diff --git a/src/channels/config.ts b/src/channels/config.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0d897e68
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/channels/config.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+/**
+ * Channel configuration loader.
+ *
+ * Reads ~/.super-multica/channels.json5 for channel credentials and settings.
+ */
+
+import { existsSync, readFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+import JSON5 from "json5";
+import { DATA_DIR } from "../shared/paths.js";
+import type { ChannelsConfig } from "./types.js";
+
+export const CHANNELS_CONFIG_PATH = join(DATA_DIR, "channels.json5");
+
+/** Load channels config from ~/.super-multica/channels.json5 */
+export function loadChannelsConfig(): ChannelsConfig {
+  if (!existsSync(CHANNELS_CONFIG_PATH)) {
+    console.log(`[Channels] No channels.json5 found, skipping`);
+    return {};
+  }
+  try {
+    const raw = readFileSync(CHANNELS_CONFIG_PATH, "utf8");
+    const config = JSON5.parse(raw) as ChannelsConfig;
+    console.log(`[Channels] Loaded config from ${CHANNELS_CONFIG_PATH}`);
+    return config;
+  } catch (err) {
+    console.warn(`[Channels] Failed to parse ${CHANNELS_CONFIG_PATH}: ${err}`);
+    return {};
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/channels/registry.ts b/src/channels/registry.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1eb27efd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/channels/registry.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+/**
+ * Channel plugin registry.
+ *
+ * Simple array + Map registry. Plugins are registered at startup
+ * via registerChannel() and looked up by ID.
+ */
+
+import type { ChannelPlugin } from "./types.js";
+
+const plugins: ChannelPlugin[] = [];
+const pluginMap = new Map<string, ChannelPlugin>();
+
+/** Register a channel plugin. Throws if ID is already registered. */
+export function registerChannel(plugin: ChannelPlugin): void {
+  if (pluginMap.has(plugin.id)) {
+    throw new Error(`Channel plugin "${plugin.id}" is already registered`);
+  }
+  plugins.push(plugin);
+  pluginMap.set(plugin.id, plugin);
+  console.log(`[Channels] Registered plugin: ${plugin.id}`);
+}
+
+/** Get a registered channel plugin by ID */
+export function getChannel(id: string): ChannelPlugin | undefined {
+  return pluginMap.get(id);
+}
+
+/** List all registered channel plugins */
+export function listChannels(): readonly ChannelPlugin[] {
+  return plugins;
+}
diff --git a/src/channels/types.ts b/src/channels/types.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..32f165fb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/channels/types.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,126 @@
+/**
+ * Channel plugin system types.
+ *
+ * Each messaging platform (Telegram, Discord, Feishu, etc.) implements the
+ * ChannelPlugin interface with three adapters: config, gateway, outbound.
+ */
+
+import type { BlockChunkerConfig } from "../hub/block-chunker.js";
+
+// ─── Normalized Incoming Message ───
+
+/** Platform-agnostic incoming message */
+export interface ChannelMessage {
+  /** Unique message ID from the platform */
+  messageId: string;
+  /** Conversation ID (group ID or DM chat ID) */
+  conversationId: string;
+  /** Sender identifier on the platform */
+  senderId: string;
+  /** Plain text content */
+  text: string;
+  /** Chat type: "direct" (1:1) or "group" */
+  chatType: "direct" | "group";
+}
+
+// ─── Delivery Context ───
+
+/** Context for sending a reply back to a specific conversation */
+export interface DeliveryContext {
+  /** Channel plugin ID (e.g. "telegram", "discord") */
+  channel: string;
+  /** Account identifier (supports multi-account per channel) */
+  accountId: string;
+  /** Target conversation ID */
+  conversationId: string;
+  /** Original message ID (for reply-style responses) */
+  replyToMessageId?: string | undefined;
+}
+
+// ─── Config Adapter ───
+
+/** Resolves and validates channel credentials from the config file */
+export interface ChannelConfigAdapter<TAccount = Record<string, unknown>> {
+  /** List all configured account IDs for this channel */
+  listAccountIds(config: ChannelsConfig): string[];
+  /** Resolve a specific account's config */
+  resolveAccount(config: ChannelsConfig, accountId: string): TAccount | undefined;
+  /** Check if a given account config has all required credentials */
+  isConfigured(account: TAccount): boolean;
+}
+
+// ─── Gateway Adapter ───
+
+/** Manages the lifecycle of a channel account connection (receiving messages) */
+export interface ChannelGatewayAdapter {
+  /**
+   * Start receiving messages for an account.
+   * Must respect the AbortSignal for graceful shutdown.
+   */
+  start(
+    accountId: string,
+    config: Record<string, unknown>,
+    onMessage: (message: ChannelMessage) => void,
+    signal: AbortSignal,
+  ): Promise<void>;
+}
+
+// ─── Outbound Adapter ───
+
+/** Sends messages back to the platform */
+export interface ChannelOutboundAdapter {
+  /** Send a text message to a conversation */
+  sendText(ctx: DeliveryContext, text: string): Promise<void>;
+  /** Reply to a specific message */
+  replyText(ctx: DeliveryContext, text: string): Promise<void>;
+}
+
+// ─── Channel Plugin ───
+
+/** The main plugin interface. Each channel implements this. */
+export interface ChannelPlugin {
+  /** Unique channel identifier (e.g. "telegram", "discord", "feishu") */
+  readonly id: string;
+  /** Display metadata */
+  readonly meta: {
+    name: string;
+    description: string;
+  };
+  /** Optional chunker config override per channel */
+  readonly chunkerConfig?: BlockChunkerConfig | undefined;
+  /** Config resolution adapter */
+  readonly config: ChannelConfigAdapter;
+  /** Connection lifecycle adapter (receive messages) */
+  readonly gateway: ChannelGatewayAdapter;
+  /** Message sending adapter */
+  readonly outbound: ChannelOutboundAdapter;
+}
+
+// ─── Channels Config File Shape ───
+
+/**
+ * Shape of ~/.super-multica/channels.json5
+ *
+ * Each top-level key is a channel ID. Under it, each key is an account ID.
+ * Example:
+ * {
+ *   telegram: { default: { botToken: "xxx" } },
+ *   discord: { default: { botToken: "xxx" } },
+ * }
+ */
+export interface ChannelsConfig {
+  [channelId: string]: {
+    [accountId: string]: Record<string, unknown>;
+  } | undefined;
+}
+
+// ─── Account State ───
+
+export type ChannelAccountStatus = "stopped" | "starting" | "running" | "error";
+
+export interface ChannelAccountState {
+  channelId: string;
+  accountId: string;
+  status: ChannelAccountStatus;
+  error?: string | undefined;
+}