From scratch
3. Give your app a name (e.g., "Portablemind Bot") and select your workspace
4. Click Create App

Step 2: Add bot token scopes

Go to OAuth & Permissions in the sidebar, scroll to Scopes, and add these Bot Token Scopes:

Scope	Purpose
chat:write	Send messages to channels
chat:write.customize	Display AI agent names instead of bot name on replies
channels:read	List public channels (for channel discovery in Portablemind)
channels:history	Read messages in public channels the bot is in
groups:read	List private channels (for channel discovery)
groups:history	Read messages in private channels the bot is in
im:history	Read direct messages to the bot
files:read	Access files shared in conversations
users:read	Resolve user information

Step 3: Install the app to your workspace

1. Still on OAuth & Permissions, scroll up and click Install to Workspace
2. Review the permissions and click Allow
3. Copy the Bot User OAuth Token (starts with xoxb-) — this is your slack_bot_token

Step 4: Get the signing secret

1. Go to Basic Information in the sidebar
2. Under App Credentials, copy the Signing Secret — this is your slack_signing_secret

Step 5: Enable event subscriptions

1. Go to Event Subscriptions in the sidebar and toggle it ON
2. Set the Request URL to:

https://hub.portablemind.ai/webhooks/slack/YOUR_TENANT_ID/events

Slack will send a verification challenge — the Hub responds automatically. You should see a green "Verified" checkmark.

3. Expand Subscribe to bot events and click Add Bot User Event for each:

Event	Description
message.channels	Messages in public channels the bot is in
message.groups	Messages in private channels the bot is in
message.im	Direct messages to the bot

4. Click Save Changes

Warning: Without these events, inbound messages will not work. Outbound messages (Portablemind → Slack) will still function, but Slack won't notify the Hub when users send messages in channels.

Step 6: Store credentials in Portablemind

Save the following in the Slack channel's setup wizard (Administration → Communications Hub → Manage → Slack tile → Advanced: Manual Setup), then click Save & Enable:

Field	Value	Where to find it
slack_bot_token	Bot User OAuth Token (xoxb-...)	OAuth & Permissions page
slack_signing_secret	Signing Secret	Basic Information → App Credentials

Step 7: Invite the bot to channels

Warning: You can link any visible Slack channel to a Portablemind conversation, but the bot can only send and receive messages in channels where it has been invited.

To invite the bot to a channel, open the Slack channel and type /invite @YourBotName. The bot will now receive messages and can respond in that channel.

Recommended workflow: link the channel in Portablemind first, then invite the bot in Slack. Unlike Teams, the bot receives all messages in a channel — no @mention required.

Discord setup

Discord integration connects text channels in your Discord server to Portablemind conversations. The bot listens for messages via Discord's Gateway (WebSocket) connection.

Step 1: Create a Discord application

1. Go to the Discord Developer Portal
2. Click New Application
3. Name it (e.g., "Portablemind Bot") and click Create

Step 2: Add a bot

1. Go to the Bot section in the sidebar
2. Click Reset Token and copy the token immediately — this is your bot_token
3. Under Privileged Gateway Intents, enable Message Content Intent
4. Click Save Changes

Warning: The bot token is only shown once when you reset it. If you lose it, you'll need to reset it again (which invalidates the old token).

Step 3: Invite the bot to your server

1. Go to OAuth2 → URL Generator in the sidebar
2. Under Scopes, check bot
3. Under Bot Permissions, check Send Messages, Read Message History, and View Channels
4. Copy the generated URL at the bottom, open it in your browser, and select the server to add the bot to

Step 4: Get the server (guild) ID

1. In Discord, go to User Settings → Advanced → enable Developer Mode
2. Right-click on your server name in the sidebar
3. Click Copy Server ID — this is your guild_id

Step 5: Store credentials in Portablemind

Save the following in the Discord channel's setup wizard (Administration → Communications Hub → Manage → Discord tile), then click Save & Enable:

Field	Value	Where to find it
bot_token	Bot token	Developer Portal → Bot → Reset Token
guild_id	Server (Guild) ID	Right-click server → Copy Server ID

Note: Unlike Slack and Teams, the Discord bot receives all messages in all text channels it has access to — no invite or @mention required.

Twilio SMS setup

Twilio SMS enables your Portablemind conversations to send and receive text messages. When someone texts your Twilio number, the message appears in the linked Portablemind conversation. If no conversation is linked, one is created automatically.

