Telegram is typically one of the easiest channels to get running in OpenClaw. This article focuses on establishing a “working pipeline,” taking you step-by-step from obtaining a token to verifying the session.
Figure: The header image of the official OpenClaw Telegram channel documentation page.
1. Prepare Your Telegram Bot
- Find
@BotFatherin Telegram. - Create a bot and obtain the Bot Token.
- Add the bot to your target group (if you intend to test group messages).
2. Configure in OpenClaw
The most hassle-free method is using the official onboarding:
openclaw onboardSelect Telegram in the wizard and enter your token/channel configuration.
If you already have an existing environment, you can also adjust the channel configuration via openclaw configure and then restart the gateway.
3. Verify the Integration
openclaw channels status --probeopenclaw logs --followThen send a test message using the CLI (official example):
openclaw message send --channel telegram --target 123456789 --message "hi"It also supports targeting by username:
openclaw message send --channel telegram --target @name --message "hi"4. Typical Reasons for Group Messages Not Triggering
The most frequent issue mentioned in the official docs:
- You expect the bot to read non-@mention group messages.
- But privacy mode is not disabled in BotFather.
Solution:
- Send
/setprivacyto BotFather and disable privacy mode. - Remove the bot from the group and add it back.
- Run
openclaw channels status --probeagain.
5. Security Recommendations
- Do not commit your token to a public repository.
- Enable pairing/whitelist policies by default to prevent strangers from commanding your assistant.
- Get it working in direct messages first before expanding to groups.
6. Pairing and Approval (Highly Recommended)
If you enable pairing, new users initiating a session for the first time will require approval. Common commands:
openclaw pairings list --status pendingopenclaw pairings approve <pairing-id>This significantly reduces the risk of strangers triggering high-privilege actions.
Summary
The core of setting up the Telegram channel is: Correct configuration + Correct group permissions + Successful status probe.
Once these three steps are solid, adding commands, polls, and automated actions will be much smoother.
Reference Links
- Telegram Channel Docs:
https://docs.openclaw.ai/channels/telegram - Channels Overview:
https://docs.openclaw.ai/channels/index - Pairing Mechanism:
https://docs.openclaw.ai/channels/pairing
Further Reading
If this article helped you, please share it with others!
Some information may be outdated