Telegram (Bot API)

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

Pairing

Default DM policy for Telegram is pairing.

Channel troubleshooting

Cross-channel diagnostics and repair playbooks.

Gateway configuration

Full channel config patterns and examples.

Quick setup

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.

Configure token and DM policy

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

Env fallback: `TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=...` (default account only).
Telegram does **not** use `openclaw channels login telegram`; configure token in config/env, then start gateway.

Start gateway and approve first DM

openclaw gateway
openclaw pairing list telegram
openclaw pairing approve telegram


    Pairing codes expire after 1 hour.

Telegram side settings

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.

Group permissions

Admin status is controlled in Telegram group settings.

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

Helpful BotFather toggles

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

Access control and activation

`channels.telegram.dmPolicy` controls direct message access:

- `pairing` (default)
- `allowlist` (requires at least one sender ID in `allowFrom`)
- `open` (requires `allowFrom` to include `"*"`)
- `disabled`

`channels.telegram.allowFrom` accepts numeric Telegram user IDs. `telegram:` / `tg:` prefixes are accepted and normalized.
`dmPolicy: "allowlist"` with empty `allowFrom` blocks all DMs and is rejected by config validation.
Onboarding 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).
If you previously relied on pairing-store allowlist files, `openclaw doctor --fix` can recover entries into `channels.telegram.allowFrom` in allowlist flows (for example when `dmPolicy: "allowlist"` has no explicit IDs yet).

For one-owner bots, prefer `dmPolicy: "allowlist"` with explicit numeric `allowFrom` IDs to keep access policy durable in config (instead of depending on previous pairing approvals).

### 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:

curl "https://api.telegram.org/bot

/getUpdates”

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

Two controls apply together:

1. **Which groups are allowed** (`channels.telegram.groups`)
   - no `groups` config:
     - with `groupPolicy: "open"`: any group can pass group-ID checks
     - with `groupPolicy: "allowlist"` (default): groups are blocked until you add `groups` entries (or `"*"`)
   - `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 should be numeric Telegram user IDs (`telegram:` / `tg:` prefixes are normalized).
Do not put Telegram group or supergroup chat IDs in `groupAllowFrom`. Negative chat IDs belong under `channels.telegram.groups`.
Non-numeric entries are ignored for sender authorization.
Security boundary (`2026.2.25+`): group sender auth does **not** inherit DM pairing-store approvals.
Pairing stays DM-only. For groups, set `groupAllowFrom` or per-group/per-topic `allowFrom`.
Runtime note: if `channels.telegram` is completely missing, runtime defaults to fail-closed `groupPolicy="allowlist"` unless `channels.defaults.groupPolicy` is explicitly set.

Example: allow any member in one specific group:

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

Example: allow only specific users inside one specific group:

{
  channels: {
    telegram: {
      groups: {
        "-1001234567890": {
          requireMention: true,
          allowFrom: ["8734062810", "745123456"],
        },
      },
    },
  },
}

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:

{
  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`

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

Live stream preview (message edits)

OpenClaw can stream partial replies in real time:

direct chats: preview message + editMessageText
groups/topics: preview message + editMessageText

Requirement:

channels.telegram.streaming is off | partial | block | progress (default: partial)
progress maps to partial on Telegram (compat with cross-channel naming)
legacy channels.telegram.streamMode and boolean streaming values are auto-mapped

For text-only replies:

DM: OpenClaw keeps the same preview message and performs a final edit in place (no second message)
group/topic: 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.

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

If native draft transport is unavailable/rejected, OpenClaw automatically falls back to sendMessage + editMessageText.

Telegram-only reasoning stream:

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

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.

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:

{
  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 failures:

- `setMyCommands failed` with `BOT_COMMANDS_TOO_MUCH` means the Telegram menu still overflowed after trimming; reduce plugin/skill/custom commands or disable `channels.telegram.commands.native`.
- `setMyCommands failed` with network/fetch errors 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 pending` lists pending requests (including role/scopes)
4. approve the request:
   - `/pair approve

for explicit approval -/pair approvewhen there is only one pending request -/pair approve latest` for most recent

If a device retries with changed auth details (for example role/scopes/public key), the previous pending request is superseded and the new request uses a different `requestId`. Re-run `/pair pending` before approving.