Step 1: Get your Twilio credentials

1. Log in to the Twilio Console
2. On the dashboard, find and copy:

Value	Notes
Account SID	Starts with AC — this is your twilio_account_sid
Auth Token	Click to reveal — this is your twilio_auth_token

Step 2: Get a phone number

1. In Twilio Console, go to Phone Numbers → Manage → Buy a number
2. Choose a number with SMS capability
3. Note the number in E.164 format (e.g., +18005551234) — this is your twilio_phone_number

Step 3: Configure Twilio webhooks

1. Go to Phone Numbers → Manage → Active Numbers → click your number
2. Under Messaging, set:

Setting	Value
A message comes in	Webhook, POST, https://hub.portablemind.ai/webhooks/twilio/YOUR_TENANT_ID/sms/inbound
Status callback URL	https://hub.portablemind.ai/webhooks/twilio/YOUR_TENANT_ID/sms/status

3. Click Save

Step 4: Store credentials in Portablemind

Save the following in the SMS channel's setup wizard (Administration → Communications Hub → Manage → SMS tile), then click Save & Enable:

Field	Value	Where to find it
twilio_account_sid	Account SID (AC...)	Twilio Console → Dashboard
twilio_auth_token	Auth Token	Twilio Console → Dashboard
twilio_phone_number	E.164 format (e.g., +18005551234)	Twilio Console → Phone Numbers
domain	hub.portablemind.ai	Hostname only — no https://

Warning: The domain must be the hostname only (e.g., hub.portablemind.ai), not a full URL. The Hub adds https:// automatically.

Auto-created conversations

When an SMS arrives from a phone number that isn't linked to any Portablemind conversation, the system automatically creates a new conversation and links it. The conversation is named twilio-sms-+18005551234 with the phone number in the description. Future messages from the same number route to the same conversation.

Outbound SMS registration requirements

Note: US carriers require registration for outbound SMS. Without it, outbound messages may be blocked.

• Local numbers (10DLC): requires A2P campaign registration (Brand + Campaign) — 3-7 business days
• Toll-free numbers: requires toll-free verification — 1-3 business days

Inbound SMS works immediately regardless of registration status. Trial accounts can only send to verified caller IDs.

Twilio Voice setup

Twilio Voice gives your workspace an AI voice assistant on a phone number. People can call it and ask about their work, your AI agents can place calls, every call an agent places opens with a notice that it's an AI call and is transcribed, and every call is transcribed and saved as a private record under Team Chat → Calls. The Phone Calls guide covers the whole feature: consent, calling in, having an agent call, and reviewing calls.

Voice setup is completed with Portablemind support. The Voice tile's setup wizard (Administration → Communications Hub → Manage → Voice) stores your Twilio account and the voice assistant's settings, but it can't finish a working voice setup on its own. Connecting the voice assistant to your workspace (so it recognises callers and can look up their work), turning on outbound calling, and setting call limits are done by support. Contact support to set up voice; the steps below are the part you can prepare yourself.

Voice uses the same Twilio account and phone number as SMS. If you've already set up SMS, the wizard fills in the account details for you.

Step 1: Configure the voice webhook

1. In the Twilio Console, go to Phone Numbers → Manage → Active Numbers → click your number
2. Under Voice & Fax, set:

Setting	Value
A call comes in	Webhook, HTTP POST, https://hub.portablemind.ai/webhooks/twilio/YOUR_TENANT_ID/voice/twiml

3. Click Save

The wizard shows this URL, and the Voice Status Callback URL, ready to copy for your workspace.

Step 2: Get an OpenAI API key (optional)

The voice assistant uses a fast OpenAI model (GPT-4o-mini by default) for real-time responses during calls. This is separate from the AI models used in Portablemind conversations. You can use your own OpenAI key; without one, the platform's is used, and outbound calls then draw on your workspace's token balance.

1. Go to OpenAI API Keys
2. Create a new key and copy it

Step 3: Enter your details in the Voice wizard

In Administration → Communications Hub → Manage, click the Voice tile and fill in:

Field	Value	Notes
Account SID	Your Twilio Account SID	Same as SMS
Auth Token	Your Twilio Auth Token	Same as SMS
Phone Number	Your Twilio number	Same as SMS, E.164 format (+1...)
Domain	hub.portablemind.ai	Hostname only
OpenAI API Key	Your OpenAI API key	Optional (see step 2)
OpenAI Model	gpt-4o-mini	Default: fast and cost-effective
TTS Provider	ElevenLabs	Text-to-speech provider
TTS Voice ID	An ElevenLabs voice ID	Optional; uses the default voice if empty
Welcome Greeting	What the assistant says when it answers	Say that it's an AI assistant and that the call is transcribed. This greeting is the only notice people calling in hear, and the platform doesn't add one
Context Provider	Leave as it is	Support sets this up when they connect the assistant to your workspace

Then contact support to finish the setup.

Where calls go

Each call, inbound or outbound, gets its own private record under Team Chat → Calls, with the full transcript. It's never posted into an SMS thread or any other conversation. Workspace administrators see every call; other members see only the calls they were part of. See Reviewing calls.

Caller recognition

Once support has connected the assistant to your workspace, it looks up the caller's number in Portablemind. If exactly one person in your workspace has that number on their profile or contact record, the assistant knows who's calling and has their assigned tasks and projects to hand, plus their latest texts if they've texted your number before. A number that's on nobody's record, or on more than one, isn't recognised. See Calling in.

Twilio Video setup

The Video channel connects your own Twilio account to Meet. With it, your meetings run on your Twilio account: Twilio bills you for the video directly, and meetings use no tokens from your balance (your plan's monthly meeting minutes still apply — see Meeting minutes and billing).

