Agent KakaoTalk

A TypeScript CLI tool that enables AI agents and humans to interact with KakaoTalk through a simple command interface. Features sub-device login that keeps your desktop app running.

Key Concepts

Before diving in, a few things about KakaoTalk's architecture:

• LOCO protocol = KakaoTalk's binary messaging protocol. The CLI handles this internally — you never interact with it directly.
• Chat rooms = conversations (1:1, group, or open chat). Referenced by numeric chat ID.
• Device slots = KakaoTalk allows one phone + one PC + one tablet session. The CLI registers as a tablet by default to avoid kicking your desktop app.
• Sub-device = a secondary device (PC or tablet). The CLI logs in as a sub-device, so your phone session is never affected.
• Passcode verification = when registering a new device, KakaoTalk displays a code on screen that you confirm on your phone.
• Log ID = a unique numeric identifier for each message, used for pagination.

Quick Start

# Login (registers as sub-device, desktop app stays running)
agent-kakaotalk auth login

# List chat rooms
agent-kakaotalk chat list

# Send a message
agent-kakaotalk message send <chat-id> "Hello from AI agent!"

# List messages in a chat
agent-kakaotalk message list <chat-id>

# Show your identity
agent-kakaotalk whoami

Authentication

Registers the CLI as a sub-device (tablet slot by default). Your desktop app keeps running.

agent-kakaotalk auth login

In interactive mode, this prompts for email and password. The CLI first tries to extract cached credentials from the desktop app so you may not need to type anything.

For AI agents (non-interactive), provide credentials via flags:

agent-kakaotalk auth login --email user@example.com --password mypass

Device registration flow: On first login, KakaoTalk requires device verification:

1. The CLI requests a passcode from KakaoTalk's server
2. A numeric code is displayed — enter it on your phone when prompted
3. The CLI polls until you confirm on your phone
4. Login completes automatically after confirmation

IMPORTANT: NEVER guide the user to open a web browser, use DevTools, or manually copy tokens. Always use agent-kakaotalk auth login.

Agent Behavior (MANDATORY)

When a command fails because no account is configured, the agent MUST drive the auth flow itself:

Step 1: Check auth status

agent-kakaotalk auth status

If authenticated → retry the original command.

Step 2: Login (registers as sub-device — desktop app stays running)

agent-kakaotalk auth login

The CLI auto-extracts the email (and password if available) from the desktop app. On fresh installs, the CLI may prompt for the KakaoTalk password once (one-time device registration). After registration, the password is never needed again.

Possible responses:

• {"authenticated": true, ...} → Success. Retry original command.
• {"next_action": "confirm_on_phone", "passcode": "1234", ...} → Tell the user to enter the displayed code on their phone. The CLI is polling — wait for it to complete, then the login will finish automatically.
• {"next_action": "choose_device", ...} → Tablet slot is occupied. Ask user which slot to use, then re-run with --device-type pc --force or --device-type tablet --force.
• {"error": "bad_credentials", ...} → Wrong email or password. Ask the user to provide their credentials manually via --email and --password flags.
• {"next_action": "run_interactive", ...} → One-time device registration. On macOS/Windows, the CLI normally shows a native password dialog automatically. This response only appears in headless environments where no GUI or TTY is available. Ask the user to run agent-kakaotalk auth login in any terminal. Do NOT ask for the password in chat.

Alternatively, use --password-file:

agent-kakaotalk auth login --password-file /tmp/.kakao-pw

The --password-file flag reads the password from the file and deletes the file immediately after reading. The password never appears in chat, shell history, or process list.

Step 3: Retry the original command After successful auth, immediately execute whatever the user originally asked for.

Device Slots

KakaoTalk allows these simultaneous sessions:

• Phone (always active, never affected by the CLI)
• PC — will kick KakaoTalk desktop if the CLI uses this slot
• Tablet (default) — safe if you don't use a tablet for KakaoTalk

# Default: tablet slot (safe for most users)
agent-kakaotalk auth login

# Use PC slot instead (kicks desktop app)
agent-kakaotalk auth login --device-type pc

# Force login even if slot is occupied
agent-kakaotalk auth login --device-type tablet --force

Multi-Account

KakaoTalk supports multiple accounts. Each login stores credentials separately, keyed by user ID.

