How to Connect OpenClaw to Telegram?

Telegram is the most popular and recommended messenger for OpenClaw. Setup takes about 2 minutes and requires no coding.

First, create a Telegram bot. Open Telegram, find @BotFather, send /newbot, choose a name and username for your bot. BotFather gives you a token — this is your bot's API key.

Now pair the bot with OpenClaw using the pair command. Enter the token when prompted. OpenClaw connects to the Telegram Bot API and starts listening for messages.

That's it. Send a message to your bot in Telegram — the AI agent responds.

Telegram supports: text messages, voice messages (transcribed automatically if you install the voice-transcribe skill), images (analyzed by vision-capable models), files (processed by document skills), and inline buttons for interactive responses.

Advanced features: - Group chats: Add your bot to groups and mention it with @botname to get responses - Channels: Bot can post to channels you manage - Inline mode: Type @botname in any chat to query your agent - Markdown formatting: Responses use Telegram's built-in formatting

Telegram is the most stable integration because it uses a simple webhook/polling model with excellent uptime. It works worldwide, on all devices, and doesn't require a phone number for the bot.

Tip: Enable polling mode (default) for development. For production, set up webhook mode with HTTPS for faster response times.

openclaw pair telegram
# Enter your bot token when prompted