Video can use the same Twilio account as SMS and Voice. Unlike them, it needs no phone number and no webhook: rooms, access and meeting status are all set up automatically.

Step 1: Get your Account SID and Auth Token

1. Log in to the Twilio Console
2. On the dashboard, under Account Info, copy:

Value	Notes
Account SID	Starts with AC
Auth Token	Click to reveal. Used to verify the meeting status updates Twilio sends

If you've already set up SMS or Voice, the wizard fills these in for you.

Step 2: Create an API key

Video access uses an API key rather than your Auth Token.

1. In the Twilio Console, go to Account → API keys & tokens (from the account menu at the top right)
2. Click Create API key
3. Give it a name (e.g., "Portablemind Meet"), leave the key type as Standard, and click Create
4. Copy the key's SID (starts with SK) and its Secret

Warning: The API key secret is shown only once, when the key is created. If you lose it, create a new key and update the Video channel with it.

Step 3: Store credentials in Portablemind

Save the following in the Video channel's setup wizard (Administration → Communications Hub → Manage → Video tile), then click Save & Enable:

Field	Value	Where to find it
Account SID	AC...	Twilio Console → Dashboard → Account Info
Auth Token	Auth Token	Twilio Console → Dashboard → Account Info
API Key SID	SK...	Twilio Console → Account → API keys & tokens
API Key Secret	The key's secret	Shown once, when you create the API key

Meetings started after you save use your account. To go back, click Disable Channel in the same wizard — your credentials are kept.

Linking channels to conversations

After setting up credentials, you link external channels to specific Portablemind conversations. This determines which conversation receives messages from which external channel.

Linking happens from the conversation's Channel Details dialog, on its External Channels tab: you add a mapping, choosing the external system and resource type, then selecting the specific external channel:

Resource type	How it works
Discord channels	Search and select a channel from your Discord server
Slack channels	Search and select a channel from your Slack workspace
Teams conversations	Search and select a channel from your Teams team
SMS conversations	Enter a phone number in E.164 format (e.g., +18005551234)

Once the mapping is saved, messages flow in both directions. Any AI agents in the conversation participate just as they do in the AI Assistant — external users are effectively chatting with them from Teams, Slack, Discord, or SMS.

Threads

Threads carry across linked channels. A Portablemind thread is a Slack thread or a Teams channel reply chain, in both directions, and "Also send to #channel" in Slack matches Also send to conversation. Teams 1:1 and group chats have no threads, so a thread reply arrives there as a normal message quoting the original.

Cross-channel bridging

A single Portablemind conversation can be linked to multiple external channels across different platforms. When a message arrives on any linked channel, it is fanned out to all other linked channels on the same conversation. This means a Discord message will appear in Teams and Slack, and vice versa.

Webhook URL reference

These are the webhook URLs used by each channel (replace YOUR_TENANT_ID with your actual tenant ID):

Channel	Webhook URL	Where to configure
Teams	https://hub.portablemind.ai/webhooks/msteams/YOUR_TENANT_ID/messages	Azure Bot → Configuration → Messaging endpoint
Slack	https://hub.portablemind.ai/webhooks/slack/YOUR_TENANT_ID/events	Slack App → Event Subscriptions → Request URL
Discord	No webhook needed — Discord uses a Gateway (WebSocket) connection	—
Twilio SMS	https://hub.portablemind.ai/webhooks/twilio/YOUR_TENANT_ID/sms/inbound	Twilio Console → Phone Number → Messaging
Twilio Voice	https://hub.portablemind.ai/webhooks/twilio/YOUR_TENANT_ID/voice/twiml	Twilio Console → Phone Number → Voice
Twilio Video	No webhook needed — set automatically for each meeting	—

Troubleshooting

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
Outbound works but inbound doesn't (Slack)	Bot events not subscribed	Add message.channels, message.groups, message.im in Event Subscriptions
Outbound works but inbound doesn't (Teams)	Messaging endpoint not set or wrong tenant ID	Check Azure Bot → Configuration → Messaging endpoint matches your tenant ID
Bot doesn't respond in Slack channel	Bot not invited to channel	Type /invite @BotName in the Slack channel
Bot doesn't respond in Teams channel	Bot not @mentioned	@mention the bot in team channels. 1:1 chats don't need @mentions.
No channels found when adding a mapping	Credentials not configured or Hub hasn't refreshed	Verify credentials are saved in Portablemind. The Hub refreshes its channel list every 5 minutes.
Slack shows "Your request URL responded with an HTTP error"	Wrong webhook URL format	Use the tenant-scoped URL: .../webhooks/slack/YOUR_TENANT_ID/events
SMS outbound blocked (error 30034)	A2P registration not complete	Complete 10DLC campaign registration or toll-free verification in Twilio
Meet says it isn't set up after you saved the Video channel	Credentials incomplete, or the channel is disabled	Open the Video tile and check all four fields are filled in, then Save & Enable
Azure client secret expired	Teams integration stopped working	Create a new client secret in Azure and update the bot_password in your Portablemind channel configuration