Listing Accounts

agent-kakaotalk auth list
agent-kakaotalk auth list --pretty

Switching Accounts

agent-kakaotalk auth use <account-id>

Using a Specific Account

All data commands accept --account <id> to use a specific account without switching the default:

agent-kakaotalk chat list --account 1234567890
agent-kakaotalk message list <chat-id> --account 1234567890
agent-kakaotalk message send <chat-id> "Hello" --account 1234567890

Without --account, commands use the current (default) account.

Memory

The agent maintains a ~/.config/agent-messenger/MEMORY.md file as persistent memory across sessions. This is agent-managed — the CLI does not read or write this file. Use the Read and Write tools to manage your memory file.

Reading Memory

At the start of every task, read ~/.config/agent-messenger/MEMORY.md using the Read tool to load any previously discovered chat IDs, friend names, and preferences.

• If the file doesn't exist yet, that's fine — proceed without it and create it when you first have useful information to store.
• If the file can't be read (permissions, missing directory), proceed without memory — don't error out.

Writing Memory

After discovering useful information, update ~/.config/agent-messenger/MEMORY.md using the Write tool. Write triggers include:

• After discovering chat IDs and participant names (from chat list)
• After discovering your own user ID (from auth status)
• After the user gives you an alias or preference ("call this the work chat", "my group chat with Alice is X")
• After discovering chat structure (group chats, 1:1 chats)

When writing, include the complete file content — the Write tool overwrites the entire file.

What to Store

• Chat IDs with participant names or display names
• Your own user ID
• User-given aliases ("work chat", "family group")
• Commonly referenced chat IDs
• Any user preference expressed during interaction

What NOT to Store

Never store tokens, passwords, credentials, or any sensitive data. Never store full message content (just IDs and chat context). Never store OAuth tokens or device UUIDs.

Handling Stale Data

If a memorized chat ID returns an error, remove it from MEMORY.md. Don't blindly trust memorized data — verify when something seems off. Prefer re-listing over using a memorized ID that might be stale.

Format / Example

# Agent Messenger Memory

## KakaoTalk Account

- User ID: `1234567890`
- Device type: tablet

## Chat Rooms

- `9876543210` — Work group chat (Alice, Bob, Charlie)
- `1111111111` — 1:1 with Alice
- `2222222222` — Family group

## Aliases

- "work" → `9876543210` (Work group chat)
- "alice" → `1111111111` (1:1 with Alice)

## Notes

- User prefers --pretty output
- Work chat is the most frequently used

Memory lets you skip repeated chat list calls. When you already know a chat ID from a previous session, use it directly.

Commands

Auth Commands

# Login as sub-device (recommended)
agent-kakaotalk auth login
agent-kakaotalk auth login --email <email> --password <password>
agent-kakaotalk auth login --device-type pc --force
agent-kakaotalk auth login --debug

# Check auth status
agent-kakaotalk auth status

# Remove stored credentials
agent-kakaotalk auth logout
agent-kakaotalk auth logout --account <account-id>

# List all stored accounts
agent-kakaotalk auth list
agent-kakaotalk auth list --pretty

# Switch the current account
agent-kakaotalk auth use <account-id>

# Check status of specific account
agent-kakaotalk auth status --account <account-id>

# Remove specific account
agent-kakaotalk auth logout --account <account-id>

Whoami Command

# Show current authenticated user
agent-kakaotalk whoami
agent-kakaotalk whoami --pretty
agent-kakaotalk whoami --account <account-id>

Output includes:

• user_id — your KakaoTalk user ID
• nickname — your display name
• profile_image_url — profile image thumbnail URL
• original_profile_image_url — original profile image URL
• status_message — your status message
• account_display_id — your KakaoTalk ID (may be null if not set)
• background_image_url — background image URL
• original_background_image_url — original background image URL
• fullname — real name (may be null)
• account_email — account email (may be null)
• pstn_number — phone number (may be null)
• email_verified — whether email is verified (may be null)

