Telegram Bot Setup: Complete Configuration for DMs and Groups

Creating Your Telegram Bot

Step 1: Create Bot with BotFather

Open Telegram and search for @BotFather

Send /newbot

Choose a name for your bot (e.g., "My OpenClaw Assistant")

Choose a username ending in "bot" (e.g., "myopenclawbot")

Copy the API token provided

Step 2: Configure OpenClaw

Add your bot token to the config:

openclaw config set channels.telegram.token "YOUR_BOT_TOKEN"

Or edit ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json:

{
  "channels": {
    "telegram": {
      "enabled": true,
      "token": "123456:ABC-DEF1234ghIkl-zyx57W2v1u123ew11"
    }
  }
}

Privacy Mode vs Admin Status

Privacy Mode (Default)

By default, Telegram bots can only see:

Messages that mention the bot directly

Replies to the bot's messages

Commands starting with /

Disabling Privacy Mode

To let your bot see all group messages:

Message @BotFather

Send /setprivacy

Select your bot

Choose "Disable"

Alternatively, make the bot an admin in the group.

Group Configuration

Mention Patterns

Configure how the bot responds in groups:

{
  "channels": {
    "telegram": {
      "groupMentionPattern": "@mybot|hey bot"
    }
  }
}

Draft Streaming

Enable real-time response streaming (requires threaded mode):

{
  "channels": {
    "telegram": {
      "draftStreaming": true
    }
  }
}

Troubleshooting

IPv6 DNS Issues

If you see "sendMessage failed" errors:

Cause: Your system resolves Telegram to IPv6 but IPv6 egress is blocked.

Solution: Force IPv4 in your DNS configuration or enable IPv6 on your VPS.

Bot Not Responding

Check that:

Bot token is correct

Privacy mode is disabled (for groups)

Gateway is running: openclaw status

Telegram channel is enabled: openclaw channels status