Closes OSS-646. Split out of OSS-641 as the unambiguous half. This PR does **not** change when activation happens — whether the long-running wrappers should auto-connect stays open on OSS-641. ## Why `createCopilotRuntimeHandler` builds the `ChannelManager` but opens no connection; activation is lazy, triggered by the first `channels.ready()`. That is deliberate (`fbf35ac59`, OSS-473) — Cloudflare/Next isolates freeze and recycle per request, so cold starts would mint conflicting listeners. Two things were left inconsistent with it: 1. `endpoints/node.ts` still documented the pre-`fbf35ac59` world — "the same `ChannelsControl` surface the underlying fetch handler **activates at creation time**" — and labelled the one required call as `// Optional:`. That's the TSDoc developers and coding agents see in-editor, and it contradicted every channel-package README. Same failure class as OSS-634. 2. `68349bc1f` gave the fetch handler a branded overload so `handler.channels.ready()` type-checks without `?.`, but the node wrapper never got it — so every call site, including our own example and all nine showcase docs pages, was written defensively. ### A live consequence, found en route `examples/slack/app/managed.ts` never called `ready()`. It built the runtime, mounted the listener, logged `[channel] started managed Channel "…"`, and only ever called `stop()` — so since activation went lazy it has connected nothing while reporting success. It was written against exactly the creation-time model the TSDoc described. Fixed here, with a regression assertion. ## What changed - **Types** — `createCopilotNodeListener` gets the branded overload pair mirroring `createCopilotRuntimeHandler`: a runtime with at least one declared Channel yields non-optional `.channels`; `activateChannels: false` and channel-less runtimes keep the optional shape. Adds `NodeCopilotListenerWithChannels`; both listener types are now exported from `@copilotkit/runtime/v2/node`. - **Docs** — node/express/hono TSDoc corrected: creation opens no connection, `ready()` is what activates, and it is required on a long-running host. Same stale claim fixed in the three example comments and `examples/slack/README.md` that repeated it. - **Call sites** — `?.` dropped from `examples/slack`, `examples/teams`, both READMEs, and the nine `showcase/shell-docs` channel pages. ## Deliberate scope choices, called out - **Express/Hono keep an optional `.channels`.** Only their TSDoc is corrected here. Their own type docs name Node as the lifecycle-owning surface and attach `.channels` best-effort, so the branded overload is Node-only for now; `endpoints-channels.test.ts` still uses `!` for those two. Say the word if the overload should extend to them. - **The non-optional shape requires a literal `channels` tuple** (`readonly [Channel, ...Channel[]]`). A runtime built from a dynamically-assembled `Channel[]` is unbranded and still needs `?.`. Now stated in the node TSDoc. - **`examples/slack/app/managed.ts` now exits nonzero if activation fails**, where before it stayed up serving HTTP with nothing connected. Intentional — fail loud, and it matches `index.ts`. Note that `ready()` resolves for `setup_required`, so a declared-but-unprovisioned channel still logs as started. - **Signal handlers are registered before awaiting activation** in `managed.ts`, so a Ctrl-C inside the 30s activation window still tears the Channel down instead of hitting Node's default handler. ## Verification - **Type contract, red → green:** the new `KeyIsRequired<typeof listener, "channels">` assertion in `handler-channels-types.test.ts` failed to compile before the overload (`error TS2344: Type 'false' does not satisfy the constraint 'true'`) and passes after. - **Example bug, red → green:** stashing only `managed.ts` fails the new guard with `expected "vi.fn()" to be called once, but got 0 times`. - **Strict-null proof:** `slack-example` and `teams-example` both `tsc --noEmit` clean under `strict: true` with the `?.` removed. This matters because the runtime package compiles with `strict: false`, so its own type test can only probe the optionality modifier structurally. - Runtime channel suites 54/54; slack example 63/63. - **Coverage limit:** the `managed.ts` guard is mocked — it proves the example *calls* `ready()` with a bound, not that a Channel connects. Nothing in CI exercises a real gateway connect for these examples. 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Teams example: demo bot
A runnable demo of @copilotkit/channels: a Microsoft
Teams bot backed by a CopilotKit BuiltInAgent that shows
streamed-by-edit replies, agent-rendered Adaptive Cards, and a
human-in-the-loop approval gate, testable locally in the Microsoft 365
Agents Playground with no Microsoft credentials. It needs an
OPENAI_API_KEY and an Intelligence key (free tier). The application depends
on the umbrella and imports the Teams integration from
@copilotkit/channels/teams.