Chat Commands

# List all chat rooms (sorted by most recent activity)
agent-kakaotalk chat list
agent-kakaotalk chat list --pretty
agent-kakaotalk chat list --account <account-id>
agent-kakaotalk chat list --account <account-id> --pretty

Output includes:

• chat_id — numeric chat room ID
• type — chat type (1:1, group, open chat)
• display_name — comma-separated member names
• active_members — number of active members
• unread_count — unread message count
• last_message — most recent message preview

Message Commands

# List messages in a chat room
agent-kakaotalk message list <chat-id>
agent-kakaotalk message list <chat-id> -n 50
agent-kakaotalk message list <chat-id> --from <log-id>
agent-kakaotalk message list <chat-id> --pretty

# Send a text message
agent-kakaotalk message send <chat-id> "Hello world"
agent-kakaotalk message send <chat-id> "Hello world" --pretty

# Use a specific account
agent-kakaotalk message list <chat-id> --account <account-id>
agent-kakaotalk message send <chat-id> "Hello" --account <account-id>

Message List Output

Each message includes:

• log_id — unique message identifier
• type — message type (1 = text, 2 = photo, etc.)
• author_id — sender's user ID
• message — message text content
• sent_at — Unix timestamp (milliseconds)

Fetching More Messages

The CLI handles internal pagination automatically. Just increase -n to get more messages. Pagination is capped at ~4,000 raw messages (50 pages × 80 per page). If the cap is hit, a warning is printed to stderr and results may be incomplete.

# Get latest 20 messages (default)
agent-kakaotalk message list 9876543210

# Get 50 messages
agent-kakaotalk message list 9876543210 -n 50

# Get 200 messages
agent-kakaotalk message list 9876543210 -n 200

# Get messages newer than a known log ID (forward only)
agent-kakaotalk message list 9876543210 --from 123456789

Output Format

JSON (Default)

All commands output JSON by default for AI consumption:

{
  "chat_id": "9876543210",
  "type": 2,
  "display_name": "Alice, Bob",
  "active_members": 3,
  "unread_count": 5,
  "last_message": {
    "author_id": "1111111111",
    "message": "Hello everyone!",
    "sent_at": 1705312200000
  }
}

Pretty (Human-Readable)

Use --pretty flag for formatted output:

agent-kakaotalk chat list --pretty

Global Options

Option	Description
--account	Use a specific KakaoTalk account (default: current account)
--pretty	Human-readable output instead of JSON

Common Patterns

See references/common-patterns.md for typical AI agent workflows.

Templates

See templates/ directory for runnable examples:

• post-message.sh - Send messages with error handling
• monitor-chat.sh - Monitor a chat for new messages
• chat-summary.sh - Generate chat summary

Error Handling

All commands return consistent error format:

{
  "error": "No KakaoTalk credentials found. Run:\n  agent-kakaotalk auth login     (recommended — registers as sub-device, desktop app stays running)"
}

Common errors:

• No KakaoTalk credentials found — not authenticated. Run auth login.
• bad_credentials — wrong email or password. Cached credentials from the desktop app may be stale. Ask the user to provide credentials manually with --email and --password.
• login_failed — device slot conflict or unknown login error. Run with --debug for the full server response.
• passcode_request_failed — failed to request device verification code.
• registration_timeout — passcode expired before user confirmed on phone.
• login_http_error — network issue reaching KakaoTalk servers.
• LOCO packet timeout — messaging protocol timed out (server may be overloaded).

Configuration

Credentials stored in ~/.config/agent-messenger/kakaotalk-credentials.json (0600 permissions). See references/authentication.md for format and security details.

Config format:

{
  "current_account": "1234567890",
  "accounts": {
    "1234567890": {
      "account_id": "1234567890",
      "oauth_token": "...",
      "user_id": "1234567890",
      "refresh_token": "...",
      "device_uuid": "...",
      "device_type": "tablet",
      "created_at": "2025-01-15T10:30:00.000Z",
      "updated_at": "2025-01-15T10:30:00.000Z"
    }
  }
}

SDK: Programmatic Usage

KakaoTalkClient is available as a TypeScript SDK for building scripts and automations.

