openclaw/docs/channels/telegram.md

---
summary: "Telegram bot support status, capabilities, and configuration"
read_when:
  - Working on Telegram features or webhooks
title: "Telegram"
---

# Telegram (Bot API)

Status: production-ready for bot DMs + groups via grammY. Long polling is the default mode; webhook mode is optional.

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Pairing" icon="link" href="/channels/pairing">
    Default DM policy for Telegram is pairing.
  </Card>
  <Card title="Channel troubleshooting" icon="wrench" href="/channels/troubleshooting">
    Cross-channel diagnostics and repair playbooks.
  </Card>
  <Card title="Gateway configuration" icon="settings" href="/gateway/configuration">
    Full channel config patterns and examples.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Quick setup

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create the bot token in BotFather">
    Open Telegram and chat with **@BotFather** (confirm the handle is exactly `@BotFather`).

    Run `/newbot`, follow prompts, and save the token.

  </Step>

  <Step title="Configure token and DM policy">

```json5
{
  channels: {
    telegram: {
      enabled: true,
      botToken: "123:abc",
      dmPolicy: "pairing",
      groups: { "*": { requireMention: true } },
    },
  },
}
```

    Env fallback: `TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=...` (default account only).

  </Step>

  <Step title="Start gateway and approve first DM">

```bash
openclaw gateway
openclaw pairing list telegram
openclaw pairing approve telegram <CODE>
```

    Pairing codes expire after 1 hour.

  </Step>

  <Step title="Add the bot to a group">
    Add the bot to your group, then set `channels.telegram.groups` and `groupPolicy` to match your access model.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
Token resolution order is account-aware. In practice, config values win over env fallback, and `TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN` only applies to the default account.
</Note>

## Telegram side settings

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Privacy mode and group visibility">
    Telegram bots default to **Privacy Mode**, which limits what group messages they receive.

    If the bot must see all group messages, either:

    - disable privacy mode via `/setprivacy`, or
    - make the bot a group admin.

    When toggling privacy mode, remove + re-add the bot in each group so Telegram applies the change.

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Group permissions">
    Admin status is controlled in Telegram group settings.

    Admin bots receive all group messages, which is useful for always-on group behavior.

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Helpful BotFather toggles">

    - `/setjoingroups` to allow/deny group adds
    - `/setprivacy` for group visibility behavior

  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Access control and activation

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="DM policy">
    `channels.telegram.dmPolicy` controls direct message access:

    - `pairing` (default)
    - `allowlist`
    - `open` (requires `allowFrom` to include `"*"`)
    - `disabled`

    `channels.telegram.allowFrom` accepts numeric Telegram user IDs. `telegram:` / `tg:` prefixes are accepted and normalized.
    The onboarding wizard accepts `@username` input and resolves it to numeric IDs.
    If you upgraded and your config contains `@username` allowlist entries, run `openclaw doctor --fix` to resolve them (best-effort; requires a Telegram bot token).

    ### Finding your Telegram user ID

    Safer (no third-party bot):

    1. DM your bot.
    2. Run `openclaw logs --follow`.
    3. Read `from.id`.

    Official Bot API method:

```bash
curl "https://api.telegram.org/bot<bot_token>/getUpdates"
```

    Third-party method (less private): `@userinfobot` or `@getidsbot`.

  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Group policy and allowlists">
    There are two independent controls:

    1. **Which groups are allowed** (`channels.telegram.groups`)
       - no `groups` config: all groups allowed
       - `groups` configured: acts as allowlist (explicit IDs or `"*"`)

    2. **Which senders are allowed in groups** (`channels.telegram.groupPolicy`)
       - `open`
       - `allowlist` (default)
       - `disabled`

    `groupAllowFrom` is used for group sender filtering. If not set, Telegram falls back to `allowFrom`.
    `groupAllowFrom` entries must be numeric Telegram user IDs.

    Example: allow any member in one specific group:

```json5
{
  channels: {
    telegram: {
      groups: {
        "-1001234567890": {
          groupPolicy: "open",
          requireMention: false,
        },
      },
    },
  },
}
```

  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Mention behavior">
    Group replies require mention by default.

    Mention can come from:

    - native `@botusername` mention, or
    - mention patterns in:
      - `agents.list[].groupChat.mentionPatterns`
      - `messages.groupChat.mentionPatterns`

    Session-level command toggles:

    - `/activation always`
    - `/activation mention`

    These update session state only. Use config for persistence.