A Channel runs only through the Intelligence runtime. The Teams adapter stays
direct (it keeps the Playground/Teams ingress), but the runtime owns the
Channel's lifecycle: the bot is declared on
new CopilotRuntime({ intelligence, identifyUser, channels: [bot] }) and started
/ stopped via listener.channels.ready() / .stop() — there is no
bot.start()/bot.stop(). That's why an Intelligence key is required even
though no Microsoft credentials are.
Run it
From this directory (after pnpm install at the repo root):
export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-... # or add it to .env (see .env.example)
export COPILOTKIT_API_KEY=cpk-... # Intelligence key (free tier)
pnpm start # starts the bot on http://localhost:3978/api/messages
In a second terminal:
pnpm playground # opens the M365 Agents Playground at http://localhost:56150
Then, in the Playground:
- Ask anything → the agent replies, streaming in by message edit (a typing
indicator first, then text that fills in as it's edited, following Teams'
baseline post-then-
updateActivitystreaming model). - Ask for a summary, status, or any structured data → the agent calls
the
show_cardtool and posts an Adaptive Card (header, facts, table). - Ask it to "announce X to the team" → it drafts the message, posts an Approve/Reject card, and only sends after you approve (the card updates in place to ✅/🚫).
That exercises the CopilotKit bot engine and the Teams adapter end-to-end: streaming, agent-rendered Adaptive Cards, and human-in-the-loop.
What's in here
app/index.tsx: the whole bot, covering an in-processBuiltInAgentruntime, thecreateChannel({ adapters: [teams()] })wiring, anonMessagehandler that runs the agent, and the agent-facingshow_cardtool.app/human-in-the-loop/: theconfirm_writeapproval gate and the Adaptive Card it posts. This is user-land code, not SDK code.
Use a remote agent
By default the example serves an in-process BuiltInAgent. To point the bot at
a remote AG-UI endpoint (a deployed CopilotKit runtime, LangGraph, and so on)
instead, swap the agent factory to read a URL from the environment:
agent: (threadId) => {
const a = new SanitizingHttpAgent({ url: process.env.AGENT_URL! });
a.threadId = threadId;
return a;
},
Connect to Microsoft Teams
The Playground needs no credentials; real Teams does. The high-level path:
- Register the bot with Microsoft. Create an Entra app
registration
and note its Application (client) ID, Directory (tenant) ID, and a client
secret. Create an Azure Bot
resource
that uses that app, enable the Microsoft Teams channel, and set its
messaging endpoint to
https://<your-host>/api/messages. - Give the bot the credentials. Set
clientId/clientSecret/tenantId(the names the M365 Agents SDK reads) in the bot's environment. With them set, the bot acks each turn and runs the agent on a detached context, so HITL approvals can resume minutes later. - Build and upload the app package (below), then in Teams: Apps → Manage your apps → Upload a custom app.
The full step-by-step walkthrough is in the Microsoft Teams guide.
Build the Teams app package
The app package is the manifest + icons you sideload into Teams. Build it with:
pnpm package # -> appPackage/appPackage.zip
The script (appPackage/package.mjs, dependency-free) reads your bot id from
MICROSOFT_APP_ID / CLIENT_ID / clientId (env or .env) and injects it into
the manifest, validates the manifest, and auto-generates placeholder icons if
they're missing, so the committed manifest.json stays a placeholder and you
never hardcode your id. See appPackage/README.md for
details.