Setup

import { KakaoTalkClient } from 'agent-messenger/kakaotalk'

const client = await new KakaoTalkClient().login()

Or with manual credential management:

import { KakaoTalkClient, KakaoCredentialManager } from 'agent-messenger/kakaotalk'

const manager = new KakaoCredentialManager()
const account = await manager.getAccount()
if (!account) throw new Error('Not authenticated')

const client = await new KakaoTalkClient().login({ oauthToken: account.oauth_token, userId: account.user_id, deviceUuid: account.device_uuid })

Example

try {
  // Get your profile
  const profile = await client.getProfile()

  // List chats
  const chats = await client.getChats()

  // Send a message
  if (chats.length === 0) throw new Error('No chats found')
  const chatId = chats[0].chat_id
  const result = await client.sendMessage(chatId, 'Hello from SDK!')

  // Read messages
  const messages = await client.getMessages(chatId, { count: 50 })
} finally {
  // Always close when done (LOCO TCP connection)
  client.close()
}

Full API Reference

See the KakaoTalk SDK documentation for complete method signatures, types, schemas, and examples.

Limitations

• macOS and Windows only (desktop app needed for auto-extracting email/password during login)
• No Linux support (KakaoTalk desktop not available on Linux)
• No file upload or download
• No channel/chat room creation or management
• No friend list management
• No reactions or emoji
• No message editing or deletion
• No open chat (오픈채팅) browsing or joining
• No search across chats
• Plain text messages only (no photos, videos, or rich content)
• Chat IDs are numeric and not human-readable — use chat list to discover them

Troubleshooting

agent-kakaotalk: command not found

agent-kakaotalk is NOT the npm package name. The npm package is agent-messenger.

If the package is installed globally, use agent-kakaotalk directly:

agent-kakaotalk chat list --pretty

If the package is NOT installed, use --package to install and run:

npx -y --package agent-messenger agent-kakaotalk chat list --pretty
bunx --package agent-messenger agent-kakaotalk chat list --pretty
pnpm dlx --package agent-messenger agent-kakaotalk chat list --pretty

Note: If the user prefers a different package runner, use the matching command above.

NEVER run npx agent-kakaotalk, bunx agent-kakaotalk, or pnpm dlx agent-kakaotalk without --package agent-messenger. It will fail or install a wrong package since agent-kakaotalk is not the npm package name.

Password prompt on fresh install

On fresh installs, the desktop app (macOS or Windows) may hash or omit the password from its cache, so the CLI cannot extract it automatically. The CLI will prompt for the password once to register the device — via a native dialog on macOS (AppKit) and Windows (PowerShell WinForms), or via a TTY prompt if a terminal is available. After registration, the password is never needed again.

When the CLI returns {"next_action": "run_interactive", ...}, use a tmux session to let the user type their password securely. See "Handling run_interactive" above for the exact steps.

NEVER ask for the password in chat or pass it via --password — this exposes the plaintext password in conversation logs, shell history, and process lists.

Bad credentials

If login returns bad_credentials, the provided password is incorrect. Do NOT retry with --force or switch device slots — the issue is the credentials themselves, not the device slot.

If the issue persists, run with --debug to see the full server response.

Device slot occupied

If login fails because the tablet slot is occupied (error: login_failed, not bad_credentials):

# Option 1: Use the PC slot instead
agent-kakaotalk auth login --device-type pc --force

# Option 2: Force the tablet slot (kicks existing tablet session)
agent-kakaotalk auth login --device-type tablet --force

Passcode verification timeout

If the passcode expires before you confirm on your phone:

1. Run agent-kakaotalk auth login again — a new passcode will be generated
2. Confirm the code on your phone within the time limit
3. The CLI automatically completes login after confirmation

References

• Authentication Guide
• Common Patterns