    Persistent config example:

```json5
{
  channels: {
    telegram: {
      groups: {
        "*": { requireMention: false },
      },
    },
  },
}
```

    Getting the group chat ID:

    - forward a group message to `@userinfobot` / `@getidsbot`
    - or read `chat.id` from `openclaw logs --follow`
    - or inspect Bot API `getUpdates`

  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Runtime behavior

- Telegram is owned by the gateway process.
- Routing is deterministic: Telegram inbound replies back to Telegram (the model does not pick channels).
- Inbound messages normalize into the shared channel envelope with reply metadata and media placeholders.
- Group sessions are isolated by group ID. Forum topics append `:topic:<threadId>` to keep topics isolated.
- DM messages can carry `message_thread_id`; OpenClaw routes them with thread-aware session keys and preserves thread ID for replies.
- Long polling uses grammY runner with per-chat/per-thread sequencing. Overall runner sink concurrency uses `agents.defaults.maxConcurrent`.
- Telegram Bot API has no read-receipt support (`sendReadReceipts` does not apply).

## Feature reference

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Live stream preview (message edits)">
    OpenClaw can stream partial replies by sending a temporary Telegram message and editing it as text arrives.

    Requirement:

    - `channels.telegram.streamMode` is not `"off"` (default: `"partial"`)

    Modes:

    - `off`: no live preview
    - `partial`: frequent preview updates from partial text
    - `block`: chunked preview updates using `channels.telegram.draftChunk`

    `draftChunk` defaults for `streamMode: "block"`:

    - `minChars: 200`
    - `maxChars: 800`
    - `breakPreference: "paragraph"`

    `maxChars` is clamped by `channels.telegram.textChunkLimit`.

    This works in direct chats and groups/topics.

    For text-only replies, OpenClaw keeps the same preview message and performs a final edit in place (no second message).

    For complex replies (for example media payloads), OpenClaw falls back to normal final delivery and then cleans up the preview message.

    `streamMode` is separate from block streaming. When block streaming is explicitly enabled for Telegram, OpenClaw skips the preview stream to avoid double-streaming.

    Telegram-only reasoning stream:

    - `/reasoning stream` sends reasoning to the live preview while generating
    - final answer is sent without reasoning text

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Formatting and HTML fallback">
    Outbound text uses Telegram `parse_mode: "HTML"`.

    - Markdown-ish text is rendered to Telegram-safe HTML.
    - Raw model HTML is escaped to reduce Telegram parse failures.
    - If Telegram rejects parsed HTML, OpenClaw retries as plain text.

    Link previews are enabled by default and can be disabled with `channels.telegram.linkPreview: false`.

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Native commands and custom commands">
    Telegram command menu registration is handled at startup with `setMyCommands`.

    Native command defaults:

    - `commands.native: "auto"` enables native commands for Telegram

    Add custom command menu entries:

```json5
{
  channels: {
    telegram: {
      customCommands: [
        { command: "backup", description: "Git backup" },
        { command: "generate", description: "Create an image" },
      ],
    },
  },
}
```

    Rules:

    - names are normalized (strip leading `/`, lowercase)
    - valid pattern: `a-z`, `0-9`, `_`, length `1..32`
    - custom commands cannot override native commands
    - conflicts/duplicates are skipped and logged

    Notes:

    - custom commands are menu entries only; they do not auto-implement behavior
    - plugin/skill commands can still work when typed even if not shown in Telegram menu

    If native commands are disabled, built-ins are removed. Custom/plugin commands may still register if configured.

    Common setup failure:

    - `setMyCommands failed` usually means outbound DNS/HTTPS to `api.telegram.org` is blocked.

    ### Device pairing commands (`device-pair` plugin)

    When the `device-pair` plugin is installed:

    1. `/pair` generates setup code
    2. paste code in iOS app
    3. `/pair approve` approves latest pending request

    More details: [Pairing](/channels/pairing#pair-via-telegram-recommended-for-ios).

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Inline buttons">
    Configure inline keyboard scope:

```json5
{
  channels: {
    telegram: {
      capabilities: {
        inlineButtons: "allowlist",
      },
    },
  },
}
```

    Per-account override:

```json5
{
  channels: {
    telegram: {
      accounts: {
        main: {
          capabilities: {
            inlineButtons: "allowlist",
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
}
```

    Scopes:

    - `off`
    - `dm`
    - `group`
    - `all`
    - `allowlist` (default)

    Legacy `capabilities: ["inlineButtons"]` maps to `inlineButtons: "all"`.