Files and charts (upload a CSV, get a chart)
The agent can read uploaded files and render charts. Upload a CSV and ask for a
pie/bar chart: the bot parses the data and calls render_chart, which posts a
native Teams chart (an Adaptive Card chart element, no image generation, no
headless browser). How the file reaches the bot depends on where it's uploaded,
because of a Teams limitation:
-
1:1 (personal) chat — the file is delivered to the bot inline (requires
supportsFiles: truein the manifest, already set). Works with no extra setup. -
Channel / group chat — Teams does not send the file to bots here, so the bot fetches it through Microsoft Graph. That needs two application permissions on the bot's Entra app, consented once by a tenant admin:
Files.Read.All— download the file from SharePoint.Group.Read.All(or the manifest's RSCChannelMessage.Read.Group, which a team owner can consent without a tenant admin) — read the channel message that references the file.
Without that consent the bot still works — it asks the user to paste the data inline (which also renders a chart). To verify the Graph chain in a tenant where you control consent before requesting it org-wide, run
scripts/verify-graph-channel.ts(see its header).
Charts render natively in the Teams client, so there's nothing extra to install
(no Chromium, no headless browser). Native charts need a Teams app manifest at
version 1.25+ (already set in appPackage/manifest.json).
Deploy
The bot is a plain HTTP service: it serves POST /api/messages (plus a
/healthz liveness probe) and binds PORT, so it runs anywhere a Node process
does. Teams is an inbound webhook, so the service needs a public URL: point
your Azure Bot resource's messaging endpoint at https://<your-host>/api/messages.
Deploy as a workspace member (built from source)
This example consumes @copilotkit/channels (and @copilotkit/runtime) via the
workspace:* protocol, so it always builds from the in-repo source —
not the npm registry. The Teams integration is imported from the umbrella's
@copilotkit/channels/teams subpath. That decouples the deploy from publishing:
a change to packages/** redeploys with the new code immediately.
Because it's a workspace member, the deploy must run from the repo root so
the workspace and packages/** are visible. The bot runs its BuiltInAgent
runtime in-process (on RUNTIME_PORT, localhost-only), so it's a single
service — no separate runtime process. On Railway (or any host), set:
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Root Directory | repo root (/) |
| Build Command | pnpm install && pnpm --filter teams-example build |
| Start Command | pnpm --filter teams-example start |
| Watch Paths | packages/**, examples/teams/**, pnpm-lock.yaml, package.json |
pnpm --filter teams-example build builds @copilotkit/channels and
@copilotkit/runtime; Nx brings the Teams adapter in transitively through the
project graph, so tsx runs against fresh dist. The Watch Paths are what
make a packages/**-only change trigger a redeploy. On Railway, generate a
public domain on the service (Settings → Networking); it routes to $PORT,
which the bot listens on for /api/messages.
Copying this example out of the monorepo? Replace the
workspace:*range for@copilotkit/channelswith version0.2.0or later (for example,@copilotkit/channels: ^0.2.0), retain the@copilotkit/runtimedependency, and import the Teams APIs from@copilotkit/channels/teams.
Set the environment for wherever you deploy:
OPENAI_API_KEY(required): the bot runs aBuiltInAgentand exits at startup without it.OPENAI_MODEL(optional): defaults toopenai/gpt-5.5.COPILOTKIT_API_KEY(required): the Intelligence runtime that owns the Channel lifecycle. A Channel runs only through Intelligence, so the bot exits at startup without it (free tier is enough). No URLs to configure — the SDK defaults to the managed Intelligence platform.COPILOTKIT_INTELLIGENCE_URL/COPILOTKIT_INTELLIGENCE_WS_URL(optional): point the bot at a self-hosted or dev Intelligence deployment. Set both or neither: the API and realtime planes are separate hosts (api.intelligence.copilotkit.aivsrealtime.intelligence.copilotkit.ai), so the websocket URL cannot be derived from the API URL by swapping the scheme, and setting one alone leaves the other plane on the managed platform. Getting the websocket host wrong does not produce an error; the Channel sits inconnectinguntil it times out.CHANNELS_PORT(optional): port for the Intelligence runtime that owns the Channel (loopback-only, default 8300).clientId/clientSecret/tenantId: needed to reach real Teams (see above). The in-processBuiltInAgentruntime stays onRUNTIME_PORT(localhost-only, default 8200).
Note: the conversation store and pending HITL approvals are in-memory, so they do not survive a restart. Swap in a durable store before relying on long-lived approvals in production.