openclaw/docs/telegram.md

# Telegram (Bot API)

Updated: 2025-12-07

Status: ready for bot-mode use with grammY (long-poll + webhook). Text + media send, proxy, and webhook helpers all ship in-tree.

## Goals
- Let you talk to Clawdis via a Telegram bot in DMs and groups.
- Share the same `main` session used by WhatsApp/WebChat; groups stay isolated as `group:<chatId>`.
- Keep transport routing deterministic: replies always go back to the surface they arrived on.

## How it will work (Bot API)
1) Create a bot with @BotFather and grab the token.
2) Configure Clawdis with `TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN` (or `telegram.botToken` in `~/.clawdis/clawdis.json`).
3) Run the relay; it auto-starts Telegram when the bot token is set. To force Telegram-only: `clawdis relay --provider telegram`. Webhook mode: `clawdis relay --provider telegram --webhook --port 8787 --webhook-secret <secret>` (optionally `--webhook-url` when the public URL differs).
4) Direct chats: user sends the first message; all subsequent turns land in the shared `main` session (default, no extra config).
5) Groups: add the bot, disable privacy mode (or make it admin) so it can read messages; group threads stay on `group:<chatId>` and require mention/command to trigger replies.
6) Optional allowlist: reuse `inbound.allowFrom` for direct chats by chat id (`123456789` or `telegram:123456789`).

## Capabilities & limits (Bot API)
- Sees only messages sent after it’s added to a chat; no pre-history access.
- Cannot DM users first; they must initiate. Channels are receive-only unless the bot is an admin poster.
- File size caps follow Telegram Bot API (up to 2 GB for documents; smaller for some media types).
- Typing indicators (`sendChatAction`) supported; inline reply/threading supported where Telegram allows.

## Planned implementation details
- Library: grammY is the only client for send + relay (fetch fallback removed); grammY throttler is enabled by default to stay under Bot API limits.
- Inbound normalization: maps Bot API updates to `MsgContext` with `Surface: "telegram"`, `ChatType: direct|group`, `SenderName`, `MediaPath`/`MediaType` when attachments arrive, and `Timestamp`; groups require @bot mention by default.
- Outbound: text and media (photo/video/audio/document) with optional caption; chunked to limits. Typing cue sent best-effort.
- Config: `TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN` env or `telegram.botToken` required; `telegram.requireMention`, `telegram.allowFrom`, `telegram.mediaMaxMb`, `telegram.proxy`, `telegram.webhookSecret`, `telegram.webhookUrl` supported.

Example config:
```json5
{
  telegram: {
    botToken: "123:abc",
    requireMention: true,
    allowFrom: ["123456789"], // direct chat ids allowed (or "*")
    mediaMaxMb: 5,
    proxy: "socks5://localhost:9050",
    webhookSecret: "mysecret",
    webhookUrl: "https://yourdomain.com/telegram-webhook"
  }
}
```
- Tests: grammY-based paths in `src/telegram/*.test.ts` cover DM + group gating; add more media and webhook cases as needed.

## Group etiquette
- Keep privacy mode off if you expect the bot to read all messages; with privacy on, it only sees commands/mentions.
- Make the bot an admin if you need it to send in restricted groups or channels.
- Mention the bot (`@yourbot`) or use commands to trigger; we’ll honor `group.requireMention` by default to avoid noise.

## Roadmap
- ✅ Design and defaults (this doc)
- ✅ grammY long-poll relay + text/media send
- ✅ Proxy + webhook helpers (setWebhook/deleteWebhook, health endpoint, optional public URL)
- ⏳ Add more grammY coverage (webhook payloads, media edge cases)

## Safety & ops
- Treat the bot token as a secret (equivalent to account control); store under `~/.clawdis/credentials/` with 0600 perms.
- Respect Telegram rate limits (429s); we’ll add throttling in the provider to stay below flood thresholds.
- Use a test bot for development to avoid hitting production chats.