# Add your first inbox

Connect a WhatsApp number or another channel, choose its collaborators, and verify that a real test message reaches Bow Chat.

## Choose the channel

An inbox is one connected channel, such as a WhatsApp number or email mailbox. Give it a recognizable name, such as **Main support** or **City branch**.

Go to **Settings → Inboxes → Add Inbox**. Choose the channel you actually use:

- **WhatsApp Web** links an existing WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business App on a phone. Follow the steps below.
- **WhatsApp Business Platform / Cloud API** uses the business connection flow and its messaging requirements. See [channel choices](https://docs.bow.chat/channels) before choosing this route.
- **Microsoft 365 email** connects a licensed user mailbox. Follow [Connect Microsoft 365 email](https://docs.bow.chat/email/microsoft365), including its administrator checklist where needed.
- **Customer Rooms** gives customers a private room. Follow [Set up Customer Rooms](https://docs.bow.chat/customer-rooms/set-up-customer-rooms).

## Connect an existing WhatsApp number

1. Select **WhatsApp Web**, enter an inbox name, and choose **Create and pair WhatsApp Web**.
2. Select the country code, enter the WhatsApp number, and click **Connect**.
3. With the phone nearby, open WhatsApp → **Linked devices → Link a device** and scan the displayed QR code.
4. If Bow Chat presents a pairing code instead, have the phone's owner follow the link-device instructions and enter that code on the phone. Keep the QR or pairing code private.
5. Wait for the connection and initial chat sync. Keep the linked phone/account available for any required reconnect.

Read [safe use of WhatsApp Web](https://docs.bow.chat/whatsapp-web/safe-use) before using the number for customer work.

## Choose who can use this inbox

If setup asks you to select agents, select the people who should work here. You can review or change them later in **Settings → Inboxes → your inbox → Collaborators → Update**.

A teammate invited after you created this inbox still needs to be added here. See [Give an agent inbox access](https://docs.bow.chat/getting-started/inbox-access).

## Verify the connection

Send a test message from another number you control to the connected number, or a test email to the connected mailbox. Confirm it appears in this inbox and send a reply. Use your agent's own login to check access as well.

If old WhatsApp conversations are not immediately visible, allow sync to finish and review the conversation status and assignment filters. A connected inbox and an agent with permission to see it are separate checks.

Next: [Invite your agents](https://docs.bow.chat/getting-started/add-agents).

Canonical: https://docs.bow.chat/getting-started/first-inbox
Version: 1
Updated: 2026-10-17T13:47:08.010Z