Connect Telegram to OpenClaw

Telegram is one of the most popular channels for OpenClaw. Create a bot via BotFather, connect it to your agent, and you'll have a personal AI assistant in any Telegram chat.

> Before you start

Make sure you have:

  • ✓ A running OpenClaw agent. Your agent must be deployed and in a "Running" state on Clawly (or self-hosted).
  • ✓ A Telegram account. You'll need the Telegram app on your phone or desktop.
  • ✓ A Telegram bot token. You'll create one through @BotFather — it takes about 30 seconds.

> Step-by-step guide

1. Create a bot with BotFather

Open Telegram and search for @BotFather. Send /newbot, choose a name and username for your bot, and BotFather will give you a bot token (a long string like 123456789:ABCdefGHI...).

2. Connect the bot on your Clawly dashboard

Go to your Clawly dashboard. In the Channels section of your agent, click the Telegram button, paste the bot token, and click Connect.

3. Pair your bot

Send any message to your new bot on Telegram. Your agent will reply with a pairing code. Enter this code on your Clawly dashboard and click Approve. The pairing code may take 30-60 seconds to arrive.

4. Start chatting

Once paired, your bot is live. Message it on Telegram and your OpenClaw agent will respond. You can add the bot to group chats too — it'll respond when mentioned.

Tip: Disable group privacy mode

If you want your bot to read all messages in a group (not just commands and mentions), send /setprivacy to @BotFather and set it to Disabled for your bot.

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