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

Inline buttons

Configure inline keyboard scope:

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

Per-account override:

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

Scopes:

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

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

Message action example:

{
  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:

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)
createForumTopic (chatId, name, optional iconColor, iconCustomEmojiId)

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

Gating controls:

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

Note: edit and topic-create are currently enabled by default and do not have separate channels.telegram.actions.* toggles. Runtime sends use the active config/secrets snapshot (startup/reload), so action paths do not perform ad-hoc SecretRef re-resolution per send.

Reaction removal semantics: /tools/reactions

Reply threading tags

Telegram supports explicit reply threading tags in generated output:

[[reply_to_current]] replies to the triggering message
`[[reply_to:

]]` 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.

Forum topics and thread behavior

Forum supergroups:

topic session keys append `:topic:

- replies and typing target the topic thread - topic config path: channels.telegram.groups.

.topics.

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`).
`agentId` is topic-only and does not inherit from group defaults.

**Per-topic agent routing**: Each topic can route to a different agent by setting `agentId` in the topic config. This gives each topic its own isolated workspace, memory, and session. Example:

```json5
{
  channels: {
    telegram: {
      groups: {
        "-1001234567890": {
          topics: {
            "1": { agentId: "main" },      // General topic → main agent
            "3": { agentId: "zu" },        // Dev topic → zu agent
            "5": { agentId: "coder" }      // Code review → coder agent
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Each topic then has its own session key: `agent:zu:telegram:group:-1001234567890:topic:3`

**Persistent ACP topic binding**: Forum topics can pin ACP harness sessions through top-level typed ACP bindings:

- `bindings[]` with `type: "acp"` and `match.channel: "telegram"`

Example:

```json5
{
  agents: {
    list: [
      {
        id: "codex",
        runtime: {
          type: "acp",
          acp: {
            agent: "codex",
            backend: "acpx",
            mode: "persistent",
            cwd: "/workspace/openclaw",
          },
        },
      },
    ],
  },
  bindings: [
    {
      type: "acp",
      agentId: "codex",
      match: {
        channel: "telegram",
        accountId: "default",
        peer: { kind: "group", id: "-1001234567890:topic:42" },
      },
    },
  ],
  channels: {
    telegram: {
      groups: {
        "-1001234567890": {
          topics: {
            "42": {
              requireMention: false,
            },
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
}
```

This is currently scoped to forum topics in groups and supergroups.

**Thread-bound ACP spawn from chat**:

- `/acp spawn

—thread here|auto` can bind the current Telegram topic to a new ACP session.

Follow-up topic messages route to the bound ACP session directly (no /acp steer required).
OpenClaw pins the spawn confirmation message in-topic after a successful bind.
Requires channels.telegram.threadBindings.spawnAcpSessions=true.

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.

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:

{
  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:

{
  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 `

`) - 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:

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

Send sticker action:

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

Search cached stickers:

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

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).
Reaction events still respect Telegram access controls (dmPolicy, allowFrom, groupPolicy, groupAllowFrom); unauthorized senders are dropped.
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.

Ack reactions

ackReaction sends an acknowledgement emoji while OpenClaw is processing an inbound message.

Resolution order:

`channels.telegram.accounts.

.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.

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:

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

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)
optional channels.telegram.webhookPort (default 8787)

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.

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 100) caps inbound and outbound Telegram media 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[”

“].historyLimit -channels.telegram.retry` config applies to Telegram send helpers (CLI/tools/actions) for recoverable outbound API errors.

CLI send target can be numeric chat ID or username:

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

Telegram polls use `openclaw message poll` and support forum topics:

openclaw message poll --channel telegram --target 123456789 \
  --poll-question "Ship it?" --poll-option "Yes" --poll-option "No"
openclaw message poll --channel telegram --target -1001234567890:topic:42 \
  --poll-question "Pick a time" --poll-option "10am" --poll-option "2pm" \
  --poll-duration-seconds 300 --poll-public

Telegram-only poll flags:

- `--poll-duration-seconds` (5-600)
- `--poll-anonymous`
- `--poll-public`
- `--thread-id` for forum topics (or use a `:topic:` target)

Telegram send also supports:

- `--buttons` for inline keyboards when `channels.telegram.capabilities.inlineButtons` allows it
- `--force-document` to send outbound images and GIFs as documents instead of compressed photo or animated-media uploads

Action gating:

- `channels.telegram.actions.sendMessage=false` disables outbound Telegram messages, including polls
- `channels.telegram.actions.poll=false` disables Telegram poll creation while leaving regular sends enabled

Exec approvals in Telegram

Telegram supports exec approvals in approver DMs and can optionally post approval prompts in the originating chat or topic.

Config path:

channels.telegram.execApprovals.enabled
channels.telegram.execApprovals.approvers (optional; falls back to numeric owner IDs inferred from allowFrom and direct defaultTo when possible)
channels.telegram.execApprovals.target (dm | channel | both, default: dm)
agentFilter, sessionFilter

Approvers must be numeric Telegram user IDs. Telegram auto-enables native exec approvals when enabled is unset or "auto" and at least one approver can be resolved, either from execApprovals.approvers or from the account’s numeric owner config (allowFrom and direct-message defaultTo). Set enabled: false to disable Telegram as a native approval client explicitly. Approval requests otherwise fall back to other configured approval routes or the exec approval fallback policy.

Telegram also renders the shared approval buttons used by other chat channels. The native Telegram adapter mainly adds approver DM routing, channel/topic fanout, and typing hints before delivery.

Delivery rules:

target: "dm" sends approval prompts only to resolved approver DMs
target: "channel" sends the prompt back to the originating Telegram chat/topic
target: "both" sends to approver DMs and the originating chat/topic

Only resolved approvers can approve or deny. Non-approvers cannot use /approve and cannot use Telegram approval buttons.

Channel delivery shows the command text in the chat, so only enable channel or both in trusted groups/topics. When the prompt lands in a forum topic, OpenClaw preserves the topic for both the approval prompt and the post-approval follow-up. Exec approvals expire after 30 minutes by default.

Inline approval buttons also depend on channels.telegram.capabilities.inlineButtons allowing the target surface (dm, group, or all).

Related docs: Exec approvals

Error reply controls

When the agent encounters a delivery or provider error, Telegram can either reply with the error text or suppress it. Two config keys control this behavior:

Key	Values	Default	Description
`channels.telegram.errorPolicy`	`reply`, `silent`	`reply`	`reply` sends a friendly error message to the chat. `silent` suppresses error replies entirely.
`channels.telegram.errorCooldownMs`	number (ms)	`60000`	Minimum time between error replies to the same chat. Prevents error spam during outages.

Per-account, per-group, and per-topic overrides are supported (same inheritance as other Telegram config keys).

{
  channels: {
    telegram: {
      errorPolicy: "reply",
      errorCooldownMs: 120000,
      groups: {
        "-1001234567890": {
          errorPolicy: "silent", // suppress errors in this group
        },
      },
    },
  },
}

Troubleshooting

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.

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

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 with BOT_COMMANDS_TOO_MUCH means the native menu has too many entries; reduce plugin/skill/custom commands or disable native menus
setMyCommands failed with network/fetch errors usually indicates DNS/HTTPS reachability issues to api.telegram.org

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.
- If logs include `TypeError: fetch failed` or `Network request for 'getUpdates' failed!`, OpenClaw now retries these as recoverable network errors.
- On VPS hosts with unstable direct egress/TLS, route Telegram API calls through `channels.telegram.proxy`:

channels:
  telegram:
    proxy: socks5://

@proxy-host:1080

    - Node 22+ defaults to `autoSelectFamily=true` (except WSL2) and `dnsResultOrder=ipv4first`.
    - If your host is WSL2 or explicitly works better with IPv4-only behavior, force family selection:

```yaml
channels:
  telegram:
    network:
      autoSelectFamily: false

- Environment overrides (temporary):
  - `OPENCLAW_TELEGRAM_DISABLE_AUTO_SELECT_FAMILY=1`
  - `OPENCLAW_TELEGRAM_ENABLE_AUTO_SELECT_FAMILY=1`
  - `OPENCLAW_TELEGRAM_DNS_RESULT_ORDER=ipv4first`
- Validate DNS answers:

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

More help: Channel 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 a regular file path. Symlinks are rejected.
channels.telegram.dmPolicy: pairing | allowlist | open | disabled (default: pairing).
channels.telegram.allowFrom: DM allowlist (numeric Telegram user IDs). allowlist requires at least one sender ID. open requires "*". openclaw doctor --fix can resolve legacy @username entries to IDs and can recover allowlist entries from pairing-store files in allowlist migration flows.
channels.telegram.actions.poll: enable or disable Telegram poll creation (default: enabled; still requires sendMessage).
channels.telegram.defaultTo: default Telegram target used by CLI --deliver when no explicit --reply-to is provided.
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. Non-numeric entries are ignored at auth time. Group auth does not use DM pairing-store fallback (2026.2.25+).
Multi-account precedence:
- When two or more account IDs are configured, set channels.telegram.defaultAccount (or include channels.telegram.accounts.default) to make default routing explicit.
- If neither is set, OpenClaw falls back to the first normalized account ID and openclaw doctor warns.
- channels.telegram.accounts.default.allowFrom and channels.telegram.accounts.default.groupAllowFrom apply only to the default account.
- Named accounts inherit channels.telegram.allowFrom and channels.telegram.groupAllowFrom when account-level values are unset.
- Named accounts do not inherit channels.telegram.accounts.default.allowFrom / groupAllowFrom.
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 (group fields + topic-only agentId).
- channels.telegram.groups.<id>.topics.<threadId>.agentId: route this topic to a specific agent (overrides group-level and binding routing).
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.
top-level bindings[] with type: "acp" and canonical topic id chatId:topic:topicId in match.peer.id: persistent ACP topic binding fields (see ACP Agents).
channels.telegram.direct.<id>.topics.<threadId>.agentId: route DM topics to a specific agent (same behavior as forum topics).
channels.telegram.execApprovals.enabled: enable Telegram as a chat-based exec approval client for this account.
channels.telegram.execApprovals.approvers: Telegram user IDs allowed to approve or deny exec requests. Optional when channels.telegram.allowFrom or a direct channels.telegram.defaultTo already identifies the owner.
channels.telegram.execApprovals.target: dm | channel | both (default: dm). channel and both preserve the originating Telegram topic when present.
channels.telegram.execApprovals.agentFilter: optional agent ID filter for forwarded approval prompts.
channels.telegram.execApprovals.sessionFilter: optional session key filter (substring or regex) for forwarded approval prompts.
channels.telegram.accounts.<account>.execApprovals: per-account override for Telegram exec approval routing and approver authorization.
channels.telegram.capabilities.inlineButtons: off | dm | group | all | allowlist (default: allowlist).
channels.telegram.accounts.<account>.capabilities.inlineButtons: per-account override.
channels.telegram.commands.nativeSkills: enable/disable Telegram native skills commands.
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.streaming: off | partial | block | progress (live stream preview; default: partial; progress maps to partial; block is legacy preview mode compatibility). Telegram preview streaming uses a single preview message that is edited in place.
channels.telegram.mediaMaxMb: inbound/outbound Telegram media cap (MB, default: 100).
channels.telegram.retry: retry policy for Telegram send helpers (CLI/tools/actions) on recoverable outbound API errors (attempts, minDelayMs, maxDelayMs, jitter).
channels.telegram.network.autoSelectFamily: override Node autoSelectFamily (true=enable, false=disable). Defaults to enabled on Node 22+, with WSL2 defaulting to disabled.
channels.telegram.network.dnsResultOrder: override DNS result order (ipv4first or verbatim). Defaults to ipv4first on Node 22+.
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.webhookPort: local webhook bind port (default 8787).
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).
channels.telegram.errorPolicy: reply | silent — control error reply behavior (default: reply). Per-account/group/topic overrides supported.
channels.telegram.errorCooldownMs: minimum ms between error replies to the same chat (default: 60000). Prevents error spam during outages.
Configuration reference - Telegram

Telegram-specific high-signal fields:

startup/auth: enabled, botToken, tokenFile, accounts.* (tokenFile must point to a regular file; symlinks are rejected)
access control: dmPolicy, allowFrom, groupPolicy, groupAllowFrom, groups, groups.*.topics.*, top-level bindings[] (type: "acp")
exec approvals: execApprovals, accounts.*.execApprovals
command/menu: commands.native, commands.nativeSkills, customCommands
threading/replies: replyToMode
streaming: streaming (preview), 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
errors: errorPolicy, errorCooldownMs
writes/history: configWrites, historyLimit, dmHistoryLimit, dms.*.historyLimit