    Message action example:

```json5
{
  action: "send",
  channel: "telegram",
  to: "123456789",
  message: "Choose an option:",
  buttons: [
    [
      { text: "Yes", callback_data: "yes" },
      { text: "No", callback_data: "no" },
    ],
    [{ text: "Cancel", callback_data: "cancel" }],
  ],
}
```

    Callback clicks are passed to the agent as text:
    `callback_data: <value>`

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Telegram message actions for agents and automation">
    Telegram tool actions include:

    - `sendMessage` (`to`, `content`, optional `mediaUrl`, `replyToMessageId`, `messageThreadId`)
    - `react` (`chatId`, `messageId`, `emoji`)
    - `deleteMessage` (`chatId`, `messageId`)
    - `editMessage` (`chatId`, `messageId`, `content`)

    Channel message actions expose ergonomic aliases (`send`, `react`, `delete`, `edit`, `sticker`, `sticker-search`).

    Gating controls:

    - `channels.telegram.actions.sendMessage`
    - `channels.telegram.actions.editMessage`
    - `channels.telegram.actions.deleteMessage`
    - `channels.telegram.actions.reactions`
    - `channels.telegram.actions.sticker` (default: disabled)

    Reaction removal semantics: [/tools/reactions](/tools/reactions)

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Reply threading tags">
    Telegram supports explicit reply threading tags in generated output:

    - `[[reply_to_current]]` replies to the triggering message
    - `[[reply_to:<id>]]` replies to a specific Telegram message ID

    `channels.telegram.replyToMode` controls handling:

    - `off` (default)
    - `first`
    - `all`

    Note: `off` disables implicit reply threading. Explicit `[[reply_to_*]]` tags are still honored.

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Forum topics and thread behavior">
    Forum supergroups:

    - topic session keys append `:topic:<threadId>`
    - replies and typing target the topic thread
    - topic config path:
      `channels.telegram.groups.<chatId>.topics.<threadId>`

    General topic (`threadId=1`) special-case:

    - message sends omit `message_thread_id` (Telegram rejects `sendMessage(...thread_id=1)`)
    - typing actions still include `message_thread_id`

    Topic inheritance: topic entries inherit group settings unless overridden (`requireMention`, `allowFrom`, `skills`, `systemPrompt`, `enabled`, `groupPolicy`).

    Template context includes:

    - `MessageThreadId`
    - `IsForum`

    DM thread behavior:

    - private chats with `message_thread_id` keep DM routing but use thread-aware session keys/reply targets.

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Audio, video, and stickers">
    ### Audio messages

    Telegram distinguishes voice notes vs audio files.

    - default: audio file behavior
    - tag `[[audio_as_voice]]` in agent reply to force voice-note send

    Message action example:

```json5
{
  action: "send",
  channel: "telegram",
  to: "123456789",
  media: "https://example.com/voice.ogg",
  asVoice: true,
}
```

    ### Video messages

    Telegram distinguishes video files vs video notes.

    Message action example:

```json5
{
  action: "send",
  channel: "telegram",
  to: "123456789",
  media: "https://example.com/video.mp4",
  asVideoNote: true,
}
```

    Video notes do not support captions; provided message text is sent separately.

    ### Stickers

    Inbound sticker handling:

    - static WEBP: downloaded and processed (placeholder `<media:sticker>`)
    - animated TGS: skipped
    - video WEBM: skipped

    Sticker context fields:

    - `Sticker.emoji`
    - `Sticker.setName`
    - `Sticker.fileId`
    - `Sticker.fileUniqueId`
    - `Sticker.cachedDescription`

    Sticker cache file:

    - `~/.openclaw/telegram/sticker-cache.json`

    Stickers are described once (when possible) and cached to reduce repeated vision calls.

    Enable sticker actions:

```json5
{
  channels: {
    telegram: {
      actions: {
        sticker: true,
      },
    },
  },
}
```

    Send sticker action:

```json5
{
  action: "sticker",
  channel: "telegram",
  to: "123456789",
  fileId: "CAACAgIAAxkBAAI...",
}
```

    Search cached stickers:

```json5
{
  action: "sticker-search",
  channel: "telegram",
  query: "cat waving",
  limit: 5,
}
```

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Reaction notifications">
    Telegram reactions arrive as `message_reaction` updates (separate from message payloads).

    When enabled, OpenClaw enqueues system events like:

    - `Telegram reaction added: 👍 by Alice (@alice) on msg 42`

    Config:

    - `channels.telegram.reactionNotifications`: `off | own | all` (default: `own`)
    - `channels.telegram.reactionLevel`: `off | ack | minimal | extensive` (default: `minimal`)

    Notes:

    - `own` means user reactions to bot-sent messages only (best-effort via sent-message cache).
    - Telegram does not provide thread IDs in reaction updates.
      - non-forum groups route to group chat session
      - forum groups route to the group general-topic session (`:topic:1`), not the exact originating topic

    `allowed_updates` for polling/webhook include `message_reaction` automatically.

