OpenClaw + Telegram Bot

Why Telegram?

Telegram is ideal for personal AI agents: - Available on every device (phone, tablet, desktop, web) - Rich message formatting (markdown, buttons, media) - Instant push notifications - No cost for bot usage - Excellent API

Step 1: Create a Bot with BotFather

1. Open Telegram and search for @BotFather
2. Send /newbot
3. Choose a name (e.g., "My OpenClaw Agent")
4. Choose a username (must end in bot, e.g., my_openclaw_bot)
5. Copy the API token

Step 2: Configure OpenClaw

openclaw config set telegram.token YOUR_BOT_TOKEN
openclaw gateway restart

Step 3: Start Chatting

Open your bot in Telegram and send a message. Your OpenClaw agent will respond!

Features

Voice Messages

Send voice messages to your bot — OpenClaw can transcribe and respond.

File Sharing

Send documents, images, and code files. Your agent can read and process them.

Location Sharing

Share your location for weather forecasts and local recommendations.

Inline Buttons

OpenClaw can send messages with interactive buttons for quick actions.

Advanced Configuration

Private Only

Restrict your bot to only respond to you:

telegram:
  token: "YOUR_TOKEN"
  allowedUsers:
    - "your_telegram_id"

Group Chat Mode

Add your bot to Telegram groups:

telegram:
  token: "YOUR_TOKEN"
  groups:
    - id: "-100123456789"
      mode: "mention"  # Only respond when @mentioned

Use Cases

• Quick questions while away from your desk
• Reminders — "remind me to deploy at 5 PM"
• Status checks — "is the website up?"
• File access — "send me the latest report"
• Smart home — "turn off the living room lights"

Tips

1. Set a profile picture for your bot in BotFather (/setuserpic)
2. Add a description (/setdescription) so others know what it does
3. Pin important messages from your agent for quick reference
4. Use /commands in BotFather to register bot commands

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Ready to go deeper? Check out our hands-on course: OpenClaw Agent — practical exercises you can follow along on your own machine.

Further reading

To go deeper, the Ansible intelligent assistant and MCP server expands on these patterns in production.