How to Set Up an OpenClaw Telegram Bot: Step-by-Step Guide [2026]

Telegram is the easiest messaging channel to connect to OpenClaw. Unlike WhatsApp, Telegram has an official Bot API that is fully supported and documented. You create a bot through BotFather, paste a token into your config, and you are running in minutes.

This guide covers the complete Telegram setup — from creating your bot to configuring webhooks and deploying to production.

What Does the OpenClaw Telegram Integration Do?

The Telegram integration creates a dedicated bot that acts as the interface between you and your OpenClaw agent. You message the bot just like you would message a person, and OpenClaw processes your requests, executes tasks, and responds in the chat.

Telegram-specific features include:

• Markdown formatting — responses are rendered with bold, italic, code blocks, and links
• Inline keyboard buttons — configurable quick-action buttons for common tasks
• File sharing — send and receive documents, images, and audio files up to 50MB
• Voice message transcription — speak to your bot and it transcribes and processes your request
• Group and channel support — add your bot to groups with configurable mention triggers

What Do You Need Before Starting?

• A running OpenClaw instance (see our beginner setup guide)
• A Telegram account
• An LLM API key configured in OpenClaw
• For webhooks: a server with a public URL and valid SSL certificate

How Do You Set Up an OpenClaw Telegram Bot?

Step 1 — Create a bot with BotFather

Open Telegram and search for @BotFather. Send the command:

/newbot

BotFather will ask you for a display name and username. Choose something descriptive like "My OpenClaw Assistant" with a username like myname_openclaw_bot. BotFather will give you an API token — copy it and keep it secure.

Step 2 — Configure the Telegram gateway

Add the Telegram configuration to your OpenClaw config.yaml:

gateways:
  telegram:
    enabled: true
    bot_token: "YOUR_BOTFATHER_TOKEN"
    mode: "polling"          # or "webhook"
    webhook_url: ""          # required if mode is webhook
    allowed_users:
      - 123456789            # your Telegram user ID
    media_enabled: true
    markdown_enabled: true

Step 3 — Find your Telegram user ID

To restrict your bot to only respond to you, you need your numeric Telegram user ID. Send a message to @userinfobot on Telegram and it will reply with your ID. Add this number to the allowed_users list.

Step 4 — Start the bot

openclaw start --gateway telegram

Open a chat with your bot on Telegram and send a test message. You should see a response within seconds.

Step 5 — Switch to webhooks for production

For production, webhooks are more efficient than polling. Update your config:

gateways:
  telegram:
    enabled: true
    bot_token: "YOUR_BOTFATHER_TOKEN"
    mode: "webhook"
    webhook_url: "https://yourdomain.com/telegram/webhook"
    webhook_port: 8443

OpenClaw will automatically register the webhook URL with Telegram when it starts.

What Are the Best Use Cases for OpenClaw on Telegram?

• Personal AI assistant — manage your calendar, tasks, and research through a private Telegram chat
• Team coordination bot — add to a team group chat for shared task management and information retrieval
• Content management — draft, review, and schedule social media content via conversational commands
• Voice-first workflows — use Telegram voice messages to dictate tasks hands-free
• Cross-platform bridge — Telegram works on every platform (iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, Web) giving you access to OpenClaw from anywhere

How Do You Fix Common Telegram Bot Issues?

• Bot does not respond: Verify the bot token is correct. Check that your Telegram user ID is in the allowed_users list. Look at OpenClaw logs for error messages.
• Webhook not receiving updates: Ensure your server URL is publicly accessible and uses HTTPS with a valid certificate. Self-signed certificates require additional Telegram API configuration.
• Duplicate messages: This happens when switching between polling and webhook mode. Make sure only one mode is active. You can clear pending updates with curl "https://api.telegram.org/botYOUR_TOKEN/deleteWebhook?drop_pending_updates=true".
• Slow responses: Long-running tasks can make Telegram think the request failed. OpenClaw sends a "typing" indicator while processing. If responses consistently take over 30 seconds, consider optimizing your agent's tool usage.
• File sending fails: Telegram has a 50MB file size limit for bots. For larger files, have OpenClaw upload to a cloud storage service and send the link instead.

FAQ

Is the Telegram integration easier to set up than WhatsApp?

Yes. Telegram has an official Bot API, so the setup is more straightforward and stable than WhatsApp's unofficial Baileys approach. You create a bot through BotFather, paste the token, and you are done. No QR code scanning or session management required.

Can my Telegram bot handle voice messages?

Yes. OpenClaw can receive Telegram voice messages, transcribe them using Whisper or the configured speech-to-text provider, process the text, and respond. You need to enable media_enabled in the gateway config.

Should I use polling or webhooks for my Telegram bot?

Webhooks are recommended for production deployments because they are more efficient and have lower latency. Polling is simpler for local development and testing. If your server has a public URL with HTTPS, use webhooks.

Can I run both WhatsApp and Telegram gateways at the same time?

Yes. OpenClaw supports running multiple gateways simultaneously. Configure both in your config.yaml under the gateways section and start OpenClaw normally. Messages from both channels will be processed by the same agent.

*Last updated: March 2026. Published by the Remote OpenClaw team at remoteopenclaw.com.*