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Ack reactions">
    `ackReaction` sends an acknowledgement emoji while OpenClaw is processing an inbound message.

    Resolution order:

    - `channels.telegram.accounts.<accountId>.ackReaction`
    - `channels.telegram.ackReaction`
    - `messages.ackReaction`
    - agent identity emoji fallback (`agents.list[].identity.emoji`, else "👀")

    Notes:

    - Telegram expects unicode emoji (for example "👀").
    - Use `""` to disable the reaction for a channel or account.

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Config writes from Telegram events and commands">
    Channel config writes are enabled by default (`configWrites !== false`).

    Telegram-triggered writes include:

    - group migration events (`migrate_to_chat_id`) to update `channels.telegram.groups`
    - `/config set` and `/config unset` (requires command enablement)

    Disable:

```json5
{
  channels: {
    telegram: {
      configWrites: false,
    },
  },
}
```

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Long polling vs webhook">
    Default: long polling.

    Webhook mode:

    - set `channels.telegram.webhookUrl`
    - set `channels.telegram.webhookSecret` (required when webhook URL is set)
    - optional `channels.telegram.webhookPath` (default `/telegram-webhook`)
    - optional `channels.telegram.webhookHost` (default `127.0.0.1`)

    Default local listener for webhook mode binds to `127.0.0.1:8787`.

    If your public endpoint differs, place a reverse proxy in front and point `webhookUrl` at the public URL.
    Set `webhookHost` (for example `0.0.0.0`) when you intentionally need external ingress.

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Limits, retry, and CLI targets">
    - `channels.telegram.textChunkLimit` default is 4000.
    - `channels.telegram.chunkMode="newline"` prefers paragraph boundaries (blank lines) before length splitting.
    - `channels.telegram.mediaMaxMb` (default 5) caps inbound Telegram media download/processing size.
    - `channels.telegram.timeoutSeconds` overrides Telegram API client timeout (if unset, grammY default applies).
    - group context history uses `channels.telegram.historyLimit` or `messages.groupChat.historyLimit` (default 50); `0` disables.
    - DM history controls:
      - `channels.telegram.dmHistoryLimit`
      - `channels.telegram.dms["<user_id>"].historyLimit`
    - outbound Telegram API retries are configurable via `channels.telegram.retry`.

    CLI send target can be numeric chat ID or username:

```bash
openclaw message send --channel telegram --target 123456789 --message "hi"
openclaw message send --channel telegram --target @name --message "hi"
```

  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Troubleshooting

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Bot does not respond to non mention group messages">

    - If `requireMention=false`, Telegram privacy mode must allow full visibility.
      - BotFather: `/setprivacy` -> Disable
      - then remove + re-add bot to group
    - `openclaw channels status` warns when config expects unmentioned group messages.
    - `openclaw channels status --probe` can check explicit numeric group IDs; wildcard `"*"` cannot be membership-probed.
    - quick session test: `/activation always`.

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Bot not seeing group messages at all">

    - when `channels.telegram.groups` exists, group must be listed (or include `"*"`)
    - verify bot membership in group
    - review logs: `openclaw logs --follow` for skip reasons

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Commands work partially or not at all">

    - authorize your sender identity (pairing and/or numeric `allowFrom`)
    - command authorization still applies even when group policy is `open`
    - `setMyCommands failed` usually indicates DNS/HTTPS reachability issues to `api.telegram.org`

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Polling or network instability">

    - Node 22+ + custom fetch/proxy can trigger immediate abort behavior if AbortSignal types mismatch.
    - Some hosts resolve `api.telegram.org` to IPv6 first; broken IPv6 egress can cause intermittent Telegram API failures.
    - Validate DNS answers:

```bash
dig +short api.telegram.org A
dig +short api.telegram.org AAAA
```

  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

More help: [Channel troubleshooting](/channels/troubleshooting).

## Telegram config reference pointers

Primary reference:

