Telegram Setup — Connect OpenClaw to Telegram

Telegram is the easiest channel to set up and is a natural fit for tech-oriented users who already live in the Telegram ecosystem.

Setup Overview

Create a bot through Telegram’s BotFather, get your token, and point OpenClaw at it.

# 1. Open Telegram, search for @BotFather
# 2. Send /newbot
# 3. Follow the prompts to name your bot
# 4. Copy the bot token

# channels/telegram.yaml
channel: telegram
enabled: true
botToken: ${TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN}
dmPolicy: approval
groupPolicy: mention
requireMention: true

Key Config Options

Option	Values	What It Does
`dmPolicy`	`allowlist`, `approval`, `open`	Controls who can DM the bot
`groupPolicy`	`mention`, `always`, `never`	When to respond in group chats
`requireMention`	`true` / `false`	Require /command or @mention
`botToken`	String	Token from BotFather
`allowedUserIds`	Array of Telegram user IDs	Restrict to specific users
`parseMode`	`Markdown`, `HTML`	Message formatting

Tips and Gotchas

BotFather setup takes under 5 minutes. This is the fastest channel to get running. If you just want to try OpenClaw with a real messaging app, start here.

Telegram bots are discoverable by default. Anyone who finds your bot’s username can message it. Use dmPolicy: approval at minimum, or allowlist with allowedUserIds if you want to lock it down completely.

User IDs are not usernames. The allowedUserIds field takes numeric Telegram user IDs, not @username handles. You can find your user ID by messaging @userinfobot on Telegram.

Group permissions need to be configured in BotFather too. If you want your bot in group chats, you need to disable privacy mode in BotFather (/setprivacy -> Disable). Otherwise the bot only sees messages that start with a /command or directly @mention it.

Telegram is rock solid for uptime. The Telegram Bot API handles reconnection, message queuing, and delivery acknowledgment. If your agent goes offline briefly, messages are queued and delivered when it comes back.

Next Steps

Channel Overview — Compare all channels and build a multi-channel strategy
WhatsApp — Reach contacts on the world’s most popular messenger
Cron and Automation — Set up scheduled tasks and proactive messaging via Telegram

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