- `channels.telegram.enabled`: enable/disable channel startup.
- `channels.telegram.botToken`: bot token (BotFather).
- `channels.telegram.tokenFile`: read token from file path.
- `channels.telegram.dmPolicy`: `pairing | allowlist | open | disabled` (default: pairing).
- `channels.telegram.allowFrom`: DM allowlist (numeric Telegram user IDs). `open` requires `"*"`. `openclaw doctor --fix` can resolve legacy `@username` entries to IDs.
- `channels.telegram.groupPolicy`: `open | allowlist | disabled` (default: allowlist).
- `channels.telegram.groupAllowFrom`: group sender allowlist (numeric Telegram user IDs). `openclaw doctor --fix` can resolve legacy `@username` entries to IDs.
- `channels.telegram.groups`: per-group defaults + allowlist (use `"*"` for global defaults).
  - `channels.telegram.groups.<id>.groupPolicy`: per-group override for groupPolicy (`open | allowlist | disabled`).
  - `channels.telegram.groups.<id>.requireMention`: mention gating default.
  - `channels.telegram.groups.<id>.skills`: skill filter (omit = all skills, empty = none).
  - `channels.telegram.groups.<id>.allowFrom`: per-group sender allowlist override.
  - `channels.telegram.groups.<id>.systemPrompt`: extra system prompt for the group.
  - `channels.telegram.groups.<id>.enabled`: disable the group when `false`.
  - `channels.telegram.groups.<id>.topics.<threadId>.*`: per-topic overrides (same fields as group).
  - `channels.telegram.groups.<id>.topics.<threadId>.groupPolicy`: per-topic override for groupPolicy (`open | allowlist | disabled`).
  - `channels.telegram.groups.<id>.topics.<threadId>.requireMention`: per-topic mention gating override.
- `channels.telegram.capabilities.inlineButtons`: `off | dm | group | all | allowlist` (default: allowlist).
- `channels.telegram.accounts.<account>.capabilities.inlineButtons`: per-account override.
- `channels.telegram.replyToMode`: `off | first | all` (default: `off`).
- `channels.telegram.textChunkLimit`: outbound chunk size (chars).
- `channels.telegram.chunkMode`: `length` (default) or `newline` to split on blank lines (paragraph boundaries) before length chunking.
- `channels.telegram.linkPreview`: toggle link previews for outbound messages (default: true).
- `channels.telegram.streamMode`: `off | partial | block` (live stream preview).
- `channels.telegram.mediaMaxMb`: inbound/outbound media cap (MB).
- `channels.telegram.retry`: retry policy for outbound Telegram API calls (attempts, minDelayMs, maxDelayMs, jitter).
- `channels.telegram.network.autoSelectFamily`: override Node autoSelectFamily (true=enable, false=disable). Defaults to disabled on Node 22 to avoid Happy Eyeballs timeouts.
- `channels.telegram.proxy`: proxy URL for Bot API calls (SOCKS/HTTP).
- `channels.telegram.webhookUrl`: enable webhook mode (requires `channels.telegram.webhookSecret`).
- `channels.telegram.webhookSecret`: webhook secret (required when webhookUrl is set).
- `channels.telegram.webhookPath`: local webhook path (default `/telegram-webhook`).
- `channels.telegram.webhookHost`: local webhook bind host (default `127.0.0.1`).
- `channels.telegram.actions.reactions`: gate Telegram tool reactions.
- `channels.telegram.actions.sendMessage`: gate Telegram tool message sends.
- `channels.telegram.actions.deleteMessage`: gate Telegram tool message deletes.
- `channels.telegram.actions.sticker`: gate Telegram sticker actions — send and search (default: false).
- `channels.telegram.reactionNotifications`: `off | own | all` — control which reactions trigger system events (default: `own` when not set).
- `channels.telegram.reactionLevel`: `off | ack | minimal | extensive` — control agent's reaction capability (default: `minimal` when not set).

- [Configuration reference - Telegram](/gateway/configuration-reference#telegram)

Telegram-specific high-signal fields:

- startup/auth: `enabled`, `botToken`, `tokenFile`, `accounts.*`
- access control: `dmPolicy`, `allowFrom`, `groupPolicy`, `groupAllowFrom`, `groups`, `groups.*.topics.*`
- command/menu: `commands.native`, `customCommands`
- threading/replies: `replyToMode`
- streaming: `streamMode` (preview), `draftChunk`, `blockStreaming`
- formatting/delivery: `textChunkLimit`, `chunkMode`, `linkPreview`, `responsePrefix`
- media/network: `mediaMaxMb`, `timeoutSeconds`, `retry`, `network.autoSelectFamily`, `proxy`
- webhook: `webhookUrl`, `webhookSecret`, `webhookPath`, `webhookHost`
- actions/capabilities: `capabilities.inlineButtons`, `actions.sendMessage|editMessage|deleteMessage|reactions|sticker`
- reactions: `reactionNotifications`, `reactionLevel`
- writes/history: `configWrites`, `historyLimit`, `dmHistoryLimit`, `dms.*.historyLimit`

## Related

- [Pairing](/channels/pairing)
- [Channel routing](/channels/channel-routing)
- [Multi-agent routing](/concepts/multi-agent)
- [Troubleshooting](/channels/troubleshooting)